I've got no more than £250 to spend, battery life is important and I'd like it to be able to play watchable DVD's via an external drive (which i have).

Operating system isn't so important, it appears that Windows 7 is usually a "starter" version and you have to spend money to upgrade it to get the full features of Windows 7 so based on that i think I'd be happy with XP unless you think thats a bad thing?

Any suggestions?

no, you dont have to spend money to upgrade. you just go to youtube and type in windows 7 starter free upgrade (or similar) and it gives you the product key for win 7 Home premium! simples.

I have the Tosh NB200 which is excellent.

Ah right,thats not quite what i thought was implied on the Comet web site!

The Tosh is £280 though, more than I'm able to spend.

I bought a Samsung N130 from Argos for £229 (it was £250 in PCworld)

Using it loads more than I thought I would. Loads quicker to load up and get surfing than desktop or laptop and having wifi can surf all round the house. Another big plus is the lasts for 4+ hrs

I got an MSI U135 about £200 from Carphone Whore House. Brilliant though. Use it all the time 🙂

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250620963008&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Stuff a netbook – go subnotebook