Acer Aspire One A150

If you're looking for a laptop with some 'wow' factor, the Acer Aspire One A150L certainly lives up to its name and is bound to be coveted by those around you. It's smaller than its rivals which, unfortunately, means a reduced 8.9in screen – but what a screen! It uses Acer's CrystalBrite technology to provide a high-contrast, glossy look. The downside to its looks is that it's got a reduced battery life (just below average in our tests).

The other thing to note about the Acer is that it runs Linux, not Windows. Acer has chosen to install its own version of Linpus Linux Lite (www.linpus.com), which acts as a type of launcher to various open-source programs, making it feel feature-rich if a little unfamiliar. That said, you could easily install free Windows versions of most of these programs on to one of the other netbooks if you really wanted to.

The 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor is identical to its rivals but only comes with 512MB of memory. However, because the Linux operating system is lighter, it doesn't drag its performance down, and the Acer came second only to Samsung's speedy model.

The price is perhaps the most impressive area, due at least in part to the fact that you're not paying for a Windows licence. That does mean it's going to be less compatible with anything you've already got but, if you like the price, take a deep breath and plunge into Linux.

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