Netbooks created big hype when Asus released the first iterations of its EEE PC series. Some people just went down and bought it, but others refrained from spending $350 to $500 to buy such a device because they felt that they needed more computing power.

Of course, ultraportable computers like the Vaio TT series are more powerful, but such computers often cost much more and only a small part of the market actually affords to buy one.

Hence, here comes an interesting approach from AMD. The company will showcase Yukon, which aims to be a low-cost and low-power consumption platform. Representatives at the company stated that Yukon is designed to power small budget laptops.

The platform should be more powerful than the Intel’s Atom, which currently powers just about any netbook, but prices will start at about $700, slightly more expensive than high-end netbooks, such as the Asus EEE S101.

The platform will be powered by a 1.6GHz processor and, what is more important, it will have an ATI X1250, which is more capable than Intel’s 950 integrated graphics unit. Furthermore, the platform can also be bundled with the ATI Mobility HD3410, which can render 1080p video content flawlessly and fares better in games.

The first laptop with the new Yukon platform will be the HP Pavilion Dv2. The Dv2 weighs 3.8 pounds, has a magnesium alloy frame and sports a 12-inch LED-backlit screen with a resolution of 1280x800. The netbook comes with a DVD drive and HDMI out, much to the delight of home theater PC users.

The laptop will be powered by a 1.6GHz AMD Athlon Neo MV-40 processor and users will have to choose between the more basic ATI X1250 GPU and the more capable Mobility HD3410. The new Pavilion Dv2 laptop will be available for pre-order and will have prices ranging from $600 to $800.

Currently, netbooks are gaining an increasing share of the laptop market, as they seem to be the ideal mobile device to do everyday tasks, as checking for emails and browsing the internet. However, even though the hardware is capable enough for watching movies and other applications that require more system resources, some people find the 8 to 10 inches screens too little and the resolution of 1024x600 pixels makes is not spacious enough.

Furthermore, some people are put off by the lack of a DVD drive or by the fact that netbooks usually have little storage space. However, these low-end ultraportable computers are very lightweight and some of them have impressive battery life.