Netbooks have been very popular since they launched and the economy went bad. Many consumers are finding the low price point of the typical netbook to be hard to pass up. As sales of netbooks soar, overall revenues in the notebook category are slipping.

Research firm DisplaySearch has released its latest numbers for the notebook and netbook category and the value of the notebook PC market as a whole was $26.4 billion, up 10% quarter over quarter, but down 5% year over year. The netbook segment was the biggest growth category with an increase from last quarter of 37% and a year over year increase of 264%.

LG has just unveiled its latest notebook series called WIDEBOOK, which offers a cinematic 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio. There will be five new models in all; the R580/R560, R480/R460 and R380. All are LED backlit and powered by Intel Core 2 Duo processors.

The R580 and R560 feature a 15.6” display while the R480 and R460 units include a 14” screen and the smaller R380 sports a 13.3” panel. The R580 and R480 are the premium models, boasting stylish designs, while the R560 and R460 are for reliable everyday computing.

BenQ has just unveiled two new CULV notebooks. The 13.3-inch Joybook S35 and the 14-inch Joybook S43. Both feature the Consumer Ultra Low Voltage or CULV processor and you have options of several processors for both, like a 1.4GHz single core, Core 2 Solo, a 1.2GHz Celeron 723, a 1.3GHz Core 2 Duo SU7300 or a 1.3GHz Celeron 743.

The S43 features an ATI Mobility Radeon HD4330 graphics card while the S35 has an Intel GMA4500M. Both also sport eSATA, Wi-Fi, HDMI and a webcam as well as Bluetooth 2.1 w/EDR and a 500GB HDD upgrade option. Both feature a 1,366 x 768 resolution LED backlit screen.

Students only have a few weeks left before they have to head back to school in many areas of the country. It may seem like summer just started, but the end of July is already here and back to school shopping season is underway.

Best Buy has announced a new and exclusive laptop line for students heading back to school called the Next Class line. The line has products from HP, Toshiba, Sony, and Dell and is available in Best Buy stores nationwide and online now through the fall.

A new Sony docking station being made available for VAIOs makes use of DisplayLink technology for USB-enabled displays. It is called the Sony VAIO Docking Station (model number VGP-UPR1) and you’ll find it available now for around $200.

The VGP-UPR1, according to DisplayLink, allows Sony notebook users to connect an analog or DVI display to a laptop using USB 2.0. It supports a resolution up to 1600 x 1200 and works with Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Vista 32-bit and 64-bit, including support for the Windows Vista Aero interface.

One of the best Logitech keyboards I have used is the di Novo Edge. The keyboard is thin and has fantastic battery life. I often used the keyboard with my notebook when on the go thanks to its thin design, but it was still a bit large for a notebook keyboard.

Logitech has announced a new keyboard today called the di Novo Keyboard for Notebooks. The keyboard looks similar to the di Novo Edge with a thin profile and aluminum on the wrist rest. The di Novo for notebooks is 17.01″ L x 6.81″ W x 0.87″ H and weighs 1.98 pounds with four AAA batteries.

Dell today launched the new “Studio” line of laptops following the trend of more consumers who would like a little more style and customization available for their portable computers. Kicking off the Studio laptops Dell launched the Dell Studio 15 and Dell Studio 17, which come with a 15.4″ and 17.1″ display, respectively.

Both notebooks carry the drop hinge and “wedge” shape seen in the XPS laptops from Dell and both come in a range of vibrant and loud colors, capacitve touchpad and multimedia buttons that light-up when pressed, and an optional backlit keyboard. They also have the option of built-in broadband connections through Sprint or Verizon, Blu-ray drive, slot-loading drives and you can even get a mercury-free LED display if you ask. Dell has put some thought to your laptop accessories as well, offering mice, backpacks, sleeves and earbuds that are colored to match.

MSI is putting the new Intel Atom to work in a new 10-inch notebook designed for ultra mobile on the go usage. It is called the MSI Wind and you’ll find it pricing around $500 for the Windows version and $400 for a Linux one.

The MSI Wind, besides offering Windows XP or Linux for an operating system, offers up the Intel Atom 1.6GHz processor at its heart. The title is actually an acronym for “Wi-Fi Network Device,” indicating this laptop supports 802.11 b/g, with Bluetooth wireless support also thrown in for good measure.

We’ve finally run across some solid-looking information about that highly-rumored portable notebook coming from Intel. The small education-targeted computer will be named 2go PC and comes with a very decent set of features including an Intel Celeron M processor and 512 MB of memory (upgradable to 1GB).

If you look close you can make out the details in the spec sheet after the jump, but to save you some eye strain some of the notable features include overall dimensions of 8.7″x7.3″x1.5″, a 9″ LCD (840×480), 40GB 4200RPM HDD, 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi, a SDMMC memory card reader, integrated 30fps camera and it runs Windows XP and has support for Linux.

ASUS this week slapped Windows XP officially as a pre-install onto its Eee PC product. The company also incorporated Windows Live and Microsoft Works features.

With the addition of Windows XP, ASUS said, users will have a “fuss-free” platform and a “dependable” operating environment - sure, ok (blue screen of death). Works will offer, of course, your typical word processing and spreadsheet programs, while Windows Live brings to the table online email, instant messaging and photo management.

Lenovo this week rolled out an extremely thin notebook PC which is described as being lightweight and fully functional. The Lenovo ThinkPad X300 is priced at around $2,800 starting.

DRS Tactical Systems announced today a line of portable computers which could probably just as easily survive in military situations as well as your backyard. It is called the Armor line and it consists of the C12 convertible notebook and the X10 tablet PC.

Today Apple released a much anticipated upgrade to the MacBook and the MacBook Pro, bringing new faster processors, a mult-touch track pad and the same old physical look that they had before. The most significant update is that both the MacBook and the MacBook Pro got new Intel Penryn processing chips along with a few other changes to the notebooks; some good, some not so good.

“And then the skies parted, the angels sang, the birds twittered and down from Apple Heaven floated the MacBook Air.”

Yes…if you hadn’t guessed it…Apple just announced the MacBook Air is now shipping. It also put out word that the expected Apple TV update to let you rent HD movies is “not quite finished.” It should be available in another week or so.

“And all were happy in the Apple World.”

It looks like those MacBook Air rumors were really not too far off. Today Steve Jobs announced the latest addition to the MacBook lineup at MacWorld in San Francisco, touting it as the thinnest notebook in the world. The MacBook Air measures a mere 0.16 inches at its thinnest point, and it only gets as thick as 0.76 inches at the hinged end.

The Air Mac will start shipping in about two weeks with a retail price of $1,799, and comes with the following features: