It’s not a major difference (yet), but if you’re buying a new Netbook, look for systems powered by the updated Intel Atom N280 CPU. The N270 is still the dominant chip in today’s Netbook offerings, but the N280 offers a slight clock speed improvement (1.66Hz v 1.60GHz), and a faster Front Side Bus (667MHz v 533MHz). 

With the N280, you should see faster boot times and quicker load times when opening programs.  And, while the difference may be minimal, there’s no reason not to buy the latest and greatest if you A) can afford it and B) don’t need a specific N270 system for a specific reason.

There are more interesting Netbook goodies on the way in coming months from Intel, NVIDIA and other component makers, but for now, we suggest looking for N280-powered systems.  Our current favorite: The ASUS Eee PC 1008HA Seashell