Be Smart

The ASUS Eee ultra-portable notebook computers have been popular, not least for the price - in some cases a stunningly low $299 (in blush pink!) Other manufacturers are rushing to bring out competitors, so ASUS is moving its lean machine with the 7-inch screen into the mainstream.

The first models have run Linux and claim to be Windows-compatible, whatever that means. But the company has now formally announced a version with pre-installed Windows XP. It will also come with Microsoft Works and access to Windows Live, an online suite offering mail, messaging, a photo gallery, and kid-protection features.

Reviewers have been enthusiastic about previous versions of the Eee, although they concede its imperfections. The keyboard is cramped, with some keys very tiny. RAM is only 512 MB, also cramped these days when we all want to run several programs at once.