Vye Jolibook 10.1 inch netbook (Intel Atom N550 1.50 GHz, 1Gb, 250Gb, LAN, WLAN, BT, Webcam, Jolicloud 1.1 OS)

I brought my Jolibook almost as soon as it came out. I have been using Microsoft based computers all my life and this is like a breath of fresh air. The user interface is clean, its very fast and is a great all round netbook.

It uses Internet "cloud" based services so there is very little running on the Netbook. It comes with open office installed but I prefer to use Google Doc's and if you like you can use MS Office Live. There are lots of others apps (900+) for music, movies, pictures, Facebook, Twitter, BBC, etc

Jolibook is a great alternative to Microsoft, its really easy to use, no faffing with Anti Virus or firewalls, or constant patching for Microsoft security alerts. Turn it on and start using it.

I reckon the netbook is best suited to teenagers who want to surf the internet, listen to music and chat, collage/uni students, anyone who simple wants to sit on the sofa surfing whilst watching TV and taking on holiday.

This is a great gift for my daughter. She just turned 14 and we needed a computer for her that is both affordable and different from the boring selection. The jolibook is great because it runs open-source but it's very sexy. She loved it and it's very fast. Spotify is already installed and she can surf the web with Chrome.

This network offers a unique twist by combining the free Jolicloud Linux operating system in a specially designed netbook to make an internet based social experience as easy as possible. This is 2 unique products in one = Jolicloud + netbook.

Jolicloud is a free operating system that has been developed to take advantage of the internet where all the applications you need are on the dashboard. Pre-installed apps include Gmail, Chromium, Twitter, OpenOffice, Skype, etc, and there are 700 more (non-web based apps also appear; VLC Player, 280 Slides, OpenOffice, GIMP, and Boxee). With Jolicloud you can log into your account from any other computer once you are set up. There is also a tab that brings you direct access to your dropbox or similar cloud storage service. This is a friendly OS system that is easy to master, quick to boot up, not Windows, and fun to use.

The Jolibook has a marmite styled top that is either crazy good or ugly scary, and a bulging rear for the batteries that reminds me of the Renault car advert. If you can get beyond these 2 possible downers what do you find? The 10.1-inch, 1024 x 600-resolution display is bright enough for watching videos on YouTube, the speakers are standard netbook combo of tiny and not loud (what you would expect). The keyboard is functional and the flush touchpad works alright. The battery life will extend to 5 hours for a video, okay but not stella Stella Artois Chalice Pint Glasses CE 20oz / 568ml (Pack of 4). Mmm beer, must go to the fridge!

Who should buy this Vue Jolibook for £280. Firstly those who do not want to, or can not spend, £880 on a MacBook Air New MacBook Air 11 inch Notebook(Intel Core 2 Duo 1.4GHz, 2GB RAM, 64GB Flash Storage, NVIDIA GeForce 320M Graphics) - launched October 2010. Secondly those that do not want to buy a better notebook like the HP Mini HP Mini 210-2003sa 10.1" Netbook (Intel Atom N455 1.6GHz, 1GB RAM, 250GB HDD, Up to 10hrs battery life, Windows 7 Starter) - Blue or ASUS 1015 Asus Eee PC 1015PE 10.1 inch netbook (Intel Atom N450 1.66GHz, 1GB, 250GB, WLAN, BT, Webcam, Up to 11hrs battery life, Windows 7 Starter) - Black or Toshiba Mini NB305 Toshiba NB305-10F 10.1 inch Netbook (Intel Atom N455, 1GB RAM, 250GB HDD, Bluetooth, Up to 11hrs battery life, Windows 7 Starter) , download Jolicloud 1.0 and deal with a Joli-Windows experience. Thirdly those that surf most of their time, but also want to take notes in class or spreadsheets when not near their wifi connection. Fourthly those that hate anti-virus software - no need for that here.

Do not buy this if you already have an old laptop because you can just load the Jolicloud OS and see how much faster and refreshed the old thing works.

This is definitely brilliant for those who understand the limited offerings yet only need it for what it offers. Basically this brings a non-Windows Apple experience to the masses, almost. But what do you expect for less than £300.