NETBOOKS IT'S A FREE FOR ALL; Stripped-down mini laptops with inbuilt on-the-go internet access - and the whole bundle paid for on monthly subscription. Clever...(Features)

HP COMPAQ MINI 700 ***

Orange: [pounds sterling]34 per month, 5GB data, 24-month contract Display 10.2in CPU 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 RAM 1GB Hard disk 60GB OS Windows XP Battery life 3hrs Bigger bandwidth comes at a price, but Orange has other cheaper deals. The Mini is well designed, but doesn't have much space to store your MP3s and videos. But then, that's what your iPod's for.

DELL INSPIRON MINI 10 ****

Vodafone (via thelink.co.uk): [pounds sterling]25 per month, 3GB data, 24-month contract Display 10.1in CPU 1.33GHz Intel Atom Z520 RAM 1GB Hard disk 160GB OS Windows XP Battery life 5hrs The Inspiron doesn't have the longest battery life, and its processor is the slowest here, but it's fully featured, with an HDMI port enabling output to an HDTV, and an SD memory-card reader.

ASUS EEE PC 1000H GO *****

Orange: [pounds sterling]29 per month, 3GB data, 24-month contract Display 10.1in CPU 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 RAM 1GB Hard disk 160GB OS Windows XP Battery life 7hrs Asus's 'Go' Eee PCs have an on-board 3G data connection. With a battery life of up to seven hours, this is a trusty travel companion, and the Applestyle multi-touch trackpad gives you intuitive control.

VIRGIN FREEDOM ****

Virgin: [pounds sterling]28 per month (overall), 1GB data, 24-month contract, comes with 10MB home broadband (and requires Virgin phone line, [pounds sterling]11 per month) Display 10.2in CPU 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 RAM 1GB Hard disk 120GB OS Windows XP Battery life 4hrs Virgin's laptop looks and performs much like the others - the eye-opener is the bundle deal. This is a set-up for fast home and mobile broadband.

ASUS EEE PC 904HD ***

T-Mobile: [pounds sterling]20 per month, 3GB data, unlimited texts, 24-month contract Display 8.9in CPU 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 RAM 1GB Hard disk 80GB OS Windows XP Battery life 5.4hrs T-Mobile's deal gives you unlimited texts from your PC. The 3GB data allowance is also very reasonable, but you'll need to plug in a USB dongle - the 904HD is the only netbook here that doesn't have a data connection built-in.

SAMSUNG NC10 ****

Vodafone: [pounds sterling]25 per month, 1GB data ([pounds sterling]30 for 3GB), 24-month contract Display 10.2in CPU 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 RAM 1GB Hard disk 160GB OS Windows XP Battery life 8hrs A netbook that's quickly established itself as a well-loved classic, the NC10 is stylish and efficient and offers a generous amount of storage space, comparable to that of a full laptop.

HP PAVILION DV2-1010 ***

3 (via thelink.co.uk): [pounds sterling]40 per month, 15GB data, 250 texts per month, 24-month contract Display 12.1in CPU 1.6GHz AMD Athlon Neo MV-40 RAM 1GB Hard disk 160GB OS Windows Vista Battery life 4hrs More of a laptop than a netbook, this is the most powerful model here, with a DVD burner and a very generous data allowance. It's not cheap, though.