Before we begin, we must state from the outset that if we happen to call this object a netbook, it is by no means a reflection on the status of any current (or future) lawsuits against any of the companies involved in any dispute over the ownership of such word. We’re merely calling it that because, well, it’s called it on the box.

We look at Advent’s second crack at the massively-popular netbook formula, and see whether they get it right enough to tempt you away from Acer and Asus.

For a start, if we have to repeat the basic specs of these types of machines again we may scream (a 1.6GHz Atom processor, 160GB HDD, Wi-Fi etc…), but we won’t as it also has a 10” screen, HSDPA, and an attractive chassis which make the experience more enjoyable.

The unit is nice and light in the hand, and comes with a power adapter somewhere in between a mobile phone and a full scale laptop brick, so when all told, is easily transportable in a small bag (in fact, it barely added any weight to my rucksack when walking around with my full laptop and 4213 in there).

Battery-wise, the 4213 might pack a smaller unit than in other netbooks, but it will certainly be usable for a good four hours unplugged (of course depending on usage).

If you only use it for a few moments a day (checking emails in the morning when a full-rig boot-up will take too long for example), it’ll last for days.

Through normal usage, you do notice that the keyboard is quite a bit smaller than a regular one (although as it is not as titchy as the original EeePC 701’s, you do try and touch-type on it straight away not realising it’ll take some practice), and this can become frustrating in the beginning. Alas, as you power-through you will get used to it, and whilst the learning curve is steeper than most new machines it shouldn’t come as a surprise that you do need to adapt your typing style.

Writing full-text documents can get slightly tiresome, as it can on any netbook, but web browsing is an absolute breeze. As the unit is based on Windows XP, the Wi-Fi was quick and easy to setup – and whilst the unit came with IE6 – a quick download of IE7 and Firefox made the experience more than enjoyable.

In all then, this is a good second foray for Advent into the world of the netbook, and a ten-incher at the £250/£260 price point with the features that this thing packs is highly commendable.

We do recommend that you play with some netbooks first before taking the plunge into this market though; it is highly saturated with a lot of units at similar price points, so it will be about personal preference

Also since there are a few compromises to be had, and with the wealth of full machines (desktop and 15” laptop) for not much more, it’s worth having a go, but the Advent is definitely one to look at.