You probably hear the word netbook all the time these days. Do you wonder what is a netbook, anyways? Well, it is a kind of portable mini laptop, but to be more specific it is a mini laptop that is primarily designed to get online, and browse Internet. That’s were the term comes from:

Internet + Notebook = Netbook

The origin of the word netbook is not clear. It was used by Psion in 1999 as a name for their ultra portable mini laptop, but at that time it never gained any popularity. It was popularized by Intel just in 2008 and became widely spread with the production of Asus Ee PC. According to some sources term was invented by Intel and Psion is not mentioned in the story.

Asus Ee PC 900 has been around for a while, but still it remains a very popular laptop. I would say it was a first real netbook from Asus. First models with 7” display were more like a toy… Actually Ee PC 900 is a slight tweak of the original Eee PC, same body was used, but speakers were moved to a better place (bottom of the laptop) and the space was filled with extra inches of display.

Seems like clone manufacturers are creating serious competition to brand name companies, like Asus. Shanzai.com has pointed out to a Eee PC 1002HA clone that is actually better than the original!

Laptops are getting smaller and smaller cheaper and cheaper. $199 promised by Asus for basic Eee PC was a dream for many, never fullfilled. Well, $73 laptop is real, at least in China.

It is not secret that Asus is getting ready to release 12-inch laptops, Eee PC 1201N and 1201HA. Asus did not tell us anything about these two netbooks officially, yet somehow info about them leaked and was published on a Eee PC fan site… I would even think companies allow info to leak on purpose…

Toshiba Mini NB205 is perhaps the best netbook around, at least in its price range. It even beats Asus Eee PC 1005HA, recently released and well praised laptop from Asus.

Netbooks Reviewed is changing format and design. We will focus more on laptop/netbook reviews, linking to many quality reviews from experts and end users. This post is a transitional/experimental review of Asus Eee PC 1005HA, marked as most popular netbook on Amazon.

Asus promised to release Eee Keyboard a while ago, but why wait if you can do one yourself… at least some Russians can… All they need is a spare Eee PC 900, Sven Multimedia EL 4002 keyboard and some enthusiasm.

Whole process is documented on eee-pc.ru forum. Its in Russian, but you can guess what’s going on by looking at the pictures though.

French Blogeee.net published Lenovo S12 netbook review. S12 is a great netbook, with some exceptions… Reviewer seems to be unhappy with Lenovo S12’s screen. It is very reflective. There is still a hope that the final version of Lenovo S12 will feature less reflective screen. Seems like S12 will feature VGA and HDMI ports, allowing consumers to use external display.

WhatLaptop.co.uk has a review of mini laptop Sony VAIO W, the first real netbook from Sony. Looks like Sony VAIO W will not be cheap, but as authors of review point out it is one of the nicest mini laptops on the market with a great screen. Check out the full review of VAIO W for details.