By Ben Charny
of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
SAN FRANCISCO -(Dow Jones)- Dell Inc. (DELL) is betting location-based services will help it locate a lot more buyers for its netbooks.
Dell next week plans to begin selling Dell Mini 10 netbooks with features like turn-by-turn directions or locating the nearest business. The new features are also likely to find their way into additional Dell netbooks.
Loosely defined, netbooks are portable computing devices that are functionally between a smartphone and a low-end notebook. Typically, each has a screen of 10 inches or smaller and costs less than $300.
The new feature helps differentiate its netbooks from competitors, which could position Dell to gain additional market share of an important segment of the PC market. Dell is the No. 2 computer seller, with Asustek Computer Inc. (2357-TAI) a close third. Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) is the world's top computer seller.
Netbook sales are an important part of the recession-hit PC market. Netbook sales should double in 2009 to around 25 million. Meanwhile, overall sales PC sales should decline 6% this year, according to market watcher Gartner Inc.
Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) popular iPhone has helped raise the profile of location-based services. The smartphone from Apple now features a compass and turn-by-turn directions.
"We're betting that location services will be a hit in netbooks," Dell chief blogger Lionel Menchaca wrote in a posting Tuesday on Dell's official Web site.
-By Ben Charny; Dow Jones Newswires; 415-765-8230; ben.charny@dowjones.com