By STEPHEN WILLIAMS


The netbook - also known as a mini-notebook or a mobile Internet device - is only in its infancy this holiday season; just about a year old. Already, though, the market is crowded with these “lifestyle” companions that provide portable communications and limited computing functionality for $500 or less.

They lack the electronic capabilities of their bigger siblings: forget Photoshop, gameplay or any serious video editing on a netbook. Web browsing and e-mail are their strengths, at least in these early stages.

And they are far easier to carry.“Intel is trying to push this as a totally new category, but real people see it as a way to upgrade a notebook,”said Bob O’Donnell, an analyst with IDC, a technology research company based in Framingham, Massachusetts.

Virtually all netbooks are built around Intel’s Atom processor, a 1.
6-gigahertz chip, and one gigabyte of RAM, or memory. Nearly all have built-in U.S.B. ports, a Webcam and integrated speakers, and some can connect to a Wi-Fi network. None of the models have CD or DVD drives.

Here’s a closer look at a few of them:

HP MINI 1000

At 1.1 kilograms, the elegant Mini, with its piano- black finish, measures 26 by 17 by 2 centimeters. It has a Webcam, Ethernet port, 4-in-1 card reader and Wi-Fi. The Mini 1000 runs Windows XP Home Edition. Prices start about $400. The HP keyboard, which is nearly as big as those on full-size laptops, is comfortable.


ASUS EEE PC 1000H

At a little over 1.3 kilograms, the heaviest of the bunch by just a little, the Asus Eee (about $430) more than makes up for its“bulk” by incorporating a six-cell battery, which supplies almost five hours of power, and a terrific keyboard. The Eee, which has an 80-gigabyte hard disk drive, can be a mini-workhouse as well as a mini- Internet browser.


ACER ASPIRE ONE

PC World magazine recently put the Acer at the top of its “best buy” list, calling it a steal at $350. As with some other netbooks, the Aspire’s keyboard can make for cramped fingers after extended use, and, like some others, it has its mouse buttons flanking either side of the touchpad, rather than set together underneath the pad.

DELL INSPIRON MINI 9

Dell, which recently introduced a fullsize laptop line called the Dell Studio Art House, extends the gallery theme to its line of netbooks, the Mini 9 and Mini 12. The eyecatching covers are those created by Tristan Eaton, an artist and toy designer.

Very light (under 1 kilogram without add-ons) with a 23-centimeter glossy screen, the Mini 9 runs a Linux-based operating system, Ubuntu, with Windows XP Home Edition optional, and offers three sizes of flash memory drives, from 4 gigabytes (standard) to 16 (extra cost) gigabytes. Prices start about $350.