australiaNetbooks may be popular around the world. But apparently they’re selling like hot cakes in Australia (do people like hot cakes in Australia?), because the Sydney Morning Herald reports that 1 in 10 computers sold in the country are netbooks. That’s largely due to the low cost of modern mini-laptops. But another factor is a tax refund that allows parents to claim between $375 and $750 in education expenses for each child in elementary or secondary school.

In other words, the tax refund should easily cover the cost of a netbook and maybe some pens, paper and schoolbooks too.

Netbooks are also well designed for students because they’re small and light, which means they’re not going to break your kids back when you slip them in a backpack. And the tiny keyboards that might seem to small for adult fingers are just right for kids. But the Morning Herald does erroneously claim that netbooks might be better than full sized laptops because students can’t use them to play video games or watch YouTube videos during class. While most netbooks aren’t going to handle Crysis very well, I dare say a student could find just as many ways to slack off using a netbook as a larger laptop.

What do you think? Have you bought a netbook for a vertically challenged person in your life? Or do you see mini-laptops as productivitiy tools for full grown adults?

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3 replies on “Netbooks account for 10% of PC sales in Australia”

  1. This is just more evidence that the netbook is going from strength to strength. Just think about all of the applications for these excellent machines – especially for people who are very mobile.

    They are able to carry out 95% or more of everyday computing tasks for most people, yet cost significantly less and are much more portable than full-size laptops.

    Hopefully this will mean more Australian vistors to my netbook blog!

    http://www.pimpmynetbook.com

  2. No, no, no…its just a fad that will pass by quickly.

    I mean Molly Wood, Leo Laporte, Gilmor and Belmont and the whole crew of NoCal tech mafia keep telling us that its a fad and that its pretty useless for most things.
    Of course, most of them are still in Wii denial so I dont see them admit that the netbook phenomenon is legit.

  3. and yet, Samsung still aren’t selling in Australia, forcing us to buy the NC10 from US sellers and then get a power converter.

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