The roots of the netbook can be traced to Psion's discontinued netBook line, the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project and the Palm Foleo which were all small, light network-enabled computers, however the influx of netbooks began in 2007 when Asus unveiled the ASUS Eee PC. Originally designed for emerging markets, the 8.9 × 6.5 in (23 x 17 cm) device weighed about two pounds and featured a 7-inch display, a keyboard approximately 85% the size of a normal keyboard, and a custom version of Linux with a simplified user interface geared towards netbook use.
Following the EeePC, Everex launched its Linux based CloudBook, MSI released the Wind, Dell and HP both released a "Mini" series (the Inspiron Mini and HP Mini), and others soon followed suit. Windows XP based models were also introduced.
By late 2008, netbooks had begun to take market share away from laptops. It is estimated that almost thirty times more netbooks were sold in 2008 (11.4 million, 70% of which were in Europe) than in 2007 (400,000). For 2009 sales are expected to jump to 35 million, rising to an estimated 139 million in 2013. This trend is reinforced by the rise of web-based applications as well as mobile networking and, according to Wired Magazine, netbooks are evolving into "super-portable laptops for professionals".
