Advent 4211 Netbook - the latest mini laptop launches

There seems like an endless succession of small-sized, small-priced laptops flooding the market right now, with the MSI Wind looking (possibly) the best of the bunch for the money (and the best for looks). The good news is that the machine is available now in the UK, rebranded as the Advent 4211 Netbook.

Selling for £279.99 from PC World, this 10-inch notebook runs via an Intel Atom processor and Windows XP Home, with an 80GB hard drive and 1GB of memory, throwing in a webcam, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi too.

Demand is expected to be high, so you might want to check it out sooner rather than later.

PC World website

Acer Aspire One - the latest cheap and small laptop

Since we all went mad for the Asus Eee PC, manufacturers have been falling over themselves creating cheap and small laptops - the latest of which is the Acer Aspire One.

It certainly looks the part and is priced from just £199, with features including a choice of Windows XP or Linux operating system, 8.9-inch screen, 80GB hard drive or 8GB NAND flash drive, memory care reader, an Atom processor, six hours of battery life, Wi-Fi connectivity and pre-installed basic software.

The laptop measures 24cm x 17cm, weighs less than one kilo and  and is available in glossy blue and white, followed later by pink and brown. Expect to pay £199 for the Linux version with 8GB NAND Flash from 10th July or £299 for the Windows XP version with 80GB hard drive.

Acer website

Dell to launch £250 budget laptop to challenge Eee PC

Dell has been showing off images of its new budget mini laptop, but details about what it can do are still vague.

The laptop is expected to sell for around £250 and be available in red or black, with a screen around the 8.9-inch mark. According to tech site Engadget, it's expected to have a choice of Windows XP Home or Ubuntu Linux for the operating system, an 8-in-1 card reader, integrated webcam, direct media playback buttons, and various wireless options.

The official launch is believed to be next week - and it could be on sale not long after.

Dell website

Suissa Enlighten - custom-built desktop PC in wood

Desktop computers are rarely good on the eye - but the Suissa Enlighten aims to buck that trend.

Each one is custom-built and yes, that case is made of polished wood (with other options available). There's also a choice of what goes inside, with a micro ATX motherboard hosting either a quad-core Intel or AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ processor, an NVIDIA 8800GTX or ATI Radeon HD2900XT graphics card, 4GB of RAM, 1TB of storage, a DVD burner and power supply.

Matching keyboard and mouse? Well, it's not mentioned, but there's no harm in asking. And while you're on to Suissa, you might want to ask about price, as there isn't one listed.

Find out more at the Suissa website

Super-stylish Orbino Arista Case for the MacBook Air

The world's slimmest notebook now has a suitably stylish bag - the Orbino Arista Case for the MacBook Air.

This is a handcrafted case for Apple's latest laptop, made from the finest Italian leathers, maintaining the slim shape, but still offering protection for your latest toy.

Take your pick from a selection of different tannings, with each bag also featuring an adustable strap, a pocket for your adapter and cord and another for your mobile phone. Prices start at $349 (around £175).

Find out more at the Orbino website

Asus confirms date and price of new Eee PC - the Eee 900 laptop

We all went mad for the Asus Eee PC (me included), so it's no surprise to see a new one heading to the UK.

The Asus Eee 900 is much the same as the previous model - only bigger. That means a bigger screen (7-inch becomes 8.9-inch), increased memory (1GB), more storage (up to 20GB) and the option of Windows XP instead of the Linux operating system.

Expect it from the 1st May, priced from £329 - which is a much bigger price tag too.

Asus website

HP introduces the latest budget mini laptop - the HP 2133 Mini-Note PC

Everyone went wild for the Eee PC last year - and this year everyone is following suit with a budget laptop. HP is the latest company to jump in with arguably the best-looking of the bunch - the HP 2133 Mini-Note PC.

Starting at under £300, it weighs just 1.27 kg (due to a lightweight aluminum shell), with a 8.9-inch WXGA display, HP DuraKeys to protect your keyboard, a VIA C7-M ULV processor, integrated webcam, long-life battery, wi-fi, Bluetooth and options for storage and operating system (Windows or Linux).

You should be able to get one from May - but expect to queue.

Find out more at the HP website

LaCie introduces Neil Poulton-designed Hard Disk

LaCie is big on giving designer looks to everyday objects, with the latest being the Hard Disk, designed by Neil Poulton.

Yes, it's just an external storage device for your PC or Mac, but one with a sleek glossy black case and blue glow, as well as featuring USB 2.0, eSATA, or FireWire 400 connectivity.

You can pick one up in 500GB, 750GB or 1TB capacities, all with LaCie '1-Click' Backup Software for PC and Mac, the Mac-only SilverKeeper and the LaCie Setup Assistant. Prices range from £99 to £199.

