Netbooks have been quite popular in the past few months. They are popular for not only being portable but also quite energy efficient. Getting more than 10 hours of battery life on a regular laptop used to be a dream. But there are plenty of netbooks out there that get you close to that mark. Netbooks are also very compact, which makes them a great companion for business people and those who spend a lot of time traveling all around the globe. But can they survive the onslaught of ULVs?

ULV laptops have not been getting the press coverage that netbooks have been getting, but they are not only powerful and energy-efficient but quite portable as well. They also have a more laptop-like feel. These machines come with single and dual core processors and can handle more sophisticated apps much better than netbooks.

As the above chart demonstrate, it is possible to get double digit hours on a ULV laptop. And it doesn’t weigh too much either. The main issue with CULVs at this point is their price. While there are models that are closer to netbooks price-wise, the top of the line CULVs cost a few hundreds more than their netbook counterparts. In essence, CULVs are stuck somewhere between netbooks and regular laptops.

Can CULVs kill netbooks? It’s tough to say. There is space for both these products to co-exist. As netbook prices come down, consumers will have an easier time deciding between them and CULVs. For travelers who need high performance computing on the go, CULVs are probably a better choice. But price-wise, you can’t beat netbooks. The tussle goes on.

What’s your pick? CULVs or netbooks?