Like many techies, I have a weakness for gadgets, which led me to get one of the new-generation netbooks that are on the market. Netbooks are essentially tiny laptops with screens that are between 8 and 10 inches diagonally, a power-conscious central processing unit, and various storage options including solid state and conventional hard drives.

Netbooks were intended to cater to a niche market willing to sacrifice performance in favor of portability and basic applications. However, for a variety of reasons, they have been much more successful than originally anticipated.

The biggest reasons for their popularity are probably their cost, size, functionality and coolness.

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Most netbooks cost less than $500 and many go for about $350 well equipped. They are extremely small and light so they are easy to toss into a backpack, daypack or virtually any bag.

As for functioning, most netbooks use Intel’s Atom power-conserving central processing unit (CPU). It’s a dual core unit that packs enough punch for e-mail, browsing and text editing.

I have loaded and used free image processing software (GIMP) and it has worked fine. It isn’t a gamer system but no one expects it to be.

Battery life is reasonable but not spectacular since the power savings are offset by small, light batteries.

Finally, though it may be superficial, it is hard to deny netbooks are cool with their hit-by-a-shrink-ray size and bright little displays. 

I got a Dell Inspiron Mini 9 and upgraded its solid state hard drive with a 32 megabyte unit which I loaded with a customized light version of Vista.

The major plus to me is functionality with totally quiet operation - the system has no fans or mechanically moving parts.

The major downside to me is the keyboard is really small and requires key chords for the function keys. I supplement its storage with a 16 gigabyte secure digital  memory card. That brings up the other issue with these systems and that is the required use of an external CD/DVD drive. It is not a big deal for me as I find my use of CDs or DVDs is pretty rare but if it’s a big part of your use then you should know this will make your netbook more cumbersome to carry around and power.

I replaced my wife’s aging home PC with a Lenovo IdeaPad S10, a 10-inch netbook  that comes with Windows XP Home Edition and a much roomier 160 gigabyte hard drive. Attached to an external keyboard, mouse, and a 19-inch flat-panel monitor, it easily powers her applications at home, runs the printer and generally does whatever she wants. Plus she can take it with her by disconnecting a USB hub and monitor.

Both the 10-inch and 8.9-inch systems use a display resolution of 1024x600 pixels but the 10-inch screen is easier on the eyes.

The nice thing with the Lenovo netbook is the included keyboard is larger and has dedicated function keys, though it only has two USB slots. Both our Dell and Lenovo netbooks have Web cams, Bluetooth, and wireless cards. I “tether” my netbook via Bluetooth to my mobile phone for connectivity anywhere I have a signal for the phone.

Again, the downsides are a small screen and cramped keyboard that can become tedious for prolonged use.

Consider what you generally expect to do with a system. I would mostly recommend netbooks for supplemental use if you’re a power user but they can be an acceptable main system if accessorized with full-sized components.

Finally, if you’re thinking of getting a netbook, try one out at a store so you have a real idea what the keyboard is like and whether the smaller screen will meet your needs. Besides Dell and Lenovo, there other strong contenders now on the market from most of the major makers, including the Acer Aspire One, ASUS’s line of Eee PCs, and Hewlett-Packard’s HP 2133 Mini-Note PC. 

Contact Lee LeClair, a founder and chief technology officer of Ephibian, through the company’s website www.ephibian.com or (520) 917-4747. Ephibian, headquartered at 3180 N. Swan Road, provides software development, data integration and Web design services. LeClair’s Tech Talk column appears the third week of each month in Inside Tucson Business.