Cosmos netbook computer

Colourful and functional, this netbook will have you surfing with style. Credit: John Rintoul

With a 10” screen and a range of funky colours, this tough little notebook is small but rough and ready and with enough grunt to get you through most applications. With a slick look and a functional style and just 1.kg in weight, it’s ready to join you on a trek into the great unknown or at the local café to show off its shiny facade.

I’m sold on notebooks as the genuine ‘portable’ laptop – as opposed to the larger ‘luggable’ laptops – and this colourful version equipped with an Intel atom processor is rapid, responsive and altogether enjoyable. On the (arguable) down side it’s currently sold only with Linux platform, Windows converts will have to fork out for their platform of choice and install via USB.

It has a gig of RAM – perfectly good for keeping images and word docs on holidays and the cute webcam and functional wireless means it’s handy when you’re on the go.

The backlit screen illumination is good enough for indoor or outdoor use. While the mouse buttons are a little stiff, you do get used to it and it has two buttons, which is useful for the PC user.

At 802.11 b/g wireless LAN it’s pretty standard, and with 160 gig storage there’s room for a bit of software.
While the inbuilt sound won’t blow your mind – kids may fight over movies – the playback and video quality is excellent. I was hogging it from my partner and look forward to testing it overseas.