Netbooks are laptops that are “cheap”, “portable”, and have “just enough performance” for everyday tasks.

Take the upcoming Acer 11.6″. It weighs 2.7 pounds, has a small footprint, “just adequate” performance, and starts at $350. Sounds like a netbook to me.

Technology doesn't stand still. And the amount of features and performance that we can put into a “cheap”, “portable”, and “good enough” computer will get better over time.

Since no doubt every conceivable combination of screen size, resolution, weight, performance, price… will eventually be available in a continuum from 7″ on up to normal laptop sizes, my interest is less with an arbitrary definition of “netbook” than with perhaps a rating system that highlights areas of use. For example, a portability rating, which in my view is closely connected with weight because portability means to me comfortably carrying the thing on your shoulder for hours a day. Anything less than 2 pounds would get the highest rating. I want as much screen and performance and battery time as I can get but not at the expense of exceeding 2 pounds, and maybe 1.5 pounds may be a future standard for what I would call the highest level of “portability.” Next in importance is price. (Sorry, Sony.)

There are of course other uses for netbooks for which other factors than weight matter more, for instance, portability only around a house or a business—as opposed to on the road.

I might call the former “wide area netbooks” or WANs, and the latter “local area netbooks” or LANs… if those acronyms hadn't already been taken.

While I am not thrilled with GMA500 due to lack of solid support for the graphics device, and it doesn't have a pointer mouse (what besides the Vaio P under $1k does?), if this has the keyboard layout with the Fn key near the arrow keys, I'm sold. Can someone get some higher resolution photos of the display?

Too bad the P91 Vaios aren't in NA yet and affordable (specced well for $1k, not $1800), otherwise, I'd just buy 10 of them.

I'm also hoping to find out that info.

I'm quite happy that so many 11.6″ and 12″ devices are around the corner. My disappointment with the ones announced so far (MSI U200, Acer 751, Lenovo S12) is that none of them incorporate a flush-fitting 6-cell battery. With the extra size, you'd think that would be a no-brainer! I hope Asus does better in that regard.