The newest developments in portable internet access and computing are threatening more traditional methods of accessing these commodities, it has been revealed.

John Dunn, the editor of Techworld, said the laptop had effectively been reinvented in the form of the netbook, with the "slightly new guise" of smaller features and increased portability helping it slowly get a foothold on the market to the point where it is threatening the dominance of laptops.

He added that other characteristics, such as a better battery life, a lighter body and the necessary performance to meet demands are all selling points of netbooks.

Mr Dunn also noted that the future of netbooks was unknown, yet it may be likely to start a production trend.

He concluded: "Nobody knows but a few manufacturers will start to suffer if this trend eats into sales of mainstream laptops with 15.4-inch screens, especially companies such as Sony, which recently brought out a very misconceived netbook with an £850 price tag."

According to the Association of British Insurers, only 11 per cent of people are willing to use a netbook as a primary computer.

According to a recent survey by Connect, the two biggest IT headaches for businesses were 'everyday hassles with IT' (37 per cent) and 'security concerns' (32 per cent).