CES 2009: 8 Products For Your Business

Netbooks

Netbooks are the hottest thing in consumer technology right now, which is probably why CES was chockablock with new little guys. But bMighty has long espoused netbooks as inexpensive laptop alternatives for workers who occasionally find themselves working on the road. According to InformationWeek, more and more businesses are starting to agree that netbooks make good business sense.

HP, particularly, is living the business netbook dream with its new HP 2140 update of last year's underpowered HP 2133. From the aluminum casing to options like WiMax, a long-lasting 6-cell battery, and 80-GB solid state hard drive (SSD), this is a real business machine... at a real business price of up to $700! Dell's new Inspiron Mini 10 likely will be a lower-priced competitor.

Even more reasonably priced is the new MSI Wind U115 hybrid, which combines an 8-GB SSD and a 160-GB "regular" hard drive. By adding the solid-state drive to the popular Wind U100, MSI speeds start-up and extends battery life, without sacrificing the storage space that can only be economically provided by a standard hard drive. Netbooks that run a hybrid combo of Windows and Linux are increasingly common, but this is the only one we've seen with two kinds of hard drives.

And then there's Sony's slick new Vaio P Series Lifestyle PC. It's teeny, weighing in at just 1.4 pounds and sporting an 8-inch screen, but it costs a whopping $900. With its instant media player and "Sony Style," we're thinking that this one is mostly a fancy consumer toy, but you'd be more than happy to carry one to a business meeting or conference.

Finally, check out some of the cool new netbooks still in the works. Here's an InformationWeek video of the new Asus EeePC P91 Tablet, with a swivel touch screen and lots of other cool features. Or this Toshiba prototype with a detachable screen!

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