We've put both mini-notebooks through their paces, and while Linux fans may disagree, the winner is clear.

See our side-by-side comparison of the three big guns in the sub-$1,000 mini notebook race, the ASUS N10, S101 and the Eee PC 1000H.

As the technology is getting more mature, there is now an abundance of 802.11b cards on the market.

More storage and a bigger screen address the main issues that arose with the original, but the price has risen too.

Like the KT4 Ultra, the ASUS A7V8X is an Athlon XP board that uses the VIA KT400 chipset. It packs in a truckload of extras, such as Serial ATA, FireWire, Gigabit LAN, AGP 8X and even RAID.

An impressive touchscreen all-in-one PC for an equally impressive price, but the single-core Atom holds it back

Yes, it’s bigger and dearer than ever, but it’s also the most usable and well-made Eee PC yet.

While we wait with bated breath for the imminent (or was that eventual?) release of Microsoft Media Centre into Australia, the number of companies cashing in on the media functionality of next generation consumer electronics is growing quickly.

Stylish and packed with features, it is not the cheapest 12 inch notebook available. This said, if you simply must have the features on offer inside this 'book, then this notebook does it all with style.

For such a high specification machine with a large display, we didn’t have high expectations of battery life. We were wrong. Not only is this one of the best looking and functional notebooks we’ve played with in some time, but this notebook managed to stay operating at full load with a looping productivity test for well over three and a half hours – enough for students, road warriors and home users.

The ASUS is one tough little cookie. Its cover and palmrest are encased in brushed aluminium lending the unit a reassuring sense of rigidity and roadworthiness. The 15.4" screen is bright, and its default resolution of 1680x1050 makes text sharp but a little small to read unless up close. The unit also comes with a built in TV-tuner, and also sports a TV-antenna output.

A flexible and powerful livingroom PC that ticks almost all the right boxes, as well as being great value.

Very powerful and, with few features missing, it’s good value at the price.

A laptop of luxury, but practicality suffers and you pay a hefty premium.

The branding reflects the exclusivity, but not necessarily the capability.

A genuine step forward for the laptop, with unbelievable capabilities for the price, plus an ultra-low weight.

While the build quality of the ASUS A4000L is good and sturdy, this notebook is much larger than the others featured in our roundup.

Great audio, but gaming ability hinges on the success of Dolby and DTS

We quite liked ASUS' charcoal grey styling but it was more of an understated cool than a head turner.

As we open the box it hits us, the unmistakable wafting scent of a pine forest, floating on the summer breeze and carrying away our troubles . . .