Top 10 laptops of March

The good: Excellent battery life; improved keyboard; competitively priced.

The bad: Slightly faster Intel Atom CPU fails to impress; other Netbook makers have shown more innovation.

The bottom line: Asus practically invented the Netbook market, and the Eee PC 1000HE is an overdue overhaul that offers a new CPU and great battery life but misses some of the competition's bells and whistles.

The good: Secondary SD slot expands primary storage; slim and light form factor; inexpensive.

The bad: Limited 8GB SSD; poor battery life; no Bluetooth.

The bottom line: The Acer Aspire One may not be as feature-packed as the Eee PC 901, but the keyboard is certainly much better and could tip the scales in its favor.

The good: Solid metal construction; full ExpressCard/54 slot; big keyboard.

The bad: Odd resolution loses a few pixels; no mobile broadband options (yet); awkward mouse button placement.

The bottom line: HP offers a premium version of its plastic Mini 1000 while keeping the price down, making the Mini 2140 the Netbook to beat.

The good: Laminated scratch-resistant body; discrete graphics card option; integrated Webcam; HP QuickPlay function; stylish touch-sensitive buttons.

The bad: Thick chassis; below-average battery life.

The bottom line: HP's entertainment notebook not only delivers in features, but also goes the extra mile with a redesigned chassis to appeal to those with unconventional tastes.

The good: Dual-mode tablet display; fun-looking design; decent port assortment for a 12-inch laptop.

The bad: Mediocre battery life; unimpressive performance; touchscreen response lags.

The bottom line: The HP TouchSmart tx2 tablet PC has the features, functions and price to convert consumer laptop users to tablet users. We just wish it could live a little longer away from an outlet.