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but the new numbers from npd prove conclusively that if it's a rock, it's getting a terrific roll.

in the first months of 2008, netbooks ended up lower than two percent of laptop computer sales. by december, that had shot up to twelve % of complete unit quantity — and accounted for almost two-thirds of the revenue increase inside the entire laptop category.

now, instead of wondering about whether there's a place for netbooks, analysts worry that they'll make a sizable dent inside the overall pc market, and, because of their low price point, also cut into profit margins for computer companies hard-hit by the economic downturn.

so what's in a netbook, and who can really make use of them?

the devices themselves have screen sizes of roughly 7 inches to 10 inches; they have usb ports, multi-card slots and most have an ethernet port.

onboard memory generally stops at one gigabyte (gb). storage starts at a tiny 4 gb flash-based solid-state-drive (ssd) and goes up as high as 160 gb with a traditional hard drive. most come loaded with variants of either windows xp home or linux.

netbooks are making significant inroads from the education market. the student sitting next to me on the train was writing a paper using research and class notes she'd previously entered. she used an external cd/dvd drive to load software like microsoft office, and a flash drive to move documents around from her netbook to her desktop.

netbooks also seem ideal for people whose primary need while traveling is internet access, which the netbooks handle well. i recommended one to a friend who's never owned a computer but asks her acquaintances to look things up on the web and admits she'd like to start using e-mail.

most netbooks are small enough to fit in a big handbag or a small briefcase. they fit comfortably on the tray table of cramped airliners, and will be even more useful now that some airlines are offering onboard wireless internet service. and they're certainly easier to type on than a smartphone's tiny keyboard.

all netbooks are created equal ... but some are more equal than others

we looked at six different netbook models, though with their nameplates covered you might be hard pressed to tell one from the next.

most were built around intel's atom processor; some used ssds, others regular hard drives. none came with a cd/dvd drive,Microsoft Office Standard, though all had slots for sd memory cards, standard usb ports, built-in webcams and wi-fi. most had ethernet ports and vga connections for external monitors.

here's a brief rundown:

dell inspiron mini 9, $299 and up,Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2007, depending on configuration

dell's smallest netbook uses a 1.6 ghz intel atom processor originally designed for smartphones and other portable devices. it weighs a mere 2.3 pounds, has a smallish 8.9 inch screen and a slightly reduced keyboard (about 12 percent smaller than a standard keyboard). it also comes with a rather petite 8 gb ssd rather than a hard disk drive. ports include a multi-card reader, 3 usb ports and a vga port.

the unit we looked at came with windows xp, but you can also get it with a dell variant of linux. that may be fine for web surfing but could create problems if you needed to share it with windows-configured peripherals.

battery life is advertised as four hours, not quite the cross-country flight standard, but certainly more than what you'll need to surf at starbucks. nevertheless, with a built-in web cam and wi-fi, the mini 9 could be the perfect solution for inveterate web surfers.

asus eee pc 900, $250 and up

taiwan's asus was one of the pioneers within the netbook category. its netbook eee pc 900a-wfbb01, like the dell, uses a 1.6 ghz intel atom processor (other models come with the older celeron processor), an 8.9-inch screen, 3 usb ports, a multi-card reader and a vga port, but is marginally lighter at 2.2 pounds.

it comes preloaded with either windows xp or a variant of linux, and has 1 gb of onboard memory, a 4 gb ssd, a webcam and an ethernet port. the machine also comes with a foam padded sleeve to protect it from bumps and scratches.

its major shortcoming was its cramped keyboard, which made it hard to type. the asus officially comes with a 12-month warranty, but the company claims its real policy is lifetime support on all its products.

lenovo ideapad s10, $314 and up

the display on lenovo's entry, at 10.2 inches, was slightly larger than those of the asus or the dell, however the entire machine weighed a modest 2.4 pounds. like the other two, it uses the intel atom processor and has wi-fi, a vga port and a multi-card slot, as well as an ethernet port, a webcam and one pci express card slot.

standard internal memory is only 512 mb, however the ideapad does come with an 80 gb hard drive and a nifty "instant-on" function that allows quick access to the internet even before a complete windows boot. the standard operating system is windows xp home, and once again, there's no cd/dvd drive.

msi wind megabook u10, $349 and up

the msi wind u100 from taiwan's micro star international sports many of the same features as its competition: an atom processor, wi-fi, ethernet, vga port, 3 usb ports, a multi-card slot and a webcam.

it also has one of the wider screens, at 10.2 inches, which allows for a more comfortable keyboard. it uses a traditional 80 gb hard drive,Office Home And Business 2010, which gives it slightly significantly less battery life some of the others inside the field, but then again you get a real amount of storage. it comes with windows xp home edition. for the fashion conscious, the machine is available in six different colors.

acer aspire one a150-1570, $314 and up

the acer aspire one was one of the early entries into the netbook category. like the dell and the asus,Office Professional Plus 2007, it has an 8.9-inch screen, yet the keyboard didn't feel quite as cramped. our review unit came in a stunning shade of royal blue (pictured here) though it's also available in white.

this model had a 120 gb hard drive, though 160 gb is available. it has a webcam, wi-fi and the usual assortment of ports and connectors: a pci express slot, a multi-card slot, vga, ethernet and 3 usb ports.

one feature of the aspire that took some obtaining used to were the buttons for the touchpad, which are on the right- and left-hand sides instead of below it as usual. our unit came with windows xp home, though you can get it with linux instead. it also comes with a carrying sleeve that will protect it from scratches, but there's no padding.

hp mini 1000 series, $329 and up

at the consumer electronics show in las vegas earlier this month, hewlett-packard was running around showing off its special mini-note 1000, customized by fashion designer vivienne tam and costing $699 — as much as a decent full-featured laptop computer.

for those willing to forgo style for function, you can also get the mini 1000 for lower than half that price. it has a 10.2-inch screen and lays claim to the biggest keyboard inside the genre,Office 2010 Home And Business, about 95 % of full-sized.

it also claims to be only 0.99 inches thick, though i'm still more comfortable calling that "one inch." as with the acer, the touchpad buttons are on the side. the ports and connectors vary slightly from the competition: webcam, wi-fi, 2 usb port, a multi-card slot and ethernet.

there's no vga connector, though hp does provide a connecting slot for a proprietary port replicator. like the competition, it uses intel's atom processor and comes standard with windows xp. finally, it has an attractive metal enclosed speaker grille that runs pretty much the width of the machine.

the bottom line

when all is said and done, all six of these machines will get you where you want to go if your goal is web surfing, note-taking and e-mail. these machines aren't desktop, or even laptop, substitutes, but they can do an excellent job if you understand their capabilities and limitations.

there's a clear tradeoff between the drive size and battery life, with the smaller capacity ssds getting more from the battery than the traditional hard drives. i like to move my documents around, so flash memory for my document storage does fine for me.

do i have preferences? yes, but they are based on my limitations and not the performance of the machines. i have lousy eyesight, so i prefer the machines with the 10.2-inch screen. i have big hands, so i like the bigger keys.

as with everything else, there's a lot of personal preference in choosing one of these machines. if you decide to go for a netbook, just make sure you're acquiring one for the limited job they're meant to do.