NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Is the world ready for another round of inexpensive Windows laptops? Remember those cheap, slow, under-powered "netbooks" from a few years ago? Can such devices compete with increasingly popular Chromebook devices? Hewlett Packard (HPQ) thinks so.

HP released two colorful, Stream notebooks that run Microsoft (MSFT) Windows 8.1. There is one version with an 11.6-inch screenand the larger one we've been testing the Stream 13. Both are priced at less than $230.

We've been living with a Stream 13 for a few weeks now and are impressed with what we've seen. No, this inexpensive portable is not nearly the equivalent of a Microsoft Surface Pro 3or Lenovo's slick Yoga 3 Pro. But we've found the HP to be a good, reasonably priced device that can give Google (GOOG) Chromebooks some stiff competition.

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HP Stream 13 Notebook Review: A Super-Affordable Windows Laptop