LaCie website

LaCie's glossy black Little Disk hard disk drive

Smaller than a cigarette packet and infinitely more stylish is this Little Disk hard drive from LaCie.

Its size is down to it using a Samsung 1.3-inch hard disk for storage - and that storage is a rather impressive 30GB or 40GB, which is around 12,000 MP3 tracks - so enough for most people's music collection. Other features include compatibility with both PC and Mac, back-up software pre-loaded (so your files are always updated on the Little Disk) and encryption to everything safe from unwanted viewing.

Prices start at just under £75.

Find out more at the LaCie website

Apple launches the world's slimmest notebook - the MacBook Air

No, your eyes are not playing tricks on you - the MacBook Air really is this slim, just 0.76 inches at its thickest point, able to fit into an envelope if you want to trust the postal service to get it there in once piece.

Such slimline design does come at a slight price - no chance of a CD/DVD drive here. But what it does have is a 13.3-inch display, built-in keyboard, larger trackpad (than a standard MacBook), an 80GB hard drive (or 64GB of more stable and efficient SSD storage), 2GB of memory and an all-new slimmed-down Intel Cire 2 Duo processor. There's just one USB connector, plus Wi-Fi, Bluetooth,  an impressive battery life of up to five hours and all the usual pre-loaded software.

Oh yes, not forgetting a design that oozes cool. You can pre-order now in the UK, with prices starting at £1,199.

Find out more at the Apple website

Walk on Water laptop bag by Kajsa Rydberg

The words 'stylish' and 'laptop bag' rarely feature in the same sentence, but I think we can use them to describe the Walk on Water bag by Kajsa Rydberg.

Let's get the dull stuff out of the way first - it has a 4mm memory foam inner and a 3mm neoprene outer, which should keep any laptop up to 17-inch safe and dry. And there's that design, a really eye-catching cloud and road on a deep red background.

If you like it, you can buy it online for £62.

Find out more at the Funktion Alley website

Apple launches the new Mac Pro - fastest Mac ever

Not everyone uses a Mac for web browsing and organising a music collection, some people need one for more serious applications and design work - and they are the people Apple are aiming to impress with its new Mac Pro.

This is Apple's fastest Mac, equipped with two 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon processors, 2GB of 800 MHz DDR2 ECC DIMM memory (expandable up to 32GB), ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT graphics (which can be added to with extra graphics cards) and the ability to expand for up to 4TB of storage (although only 320GB comes as standard).

And of course, there's all the ports and connectivity you would expect, a SuperDrive DVD rewriter, Apple wireless keyboard, a Mighty Mouse and Apple's latest Leopard software. You can check out the specification in detail at the Apple site. If you like what you see, it's available from today, priced at £1,749.

Find out more at the Apple website

Asus Eee PC - five reasons why you should buy one - and five reasons why you should think twice

The Asus Eee PC, a cheap PC that's as light as a feather and does just about everything you want from a laptop. Too good to be true? Well, after playing with one for the last few weeks, here's five reasons why you really should rush out and buy the hottest gadget around...and five reasons why you might want to think twice...

Reasons why you should buy one...

1. It's all about the looks:

It's small enough to fit in most bags, is as light as a feather and it looks like a miniaturised MacBook. Or in other words, it ticks all the style boxes.

2. It's got a long-life battery:

Wave goodbye to battery-draining laptops, this one will keep going for at least three hours. In fact, Asus has just introduced a new battery that lasts over six hours.  So you can leave that adapter at home.

3. The price:

The latest version of the Eee PC is available for just over £200. Yes that's right - just over £200. Who needs a £1,000 laptop?

Velvet Invadors - Space Invaders MacBook cases

Velvet Idole does a nice line in high-end laptop and gadget cases, a mix of the plain and the quirky, the latter including the eye-catching Velvet Invadors MacBook case range.

There's a choice of two colour schemes for the invaders on the inside of the case - light blue and black on Velvet Invadors I and orange, blue and black on Velvet Invadors II. Aside from that, both are the same, available for most MacBook and PowerBook machines, with the outer case made from a fine, black calf leather.

And all sizes are priced the same - available online for 75 Euros.

Find out more at the Velvet Idole website

TG Lluon Crystal mini PC

Let's be honest, PCs are rarely stylish additions to your home - that's why Apple shifts so many units. But if you dig deeper, there are one or two that buck the trend -  including this Korean-made TG Lluon Crystal mini PC.

Packed into a glossy black box sized at just 45.2 x 277 x 244.1mm is a decent specification that includes an Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 processor, 2GB of RAM, a 500GB HDD, DVD burner, GeForce 8400 GS graphics and wireless connectivity.

And if you happen to find yourself in Korea, it retails for the equivalent of around £750. No news of it heading outside of that country as yet.

Find out more at the Lluon website (Korean)