ASUS N10Jc-A1

Since their inception, netbooks have followed a simple common blueprint with definable characteristics. They generally weigh under 3 pounds, cost less than $500, and cram in basic parts—small battery, integrated graphics, and a conservative feature set. With the ASUS N10Jc-A1 ($650 street), you can throw this blueprint out the window. It's essentially a netbook on steroids, with uncharacteristic features like switching graphics, a standard six-cell battery, and an HDMI port. Though ASUS, departing from its netbook naming convention, left off the "EeePC" (a brand synonymous with netbooks), the N10Jc still has strong ties to the netbook family. Its feature set and long battery life will appeal to small-business users and anyone looking for a little more in a netbook.

AsusTek Computer Inc.

http://www.asus.com

• Price as Tested: $650.00 Street
• Type: General Purpose, Ultraportable, Value, Small Business, Netbook
• Operating System: MS Windows XP Home
• Processor Name: Intel Atom N270
• Processor Speed: 1.6 GHz
• RAM: 1 GB
• Weight: 3.5 lb
• Screen Size: 10.2 inches
• Screen Size Type: widescreen
• Graphics Card: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950
• Storage Capacity: 160 GB
• Networking Options: 802.11g
• Primary Optical Drive: External

HP Mini 1000

Hewlett-Packard was one of the first companies to join the netbook revolution. In response to ASUS' Eee PC 4G, it quickly launched the HP 2133 Mini-Note PC, which I reviewed this past April. HP's latest netbook, the Mini 1000 ($550 direct), is modeled after the polished look of HP's Pavilion line and includes the Intel Atom platform. More so than HP's first effort, the new Mini 1000 better fits in with current netbook offerings such as the Lenovo IdeaPad S10, the MSI Wind, and Acer Aspire One. Whereas the Mini-note was primarily geared towards grade-schoolers and was pricey ($749 direct), the Mini 1000 will appeal to anyone looking for a solid, totable laptop for light-duty office and Internet tasks.

Hewlett-Packard Company

http://www.hp.com

• Price as Tested: $550.00 Direct
• Type: General Purpose, Ultraportable, Value, Netbook
• Operating System: MS Windows XP Home
• Processor Name: Intel Atom N270
• Processor Speed: 1.6 GHz
• RAM: 1 GB
• Weight: 2.5 lb
• Screen Size: 10.2 inches
• Screen Size Type: widescreen
• Graphics Card: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950
• Storage Capacity: 60 GB
• Networking Options: 802.11g
• Primary Optical Drive: External

MSI Wind U120

The newest version of the MSI Wind is just over 10-inches in length, 7-inches in width and is 1.3-inches thick at its thickest point. Weighing in at around 3 pounds, the U120 is designed for portability without sacrificing performance. The Wind U120 will feature Intel WiMAX Technology or 3.5G Solution (optional), offering users the ability to connect in more places and work online at faster speeds. MSI also included a spacious 160 GB SATA 2.5 inch hard drive, 3 USB ports, a 4-1 card reader and ships the Wind U120 with either standard or retractable mouse for users who prefer not to use the touch pad.

Micro-Star International Co Ltd (MSI)

http://www.msicomputer.com

• Price as Tested:
• Type: Ultraportable, Value
• Operating System: MS Windows XP Home
• Processor Speed: 1.6 GHz
• RAM: 1 GB
• Weight: 2.6 lb
• Screen Size: 10 inches
• Screen Size Type: standard
• Graphics Card: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950
• Storage Capacity: 160 GB
• Networking Options: 802.11b, 802.11g, Bluetooth

ASUS EeePC 1002HA

The name EeePC doesn't exactly roll off your tongue, but it's the brand most synonymous with oh-so-popular netbooks. The craze for these diminutive laptops all started with the EeePC 4G, which launched about a year ago, and today ASUS has the most netbook variants—at least nine. The ASUS EeePC 1002HA ($500 street) is yet another twist on the pioneer netbook model. At a time when everyone else is going with either white or a colored frame, the 1002HA now sports a more elegant, gunmetal-hued look. And the meager parts that were used for the EeePC 4G—the 4GB SSD drive and Celeron M processor—have now flowered into a 160GB hard drive and an Intel Atom processor. It's easily one of the top choices for a netbook, although the MSI Wind still has the upper hand.

