The Other Buys: 7 Alternatives to the New 11.6-Inch MacBook Air

Despite having an 11.6-inch screen, no optical drive, and an incredibly thin profile, the new MacBook Air is not a netbook. Well, that's Apple's company line, anyway. And according to some benchmark tests, Steve's little computer that could is actually as fast as some full-sized laptops, so there's that. But regardless of its speed, people are going to buy it for its size. And some of those people are going to scoff at paying over $1,000 for the beautiful micro-machine. If you're one of those people, boy do we have a treat for you! If you're looking for a computer to take on the road, but don't want to spend your whole paycheck, check out our list of our favorite 11.6-inch laptops.

Fujitsu's smallest LIFEBOOK packs a huge hard drive, good battery life, and an awesome spill-resistant keyboard. We won't be corny and say it can take whatever life throws its way... but yeah, it can.

Over six hours of battery life and the ability to read up to seven different types of media storage cards? This is what we call a road warrior. You may not be able to do any heavy, heavy stuff with the M101z, but you don't need that much power to post pics to Facebook.

With a 5-in-1 card reader that lets you get files off any card you may have, HP's little warrior lets you play with media wherever you want. Thanks to the AMD Athlon, Windows 7 programs chug along smoothly, and the bundled HP software can, thankfully, be easily turned off.

The smallest Satellite gives you a memory card reader, multi-touch trackpad, HDMI output, a webcam with face recognition, and the ability to charge your gadgets through its USB port even when the laptop is sleeping.

The Thinkpad X-series has been awesome since IBM manufactured it. Now made by Lenovo, nothing's changed but the price tag. The best of the entry-level X models sports one our favorite keyboards, decent battery life, and great build quality. It's not the best looking, but you won't shed a tear when it bounces back from a nasty drop.

Though we love Lenovo's Thinkpads, the utilitarian, built-for-business design leaves us wanting something a little more Starbucks-ready. Luckily, Lenovo made the Ideapad for those not working in at a Fortune 500. Sporting a lot of the same features of the Thinkpad, it has a wider screen, better design, and a super-thin profile. It's also the lightest on the list. Tote away.