Background: I’ve been working repairing and upgrading computers for 15 years, and I work online about 12 or more hours per day from my home office. We have a 16 mbit connection to the web, and there are 3 computers, 3 laptops, one netbook, an entertainment PC, an Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and various portable devices connected to the Internet. The router is probably one of the most important pieces of equipment in the entire house, since the Internet is in constant use.

I have used Linksys routers for years. It’s probably force of habit since I worked in corporate IT for 10 years, and that’s always what was used at work, and it’s what you see in all the big box stores. In addition – the company is owned by Cisco – a known industry networking leader.

Years ago I had a Linksys Wireless B router. It worked great, but was too slow. I bought a Microsoft wireless G router online in some clearance sale for $25, and we used that for almost 5 years with no issues. Microsoft no longer makes routers. About a year ago it got to the point where we were having to reset the MS router multiple times per day – so I broke down and bought the Linksys WRT54G wireless G router. It lasted about one year before it died. By “died”, I mean – all the lights won’t even come on anymore.

I usually exclusively buy all my electronics and gadgets online. I haven’t bought anything like that in a big box store like Wal-Mart, Staples, Best But, etc. – in years. My wife and I were out and about shopping when my son called and said the router died. He’s going to school for networking, so when he said it was “dead”, I knew it was. The way we use the Internet – I knew that I had to buy a new router while I was out, or there would be no web access when I returned home.

Grudgingly, I went to Staples because I live in a small town, and I knew they would have the most routers on hand. Since the Linksys WRT54G died after just one year, I knew I didn’t want another Linksys. I also knew that NetGear is usually the bottom of the barrel, so the thought was “let’s try Belkin!”. I bought the best router they have, the Play Max dual band Wireless N router – and as you read in my last review, it was the worst wireless N router money can buy. It was horrible, every page online took 3-5 seconds to load, some never loaded – the router had to be reset all the time, it was complete and utter garbage. My son actually read online at the Belkin web site in their FAQ’s that they recommend rebooting the router every 4 hours for “optimal usage” – WTF is that? When the company making the router says you have to reboot it 6 times a day for best use – you KNOW it’s crap!

How to Pick the best Wireless N Router

If you’re not very technical (or even if you are), I’m going to give you some things you should be looking for when buying a router.

DOES THE ROUTER HAVE…

- are the antennas internal or external? (external are of course better)
- how many antennas does the router have?
- what is the speed of the processor?
- how much memory does it have?
- how much flash memory does it have?
- does it have external connectivity for USB storage and printers?

You may not have thought about it this way – but a router is a miniature computer. It has a CPU, and it has memory. Now – think about this for a second – that means that the more CPU power it has, and the more memory it has, the faster it’s going to work. So you’re not only looking for the wireless N router with the best features, you’re looking for the one with the most POWER.

Comparing Wireless N Routers

Belkin Play Max
- antennas: internal
- CPU: info not found anywhere
- Memory: tech sites list as 64MB
- Flash Memory: tech sites list it as 8MB
- external support: print and USB storage

Linksys WRT320N
- antennas: internal
- CPU: BCM4717A 354MHz
- Memory: 32MB
- Flash Memory: 8MB
- external support: NO

*Note: regardless of pricepoint, antenna, and external support – nearly all Linksys wireless N routers seem to have 32MB memory, 8MB flash, and smaller CPI

NetGear RangeMax
- antennas: internal
- CPU: 680 MHz 32-bit processor
- Memory: 64MB
- Flash Memory: 8MB
- external support: print and USB storage

D-Link Xtreme
- antennas: 3 external
- CPU: 275 Mhz
- Memory: 16MB
- Flash Memory: 4MB
- external support: print and USB storage

Asus RT-N16
- antennas: 3 external
- CPU: Broadcom BCM4718 533MHZ
- Memory: 128MB
- Flash Memory: 32MB
- external support: print and USB storage

My Choice for Best Wireless N Router

If you go buy specs above from the list above, it’s very plain that as far as CPU and memory horsepower, the D-Link is the bottom of the barrel. The next worst would be Linksys. The NetGear has the most powerful processor, but only by a hare (533Mhz vs. 680 Mhz). The Asus has double the memory, and 4 times as much the flash memory. Also – the Asus has 3 external antennas

For those of you who have never heard of the ASUS company (AsusTek), they are primarily known for making motherboards for computers. Those of us that have been building computers for years know that name well, because ASUS has not only always meant quality – but they have long since been the “Cadillac” of motherboard makers. Most “tech guys” know the ASUS name from parts we buy online – again, not a name you would normally see in the “big box” stores.

We purchased the Asus RT-N16 Wireless N router based on the specs above, but also because of the 4-5 star reviews on nearly every site we could find a review on. We paid about $90US, and had it shipped overnight via Amazon Prime.

This is a pic of the router:

When I received the router – I took it out of the box and connected it to my cable modem, and my main computer via hardwire. I brought up the management interface at http://192.168.1.1/. The first thing you need to do is turn off your router while you plugin everything in (remove the battery if it has battery backup – like the comcast routers with VOIP phones). Then turn the cable modem on first, 30 seconds later turn on the router, and then bring up the management interface. I believe the only tweak we really made, was to turn the firewall off. We used WPA2-Personal with a network key, and seconds later – we were up and running!

The difference between our Linksys wireless G, the Belkin Playmax, and the Asus RT-N16 was astounding. With the extra memory and flash (and bigger processer) – web pages load like lightning! After you type a URL and hit enter, just say “BAM!” as fast as you can, and the web page is already loaded.

Now you may think that it’s just this fast from my hard wired computer, but loading YouTube videos and flash-laden pages from a 7 year old 1.0 Ghz Pentium III with 512MB Ram and 40GB hard drive, with a USB Wireless N adapter is just about as fast as the hard wired computer. It’s fast as hell!

This is the fastest router I’ve owned, setup was effortless, and it has the most external antennas and largest horsepower of any wireless N router I could find. I know that wireless N has a broader range, but when I had the Belkin Play Max installed (upstairs), my devices downstairs were connecting to the network with only 1 or 2 bars (out of 5, even though it was wireless N). My ASUS RT-N16 has had consistent 5 bar connections with EVERY device in my home since I installed it from day 1. That’s the best wifi connection hotspot I’ve ever had installed anywhere (and I’ve setup dozens of routers for family, friends, and clients). From now on – Asus is the only wireless router I will buy.

If you like the specs and want to try the ASUS RT-N16, you can buy it on Amazon here:

You can also find it new or used on eBay:

ASUS RT-N16 Wireless N Router/Printer Server
	USD / 105.00 (11 Bids) | Buy It Now End time: 2010-08-02 05:54:04

ASUS RT-N16 Wireless Router N /w Printer Server/P2P/BT
	USD 125.99 (3 Bids) | Buy It Now End time: 2010-08-05 03:51:02

Asus RT-N16 Gigabit Wireless Router w/ USB Storage &
	USD 91.51 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2010-08-06 00:20:55

ASUS (RT-N16) Wireless Router
	USD 75.99 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2010-08-04 20:48:14

Originally submitted at Staples

Dual-Band N technology gives you the fastest, most reliable speeds for video, music and gaming Dual-plane antennas and MIMO technology provides the best coverage for demanding home usage MIMO technology provides maximum coverage for demanding home usage Security settings are preset to get you up an…

Belkin Play Max Wireless-N Router

Worst Router EVER MADE!!

Pros: none

Cons: GArbage, Unreliable, Slow

Best Uses: none

Describe Yourself: High bandwidth user

Primary use: Business

The Belkin Play Max router is the worst router ever made. I have been repairing and fixing computers for 15 years, so my experience level is advanced – and I’ve owned a half dozen routers and setup hundreds of networks. I purchased this router to try and get away from my linksys for once, since my last router died after only a year.

