Netbooks aren't known for their smooth playback of high definition video. Manufacturers have found a solutions to this problem, by either using an Nvidia-based chipset (Ion) or a hardware decoder chip made by Broadcom. The Asus EeePC 1005PR ($400 street) uses the latter and complements it with a 1,366 by 768 resolution screen. Only a handful of netbooks support the Broadcom solution, namely the Dell Inspiron Mini 10s (HD) ($425 Direct, ) and HP Mini 5102 ($400 Direct, ), with the 1005PR being the cheapest. It's worth looking into if you watch a lot of HD or are sick of Web pages being cut-off abruptly at the bottom.

Design
Like the Asus EeePC 1001P ($300 Street, ), the 1005PR has a tapered front, and the back is thick enough to conceal the 6-cell battery. It uses the same matte-finish plastic cover as the 1001P, complete with the checkered pattern and fabric-like texture. Matte finishes are better equipped to hide scratches and finger prints. Shiny plastics, as in the ones found in the Acer Aspire 532h-2268 ($300 Street, ) and Lenovo IdeadPad S12 (Ion) ($650 Direct, ), are magnets for these unsightly smudges. Aluminum metals offer both pleasing design and smudge protection, and can be found in netbooks like the HP Mini 5102 and the Nokia Booklet 3G ($600 Street, ).