Netbook Scoop

The term ULPC stands for Ultra-Low Cost Personal Computer.

The Ultra Low-Cost PC marketplace was created by Asus with the introduction of the Eee PC in late 2007.  The Eee PCs were an instant hit.  (Some will argue that the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) program was the initial ULPC product.  That may be so, but OLPC was not a commercial product.)

The Eee PC was an overnight sensation due to the combination of a low price, easy-to-carry size with a relatively full set of features.

The $245 introductory price was an attention-getter.  However, the product sales soared when many reported a preference to using the Eee PC while traveling while leaving their fully-featured laptop back home.  The key was that the Eee PC provided all of the features needed and (most importantly) it was much, much smaller and lighter.

In many ways, the Eee PC caught the market by surprise.  First off, the original product was only sold with a Linux operating system.  Most experts believed that the lack of a Microsoft Windows operating system would scare most buyers away.  However, by and large, buyers had no significant problems adapting to Linux.

In April 2008, Microsoft responded by announcing a special offering of Windows XP for ULPCs.  This program reduced the Linux cost advantage by substantially reducing the cost to ULPC manufacturers to bundle Microsoft Windows with their products.

With the soaring sales of the Eee PC, other manufacturers were quick to respond with competitively featured offerings.  Over the past several months, the following manufacturers and announced and/or introduced ULPC products.

• Everex: Cloudbook
• Hewlett-Packard: 2133 Mini-Note
• MSI: Wind
• Acer: Aspire One
• Dell: Mini Inspiron

Asus has not stood still with the Eee PC.  They have expanded the products features several times since the introduction.  In July, they will introduce the 900 and 901 models which offer larger screen sizes and other features.

We’ll explore each of these products in more depth in upcoming articles.