AsusTek Computer Inc.

http://www.asus.com

• Price as Tested: $499.00 List
• Type: General Purpose, Ultraportable, Value, Netbook
• Operating System: MS Windows XP Home
• Processor Name: Intel Atom N270
• Processor Speed: 1.6 GHz
• RAM: 1 GB
• Weight: 2.7 lb
• Screen Size: 10.2 inches
• Screen Size Type: widescreen
• Graphics Card: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950
• Storage Capacity: 160 GB
• Networking Options: 802.11g
• Primary Optical Drive: External

Gateway MD7801u

It's slightly misleading to call the Gateway MD7801u ($800 street) the budget version of the MC7803u, as they're both priced under $1,000—inexpensive for media center laptops. Their frames are beautifully designed, their features are ample, and their performance is more than satisfactory. The differences are subtle: The MC7803u has more bells and whistles, like a bigger glass screen, an illuminated keyboard, and a 3D graphics card. The MD7801u justified leaving those things out with a $200 lower price, so either one is a good choice.

Gateway Inc

http://www.gateway.com

• Price as Tested: $800.00 Street
• Type: General Purpose, Media, Value
• Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
• Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo T6400
• Processor Speed: 2 GHz
• RAM: 4 GB
• Weight: 6.7 lb
• Screen Size: 15.6 inches
• Screen Size Type: widescreen
• Graphics Card: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
• Storage Capacity: 500 GB
• Networking Options: 802.11n
• Primary Optical Drive: Dual-Layer DVD+/-RW

HP Mini 1000 Mi

If Ubuntu is as foreign to you as Klingon, you probably found last year's initial crop of Linux-based netbooks far less appealing than their XP counterparts, which were released later by the likes of Acer, HP, and MSI. The open-source operating system may seem intimidating for the uninitiated, but a well-designed Linux build doesn't have to be. Linux offers plenty of advantages as a netbook platform: It requires less memory, taxes your processor less, and brings the cost down, to boot. (The base price for an XP system with the same specs is $20 more.) On a blind test, even the most code-phobic user might mistake HP's custom Ubuntu build for any old Media Center interface. Providing a seamless, user-friendly Linux experience is exactly where the new Mi (Mobile Internet) edition of the HP Mini 1000 ($424.99 direct) excels. Basically, it's the same gorgeous netbook we praised back in October, delivering an environment that's comfortable and familiar to longtime Windows users.

Hewlett-Packard Company

http://www.hp.com

• Price as Tested: $425.00 Direct
• Type: Gaming, Ultraportable, Value, Netbook
• Operating System: HP Mobile Internet (Linux)
• Processor Name: Intel Atom N270
• Processor Speed: 1.6 GHz
• RAM: 1 GB
• Weight: 2.5 lb
• Screen Size: 10.1 inches
• Screen Size Type: widescreen
• Graphics Card: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950
• Storage Capacity: 60 GB
• Networking Options: 802.11g

HP Compaq 6530b

The HP Compaq 6530b is a business travelers companion. This 14.1-inch form-factor is the smaller version of the new HP Compaq 6730b Notebook PC. Weighing in 0.5 lb lighter, it still packs the same great balance of Intel Core 2 Duo processor technology, HP Mobile Broadband and HP BIOS security features to be your next indispensible and trusted travelling companion.

Hewlett-Packard Company

http://www.hp.com

• Price as Tested: $649.00 List
• Type: Ultraportable, Business
• Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista Business
• Processor Speed: 1.66 GHz
• Weight: 5.3 lb
• Screen Size: 14.1 inches
• Screen Size Type: widescreen
• Graphics Card: Integrated Intel GMA X4500HD
• Storage Capacity: 160 GB

HP Compaq 6530b

The HP Compaq 6530b is a business travelers companion. This 14.1-inch form-factor is the smaller version of the new HP Compaq 6730b Notebook PC. Weighing in 0.5 lb lighter, it still packs the same great balance of Intel Core 2 Duo processor technology, HP Mobile Broadband and HP BIOS security features to be your next indispensible and trusted travelling companion.

Hewlett-Packard Company

http://www.hp.com

• Price as Tested: $649.00 List
• Type: Ultraportable, Business
• Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista Business
• Processor Speed: 1.66 GHz
• Weight: 5.3 lb
• Screen Size: 14.1 inches
• Screen Size Type: widescreen
• Graphics Card: Integrated Intel GMA X4500HD
• Storage Capacity: 160 GB

ASUS EeePC 1000HE

ASUS is well into double digits in the number of netbook variants it has launched, and this seasoning has finally paid off with its best one yet. What's more, the ASUS EeePC 1000HE ($400 street) dethrones the MSI Wind as the leader of the pack of pint-sized laptop wannabes. What puts it on top is not its use of the first-ever Intel Atom N280 processor or its elegantly tucked-away six-cell battery, or even its revamped keyboard. In a category where price sensitivity is paramount, the 1000HE is the new Editors' Choice because it delivers all of these things at a low price. For a limited time, you can even knock an additional $25 off by subscribing to ASUS's Facebook group, or by preordering the 1000HE through an e-tailer.

