Next Up in Netbooks

In the consumer electronics world, 2009 is rapidly shaping up to be the year of the netbook.

At the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, these lightweight, ultra-portable computers -- with screen sizes of 10 inches or so and price tags that hover around $400 -- are all the rage. Netbooks were the rare bright spot in otherwise slumping electronics sales last year and manufacturers are hoping to claim a share of the market with a host of their own offerings.

Among the latest arrivals to the netbook market: Lenovo is set to release its S10 at the cheap price of $349. Asus, which was early to the netbook scene with its Asus EeePC, unveiled its latest offering complete with Wi-Fi and touch-screen technology.

With so much innovation, however, category lines between netbooks and laptops are starting to blur. Sony's (SNE) new Vaio P Series Lifestyle PC looks like a netbook, at eight inches and just 1.4 pounds. But the $900 computer operates more like a laptop, with high-performance bells and whistles such as 3G connectivity and built-in GPS. (For its part, Sony asked attendees not to call the Vaio P a netbook.)

There's also the Dynamism OQO model 2+, which fits every netbook qualification except price. An energy-efficient organic light-emitting diode, or OLED, screen pushes the price to $1,000. (Read more about this eco-friendly technology and more here.) And the SFR M!PC Pocket (price to be announced) looks more like a large smartphone than a small computer.

Check out these four brand-new models.

$349 and up
Instead of entering a password, just look at the screen. Equipped with VeriFace facial recognition software, the S10 knows whether you're an authorized user or not. An instant-on operating system boots your most frequently-used applications in seconds, without starting up the entire operating system. Lenovo also provides a social portal to help you stay linked with Facebook, MySpace and other networking sites.

Price to be announced.
Touch-screen tablets meet netbooks in this latest hybrid from Asus. Use the screen upright as you would with any other computer, or swivel it to fold atop the keyboard for use as a touch tablet. Like the rest of Asus's EeePC line, the T101H boasts a graphic-based interface for quick navigation, as well as built-in Wi-Fi that automatically finds and connects you to the Internet.

Price to be announced.
Move over, MacBook Air. MSI's new netbook is nearly identical in size to Apple's (AAPL) offering, with a 13-inch screen and case that's just 1.98 centimeters thick. Under the hood is Intel's (INTC) 1.6GHz Atom processor.

$429
ViewSonic's first entry into the netbook category, the 2.6-pound VieBook offers both portability and power. Focused on providing Internet capabilities on the go, features include a 1.3 megapixel webcam, as well as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.