Anew breed of extremely small and light (2 pounds or so) laptop has emerged just in time for summer travel.Called mobile Internet devices (MIDs), and also known as mini-laptops, mini-notebooks, or mini-notes, these lightweight laptops are practically naked, stripped of all extraneous features.And starting ataround $400, they're far cheaper than other mobile PCs.
There are other lightweight options, of course. One is the ultramobile PC (UMPC), which is roughly the same size as a mini-note, but has more features, amore ambitions design, and a much higher price. Another is the ultraportable laptop--once the smallest and lightest of all notebook types, with representatives such as the MacBook Air.
Mini-laptops aren't designed to compete with either UMPCs or ultraportables. When push comes to shove,a MID can handle Web browsing and document creation--but little else. These machines pack low-end processors and run Linux or Windows XP (or in some deplorable instances, resource-hogging Vista). But if your needs on the road are modest, a mini-laptop may be a good fit in your luggage.
Mini-Laptops, Mini-Prices
A quick survey of the summer stock of mini-laptops turns up several rivals for your affection, either on the market or in preview form.
The most obvious current candidates for best in show in this class of notebooks aretheApple MacBook Air and theLenovo IdeaPad U110. Both of these premium laptops offer sweet and stylish takes on mobile computing andpack 1.6-GHz CPUs and plenty of RAM. But where's the optical drive? Like the mini-laptops and UMPCs we've discussed,these ultraportables had tosacrifice something to achievethe desired weight and screen size.
That's really the punchline for all of these machines. Each of them fills adifferent need for people who need to travel light, but they have yet to solve the problem of how to provide certain things that haven't gone out of style. For example, suppose that you want to install a program. Though USB flash drives continue to get cheaper, you'll still probably need an external optical drive nearby to handle big loads--and that means more gear to lug around. So much for shedding pounds.