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Netbooks: Mini laptops, max portability

Netbooks are excellent secondary laptops, or if you're always on the road and need portability but not necessarily performance. We round-up the best we've seen so far.

Windows 7 means new laptops

While most vendors are simply installing Windows 7 across their existing range, a number of new laptops will be available for purchase now that Microsoft's new operating system has hit the market.

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Reviews

Gigabyte Booktop M1022M

The Booktop may be on the costly side, thanks to the bundled docking station, but it still falls below "premium" netbook costs. Plus the excellent battery life and ability to switch from a desk-bound PC to a portable mini-laptop captured our attention.
Samsung N110

An easy-to-use netbook with a long battery life, but there are cheaper options.
Dell Mini 10v

Dell's Mini 10v keeps a lot of the features of the more expensive Mini 10, while dropping the price to AU$549. It's one of only a handful of AU$600 netbooks that doesn't look and feel especially cheap.
Samsung NC10

The NC10 betters previous Samsung netbooks with a built-in HSDPA SIM card reader and the portability this provides. Optus wireless broadband bundles seem like excellent value.
Asus Eee PC 1101HA Seashell

Swelling the ranks of 11.6-inch netbooks, the Asus Eee PC 1101HA impresses with its design and battery, but having to overclock a slower version of Intel's Atom CPU is a dodgy workaround.
ViewSonic VNB101

The netbook market is so tight, you need some sort of competitive advantage to stand above the crowd. ViewSonic brings a standard netbook with two negatives instead — poor battery life and a bad touchpad.
BenQ Joybook Lite U121 Eco

With "Eco" and "Lite" in its name does that mean the U121 is a product with fewer features with a high price for the sake of being branded as environmentally friendly?
HP Mini 5101

HP's biz-minded Mini 5101 is a successor to the Mini 2140 (one of our all-time favourite netbooks). It looks and feels great, but for a premium-price netbook, we expect to get more features, not fewer.

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Features

Laptops for Father's Day

No idea about what to get dad? Got a huge budget just kicking around? Well you could buy a laptop...
Best laptops under AU$1000

Only got AU$1000 to spend? We look at the competitors to see who comes up trumps.
Best of CES Awards

Since 2006, CNET has presented the Best of CES Awards, given to the top products in 10 categories as well as one coveted Best in Show award. See the gadgets that topped our list for this year, and find out the People's Voice winner, decided by more than 10,000 member votes.
Back to school 2009: The best laptops

With the government roll-out of laptops for school kids being done in stages, your children may still need their own laptop. Here are CNET Australia's recommendations, with a focus on budget.

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News

Father's Day gift guide

Let someone else buy the ties and tool kits for dad. If you really want to win him over, get him one of these tech presents.
Chrome OS for the clueless: What it means for real people

Google's new operating system is certainly something to get excited about, but don't put a new laptop purchase on hold because you want a Chrome netbook.
Google announces Chrome OS

Google has announced the creation of the Google Chrome Operating System project, with the goal to build a Linux-based OS available for purchase on netbooks in the second half of 2010.
Bad boy Kogan called to ACCC's office

Australia's competition regulator has taken controversial Melbourne-based technology vendor Kogan to task for what it said was misleading advertising which could contravene the Trade Practices Act.

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Downloads

Panda Antivirus for Netbooks

Add ultra-lightweight protection for your Netbook.
Threeter

Use lightweight Twitter client with multi account support and URL shortening feature.
Battery Life

Monitor and manage your laptop battery.
DocElf

Securely manage your files and file revisions on multiple PCs and various storage devices.

Get (laptop) smart before you buy

Win the numbers game and get the laptop that's perfect your needs as well as your budget!
Microsoft Windows® 7. Your PC, simplified.

Windows® 7 has been designed to be more reliable, more responsive, and to make the things you do every day easier.
Whereis® maps

If you’d like to get to know more of Australia, and do it safely, then check out Whereis® maps.