The setup is awful on this router, as it has an internal firewall that is “on” by default (slowing all traffic). You would think that this wireless N router is wireless b with that thing on (even through a wired connection it’s slow). When you unplug it for 15 seconds or more, it seems to forget it’s WPA password, and WPS is on by default also.

Even once I got this router setup the way that I wanted, it’s slower than all bejeezus. It’s constantly dropping packets, browsers connected directly via hardwire say “resolving host” and take 5 seconds to bring up things like google and eBay.

This router is the worst piece of garbage I’ve ever owned, and the 3 days I used it (before returning it) were the worst Internet usage days of my life since dialup. Goodbye Belkin router – I will never buy your products again…

(legalese)

This post of part of The Smorgasbord Tech Reviews series!

First, let’s talk about what a Solid State hard Drive is. You get the definitive answer from Wikipedia of course. Let me give you some details from that Wikipedia entry:

A Solid State Drive, or SSD, has no moving parts. Think of it as a huge flash drive. Because it has no moving parts, it eliminates the seek time and latency of a traditional spinning disk hard drive – and it’s faster. So because you’ve eliminated electro-mechanical delay, you’ve also eliminated electro-mechanical failures. It’s not to say an SSD wont go out, but at least you know it can’t go out due to moving part failure.

A Solid State Drive is comprised of either Flash RAM or SDRAM. SDRAM SSD’s are “fast access”, and data access is less than 0.01ms (250 times faster than the fastest hard drive in 2004). SDRAM SSD’s have an internal battery, and if the power goes out, whatever is in memory (RAM) can be copied to disk. There’s a distinct advantage over a spinning disk. Flash memory is slower than SDRAM, but because it’s more durable and rugged – it’s more widely used in SSD’s. Flash based SSD’s do not have a battery and use non-volatile memory.

SSD Pro’s:

• Faster startup and boot time
• Faster I/O (data access, see time)
• Longer lifetime (10 years of normal use)
• No moving parts
• Easy to ‘wipe’ clean
• Lower weight and size

SSD Con’s:

• Price ($8/GB compared to 0.25 cents/GB for spinning disk)
• Data possibly harder to recover with drive failuer vs. spinning disk
• Possibly affected by magnetic fields / static charges
• Slower random write speeds

Now, let’s give you a better perspective by sampling some information about SSD’s from across the net. Popular Mechanics calls the Solid State Drive the 3rd most Brilliant Gadget of 2007. They also mention the use of the term “solid state disk” as an oxymoronic term.

Tom’s Hardware reviewed the Solid State Drive 4 years ago, and one of the things that I noted was the fact that they said their test unit literally didn’t get hot at all and was virtually silent. In addition to being smaller than a traditional hard drive, it’s power consumption was way less than a spinning disk, and nearly nothing at all when not in use. These are definite distinct advantages that didn’t seem to come up in the Wikipedia article. I’ve had many computers in the past that had 3-4 hard drives installed, and they not only sounded like an airplane hangar – some of the drives would get very, very hot. SSD drives would definitely completely change that picture. They also mentioned that the drive could be used in nearly any environment, which I didn’t think about. Spinning disk would not work as well (or at all) in extreme heat or cold, but an SSD should. In this article you can view the performance graphs taken during testing showing how much faster and better performing the SSD was compared to 20-odd spinning disk hard drives.

So let’s recap what we’ve learned here…

• SSD Solid State Hard Drives boot faster than spinning disk drives
• SSD’s weigh less, don’t get hot, and use less energy than traditional HDD
• The SSD cost much more, but prices are coming down
• You see how well an SSD can function in a mobile situation – like a laptop or portable
• Solid State Drive’s are worse than traditional HDD is sustained data transfer – which means it’s not well suited for saving, moving, copying lots of large files or functioning in a constantly data intensive situation, like a database server
• SSD’s should last longer and be way less succeptible to failure than traditional HDD

If you’re considering getting a Solid State Drive:

• Can you justify the price vs. the benefit
• Are you better off waiting for prices to come down?
• Do you do data intensive work that is better suited to a traditional HDD?