AsusTek Computer Inc.

http://www.asus.com

• Price as Tested: $400.00 Street
• Type: General Purpose, Ultraportable, Value, Netbook
• Operating System: MS Windows XP Home
• Processor Name: Intel Atom N280
• Processor Speed: 1.66 GHz
• RAM: 1 GB
• Weight: 3.2 lb
• Screen Size: 10.1 inches
• Screen Size Type: widescreen
• Graphics Card: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950
• Storage Capacity: 160 GB
• Networking Options: 802.11n
• Primary Optical Drive: External

Acer Aspire One (10-inch)

By late last year, the Acer Aspire One had beat out ASUS's combined offerings to become the top-selling netbook—or so market research firm DisplaySearch concluded. The One's primacy has been confirmed by Amazon.com—which ranked it as its best seller over the Christmas holiday—as well as other sites that monitor laptop sales. The One reached this pinnacle despite a smaller-than-average (8.9-inch) screen and a pair of awkwardly placed mouse buttons, because it was (and still is) the most aggressively priced netbook around. The Acer Aspire One (10-inch) ($350 street) is the long-overdue update, and as its name implies, the screen size has finally caught up with its 10-inch peers. The mouse buttons, furthermore, have been relocated to their correct positions—beneath the touchpad. It's not the best-equipped netbook, now that the ASUS EeePC 1000HE has landed. But that shouldn't affect the One's blistering sales pace, because Acer addresses the most crucial part of a netbook: price.

Acer Inc.

http://www.acer.com

• Price as Tested: $350.00 Street
• Type: General Purpose, Ultraportable, Value, Netbook
• Operating System: MS Windows XP Home
• Processor Name: Intel Atom N270
• Processor Speed: 1.6 GHz
• RAM: 1 GB
• Weight: 2.9 lb
• Screen Size: 10.1 inches
• Screen Size Type: widescreen
• Graphics Card: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950
• Storage Capacity: 160 GB
• Networking Options: 802.11g
• Primary Optical Drive: External

MacBook Air- Apple Introduces The World’s Thinnest Notebook

Apple CEO Steve Jobs proudly introduced the new, incredibly thin Macbook Air notebook during his Macworld keynote today. It takes the title of "world’s thinnest notebook" measuring just 0.16-inches at its thinnest point, and a maximum height of 0.76-inches.

In fact, Jobs brought the new MacBook Air on to the stage packed in a manila envelope to prove how thin it is.

Macbook Air (starting price: $1,799) is slim, but it's not slim on features. It has 13.3-inch LED-backlit widescreen display, a full-size and backlit keyboard, a built-in iSight video camera for video conferencing, plus a spacious trackpad with multi-touch gesture support, as seen on the iPhone, that lets users pinch, rotate and swipe, and five hours of battery life! Powered by a miniaturized 1.6 GHz or 1.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 4MB L2 cache, Mac Book Air includes 2GB of memory, an 80GB 1.8-inch hard drive, or optional 64GB solid state drive, speedy 802.11n Wi-Fi technology and Bluetooth 2.1.

MacBook Air does not include an opticle drive, but you can buy the USB-powered companion MacBook Air SuperDrive for $99.Ports on the MacBook Air include a micro-DVI port for connecting displays and projectors via DVI, VGA, Composite and S-video adapters, and USB 2.0, and a headphone jack. Apple’s MagSafe 45 Watt Power Adapter is also included.

MacBook Air $1,799 configuration features:

* 13.3-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display with 1280x800 resolution;

* 1.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 4MB L2 cache;

* 800 MHz front-side bus;

* 2GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM;

* 80GB hard disk drive with Sudden Motion Sensor;

* Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100;

* Micro-DVI port (includes Micro-DVI to VGA and Micro-DVI to DVI Adapters);

* built-in iSight video camera;

* built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;

* one USB 2.0 port;

* one headphone port;

* multi-touch TrackPad with support for advanced multi-touch gestures including tap, scroll, pinch, rotate and swipe; and

* 45 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter

Apple