Techiton

Netbooks may soon become the personal computer of choice for millions of end users, according to Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs' interview at the CTIA Wireless Show in Las Vegas. Jacobs predicted the netbook’s rise could happen “relatively quickly,” although he declined to give a specific timeline.

There’s little doubt that consumers are taking to netbooks in a big way. Some 21 million netbooks will ship this year, nearly double last year’s total, according to Gartner. Even more impressive is that fact that the netbook’s explosive growth comes in a year when overall PC shipments are expected to fall nearly 12 percent from 2008.

Price is certainly driving the netbook’s success. The mini-notebooks, which are fine for Web-surfing, word processing, email, and a few other basic chores, are relatively cheap, and ISPs like AT&T are now offering netbooks with 2-year service plans for as little as $50.

[Source: PCWorld]