Last – I’m going to provide you with some links so you can get current pricing on SDD Solid State Drive’s.

There are several Solid State Drive’s listed on Amazon:

Here are the most recent eBay auctions for solid state drives:

Intel X25-M Solid-State Drive 160GB New in Box
	USD 250.00 (28 Bids) End time: 2010-07-30 07:27:24

32 GB Solid State Drive Imation 2.5" Sata II M-Class
	USD 50.00 (4 Bids) End time: 2010-07-30 18:51:37

NIB 512GB Kingston SSD Solid State Drive HD 512 GB
	USD 810.00 (2 Bids) End time: 2010-07-30 19:21:18

RiData solid state drive 16 GB mini PCIe (eee PC OK)
	USD 40.00 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2010-07-30 21:04:54

Do you own an SSD? Have an opinion about Solid State Drives?

I’ve waited for this day for a looong time. I literally just found this deal. What you’re looking at above in the pic is what I just bought on Buy.com, it’s a small computer in a box – a network storage server (NAS server). Literally, this is a mini computer with 512MB ram, a 1.6Ghz Celeron processor, and 250watt power supply. That’s not why I bought it though. This has 4 USB ports, a 100mbit Lan jack, and slots for both older ATA style drives, and newer Sata and eSata drives. Do you have any idea what this means?

I can plug this into my Wireless Linksys router in one of the 4 ports, and instantly every computer in my house can access this thing, my Ubuntu machines, Mac, PSP, Wii, PS3, our Xbox 360, even our Window XP, Vista, and Windows 7 machines (yes we have this much crap in our house). So, in this new Intel NAS Server I’m going to install my old 120GB ATA drive (from a machine that burned up), my new 750GB Hitatchi drive I just bought off woot.com, and then I’m going to plugin via USB my new 1.5 TB Seagate drive and 320GB myBook. Once I do this, every computer in the house will be able to access all these drives via the network!!!

Oh I forgot to mention the best part, this Intel NAS server only cost me $135 (and had FREE shipping)! Best find of the holiday season! Click here if you want one too.

Can you get Dual Band Wireless N, both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz at the same time from one router? Is a dual band router twice as fast? Let’s find out!

Just about everyone who has multiple computers in their home have a wireless router. Most of those people bought theirs on a recommendation from [insert big box store here]. For most people these routers do their job and don’t give there “operator” any problems until it clunks out and you buy a new one. Well why not get educated on the new guy in the router game, IEEE 802.11n-2009, also known by its common name, “Wireless N”. The best way to take advantage of this technology are dual band routers as two is always better than one, right?

First off, if you go by CNET reviews (and I always do), no dual band wireless N router currently has above a 3 out of 5 rating, which if you’re not familiar with their system is only ‘good’. Okay, now that is out of the way, I rarely go with new technology or recommend it to others until it is completely fool-proof. I think that it just may be getting there now. Here are my recommendations of the best Dual-Band Wireless N routers.

Airport Extreme Review

Apple AirPort Extreme Base Station 802.11n ($175, although you could get it cheaper) – Don’t call me crazy until you have read all the features this little Apple that could offers. It has all the features of comparable features of routers of this type, but offer the ease that apple offers with all their products. If you run a mixed mac and pc network this router is perfect, if you however run all windows machines then you can find something a little cheaper with all the same features (it just may not be as fast). Believe it or not, you can use this Apple product as a router – even if you have no Apple computers in your house (it works just fine with Windows). This is a “true dual band” wireless N router, meaning it won’t make you choose between 2.5 and 5 GHz – you can actually use both. It will support printers and network storage, but it’s pick about USB external hard drives. It only supports 50 clients, which is more than enough for most households, just be forewarned there is a limit. Bottom line, I think most Windows users (advanced ones) will want more features).

