The new black..
My Dell laptop, single mobile processor running XP almost died, CCFL overheating at one end. This used to do everything I wanted to do on a laptop, while I used high end PCs for video processing. Two key factors, that I cannot put a dual channel TV card into a laptop and use Badaboom video processing, and using a DVD RW had also become almost always on the desktop rather than a laptop.
Current laptops using Vista need dual processors and two DDRII sticks to perform properly, but for most laptop purposes they are not really faster than XP on a CeleronM/Atom 1.6GHz single processor. However I'm not denying that if a single PC is the object, current dual-core Vista laptops are a reasonable choice. But one qualification, the newer DVD-RW in laptops have become very thin and light, and appear to be unobtainable as spares for the moment.
Because standard definition TV video will readily stream to my netbook using Wi-Fi from my home server with a dual TV tuner, and anything downloaded on my netbook can be quickly sent to my home server's DVD-RW, with the right netbook I don't need a laptop any more.
My Advent 4213 160GB-drive with integrated HSDPA 3G connectivity, does everything I want from a portable, because it is no longer the pseudo-typewriter as journalists probably see it. Truth is, that I no longer do any extended typing on a netbook (or laptop) any more, but if I have to I plug-in a USB full size keyboard.
Netbooks running XP are right size, price, portability, and mine sits happily on the arm of my recliner, available whenever I want to use it.