There is no denying the popularity of netbooks, but there’s still much debate about who’s buying them and for what purpose. Netbooks were conceived for emerging markets–along the lines of the OLPC’s XO laptop and Intel’s Classmate PC–but they turned out to be more popular in developed countries. More recently, Intel has downplayed them as “toys” that may complement, but won’t cannibalize, real PCs. Still, as netbooks become more capable, it’s almost certain that some consumers are choosing them over pricier ultraportables.