Buyers choose netbooks as Laptops shunned

Netbooks dominated the Computers & PC hardware bestsellers list on Amazon.com on 'cyber Monday' in the US, the biggest online shopping day of the year.

The mini-laptops, with 7-inch to 10-inch screens, are popular because they're about half the size of a normal laptop and much lighter, usually less than 1.5 kilograms (3.3 lbs). They also cost less, but allow people to surf the Internet wirelessly and work on full, if downsized, keyboards.

Netbooks took seven of the top 10 spots on Amazon.com's computer bestseller list by the end of Monday, with a few high-definition LCD monitors from Samsung and an Apple MacBook taking the remaining three spots.

Asustek Computer's Eee PC 900HA with an 8.9-inch screen, Intel Atom microprocessor, Microsoft Windows XP and black finish took the top spot, but it flip-flopped the lead with Acer's Aspire One several times during the day. Amazon updates its bestseller lists every hour.

The Aspire One took second and third place on the list, with the black version topping the sapphire blue one as the favoured color.

People buying netbooks chose versions with 6-cell batteries on all of the top 10 models. Some netbooks come with 3-cell batteries which provide only a few hours of power, while a 6-cell battery can give up to 6-hours or more.

Samsung Electronics scored one of the few non-netbook bestsellers in the computing category Monday on Amazon.com. Two of the company's high-definition LCD monitors placed in the top 10, the Touch of Color T200 HD 20-inch LCD HDTV monitor in fourth place and the Touch of Color T260 HD 26-inch LCD HDTV monitor in sixth place.

The Monday after the US Thanksgiving holiday is known as 'cyber Monday' because many Americans shop online during work hours that day, the first day back to work after the holiday.