Netbooks may be scoring the most laptop headlines of late, but there's another class of machine challenging for the hyper-portable crown. Consumer ultra-low-voltage, or CULV, laptops -- catchy, eh? -- tend to be slightly larger and more comfortable to use than netbooks, yet offer similar levels of performance and battery life, making them ideal for anyone that values both portability and comfort. One of the best examples in this category is the 11.6-inch Acer Aspire Timeline 1810T, our configuration of which, the AS1810TZ-413G25N, is on sale now for around £460.

The 15.6-inch Asus UL50Vt is a paradox, wrapped in an enigma, obfuscated by a cloud of contradictions. It's not designed for gaming, yet has two graphics cards. It has a low-power CPU designed to promote long battery life, yet it can be overclocked like a high-end desktop-replacement laptop. It's also large, yet not at all heavy. It's baffling, alright, so just who is this £700 mystery machine aimed at?

Archos is best known for its generally well-received portable media players, such as the Android-powered Archos 5 Internet Tablet. But the Archos 9 PC Tablet features a full Windows 7 operating system in an effort to meld the media player and netbook into one device.UK pricing for Apple's iPad is yet to be announced, but we reckon the entry-level version will sell for around £500, so, at £440, the Archos 9 may end up being cheaper.

The MSI Wind series is well established as one of the finest, most progressive netbook ranges in the industry. The original Wind U100 was one of the first netbooks to embrace the 10-inch form factor and the company's latest model, the Wind U135, is amongst the first to use Intel's next-generation, battery-friendly Atom N450 CPU. It's available now for around £280 from all good netbook retailers.