The netbook is a strange entity. Halfway between smart phone and laptop markets, it is in a vortex which satisfies neither entity.

There are technical definitions as to what constitutes a netbook but I think that there are three main requirements:

1. Small

2. Cheap

3. Internet access

Price tags typically sit below 500 pounds, and in some excellent cases below 100. Part of that ethos stems from the whole one laptop per child thing. However, not all netbooks are cheap. Take the Asus with swaski crystals inlayed into the keyboard or the sony P series (I know they say it isn't a netbook but what the hell is a “lifestyle computer” anyway?). These are fashion statements not computers. We have come a long way from the off cream box that was once your desktop.

As with everything, size does matter. The 10 inch netbooks are the commonest ones I have spotted around town, in coffee shops and on buses. 9 inch netbooks fit nicely into my new handbag. And 8 inchs would work on the Sony if the screen resolution was better.

The dell mini I've been borrowing has a 9 inch screen which is more than ample. It performs surprisingly well. It can have open office, chat client and browser running merrily at the same time. I want to really stress it out though – do you think it would manage music streaming? Iplayer? Wine? Wow under wine? It's poor little processor might melt ...

What I particularly like about the netbooks is that so many of them come with linux as a standard option. It has opened the world of linux up to a whole new group of people and it has made linux the norm rather than the unusual.