The netbook category is posting record growth and leading the computer industry in terms of sales. Many consumers are going with a netbook when shopping for a new computer thanks to the low price most netbooks sale for.

Price isn’t everything though and many buy without realizing the performance difference between a netbook and a notebook or desktop computer. According to a new study from ABI Research, a whopping 79% of consumers believe that netbooks are secondary devices to a more powerful notebook or desktop computer.

I am betting that many consumers still see the notebook as a secondary device to a desktop computer, so some of these numbers may be a bit biased. The study showed that 11% of respondents would use a netbook as their only computer. Take your average netbook and throw in an external display, mouse and keyboard and most computer users could use a netbook as their primary machine.

ABI Research