It certainly represents a further blurring between the lines of ultraportable and netbook, even if its core components are stuck at the feeble end of the scale: the 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 may be all-new and slightly faster than the 1.6GHz N270, but with 1GB of RAM few people will want this as their main laptop.

Despite this, when I played with the MSI Wind U160 at CES Unveiled (shortly after my toying with the MSI X-Slim X420) I found it surprisingly nippy. Indeed, the Windows Experience Index gave it a score of 3.1 for Graphics. That compares to 2.1 for the previous generation of Intel’s Atom processor and graphics chipset.

The golden finish to the keyboard area can’t hide that it still feels plasticky to the touch, though, and things weren’t helped by the fact the pre-production unit on show had been prodded and probed by a number of people: the keyboard was actually coming away at the corner.

As with the MSI X-Slim X420, the trackpad has an unusual finish. But because the nobbles stick out of the trackpad on the Wind U160, as opposed to the dimples of the X420, it’s much more obvious in use. While I’m sure most people will get used to this, others may find the design a little irksome.

Few will complain about battery life. My friendly MSI rep suggested the U160 will last for at least seven hours on a single charge. It adds up to an interesting netbook, although we’ll have to wait until late February before getting the finished article into the PC Pro Labs: this netbook is still so new that it’s not actually entered into production.

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It’s the one we’ve been waiting for, and now it’s arrived – rather unhelpfully, late on a Friday afternoon. The Samsung NC10 is the one we all think will challenge the Eee PC for the netbook crown, and from first impressions we remain convinced.

It’s the first netbook we’ve seen that actually looks like a laptop. It has much in common with Samsung’s larger portable models, and the manufacturer has been sure to spend a little time on the styling. Where the brilliant Eee PC 1000H looks like, well, a my-first-laptop, and the MSI Wind is curvy but feels like a toy, the NC10 has the silver trim and little style touches that make it feel like a polished, fully-fledged laptop.

The keyboard is every bit as comfortable as the Eee, and the screen looks like every other small TFT we’ve seen in the netbook range. If we have a complaint it’s that the touchpad is on the small side, and all too easy to slide off without realising. The joint mouse buttons aren’t ideal either. But we like what we see so far, and with battery life rumoured to be as impressive as the Eee, we look forward to benchmarking it thoroughly.

UPDATE: Read the full Samsung NC10 review here.

Now, finally, in the luxurious splendour of Monte-Carlo’s Fairmont Hotel, we’ve managed to get our grubby mitts on the Mini 9 itself.

The 9 in the title gives away the most important part of its specification. The screen is an 8.9in panel, which looked bright and vibrant, while boasting the usual 1,204 x 600 pixel resolution.

Unlike the rest of Dell’s brightly-coloured new ranges, the Inpiron Mini 9 is finished in a rather dour grey and black attire. The glossy black lid looks nice enough, even if it is a bit of a fingerprint magnet, and build quality generally feels pretty sturdy. Compared to the likes of MSI’s Wind, the lid and chassis feel just that bit more reassuringly stiff, and it seems like it’ll survive the daily rigours of being thrown in a bag.

The version we saw came with the popular Ubuntu 8.04 installed as standard. And while the specification list is the standard netbook fare – an Intel Atom N270 running at 1.6GHz, 1GB RAM and 8GB of solid-state disk -  startup was a touch on the sluggish side, taking a good 45 seconds before Ubuntu showed its face.

But, more crucially, we weren’t especially enamoured with the keyboard. Dell has opted to keep the letter keys as large as possible, while shrinking the surrounding ones, a choice which leaves the Tab, Shift, Caps Lock and other keys looking painfully small.

It’s a shame, as there’s a good 8/9mm of chassis to the left and right of the keyboard which has been inexplicably left fallow. In our brief encounter, we preferred it to that of Asus’s original 8.9″ models, but it was a far cry from the delightful ergonomics of MSI’s Wind, Asus’ Eee PC 1000 or Acer’s Aspire One.

Dell is offering two versions, the one seen here with Ubuntu for £269, and another with Windows XP for £299. HSDPA/3G will initially only be available on Mini 9s bought directly through Vodafone, but Dell’s reps didn’t rule out the possibility of HSDPA-equipped models becoming available in the future. And when we pressed them about other models in the range, such as the 12.1in Intel Atom Z530-powered model accidentally leaked by Tesco, they admitted that the company will be expanding the range in the not too distant future.

In the meantime, we’ll leave you with some shots of the Mini 9’s shapely sides to drool over…

Since then the number of “netbooks” has multiplied, the original has got bigger and better, and there are still more on the horizon. Rumours of Lenovo (now confirmed – Ed) and Sony joining the fray may turn out to be unfounded, but it’s clear even the most sceptical of manufacturers has been forced to admit the little things have taken off in a way no one predicted.

But with each new model, each new name, the prices have been slowly creeping in the wrong direction, to the extent that what was once a pocket-money investment is now a slightly more laptop-sized dent in your wallet.

No one wants the 7in Eee any more, despite its appealing £200 price tag. It’s been made old news by its bigger brothers, and now we’re all raving about laptops costing £250, then £300, then more. It’s probably what Asus intended all along, as the margins on the Eee PC 701 must have been non-existent. Reel the public in with a jaw-dropping innovation, then gradually wean them onto dearer things.

Sadly others appear to be following. This week reports are emerging that the MSI Wind will soon be repairing its one major flaw by upgrading to a much-needed 6-cell battery. Good news? It appeared so. MSI had  pledged to bring this new battery in at the same original price, while reducing the 3-cell model accordingly.

But now it’s been confirmed that the bigger battery will cost you an extra $50, while the base spec version won’t be changing. Want more? Pay more.

Acer’s Aspire One is also getting a new, much-needed 6-cell battery. Again, though, initial pre-order retail prices for the battery alone are sitting at $120, which will translate to £60 at the very least over here. Considering the undercutting of its competitors’ price was one of the Acer’s major strengths, a price rise is unwelcome.

Can they really have thought such low laptop prices were sustainable? Or, more likely, was this the plan all along? Sadly, many seem to be following the Asus model: get your initial product out there at a mouthwatering price that gets the punters salivating; then hike the price back up within a few months to a level at which profit can be made.

The Eee Box is the next out of the traps and, totally aside from the fact that I simply don’t believe the same market exists for an ultra-cheap PC as it clearly does for laptops, I’m afraid past events mean I’ll be taking the initial price tag with more than a pinch of salt.