Some manufacturers call it "Mini notebook PCs", while others call them "netbooks". But it is all thanks to ASUS Eee PCs that were first launched in 2007 that opens up a new market for smaller form factor notebook PCs.

The Mini notebook PC / netbook is equipped with Intel Atom processor that is designed for low power consumption which provides a longer battery life. It is, however, not intended for performance. You can use it to surf the web, check your email and create a word document or Excel spreadsheet, but it will stutter if you want to do programming or image and video editing.

Most Mini notebook PCs / netbooks come in 8-inch or 10-inch display (supporting resolution of 1024x600) and have at least three USB ports, VGA output, audio jacks for headphones and microphone, a memory card reader and a built-in webcam. On top of that, they are usually preinstalled with Windows XP OS, though some manufacturers do offer the Linux platform too. The price range for Mini notebook PCs / netbooks is between SGD550 to SGD850 (though some can be more than SGD1200), which is still lower than the typical laptop with decent hardware specifications.

Interestingly, there is also a trend for low graphics quality games being bundled with Mini notebook PCs / netbooks. However, the games are usually trial version and if you want the full version, you would need to purchase them online.

For this roundup, we take a look at 10 Mini notebook PC / netbook that are currently available in the market, and see how well they fare in our benchmark tests.