The mini notebooks, or netbooks, are getting hot this year. But are they right for you? Let's look at two specific hot models both offered by Acer: the Acer Aspire One netbook and the Acer Aspire 5315 laptop.

First, what is a netbook? A netbook is a small sized, light-weight, low-cost computer, smaller than a laptop. Netbooks are optimized more for Internet services such as web browsing and e-mailing. Think of it as a sub-notebook computer. They can often fit easily inside a purse or totebag.

The size and dimensions of a netbook is smaller than that of a notebook. The screen size, also called form factor, is anywhere between 7 to 10 inches. (By the way, monitors and displays are measured diagonally-top left corner to lower right.) This also means entire computer, and don't forget keyboard, are smaller. The Acer Aspire One netbook is in the middle with an 8.9" display size. The weight of a netbook is also lower, usually 2-3 pounds. The One weighs in on the low-end at 2.2.

Compare this to the Acer Aspire 5315 with a 15.4 inch screen and 10 lb weight.

Another major difference with the netbooks and laptops is that a laptop integrates all of the typical components of a desktop computer. The mini notebooks have some powerful computing features but aren't as robust in other areas. The features that are comparable to laptops include large hard drives (80 GB on the One netbook), reasonable memory (1 or 2 GB for the One), and a decent processor (Intel Celeron 2.13 GHz). The Acer Aspire 5315 laptop, however, has hard drives as large as 160 GB, memory (RAM) up to 2 GB, and an Intel Celeron Media processor 2.13 GHz.

Netbooks are not known for stellar graphics. The display maximums for the One are 1024 x 600 resolution with 18-bit color. This makes any intense gaming or graphic or video editing out. The Aspire 5315 goes up to 1280 x 800 resolution with 24-bit color.

On the other hand, both the notebook and netbook are expected to have good Internet connectivity. The Aspire One and the Aspire 5315 both have wireless connectivity and built-in webcams.

Netbooks are also meant to be ultra-easy to carry around--good for business professionals, students and frequent travelers. To that end, the battery life is much better-5.5 hours for the Acer One versus 2 for the Aspire 5315.

Both Aspires have 3 USB ports, a network port, touchpad and both have the option for Windows Vista or Linux.

If you are frequently on the go and need a computer for typical needs like word processing, email and Web access, a netbook like the Acer Aspire One can work for you.

If you need more disk space, work with graphics, or the small screen and keyboard are simply annoying, go with an affordable, midrange laptop like the Acer Aspire 5315.