Since it’s small, light and has an Intel Atom N270 processor, we're sticking with calling the N10 a netbook, but Asus has different ideas about this entry-level model in its new N-Series range of portable PCs.

Like the three Centrino 2 models in the range, the N10 is actually the product of Asus’s laptop division rather than the one that developed the Eee PC, and so Asus is classing it as a laptop rather than a netbook.

But while there are some obvious similarities between the N10 and other netbooks, there are also some rather striking differences. If you saw our earlier hands-on video, you’ll know that perhaps the biggest is that the N10 is first ever Intel Atom-powered portable with a discrete 3D graphics chipset – the nVidia GeForce 9300M GS .

The N10 is bigger and bulkier than most netbooks, though it’s still both small and light enough to carry around all day without wondering if someone’s slipped a house brick into your hand luggage. Build quality is also a significant step up from the Eee PC range too, which isn’t to knock those netbooks, but rather to say that the N10 just look and feels much more like a traditional ultraportable.

Well, at least from the outside. The glossy finish paint job, smoothly sculpted lines and sparing use of shiny silver plastic parts make the N10 very easy on the eye, but lift the lid and there’s an odd design decision that spoils its otherwise flawless ultraportable good looks.

Despite having a diagonal measurement of just under 13 inches, the lid is home to a screen with a 10.2in diagonal, which results in a wide black bezel around all four sides. The visual effect isn’t quite as peculiar as that on the Eee PC 4G with its 7in screen, but it’s an obvious budget component on a laptop that’s otherwise devoid of cost-cutting measures.

The shrunken screen is also a little unfortunate because this could have been a great opportunity for Asus to slip in something other than a netbook-standard 1024 x 600 display. At the moment, the only netbook with any thing bigger than this is the HP Mini-Note 2133 and a similar 1280 x 768 screen would fit in very nicely with the N10. That’s not to knock the bright, vibrant LED-backlit screen Asus has opted for instead, although its glossy coating will not appeal to everyone.