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Dell joins cut-down laptop market

Dell joins cut-down laptop market


Dell enters the netbook market with this unnamed machine

Dell is joining the burgeoning ranks of companies offering cut-down laptops, called netbooks, aimed at the developing world and general consumers.
The laptop was shown by Michael Dell to the editor of website Gizmodo at the All Things Digital Conference.
According to the official Dell blog, Michael Dell "positioned it as the perfect device for the next billion internet users".
Dell has not released pricing or specifications for its first netbook.
A number of firms are expected to enter the netbook market this year.
The market is being driven in part by the work of the One Laptop Per Child programme, the success of the Asus Eee PC and the availability of chips, made by companies like Intel and Via, designed for low-cost, low power consumption devices.
Hewlett-Packard has announced a cut-down laptop which will be powered by Via's processors, and Acer is also entering the market.
More than 3.6 million netbooks, which cost less than $500, are expected to be sold this year.
Asus believes it will sell almost two million of its Eee PCs, which cost between $299 and $549, in the first six months of this year.

OLPC has unveiled a new design for the developing world

At the Computex show in Taiwan next week Intel is expected to unveil a number of manufacturer partners that are using its Atom chip.
Intel chief executive Paul Otellini said the market was growing fast....

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