Netbooks: A Cheap Alternative to Work Travel

Netbooks offer relatively modest performance. Photoshop or similar computational monsters will not work well. But you can expect perfectly reasonable results for Web-based apps like Google Docs and offline tools like Microsoft Office. And netbooks offer significant networking power such as wireless access, Bluetooth and faster riffs of USB.

"These machines are perfect for a small business that needs simple, relatively powerful -- potentially second -- machines that can travel easily and can work well on the Web and offline," said Kyle Thornton, manager of the ultra-mobile category for H-P.

Testing 1, 2, 3...

I have been testing a new generation of netbooks over the past few weeks, the HP 2133 Mini Note PC (approx. $500 to $1,000 depending on configuration). And true to the concept, it is an average machine. It is far from the lightest unit I have tested recently.

The 2133 configured for my test -- with a bigger battery, processors and RAM needed to handle notoriously resource-hoggy Windows Vista -- came in close to 4.2 pounds with chargers and cables. That's basically twice the heft of the Sony VAIO TZ. And the screen was, frankly, cramped at just below 8 inches. This is a very small display, basically on par with an early portable computer from the '90s.

Expect to spend some time noodling to get screen configuration and resolution to match your preferences. And the unit gets hot. You will not want to run this thing on your lap for any extended period.