Netbooks

Netbooks are cheap and very light, good for the basic computing needs on the move (Internet, working with text, listening to music, watching movies...). They are less powerful than standard laptops and, because of its small keyboard and screen, are not recommended to work for extended periods of time. They lack optical drive (CD/DVD). If you need more performance, have a look to the ultraportables.

Connectivity: if you want to be connected to the Net you have to keep in mind a few things:

• All of them have WiFi, but sometimes it is hard to find a WiFi zone to connect to.
• If you can connect to Internet with your cell phone, in some cases you can use it as a modem for your netbook (sometimes via Bluetooth).
• An alternative are USB wireless modems, that are offered by most phone carriers. A few netbooks have an internal modem: look for the feature WWAN, in some cases stated as mobile broadband, HSDPA modem, 3G mdem...).

Movies and games:

• Most netbooks have a very limited graphical performance, but enough to play movies in DVD quality.
• Old and non-3D games run usually OK.
• To play HD movies or play more recent games, look for a netbook based on the Nvidia ION platform. But o not expect miracles in modern games, because they are going to be limited by the slow Atom processor.

Core i7 laptops