Everybody has their own definition of the perfect laptop computer, but it often boils down to the age-old compromise between performance and portability.

Whether you think they're a passing trend or a genuine response to the need for increasingly mobile computing, netbook sales are soaring and there's now an enormous amount of choice.

This page looks at some of the different components that contribute to the performance of your laptop. As well as explaining some of the technology involved, we've also tried to give recommendations based on four different ways of using a laptop:

Small text in big tests Each product presented on our site is tested on its technical characteristics and in practical use. We use the results from these tests to make a product profile with its pluses, minuses and to give it a final grade.