By Daniel P. Dern

Lenovo S10—For price-and-weight-conscious travelers who need something with a bigger keyboard and screen than a BlackBerry or PDA offers, consider a "netbook," a.k.a. ultraportable, "mini-notebook," or subnotebook.

Netbooks are a hot-growing alternative to a $500+ notebook that weighs five to six pounds or a two-to-four pound notebook that costs anywhere between $1,000 and $3,000.

Unlike PDAs, whose screens are smaller and "keys" even smaller, netbooks' displays can be anywhere between 7 and 10 inches (measured diagonally). The keyboards on some netbooks may be a bit too cramped if you don't have small, nimble fingers, but many netbooks have keyboards 85% or more of a regular sized notebook—enough for ten-finger touch-typing.

And while netbooks' lower-power processors may not give you desktop-replacement productivity on large documents or spreadsheets or serious photo editing capabilities, they can be more than fast enough for out-of-office (and around-the-house) tasks like checking email, accessing the web, basic document creation and editing...plus listening to music and doing web voice/video chats.

Asus was one of the first vendors to offer a device like this with its highly-publicized Asus Eee 700. Since then, just about all the mainstream vendors have joined in.

Current "netbook" offerings (new models are being introduced almost weekly) include the Acer Aspire one, Dell Inspiron Mini 9, Everex CloudBook, Amilo Mini Ui 3520 netbook, Fujitsu, HP 2133 Mini-Note PC, Lenovo IdeaPad S10, MSI Wind Notebook, Sylvania g Netbook and the Toshiba NB100.

Netbooks weigh between two to three-and-a-half pounds—light enough on your shoulder that you can carry it with you all the time. Take it on day trips or vacations when you’re not sure if you'll need a computer but really don't want to be without one. With prices starting at under $300, going up to $800 (depending on the model, configuration and options), a netbook is light enough on your budget to make for the perfect spare, secondary or even "disposable" notebook.

Features common to "netbooks" include built-in 802.11 WiFi (b, g or maybe even n)—so you can use iPass—and microphone, speakers and media card slots. Other features range from webcam to Bluetooth, to an ExpressCard slot (e.g., for a mobile broadband card also available through iPass).

Important things to know before you buy your netbook:

• Many models use Linux instead of Windows as their operating system (to help keep the price down). The Linux models should include Firefox and other basic Internet/office applications pre-installed.
• If you prefer Windows, or have applications or peripherals that require Windows, make sure you can get the machine with Windows.
• Many models use solid-state flash storage, from as little as 2-4GB, up to 40GB, instead of hard drives, which range from 80-120GB. Unless you want to load on a lot of multimedia, 2-4GB can be enough space...and you can always add storage space with a media card or USB device.
• The battery life on many models is only around two hours (some claim up to five). Some vendors also offer a larger-capacity battery; be sure to check.
• Get the maximum amount of RAM you can—it will help compensate for the slower processor.
• Be sure to try one out before you purchase—check your local computer and electronics stores (and see if anybody you know has one you can play with). Try the keyboard, and try some apps and web sites you typically use.

Go for the netbook; your shoulder and your budget will thank you.