[benoau]

...and yet this sparked a revolution called netbooks that took over a full 20% of the laptop market at their peak.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netbook

[doubled112]

They sold well. In my experience working at Staples at that time, small and cheap beat any other consideration for many customers. Hard to argue with a $99 PC.

A few months later, they'd realize it wasn't working out, come back, scream at us, and buy something bigger and faster.

I really liked the MSI one I had, but I knew what I was getting into.

[vel0city]

Yes, a ton of people bought them. Then they took them home and used them. Then they bought something else.

Now we don't really have mass-production netbooks anymore.

[regularfry]

Part of that was incidental factors. The 701 happened partly because of a glut of cheap, standardised screens designed for that first generation of in-car dashboard sat-nav systems.

It didn't help that those screens weren't particularly good.

[fragmede]

Even Apple made an 11" laptop in that era!

[lowbloodsugar]

I mean, I did buy one =)