Asus Eee PC 900 (white)

The good: Bigger screen in same small package; new touch pad gesture controls; long battery life.

The bad: Not as much storage space as the Linux version; same old Celeron CPU as original Eee PC; keyboard just as cramped.

The bottom line: The 9-inch Asus Eee PC 900 adds a bigger screen and a larger capacity solid-state hard drive than its 7-inch precursor, but the new price has passed the point of an impulse purchase.

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Description: This configuration of the ASUSTek Asus Eee PC 900 is a 2.2-pound, ultra compact notebook computer. Compared to other ultra compact notebooks on the market, it is very inexpensive at around $545. Has Wi-Fi (wireless connectivity) built-in.

Pros: None noted, given available product data.

Cons: Comes with Linux OS, which is considerably less favorable than some similarly priced notebooks. For example, the HP 2133 , a 2.6-pound notebook at around $500, comes with SUSE Linux enterprise desktop 10 OS. The ASUSTek Asus Eee PC 900 comes with basic word processing software – if you often create complex documents you will likely need to upgrade to a more powerful office suite .

Suitability: Suitable for those who consider weight the most important feature. If you have a wireless network at home, wirelessly browse the Internet from any room in your house with this Wi-Fi enabled notebook.

Value: In view of its very inexpensive price, this notebook has great features for the money. Generally, not targeted at the gaming crowd, this computer will likely fulfill more modest laptop needs.

Suggestions: (1) Given this device's Wi-Fi capability, you may want to get a wireless access point for your home, so that you can browse the Internet more conveniently from any room. (2) For help in deciding if this is the right notebook for you, see CNET's buying guide for notebooks .