Netbook supertest: which one is the best?

Eee PC vs Samsung NC10 vs MSI Wind vs Inspiron Mini & more

Who could have guessed netbooks would be so successful? In these days of quad-core powerhouses, gaming desktop-replacements and expensive thin and lights, it seems incredible to think that there's a market for underpowered, low-cost systems.

Key to their success is the abundance of surprisingly capable low-power components. Intel's Celerons first found a perfect home in the machines, until the Intel Atom N270 processor became synonymous with the term netbook.

This processor, when combined with with Intel's own chipsets boasting integrated graphics, is capable of decoding HD content and has quickly become the mainstay of these affordable machines.

Generally, you'll find it accompanied by 512MB to1GB of RAM, small hard drives (although with the likes of the NC10 packing 160GB drives, they're getting bigger) or SSDs, and basic screens. The resulting machines are low-powered, but reasonable performers.

What's interesting about this latest round of machines is that style is increasingly becoming a defining factor.

The Asus S101 and Dell Mini 12 have clearly had a little more time spent on their looks than the first generation devices, and there's no denying they're more attractive for it.

But there's a premium to be paid for that extra style. The cool colours of the S101 will set you back a good £100 more than the almost identical Eee PC1000H, for instance.

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