Processor: Intel's Atom is the de-facto netbook processor. It consumes little power and gets the job done eventually. Expect sluggish navigation and slow startups. Look out for AMD's new APU chipsets in 2011, a combined CPU/GPU solution that fianlly promises competition for Intel in this low-power processor class.

Storage: Early models had small flash-based drives up to 8GB. Now, effectively all netbooks come with either 160GB or 250GB 2.5in SATA hard-disk drives.Memory: Windows/Intel (Wintel) netbooks are restricted to 1GB of RAM, but you can easily upgrade this yourself to 2GB for around £25. That's our recommended minimum for running Windows 7, and will help prevent the netbook slowing further as apps are opened.

Wireless: 802.11b/g was the original standard wireless card in netbooks, but most newer models support 802.11n now too. Faster Wi-Fi technology won't affect browsing speed but will come in handy when transferring large files. All the models currently in our chart support 802.11n

Bluetooth can be useful but is not always a standard fitting. Some netbooks also include built-in 3G modems, needing just a 3G SIM card to gain wireless internet outdoors.

Operating system: Earlier netbooks were equipped with a Linux operating system. Windows 7 Starter Edition is now standard, with slightly reduced performance compared to Windows XP.