Possibly encouraged by the success of their Eee PCs, Asustek is going to launch the second generation of these powerful yet cute midget laptops this month in Taiwan. So what can we expect from these notebooks? An Intel dual-core ULV processor, for one. More in the full article.

The Averatec AV2260-EK1 is one of the most user-friendly laptops in the market, that is if we're talking about price. At $1,079.99, let's face it, owning one is a cinch. But of course, for something so inexpensive, you'd have to be wary of its performance. If you're just not yet ready to part with your hard-earned cash on a "questionable" laptop, perhaps PCMag's review of the AV2260-EK1 will help you decide which ultraportable to buy. There's quite a lot of them in the market.

The AV2260-EK1 is considered a borderline ultraportable at 4.2 pounds. It's said to resemble the Lenovo 3000 V100 in design, as both are built around plastic casings. But really, casing is more of "non-issue" when looking for affordable ultraportable, though it does play an important role when you're choosing between two similarly-spec'd laptops.

The 12.1-inch screen is transflective, so they work reflectively when external light levels are high, and transmissively in darker environments via a low-power backlight. This just means color saturation on photos and videos will look better than on an ordinary matte screen.

The innards are downright plain, save for the 1GB system memory. It's pretty much a standard entry-level ultraportable. The AMD Turion 64 MT-32 (1.8Ghz) is still no match for the new dual core processors that power other laptops, but that's not to say it's not competent enough. It is, but it's just up against better competition. Adding to the list of "disappointment" is the all-too-important battery life. With only 1 hour and 42 minutes to get the laptop going, you wouldn't be encouraged to bring it along on long flights. If you want extra battery life, prepare to shell out an additional $99.

PCMag's verdict? 2.5 out of 5. The AV2260-EK1 gets the job done, that is if you're job is simply to get online, run some word processing programs, watch a DVD or two - just about what normal laptops can do. It doesn't have much value added features that'll make you want to scream for joy.

Weighing less than 2kg with dimensions of 303x225x30mm, the Quest A230 is powered by AMD's new Turion 64 x2 mobile technology, optimized to support thin and light laptop designs. With its dual-core processor, AMD provides an advanced power management facility which increases battery life.

The easy-to-carry laptop also has an integrated wireles LAN (mini PCI 802.11bg), which enables users to go online anytime, anywhere. With its 12-inch WXGA X-Bright widescreen display, you can watch crisp and clear videos on the go. Other features includes the latest DDR2 memory and the new Express Card "hot-pluggable" internal I/O expansion port which supports the implementation of future technology innovations providing consumer-friendly expansion flexibility.

The Quest A230 is available for £799 (around $1,500), inclusive of VAT and a 3-year warranty.

At 3.15 pounds and just less than one inch thick, Gateway's NX100X ultra-slim notebook makes other ultraportables in its class look like heavy baggage. Let's take a closer look at the rest of its specs and see if they're up to the mark.

While you might be thrilled with its 12.1-inch and 1280 by 800 display, the Gateway NS100X is only powered by a Core Solo processor running at clock speeds of 1.06 or 1.2 GHz. This may be a bit of a letdown as some ultraportables these days run on Intel Core Duo processors. But Gateway more than makes up for it with 1GB of RAM instead of the conventional 512MB. If you're looking to play games using the NS100X, you may not be satisfied with its on board Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950.

Other features include 6-in-1 media card reader, Type II PC Card slot, USB 2.0, IEEE 13924 (FireWire), VGA output, integrated stereo speakers, gigabyte Ethernet, built-in modem, 802.11 a/b/g wireless, optional Bluetooth, and Windows XP professional.
These are standard features for entry level ultraportables. Well, sometimes we want more than just the ultra-slim design.

Gateway's NX100X notebooks will begin shipping on the May 26th at a base price of $1,399.