Gift Guide: Touch And Windows 7 In Fresh PC Lineup

PETER SVENSSON

This holiday season is a great time to buy a PC. There's a nice new version of Windows out, and computer manufacturers are adding interesting new technologies. Here's a guide to what's fresh in PCs, ranging from "netbooks" to super-sized "all-in-one" desktop computers.

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Netbooks: These small, cheap laptops have become very popular since they were introduced two years ago. Originally sporting tiny 7-inch screens, netbooks have been creeping up in size. This year, most of them have screens between 10 and 12 inches and keyboards that are more comfortable for adult users. What's lagged is processor power: Most netbooks still can't play Hulu or YouTube videos without stuttering.

That's finally changing as netbooks are getting more powerful graphics chips and Adobe is upgrading its Flash player software to take advantage of them. We tried an HP Mini 311 ($400 list) with an Nvidia ION graphics chip and found it easily played DVD-resolution TV shows from Hulu. A Toshiba T115 ($450) with an Intel graphics chip played lower-resolution shows fine, but choked at DVD resolution.

Both have 11.6-inch screens and weigh a little more than 3 pounds. The Mini runs Windows XP, while the T115 runs Windows 7 Home Premium, for an updated look and greater ease of use. When playing high-resolution video and accessing the Internet over Wi-Fi, the Mini's battery lasted 3 hours and 35 minutes, compared to 3 hours and 50 minutes for the Toshiba — very respectable scores but not at the top of the netbook range. In less taxing use, both would last several more hours. The HP model is widely carried in stores, while the Toshiba will be easier to find online.