We’re living in the world of sophisticated tablets, and phones as (if not more) capable as those tablets. Laptops are still a little too large and a little too expensive to be the most portable computer available, so tablets are beginning to take their place. However, before Apple popularized tablets with the iPad, netbooks gained enough popularity to become the laptop alternative — essentially the same thing tablets are today.

In December of 2011, Dell decided to cease their netbook production, marking a grim future for the tiny laptops. Yesterday, Acer and Asus, the last two of the Big Three of netbook production, also announced they’re ceasing production of their netbooks, basically ringing in the end of netbooks with the new year.

Asus began the market for the modern netbook back in 2007 when it released its Eee PC, which oddly debuted with a Linux-based operating system and an SSD, things that are becoming quite popular now in 2013.

Tablets aren’t the only contributing factor to ending the netbook. Whereas netbooks sacrificed laptop power to achieve a more compact size, ultrabooks reduce size and weight (which was one of the main benefits of netbooks) by generally keep the computing power as a standard laptop. However, ultrabooks tend to be quite expensive, whereas modern netbooks were cheaper than iPads.

If you’re not exactly thrilled with tablets, and are distraught about having to give up your netbook ways, hybrid computers — laptops that have screens you can pop off and use as tablets — are becoming more popular. Unfortunately, they’re much more expensive than a cheap netbook, but they’ll get the job done. If money is a concern, you’ll simply have to get a cheap laptop from outlets like Newegg, and deal with the bulkier size for now.