The only instance where we really noticed a difference in performance between the two notebooks was while installing some rather bulky benchmarking software. In that one case, the NEC began installing the benchmark straight from the hard drive first, but finished after the Acer notebook which was started a minute or so later.

When considering a notebook such as the NEC UltraLite it is important to think about what it will be used for, and indeed what it was intended for in the first place.

Subnotebooks are slimed down versions of what are now increasingly heavy notebooks. While the term notebook used to be synonymous with portable computing, it now almost seems to apply better to "semi-portable."

Notebooks have always been a few steps behind the speed of desktop systems, and by bringing them into the 1.0GHz range the rules are being eroded in favor of decidingly unportable aspects. Now there is nothing even slightly bad with a super fast computer, but if it burns through its battery in only few hours while burning a hole in your pants that is hardly the ideal situation.

The new class of subnotebooks have entered the marketplace to address the power and weight considerations that have been around for many years. By creating small, lighter, and longer lasting subnotebooks, the industry is essentially extending the reach of the PDA, and notebook computer to a more useful and efficient device.

PDA's maintain very long battery life spans, but lack most of the core features we really need while away from the office. Full-size notebooks pack in everything we could possibly need from the office into a black rectangle which can be lugged across the continent, but lack the real day-to-day portability of the PDA. By combining just the right elements from each of these two species of computing devices, the subnotebook meets the criteria of each region, with only a few compromises. In particular the NEC Versa UltraLight does this very well.

While technically the Versa UltraLite comes in short on the benchmarks, the real world sacrifices to "performance" were really only evident as a second or so when booting Office or PhotoShop, or while installing some software. Hardly coming near to anything detrimental while working on the machine at human speeds.

Let's face the facts. I would rather work longer on the UltraLite for the 90% of the time that I will just be typing, than run out of batteries on the Acer (while typing) for 10% of the time where I will be able to encode an MP3 X-percent faster. Bottom line, the UltraLite is a sleek notebook with long battery life and good performance.