ASUS Eee PC 1000HA (10" - Atom N270 - Win XP Home - 1 GB RAM - 160 GB HDD)

Pros: - Powerful for a small form factor
- Bright, clear screen
- Quiet and energy efficient

Cons: - Battery pretty much didn't hold a charge after 6 months
- Small screen a little difficult to read

Summary: I bought my 1000HA in October 2008 and have been quite pleased with the performance of the machine. I had an extremely limited budget at the time, but wanted a laptop, so I sprung for the latest netbook.

I've practically tortured the poor thing with Illustrator and Photoshop, but it's run both admirably ... surprisingly. The machine rarely gets hot, even on the most demanding of tasks and responds quickly.

My main gripe was with the battery and hopefully mine is an isolated incident. A few months ago I installed Ubuntu and because GNOME gives a little more battery information than Windows ever will, it was telling me the battery was only holding about 60 percent of its rated charge. Within the past few weeks, it went (in Windows) from 89 percent, to 22 percent to finally 7 percent, rendering it pretty much useless as a functional laptop. I called ASUS and they were fantastic about arranging a return for repair. It was frustrating that the battery fell apart on me, but I commend ASUS' customer support for helping me all the way. As long as I get it back in good condition, I'll be happy.

Overall, it's a good laptop with a few quirks. I've recommended it to others and wouldn't hesitate to buy again.