Uh-Oh, Microsoft: Chromebooks win again

For the second holiday shopping season in a row, Chromebooks were the top-selling computers on Amazon.

That's bad news for Microsoft and its hardware partners, which have shifted their Windows 8 computer strategy in 2014 by offering cheaper models. For example, the HP Stream laptop, which got pretty good reviews, only costs $ 200 (Rs 12,750) and comes with a lot of free software like Microsoft Office.

Amazon reported that the top-selling computers were the Acer C720 Chromebook ( $228, Rs 14,500), ASUS 13-inch Chromebook ($220, Rs 14,050), and the HP 112010nr Chromebook ($198, Rs 12,600).

Chromebooks are computers that run Chrome OS, which is essentially just the Chrome web browser with a few extras. They're typically very cheap, around $200 or $300, and only good for basic computing like browsing the web, watching YouTube videos, and emailing.

Amazon's stats point to a real trend in personal computing these days. We use phones and tablets for a large portion of our activities. There's little need for a lot of people to spend $1,000 (Rs 63,000) on a computer when all they want to do is surf the web and check Facebook. A $200 (Rs 12,000) Chromebook is good enough.