I got a call from my sister the other day, asking about the Dell Inspiron 13. My nephew was interested in buying it because he'd seen that it costs only $399, and after reading the reviews, he concluded it would be a good computer for him. (Did I mention my nephew is 10 years old?)

I thought the Inspiron 13 couldn't possibly be that inexpensive; he must have been thinking of a netbook. I went to Dell's site, and sure enough, there was a $399 Inspiron 13. Granted, it wasn't a fully loaded laptop (for starters, we'd recommend that anyone, even my 10-year-old nephew, should add another gig of RAM to the 1GB). But it's certainly more than adequate as a basic notebook.

I should have known better than to doubt my nephew's research skills. But what’s going on here? Thirteen-inch laptops are usually among the more-expensive models. Perhaps Dell is trying to compete with its own netbooks, or clearing out the bulkier Inspiron to make way for the ultra-light Adamo.

Bottom line, if you're looking for a 13-inch notebook and haven't considered it because the price was too high, now might be the time to buy.

—Donna Tapellini