ANOTHER COOL NETBOOK COMPUTER: I’ve been using the HP Mini 1035 for about a week now. It’s extremely slick-looking, and has a great keyboard. How does it compare to the 10″ Asus Netbook? Interestingly. The HP is considerably thinner and lighter. It has a better keyboard — the best I’ve seen on a netbook so far. On the other hand, its battery life is less — 2-3 hours instead of 4-5 in my usage — and it’s so light that it’s actually a bit unsteady on your lap. Or at least mine. On the other hand, it’s really small and pretty. My review of the 10″ Asus is here, and some reader comments on netbooks can be found here and here.

UPDATE: Reader Andrew Murphy writes:

Bought a HP 1035 for my wife – and she loves it. The battery issue aside, the 60G hard drive has plenty of room for most normal work.

Overall, she rates it highly. I offered to get her a HP pavilion like mine but she deferred. At nearly 6 pounds and even worse battery life she decided smaller was better – and when this one dies my next road computer will definitely be the 1035.

Wish it had a 6-cell battery, but it’s a great machine.