9 ultraportables and netbooks we can't wait for

You'll love to get your hands on one of these PCs

There's no doubt that netbooks and ultraportables have become hot property in the laptop market over the past couple of years. They are small, light and great for accessing your web and emails on the go, so you're more than likely considering purchasing one right now.

There's plenty to choose from but before you open your wallet, check out our list of the nine most hotly anticipated netbooks and ultraportable PCs, all of which are set to go on sale later this year. It may make you consider waiting just a bit longer before taking the plunge.

MSI Wind U115

Price: Less than $US700

Release date: Unknown

OS: Windows XP or Vista Basic

Screen size: 10in

Weight: Just over 1kg

Why you'll love it: The MSI Wind U115 is touted as the world's first hybrid-storage laptop. It comes with a 160GB hard disk but also includes a solid-state drive (8GB or possibly 16GB) to run the operating system and programs.

An SSD is more durable and faster than a standard hard drive; it also uses less laptop battery power, keeping your system running longer between recharges. When you're on the go, just switch off the power-sucking disk-based drive, and you'll still have access to your computer's normal functions.

MSI says the machine will last from 12 to 20 hours with a six- or nine-cell battery, respectively. Intel's Atom Z530 1.6GHz processor powers the U115; the system also supports up to 2GB of RAM and has three USB ports, a webcam, two-channel stereo speakers, a microphone, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and a four-in-one card reader (SD Card, MultiMediaCard, Memory Stick, and Memory Stick Pro).

MSIWindU115-w350-h500

Asus Eee Keyboard PC

Price: Rumoured to be $400 to $600

Release date: Summer 2009

OS: Windows XP Home Edition

Screen size: 5in

Weight: Under 1Kg

Why you'll love it: Asus takes the all-in-one concept literally with an entire computer packed into a wireless keyboard. A Commodore 64 it's not though: the Eee Keyboard PC comes with a 5.5in touchscreen with 800x480 resolution on the right side.

The Keyboard PC packs in an Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB or 32GB of solid-state storage, three USB ports, VGA output, wideband wireless HDMI, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0, and an internal battery.

The machine is optimised for web surfing or for controlling your wireless home network right from your sofa with wireless HDMI. (Sorry, Commodore lovers, but it doesn't support Datasette.)

aSUSeEEkEYBOARD-w350-h500

Join the newsletter!

Or

Sign up to gain exclusive access to email subscriptions, event invitations, competitions, giveaways, and much more.

Membership is free, and your security and privacy remain protected. View our privacy policy before signing up.

Error: Please check your email address.

Tags netbooksultraportables

More about AcerAppleC2DelletworkGigabyteGoogleHewlett-Packard AustraliaHPIntelLinuxMessengerMSISamsungVIA

Show Comments
[]