The latest entrant in the netbook segment is none other than Acer's Packard Bell. The 8.9-inch dot is designed for computer geeks who loves internet surfing on the go. The reason why Packard Bell jumped into netbook segment is that "there remain circumstances where a full-size notebook is too cumbersome or too visible to be practical, and a smart phone is too small." “We’ve been watching netbooks ever since they first appeared. But we’ve always considered them too austere and too business oriented for consumers,” says Emmanuel Fromont, Sales & Marketing Vice President, Packard Bell. “So we told our designers and engineers to rethink the netbook, to look at it through the eyes of a family, not a company. The result is the dot.”

The dot has a slim case that fits neatly into a shoulder bag with an 8.9-inch 1024x600-resolution display. The mini laptop is based on Intel Atom processor, and offers 1GB of RAM, 160GB hard drive, 3x usb 2.0 ports, an extra 6-cell battery for heavy-duty use, 5-in-1 card reader, 802.11b/g wireless, optional 3G, and integrated webcam.

The Windows XP based dot will be available in the European market by November for approx $586.