Of course, there are some tradeoffs that come with mini-laptops' bargain basement prices.

"You're not going get a super-powerful processor in there, and usually you're limited on storage space," says Ian Bell, editor in chief of Digital Trends, a consumer-technology analysis site.

In addition, most subnotebooks lack CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drives so you won't be able to play movies on your computer.

Mini-laptops trace their roots back to the One Laptop Per Child project, a program started by an MIT professor with the goal of providing every child in the developing world with a $100 laptop. Computer manufacturing companies soon took advantage of the commercial opportunity these tiny laptops created. With the 2007 release of the Asus Eee, a surprise hit for Taiwan's Asustek, mini-laptops got their jumpstart.

The Eee is so popular, "now everyone is trying to copy them," says Dan Ackerman, senior editor at CNET.com.

A slew of Taiwanese vendors unveiled models at June's Computer expo, but rival products from big brands like Dell are on the way, too. Many use Intel's power-efficient Atom CPU along with solid-state disk (SSD) drives, for better battery life, boot times, and shock resistance.