In case you have missed it, Amazon has just announced the third generation of its e-reader device, Amazon Kindle. Amazon has been so focused on selling e-books in the past few months that it has brought its Kindle platform to many devices (including netbooks and the iPad). The new Kindle models should give Amazon some of the momentum it has lost to devices such as the iPad. But should netbook makers be worried about Kindle 3? After all, they do target a portion of people who use their netbooks to go through documents on the go.

Amazon Kindle 3 has a lot of potential and is one compact device for travel. While it may have its own web browser and PDF reader, it still has ways to go to become a true threat to netbooks. Those who use Kindle to read books will most likely use their regular laptop to do other things. Unlike Apple iPad, Amazon Kindle is just a one trick pony device. It does not have what it takes at this point to replace a netbook.

Many e-book fans have argued in the past that netbooks and the iPad are too hard to read on and put extra pressure on people’s eyes. Those of you who have installed Pixel Qi displays on your netbook should not have that issue. The Kindle is a decent e-book reader and has its fans. What Amazon is doing is defying the odds and pushing a one trick pony device hard in an era that multi-purpose devices are king.

Netbooks will have plenty to worry about with Android tablets on their way. Amazon Kindle should be the least of their worries.

GenBook runs Android 1.6. So not only it does not have a powerful processor or a whole lot of RAM, it does not even have the latest Android software. Engadget’s description of this netbook’s performance leaves no doubt whether it is worth the money:

It will probably come as no surprise that the GenBook, which is powered by a 400MHz CPU and 128MB of RAM, is slow. No, like really slow. It takes about a minute and a half to boot up and toggling through menus is downright laggy. We didn’t have to wait all that long for webpages to load over WiFi, but the machine starts quitting programs when it’s asked to do too much at the same time.

$99 is not going to buy a whole lot of things these days. Who really expected GenBook to be really special at that price?

Netbook processors still have ways to go to catch up to their laptop counterparts. While we won’t be getting a super fast quad processor in these machines anytime soon, ATOM processors have improved gradually in the past couple of years. N470 netbooks are on their way, and LG’s X140 netbook is among them. This netbook will have 2 GB RAM on-board, which is an improvement over most netbook models available on the market today:

Here is a summary of what’s included with LG X140 netbook:

• Windows 7 starter
• Atom Based (1.83GHz)
• 1366×768 resolution display
• 1.3Mpix WebCamera
• 2GB of RAM
• 320GB of HDD
• 3G capability

LG’s official line was straight from the text-book:

LG is now focusing strongly on how to make consumers feel completely at ease while using netbooks, and to this end, we will continue to invest our products with the best consumer-oriented features and LG’s smartest software.

This sounds like a decent netbook. It’d be interesting to see when it makes it to this side of the world (it’s available in the Middle East for now) and whether it’ll be picked up by a carrier.

Analysts may have over-exaggerated the fall of netbooks in the ends of tablets. Apple iPad is a very formidable challenge for netbook makers, but it won’t be killing today’s netbooks by its own. According to ABI Research, netbook shipments could reach 120 million units by 2013, which is double the number of shipments by the end of 2010. While ASUS and Acer are dominating the netbook market these days, it seems only one of these two is destined to be the clear winner in a matter of few years:

it looks as if only Acer will continue to maintain its commanding lead; but at the same time there are more vendors competing head-to-head. Most of the other major names – HP, Dell, Lenovo – increased their market shares in 2009, while Samsung lost a couple of percentage points.

The netbook market is becoming more mature. That means this segment of the computer business will be consolidated in the near future. It would not be surprising to see many small players of today to get out of business in the near future. Netbooks will be in demand and continue to be strong as long as there is demand for recession-friendly laptops. But it’s foolish to write off tablets as a big challenge to these machines:

I think this [tablets] is an additive category of computing much like Netbooks were an additive category

Just like many analysts wrote off Apple iPhone in its early days, it seems that’s what some are doing with tablets such as iPad. The PC industry is changing and people are more open to those small, mobile computing solutions these days. Netbooks are considered to be portable today, but they do not come any close to tablets. So far, Apple has been going at it alone (among the top dogs). Will netbooks and desktop computers lose some of their markets to Android tablets? We will have to wait and see.

Toshiba has already released its own N455 netbooks. Other companies are in the process of catching up. HP is also planning to adopt these new processors and fully support DDR3 RAM on its new netbook models. HP Mini 210-1160NR is expected to be one of those new netbooks. Its page is already up on Amazon, but it’s not clear when this model will start shipping. HP’s profit margin may not be as high as the company was hoping it to be, but HP is not willing to give up on the budget computer market just yet.

