We only launched our Product Survey of netbooks earlier today but now we've got more exciting plans: hands-on videos.  Tonight we'll be talking you through all of the features of the four different netbooks we tested yesterday and tomorrow we'll post the clips so you can get up close and personal with these new netbooks!

> Product Survey: Netbook Computers

We're pleased to be able to announce the arrival of four new tests to launch our brand-new Product Suvey of netbook computers.

This new slimmed-down breed of laptop is increasingly popular as a second computer, with manufacturers cutting back on screen size and processing power to give the longest possible battery life out on the road.

While many of these computers look similar, we've put them through paces and found a whole variety of features out there.

We try to answer some of your key questions--flash memory or a hard drive? XP or Linux?-- in the introduction to our survey, before taking these four new netbooks through our labs:

• Acer Aspire One 150 Bb

• Asus EeePC 901

• Hercules eCAFE EC-800-H20G

• Medion Akoya Mini E1210

A new European directive currently under discussion could force consumer electronics manufacturers to fit removable batteries.

The motivation is to reduce the number of toxic batteries trapped inside products harming the environment when they are thrown away.

Although it has not yet been included in the proposal, a logical next step would be to oblige manufacturers to participate in take back schemes to collect used batteries.

Redesigned iPods?

If enforced, the draft directive would be relatively easy for mobile phone manufacturers to implement as their products nearly always have removable batteries.

The batteries inside Apple's iPod, on the other hand, are locked away inside and it's impossible for end users to take them out. 

It's possible, therefore, that the American manufacturer may find itself forced to redesign iPods and iPhones to meet the new directive, rather than having its customers return their products to after sales service to have their batteries repaired.

We had a chance to meet with Sony last week to talk about some of their current developments and plans for the future of their products.  It was the ideal opportunity to discuss the way ahead for OLED televisions, whose arrival we've often covered here.

So--when will we get one?

• The Sony XEL-1, which we tested back in April, will be available in Europe from January 2009 for 3000 euros (4100 USD / 2400 GBP).

• The two prototype versions of a 27 inch OLED have already been manufactured won't be followed up.

• It won't be until 2012 that we see large OLED screens commercially available.  "Four or five years" was Sony's best estimate, but given that we're nearly in 2009 already that could well mean 2014 at the outside.  Even then, the new models will be aimed at the "premium" market with a price tag to match.  Only several years after that will OLED begin to become affordable for regular consumers. 

Given the positive noises we had been hearing about OLED, it's a shame that Sony seem to be kicking it into the long grass for the time being, but we certainly don't expect to be seeing them in the shops any time soon ...

We've got another all-in-one color inkjet to add to our Product Survey: Multifunction Printers and the Canon Pixma MP240 (aka the Pixma MP260) seems like a great deal!

Reversing the usual logic in this field, its combined color car tridges work out cheaper than separate cartridges for each color, provided you're s ure to stock up on the highly economical high capacity cartridges and don't stick to those that Canon supply by default.

It prints as fast--and as well--as much more expensive printers and we're left wondering how Canon have managed to pull it off ..

> Test: Canon Pixma MP240