ANTenna Blog -- Mobile

If your company occasionally sends workers out of the office, you might want to consider a having a "loaner" Netbook available to keep them productive without weighing them down. Especially since holiday sales are pushing prices down below $300 on Black Friday.

Most people don't want to do all their computing on a tiny, low-powered Netbook. But most people don't want to lug a full-size laptop everywhere they go, either. And most companies don't want to buy expensive laptops for every employee who occasionally leaves the office.

Netbooks are the answer, and right now there's a slew of Black Friday-style sales that are making full-featured Netbooks available for around $300. While most companies don't like to buy retail, these deals might be a good time to make an exception. Picking up one or two of these babies as "loaner" units for workers who travel seems like a no brainer.

bMighty's Value Gift Guide recommends the Samsung NC10 for its excellent keyboard, and it's a great unit. But if you're shopping the bargain basement, Dell's selling the Linux version of its Mini 9 for $299 on Black Friday. And Staples offers the Windows XP version of the Acer Aspire One for $349.

If you want to keep looking, try this preconfigured Google search created by Mike Elgan.

Of course, you could hold out and wait for the rumored $200 Asus eeePC next year, but sometimes a Netbook in the hand is worth more than a cheaper one in the bush. Or something like that.