As long as far better products remain on the market at similar prices, buyers should steer clear of the Pioneer DreamBook IL1. It suffers from a slow processor, small touchpad and the screen resolution is stretched in all the settings. The only thing that saves this product from being a complete flop is its phenomenally long battery life.

This Linux version of the Aspire One is easy to use and has a solid-state drive, but the Windows XP version has better memory and storage capacity for only $100 more. Furthermore, Acer will also release versions with built-in 3G modules. It's really a case of waiting for the new versions to arrive, unless the portability and ease of use of this unit catch your fancy.

While we love the size and weight of this netbook, its keyboard is very hard to type on due to the non-standard key layout.

Physically, it's the same as the Linux version, and it has less storage space, but it does feel a little faster and it's much better suited to playing videos.

It has been out for a while now, but the original Eee PC is still great value and one of the best super-portable laptops on the market.