Subnotebook: Judging by Google results (1,660,000) and the presence of a Wikipedia entry, "subnotebook" appears to be one of the most popular and closest-to-legit terms, with a history going back to at least Toshiba's Libretto, according to our friend Mark Spoonauer, editor-in-chief at Laptop. The real sticky point appears to be on the edges—when does a UMPC become a subnotebook, and when does a subnotebook become a real notebook? At 11 inches, Lenovo's IdeaPad U110 is probably the breaking point for subnotebook. In fact, that's our new rule: to classify as a subnotebook or ultraportable (see below), you've gotta be 11 inches or under, and less than 3 pounds. (Sorry Walt, the MacBook Air might be light, but its ginormous, full-notebook footprint means it ain't really a subnotebook in most people's eyes.) Judgment: Like a pair of loafers, "subnotebook" is unsexy, but it gets the job done.

Ultraportable: That's a really tricky term, probably the most amorphous. Spoonauer classifies small notebooks with fuller keyboards and displays like the IdeaPad U110 or HP's Mini-note 2133 as "ultraportables," leaving the "subnotebook" moniker to devices in the UMPC class, like the HTC Shift. However, added confusion comes from the fact that ultraportable sounds like ultramobile, as in UMPC (see below). Still, it's the most compelling alternative to subnotebook, because it sounds sexier, and has over 3 million Google hits alone and 1.27 million tagged to notebook or laptop. The big knock against "ultraportable" is that it redirects to "subnotebook" on Wikipedia. Judgment: I don't mind it, but without a firm identity it'll never be useful. Plus I feel like it's trying too hard.

Mini-Notebook: While "mini notebook" seems like a less popular and unwieldy derivative of "subnotebook," with fewer Google results (1,110,000) and no Wikipedia page (it doesn't even direct back to subnotebook), Spoonauer says that it's distinguished from subnotebook as being the class of small form-factor notebooks that are under $600, like the Eee PC. Judgment: I think this one should be junked, though determining a class on price is probably a good idea.

ULPC: This most generally stands for ultra low-cost PC, though I've seen ultra-light PC, too. (How about that for a red flag?) It isn't overly popular, but it obviously refers to small, cheap notebooks like the Eee or XO OLPC Laptop. While it might be useful in distinguishing the Eee from, say, the pricier U110, overall the term seems pointless, especially when there's already a better alternative. Judgment: Garbage heap.

Netbook: This is actually the brainchild of Intel's marketing department to describe sub-$500 notebooks centered around internet-connectivity, such as its Classmate PC. The original Eee PC, XO OLPC Laptop and Cloudbook would fall into this category. While it is technically flackspeak, I actually like it because it's short and fairly specific. Besides being endorsed by Intel (obvs), Ubuntu has officially picked up the term. Judgment: A keeper, even if it was coined by the Man.

UMPC: The term stands for ultra-mobile PC, and actually has fairly concrete origins in the Project Origami catastrophe headed up by Microsoft. Under Intel and Microsoft's guidelines, technically the form factor is defined as touchscreen mini-tablet smaller than eight inches with a resolution of at least 800 pixels wide. However, we (and most others) include the OQO in this category. Even though it doesn't have a touchscreen, it otherwise fits the slabby form factor to a T. Update: To be clear, the OQO has an active digitizer, not a touchscreen. It won't recognize your finger, you need a special stylus. Judgment: Works, we just have to disabuse people of using it in reference to stuff like the Eee.

Conclusion
Hopefully focusing on three terms that bear the least ambiguity will help with this confusion. Here's where you guys come in, since believe it or not, we do like standards. So while UMPC has dried to a firm, tasty shell, Netbook and subnotebook are still pretty jelly-like. Or maybe you'd prefer ultraportable to subnotebook? Should low-cost dwarfish notebooks be called netbooks, or is there a better term? Help us clean up this semantic cesspool.

"ASUS is looking forward to welcoming you during Computex 2008 in Taipei, Taiwan, for the ASUS' 08 Computex Trilogy of launch events. We would also like to specially extend an invitation to you to attend the official global launch of the new Eee PC™ 901 and 1000 series."

[UMPC Fever—Thanks Frank]

Tech Corner claims the Netbook uses a 900 MHz Celeron processor and would sell for around $400. This contradicts reports that the upcoming Netbooks would be using the Intel Atom Diamondville processor and fall between the $250-$300 price range. However, claims of a June 2008 launch do seem to line up with those same reports.

Looking at its design, there's a handle attached to the back of the device, which looks a bit stupid. But if it's for the classroom, I guess we shouldn't care. And for a budget notebook, it looks pretty decent otherwise. We'll see come mid-year if this really is Intel's Netbook. [Flickr via Tech Corner]

For those who think that June will never come, can't wait to get a sexy subnotebook with flash storage even if it doesn't come with Mac OS X and live in Japan, here's the new Sony VAIO Type G: a 12.1-inch notebook that not only comes under the 2 pounds mark (1.97 or 898 grams) battery included, but includes a 32 GB solid storage unit for $1,926.

The VAIO Type G comes short on power though: it only has a Core Solo U1300 running at 1.06GHz and the Intel 945GMS Express chipset doing the graphic work, with just up to 1.5GBytes of DDR2 RAM. Perhaps that's why it comes with Windows XP Pro instead of Vista. And perhaps that's why I will stick to my MacBook until Apple releases something better with a SDD. – Jesus Diaz

Update: battery life with the standard battery and the SDD drive is 12 hours, but the total weight increases to 2.08 pounds (945 grams). With the small battery, Sony says it will last 6 hours

SONY, "VAIO type of 32GB flash loading/approximately 859g G" [PC Watch]

Following up on the Sub-Macbook rumor, American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu says now that Apple may introduce a new notebook based on Flash NAND chips «in the second half of the year». It's unclear if Apple will also finally introduce the personal teleporter with cold fusion engine in the same time frame, but that quote alone, coupled with Samsung announcing the first shipment of their hybrid NAND hard drive to OEMs, will probably fill Apple's fanboys' wet dreams for months to come. Myself included. – Jesus Diaz

Apple `chip' laptop in works [Mercury News]
Samsung Starts Shipping 'World's First Hybrid Disk Drive' [The Money Times]

Though it's well under 3 pounds light, it still has a dual-layer DVD+R/RW drive packed underneath. Accordingly, Sony touted the DVD viewing attribute of the TX3, asserting that its widescreen has a perfect 16x9 aspect ratio. Well, that's just right for viewing HDTV with the higher-end TX72 version's OneSeg digital tuner, but a lot of films you'd watch on DVD are shot in a bit narrower aspect ratio than that. Expected to ship in mid-to-late July, the TX3 will be available in either black or limited-edition Slate Blue, and pricing for a well-equipped model will run around $2K. – Charlie White

Sony unveils 'no compromise' sub-notebook [Reg Hardware]