Bangalore: There is a bit of history repeating itself as employees in several organizations are buying sub-$400 netbooks, this trend was last seen in 2004 when smartphones were emerging in the market. But, what makes netbook better than the laptops?

According to the latest statistics from research agency DisplaySearch, netbook shipments surged to $3 billion in the second quarter from $845 million in the second quarter of 2008, which is an incredible 264 percent growth. Research firm VDC predicts that 2010 sales will surpass $33 billion

If there is anything to be learnt from the rise of smartphones, it's that resistance to popular new end user devices is futile. According to the latest InformationWeek Analytics report, there are five good reasons why netbooks are gaining more ground in organizations.

1. The capital budget for new PCs, and maybe even smartphones with data plans, is probably frozen. But the low price of netbooks means firms can equip users, who have minimal needs for processing power and not worry about depreciation.

2. Netbooks lack multimedia capabilities. No DVD players, for instance, and Intel reports that a netbook encodes iTunes six times slower than a laptop.

3. Netbooks can be managed just like laptops. Netbooks running Windows can be managed with the standard tools from Altiris, Microsoft and others. They support most encryption software and can be joined to Active Directory.

4. Netbooks consume less power. Sleeker CPU design and smaller overall footprint can result in 10-15 percent less power consumption from a netbook versus a laptop.

5. Netbooks can help get desktop Linux in the door. Some come with preloads of Novell SUSE or Ubuntu Remix. Intel has released its own Moblin (Mobile Linux) for the netbook and also the ever-hyped, Google Chrome operating system reportedly has a netbook focus.