Just about a year-and-a-half ago, netbook?the compact, no-frills versions of notebooks?as a category was virtually non-existent in the country. What started with the launch of the first netbooks in early 2008 has now become a flood of over 25 products, from all leading brands. A clear segmentation is already happening within the category.

Technology analysts attribute this to the high potential the netbook market holds. With intense competition in the space, vendors are experimenting with different offerings, pegged at various price points. The general opinion is that the category is still evolving and will see better product specifications packed at lower prices eventually.

The space now is layered in three sub-categories?the entry-level that comprises products in the Rs 18,000-Rs 21,000 range; the mid-range priced between Rs 22,000 and Rs 26,000: and the high-end products at Rs 26,000 and above.

While the industry is yet to pinpoint a clear-cut target audience for the netbooks, defined as anything with 10.1-inch screen or below and runs on Intel?s Atom processor or its equivalent processor from rivals, people from all walks are picking up these devices.

In the entry-level category are netbooks from vendors like home-grown HCL, which is offering its Series 4 range (earlier, Mileap) for Rs 19,000 to Rs 21,000. Asus, a pioneer of netbooks in India, has one product in the category, Eee PC 900HA, priced at Rs 20,000. Products from both HCL and Asus have 8.9-inch screens, 1 GB RAM, expandable to 2 GB, and up to 5 hours of battery life.

While ASUS offers 160 GB of hard disk along with 10 GB of online storage, HCL offers 80 GB of memory. Intex, too, has offerings in this range with almost the same specs, but with a bigger 10.1-inch screen. This range, according to Diptarup Chakraborty, principal research analyst of Gartner, is being picked up by consumers who have a tight budget and need the device for basic computing needs.

Considering that screens of these netbooks (at 8.9 inch) are almost half the size of a normal desktop or laptop, these devices are fit for students or for people who are looking at just meeting their Internet browsing or basic computing needs.

The mid-segment range in netbooks has the largest number of offerings from players like Acer, HP, Dell, Lenovo, Samsung and Asus, and is the most popular among consumers. Almost all products in this range come with a 10.1-inch screen and have a much longer battery life (9 hours onwards) than the entry level products. While the basics remain the same, various features and value-added services such as speakers, larger touchpad and keyboards and better operating system are packed in these devices to justify the higher price.

Though the price difference between this range of netbook and the low-end notebooks is very small, those going for the netbooks have mobility strictly in their mind. ?Those with already a PC at home and are looking at a second or a third computing option are going in for these products as they pack almost all the basic requirements in a small device, which is easy to carry around on business trips or holidays,? says Sumanta Mukherjee, lead analyst, computing products research, IDC India.

When it comes to the high-end range, offerings from players such as Sony (Viao W series), Samsung and Toshiba dominate. These are premium products, representing performance and design. For instance, the Sony Viao has 1 GB RAM, 160 GB hard disk, a 10.1-inch screen and an

Intel atom processor. Though the basic specifications are same as most products in the mid-range category, the Sony netbook is priced at around Rs 27,500, given the additional features and the brand appeal of the product.

In fact, Sony and some other players have mini-notebooks priced above Rs 1 lakh, these have a slightly bigger screen size than the traditional 10.1 inch for a netbook, and bring high-end product features. These devices are truly for those focused on performance and style. The high-end Netbook from Nokia, priced at $821 (about Rs 40,000) globally is also expected to hit the India market in some time. Acer is also reported to be launching its Ferrari brand netbook, with a price tag of Rs 37,990.

In the last few quarters, when PC sales growth declined year-on-year from the global economic crisis, netbook was the only category that showed robust growth. According to market research firm Gartner estimates, the first quarter of the year saw sales of 41,000 of these devices in the country. Going by the same estimates, Acer is the leader in the category with sales of 10,300 units in the first quarter, followed by HP, which sold around 6,600 units.

IDC?s Mukherjee feels the corporate exposure to the category has been very low, and buyers were largely general consumers. ?Once infrastructure for cloud computing and 3G come into place, we will see not only the category rearranging in terms of prices and specifications, but also a great demand boost,? he says.

S Rajendran, chief marketing officer of Acer, says though the category has picked up, the sales have not been as expected. ?Once 3G comes in, netbooks can be bundled with the service and sold on international lines; this will give a major boost to the category,? he notes.

However, Naved Chaudhary, head, marketing, Intex Technologies, offers a different view: ?Ignorance of the consumer is a hindrance. Many people are not aware of the difference between a netbook and a notebook or the usage profile of the product. So, vendors are not able to derive expected benefits.?