According to various sources, HP will release at least two new netbook models (with N455, N475) to protect its entry-level notebook business. These processors are not too speedy, but they do offer support for DDR3 memory, which is something netbook fans have been waiting for quite some time.

HP netbooks have gotten better over the past few months. The early models were a mess, with bad battery life and sub-par features. The latest HP models can hold their own against any other netbook on the market. Let’s hope that’s the case with these upcoming HP netbooks (due Q3 2010).

If you are looking to pick up a netbook for school, these 5 models may be what you need:

ASUS Eee PC Seashell 1005PEG-MU17 Netbook: not only has an impressive set of features, it is 3G capable too. So you can use it to connect to the Internet on the go (with a plan). Comes with Kindle pre-installed.

Lenovo Ideapad S10-3 0647-2BU netbook: Lenovo laptops and netbooks are some of the best on the market. They are light-weight and very user friendly. This one has a 98% Full size keyboard which makes typing much easier. Weighs only only 2.76lbs.

MSI U230 Light-087 11.6-Inch Netbook: much closer to regular laptops than most netbooks. It takes advantage of an AMD processor and has a beautiful 11.6 Inch 1366×768 LCD panel.

Toshiba Mini NB305-N440RD netbook: a stylish netbook from Toshiba that has the latest ATOM processor and weighs only 2.6 lbs. It features a full size keyboard which is a plus.

Acer Aspire AO521-3530 10.1-Inch Netbook: a very decent netbook all around. It takes advantage of an AMD processor and has a very decent set of features. Its webcam is high quality too.

The above netbook models are powerful and mostly affordable, making them great options for students. As always, don’t forget to use our netbook ratings page to further compare netbooks and find the model that works for you the best.

Libretto W105 Specifications:

• dual 7.0-inch diagonal multi-touch displays (1024 x 600)
• 6-mode virtual keyboard with haptic response
• Windows® 7 O/S
• Intel U5400 processor1 (1.2GHz)
• 2GB DDR3 memory
• 62GB Solid State Drive
• 1.0 megapixel HD Webcam w/ Face Recognition
• 802.11 b/g/n wireless
• Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
• 8-cell battery
• weights 1.8 lbs

We are not sure Toshiba Libretto W105 can replace regular netbooks, especially for those who need a physical keyboard. But it could be a nice alternative to iPad. Having two screens to work on at the same time is very tempting.

Pixel Qi display may not be cheap, but it puts less pressure on your eyes and gives you the flexibility to switch between modes easily (more videos after the break).

Installing Pixel Qi display may seem difficult to some, but the people at Make Magazine have demonstrated how easy the process can be:

These displays will cost you $275, so they are not exactly cheap either. But they do add a whole new dimension to netbooks. They are easy to install too. What’s not to like?

Everyday, we hear a ton of stories about what Apple intends to do or is in the process of doing. It’s often too hard to make sense of all these rumors. Some turn out to be right while the majority do not. It’s tough to know what to think of the latest rumor about an Apple netbook. According to DigiTimes, Apple may be finally ready to enter the netbook market. It is in the process of manufacturing 11.6 inch Macbook Air units w/ Intel ULV processors inside.

11.6-inch MacBook Air will feature an even slimmer and lighter design than the previous-generation models and the technologies used for the design and concept are expected to be broadly used in the company’s other product lines to boost their competitiveness.

So technically we are talking about a CULV laptop and not a netbook. But the device is going to be as compact as some of the top netbooks on the market. The trouble is, Apple has not shown any willingness to associate itself with the netbook brand. After all, Apple makes premium laptops and netbooks are more for those who have a tight budget to stick to.

It’d be interesting to see how Apple’s netbook would stack up against the iPad. Could it take take sales away from the iPad? It’s possible as long as Apple price these two close together. At this point, we don’t expect Apple to introduce a $500 laptop.

Would you consider investing in an Apple netbook?

Remember the exciting tablet/netbook that Lenovo released a while ago for those who were looking to get the best of both worlds? The company has upgraded its Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3T and added Windows 7 premium to give its owners a better chance to get the most out of their device. The device still weighs 2.76 lbs and offers a pretty similar set of features to its predecessor.

Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3T offers:

• 10.1″ WSVGA LED Glare&Multi-Touch screen
• N450 ATOM Processor
• Intel GMA 3150 Graphics
• 802.11b/g/n Wireless LAN
• Weighs 2.76 lbs
• Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit
• 1.3 Megapixel web cam

The battery life needs some work but this device has only a 4 cell battery (a more powerful battery would help). It does have some unique features that make it a nice alternative to iPad:

If you are not sold on tablets just yet, this netbook/tablet hybrid is a nice way to get your feet wet. This unit retails just below $500 at this point.