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While attending the IFA Show in Berlin a week or two ago I was asked by a journalist what I thought about the nascent mini-note/netbook market. Did I think that this was simply a fad? Would the recent buzz around these devices translate into real sales figures? What was the target market for these compact mobile PCs? Well, I scratched my head for a moment and considered these important questions and considered that many of the latest mini-note PCs where available in a variety of colors with some quite unique and elaborate designs. To me, this is a clear indication of who these devices are aimed at. Young people. Especially young women. I'm sure a lot of young women would love to own an ultra compact notebook similar to Sony's TX range of ultra portables, but with an ultra prohibitive price tag of a grand and a half or more, few actually do. Sony of course were happy courting the business types with a few bob in their expense accounts when they designed the TX notebook range, and this is my point. Small and sexy used to come at a price. A hefty price. So when New York-based fashion designer Vivienne Tam teamed up with HP to develop the HP Clutch , I was far from surprised. It made perfect sense to me. Devices like the VIA C7-M based HP 2133 Mini have proved to be hugely successful. But who's buying them? Techy guys like me? Gamers? Well, possibly. But I've a notion that there's a generation of young boys and girls out there that find being online a lifestyle necessity, and resent being without Facebook, Gmail, Twitter, Flicker and the rest of the Web 2.0 diaspora for any peroid of time. Computers are becoming fashionable and sexy for the first time in history. It's no longer just geeky boys and their toys. Girls need to be connected too. The rise of the mini-note as a serious consumer electronic device is simply an extension of this transition. They're affordable. They're small. And they're also becoming fashionable. So, yeah. How did I answer the original question? Mini-notes are going to be huge. Massive in fact. And of course the experts agree with me.
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