netbook

Despite the emergence of trendy new devices like Apple's iPad, netbooks will continue to be one of the fastest-growing notebook segments, according to market research firm DisplaySearch. In a December 2009 report, the company predicted that sales of what it calls "mini-notes" will increase from 16.4 million units in 2008 to 39.7 million by the end of 2010, and account for one in five portables sold.

Computers, notebooks and tablets are cool again – and netbooks, too

The Toshiba mini NB205 is one of the better entries into the $400-and-under netbook market, offering a sharp display, comfortable keyboard and long battery life.

HP's newest netbook is an economy-class version of the company's popular Mini 1000 line.

Asus seems to be spitting out new additions to its netbook line faster than I can count. Nevertheless, the company's designers continue to find ways to refine their machines.

Lenovo takes netbooks seriously--and believes that it delivered a truly awesome model the first time around (it did). That doesn't mean the original S10 was perfect. The S10 (High Capacity) brings a slight refresh with a few bits and bobs that make it an even better deal than before.

Dell strives to improve on its earlier netbook offering, the Inspiron Mini 9, with the new Dell Inspiron Mini 10. In an interesting gambit by Dell, the Inspiron Mini 10 will debut on the QVC shopping network; the unit will be available for sale at Dell.com starting on February 26.

This generation of Intel Atom-based netbooks has reached a certain maturity, with similar components, functions and size, as well as similar prices. Here's how Hewlett-Packard's Mini 1000, Lenovo's IdeaPad S10 and BenQ's Joybook Lite U101 stack up.