Intel: First Time PC Buyers Don't Get Netbooks

Apparently, netbooks aren't the real deal.

Entry level computers for first-time computer buyers are usually inexpensive, no-frills, and usually just perform basic functions. The same descriptors could be applied to netbooks, Intel says that the little machines aren't appealing to those buying his or her first PC.

"I don't think first-time buyers are going to buy netbooks," Sean Maloney, Intel's general manager of sales and marketing, Intel Technology Summit on Wednesday in San Francisco, quoted by Reuters. "The first time you buy something you want the real deal. It's consistent not just in China, but all around the world."

"Netbooks are predominantly... a second or third purchase from someone who's already got a notebook," he said, according to Engadget. "The first time you buy something, you want the real deal. It's a human behavior thing... it's [the same] all around the world."

"If you're going to spend your hard-earned money for the first time, you're going to put a computer in your house," Maloney added.

This doesn't represent any change in stance at Intel, as it always maintained that netbooks were always a supplementary purchase for those who already owned a computer.

Netbooks are adequate machines for those only looking from a computer the ability to surf the internet and email – and this represents a large portion of internet users. Regardless of whether or not netbooks are attractive or viable first PC purchases, Intel's probably going to be pleased as long as it's one of its chips.