Gateway UC7807u

Gateway has been working hard to align its business model with that of Acer, its parent company, by making the majority of its laptops affordable for the masses. If you stroll into any Best Buy or PC retailer, you'd be hard pressed to find a Gateway-branded laptop for over $1,000. The UC7807u ($800 street), a mainstream laptop, is priced accordingly, and Gateway paid close attention to its design: The barreled hinge, the brushed aluminum interior, and the lacquered top are all noteworthy. But along with the aesthetics, Gateway also piles on the weight: The UC7807u is one the heaviest 13-inch laptops on the market.

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: 3 GB
• Weight: 5.3 lb
• Screen Size: 13.3 inches
• Screen Size Type: widescreen
• Graphics Card: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
• Storage Capacity: 250 GB
• Networking Options: 802.11n
• Primary Optical Drive: Dual-Layer DVD+/-RW

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

Fujitsu LifeBook U820

The proliferation of netbooks and even smartphones has all but made handheld PCs like the Sony VAIO VGN-UX180P and the OQO model 02 obsolete. Their downfall is that they're expensive, severely underpowered, and have cramped, uncomfortable keyboards. On the bright side, they run a full-blown operating system and can be palmed and pocketed—almost—like a smartphone. Fujitsu thinks that there's still a market for them, though. The LifeBook U820 ($1,199 direct) is an update to the U810, retaining its handheld/convertible tablet PC form factor. Unfortunately, the so-called improvements—new keyboard layout, higher screen resolution, and GPS functionality—aren't enough to stop the bleeding.

Fujitsu Computer Products of America

http://www.fujitsu.com

• Price as Tested: $1,199.00 Direct
• Type: General Purpose, Ultraportable, Tablet, Business, Small Business
• Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
• Processor Name: Intel Atom Z530
• Processor Speed: 1.6 GHz
• RAM: 1 GB
• Weight: 1.5 lb
• Screen Size: 5.6 inches
• Screen Size Type: widescreen
• Graphics Card: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 500
• Storage Capacity: 60 GB
• Networking Options: 802.11g
• Primary Optical Drive: External

Acer Aspire One

Acer has developed a reputation for selling inexpensive systems worldwide, so it's only natural that it would come up with its own affordable netbook (or UMPC). Pressure from the ASUS EeePC and the HP 2133 Mini-Note made the company realize that it had to be on the same gravy train. The Acer Aspire One ($319 street) enters a quickly expanding field of miniature laptops, in a race to see who can out-shrink one another while staying within a strict budget. It has the performance potential to surpass the competition and a $319 entry point is just as cheap as the Asus EeePC, but the typing and navigating experience is not on a par with its competitors.

Acer Inc.

http://www.acer.com

• Price as Tested: $380.00 Street
• Type: General Purpose, Ultraportable, Tablet, Netbook
• Operating System: Linpus Linux Lite
• Processor Name: Intel Atom N270
• Processor Speed: 1.6 GHz
• RAM: 512 MB
• Weight: 2.1 lb
• Screen Size: 8.9 inches
• Screen Size Type: widescreen
• Graphics Card: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950
• Storage Capacity: 8 GB
• Networking Options: 802.11a/g
• Primary Optical Drive: External

Lenovo IdeaPad S10 (Red)

Lenovo didn't waste any time launching its own netbook when ASUS, HP, and Acer first introduced theirs. That first version of the Lenovo IdeaPad S10 possessed many desirable netbook traits, including an ExpressCard slot and a 10-inch widescreen, that kept the other three from running away with this category. But that was six months ago. Since then, netbooks have been evolving at a furious pace, with manufacturers improving aesthetics, slashing prices, and bridging the features gap between them and mainstream laptops. New to the IdeaPad S10 (Red) ($410 street) are a Linux pre-boot environment and several color options, and it's still one of only two netbooks (the other is the HP Mini 2140 with an ExpressCard slot. The additions, unfortunately, are overshadowed by a small keyboard and a pricing strategy that lacks aggression.

Lenovo

http://www.lenovo.com

• Price as Tested: $410.00 Direct
• Type: General Purpose, Media, Value, Netbook
• Operating System: MS Windows XP Home
• Processor Name: Intel Atom N270
• Processor Speed: 1.6 GHz
• RAM: 1 GB
• Weight: 3 lb
• Screen Size: 10.2 inches
• Screen Size Type: widescreen
• Graphics Card: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950
• Storage Capacity: 160 GB
• Networking Options: 802.11a/g
• Primary Optical Drive: External

Samsung P560-54G

The Samsung P560-54G ($1,150 street) gives you just about everything you need in a general-purpose laptop except a desirable design. A big 15.4-inch widescreen, an HDMI port, and a midrange Nvidia 3D chipset are praiseworthy, but this machine is a hard sell when the competition is offering similar features for less money. More important, it lacks a winning design, an effective (if somewhat deceptive) extra that makes potential buyers forgive flaws. Unless there is a significant price reduction through one of Samsung's online retail partners, the Acer Aspire 6930G-6723 or the Gateway MC7803u are less expensive—and they're more visually rewarding.

Samsung Electronics

http://www.samsung.com

• Price as Tested: $1,150.00 Street
• Type: General Purpose, Media, Value, Small Business
• Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista Business
• Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo T5800
• Processor Speed: 2 GHz
• RAM: 3 GB
• Weight: 5.9 lb
• Screen Size: 15.4 inches
• Screen Size Type: widescreen
• Graphics Card: nVidia GeForce 9600M GS
• Storage Capacity: 320 GB
• Networking Options: 802.11n
• Primary Optical Drive: Dual-Layer DVD+/-RW

Dell Inspiron Mini 12

If there was any question that the gap between ultraportables and netbooks is ever-shrinking, Dell's newest model answers in the affirmative. Though it's definitely a netbook (determined by its undersize keyboard and Intel Atom platform), the Dell Inspiron Mini 12 ($524 direct) is the only model of its kind with a 12-inch screen—a compelling size for multitasking. Dell, being the powerhouse that it is, was able to strong-arm Intel (the company that has the firmest grip on the netbook market) into letting it produce such an anomaly. More enticing is that its weight is approximately the same as that of comparable but smaller, 10-inch netbooks like the HP Mini 2140 and the MSI Wind. The Mini 12 isn't without some drawbacks, though. An undersize keyboard and the slow-spinning hard drive are signs that it won't threaten the market for more expensive ultraportables, though the screen alone should rid it of some netbook stereotypes.

Dell, Inc.

http://www.dell.com

• Price as Tested: $524.00 Direct
• Type: General Purpose, Ultraportable, Netbook
• Operating System: Ubuntu Linux
• Processor Name: Intel Atom Z540
• Processor Speed: 1.6 GHz
• RAM: 1 GB
• Weight: 2.7 lb
• Screen Size: 12 inches
• Screen Size Type: widescreen
• Graphics Card: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 500
• Storage Capacity: 60 GB
• Networking Options: 802.11g
• Primary Optical Drive: External