Netbooks offer a lighter, cheaper alternative to traditional laptops.

What to expect in a Netbook

Unlike a smart phone, most Netbooks have keyboards big enough for touch typing, and their displays are big enough to render a legible Windows desktop.  Battery life is also surprisingly good, ranging from 3 to 9 hours, comparable with or better than a full-sized laptop.  Most netbooks don't have built-in 3G communications.  That's a costly extra.  If you don't have it, you'll need a Wi-Fi connection to get online.  The hard drive is usually 160 gigabytes, much smaller than most conventional laptops. To use a netbook, you'll do without a built-in DVD or CD drive, usually live with just 1GB of memory as a norm, and settle for less than blazing processing speed.  But while on the go.... routine applications such as Web browsing, e-mail, and word processing should run fine.  Forget about 3D gaming and video-editing, though. For those, you'll be happier with a full-powered machine.

This Dell Inspiron Mini 10 is just 2.5 pounds and starts at $299.00.  It comes in a variety of colors as shown. Netbooks are suitable as secondary systems for performing rountine tasks.

Sources: Consumer Reports Magazine, June 2009 issue and www.dell.com.