Kmart's Black Friday "netbook" comes up small

With a price tag of just $120, Kmart's Black Friday netbook doorbuster looks like a bargain at first glance. Unfortunately, when we looked further we found that it's anything but. In fact, calling the Delstar 7-inch wireless netbook a netbook at all is a stretch that would leave the Fantastic Four's Reed Richards envious. Here's why:

Computationally, while netbooks can't compete with larger, full-power notebooks, they still have the chops to take on basic tasks. Most use Windows XP, and some can use Windows 7 or even Vista. Even the most basic netbooks can at least run a version of Linux with no issues. However, the Kmart Black Friday circular trumpets the Delstar's use of Windows CE, and that's the first sign of trouble.

Windows CE, for those not familiar with it, is intended for use in devices with "minimal" capabilities. Though neither Kmart nor Delstar provide many details -- Delstar doesn't even list the netbook on its web site -- a little digging at other retail sites, such as Yugster.com, reveals that "minimal" pretty much nails it when it comes to this doorbuster item. The Delstar's 128 MB of memory, 2 GB of on-board storage, and slow processor are more typical of a PDA (personal digital assistant) -- or would have been, had smartphones not all but driven those from the marketplace.

Professional reviews are nonexistent for the Delstar 7-inch netbook, and user reviews aren't much more plentiful. But a user commentary thread at Yugster.com is good for a few chuckles -- and filled with warnings to stay far, far away. We expect to see some real netbooks on Black Friday at prices that won't be too much higher, and any of those will run rings around this Delstar device. We'll keep you posted, but in the meantime, why not take a look at our report on netbooks for what to expect from these tiny computers, and which ones experts and users say deliver the best performance and value.