Those of us who carry laptops have different tastes and needs, of course, so it’s unlikely computer makers will ever agree on the ideal compact. It always comes down to a balancing act over size, weight, price, features and ease of use.

That’s evident in the four subnotebooks I’ve been testing — the Asus Eee PC 900, HP Mini-Note 2133, Intel Classmate PC, and Lenovo IdeaPad U110. None will break your back at an airport or on campus. They generally won’t break your budget, either. But they’ll likely have you begging for more.

Here’s a closer look:

Asus Eee PC 900

Taiwanese upstart Asus made a name for itself last year with the itty-bitty 2-pound, Linux-based $299 Eee PC, popular with techies but hamstrung in a few ways. Asus recently unveiled a welcome newcomer, the Eee PC 900. While keeping the petite form factor pretty much intact, the latest model ups the size of the screen from 7 inches to 8.9 inches, boosting the resolution along the way. Alas, the price is also considerably larger: $550, up from $299.

You can order it with Linux or Windows XP, the model I tested. The Linux version has greater storage: 20 gigabytes vs. 12GB, both modest sums. You can add storage via an SD card slot. Though the new Asus still runs on a fairly wimpy Intel Celeron processor, it now has 1GB of RAM (up from 512 megabytes), three USB ports and a 1.3-megapixel camera.

My main beef: It is a challenge to type on, especially if you have thick fingers. The slightly larger touchpad can recognize “gestures” — letting you, for example, pinch with your fingers to enlarge a photo. Battery life was so-so. With power-saving measures turned off, I got about two hours and 40 minutes off the battery, doing a combination of typing and…