Apple AirPort Extreme MB053LL/A Wireless Router
	USD 160.00 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2010-08-04 19:48:59

Apple AirPort Extreme MB053LL/A Wireless Router
	USD 31.00 (10 Bids) End time: 2010-07-31 20:29:21

Apple AirPort Extreme b/g Wireless Router Base Station
	USD / 129.95 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2010-08-04 00:35:51

Apple AirPort Extreme Base Router MA073LL/A Model 1034
	USD 10.00 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2010-08-03 19:58:24

Linksys WRT400N Review

Linksys WRT400N ($120-149.99 just look around) – In our home we have almost exclusively used Linksys routers since we got our first high speed internet connection many years ago. They have always been easy to use and maintain and have that weird little purple-blue look to them. Well the WRT400N sports a new design but works as well as you would a expect a Linksys should. This router has true dual band support, but no Gigabit or USB support. The 5 GHz speed is a bit lacking.

Linksys WRT610N Review

Linksys WRT610N ($160.99-199.99 again look around) – This one is the next model up from the previous Linksys. The routers only major complaint is that the warranty is too short. Sounds like a good problem to have, meaning at least the complaints were performance related. The router offers a single mode, mix mode and simultaneous mode for sending the signal out. It support both 2.5 GHz and 5.0 GHz at the same time. You can attach storage devices to it, and on this one the mixed-mode throughput could be better. Other than that, it may be the best of the bunch, especially if you have external storage you want to make wireless.

I know most of these routers are more expensive than most routers you will find at Wal-Mart but as they say, you gotta pay for quality. One final note if your computer, laptop or wireless capable device is only wireless G compliant you have a few choices. First you could just stick with what you have as your new wireless N router does accept all incoming signals. Next you could buy wireless n adapters which are usb enabled, work as they should and are relatively expensive. The final choice is yours, the consumer.

Obviously a student needs a light, super portable, and a power house for extensive apps! With that being said most manufacturers laptops are loaded with ad-ware, and junk files when its bought. So make sure when you do get your little electronic piece of gadget lore home you clear it of all the garbage. Now on to the guide.

Budget Laptop Review

Gateway TC7804u Price: 599.99 to 699.99

Generally speaking I wouldn’t normally recommend a gateway anything, but for the price this is one of the best ultra-portable laptops. At 5.3 pounds it a little beefy but with a large 320 gb hard drive, 2 ghz intel core 2 duo processor and 14 inch screen it makes the extra weight very bearable. It also boasts a Wireless N networking so it has great speeds from long range. It also looks very slick and sexy with a glossy black finish, beveled lid, metal trim and glowing orange media controls.

Gaming

Alienware Area-51 m15x Price: 3,249.99(Depends on configuration)
For those you want some stress free gaming time ‘between classes’ or whatever you tell your parents. In all seriousness this is the very best gaming laptop on the market. If you are serious about your gaming hobby and have the cash to shell out, you wont be disappointed with this purchase. It is pretty light for a gaming laptop at a manageable 7.1 pounds. You also get to pick the LED backlight color and even the case design. Aside from aesthetics this bad boy is a beast under the hood, packing a 15.4 inch display with a max 1080p resolution, Intel Core 2 Extreme X9000 CPU running at 2.8 GHZ, Nvidia GeForce 9800M GT GPU, and even a Blu-ray burner.

US $570.00 (43 Bids) End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 15:29:14 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

US $51.88 End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 16:00:43 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $51.88 Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $51.88 End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 16:00:48 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $51.88 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Mainstream

Dell Studio XPS 16
Its got a large 16 inch LED-Back light display, and ways in at a 6.4 pounds which is light for comparable models. 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P7350 CPU, 3GB of RAM, and you get a 250GB hard drive and slick slot-loading DVD burner. It battery life leaves something to be desired but it makes up for it with great performance and a great price. It displays at 720p so watching HD is also great. For the money its a great price and performace make this a great buy.

Got your own favorite? Then tell us about it in the comments!

I’ve reviewed the MSI Wind, HP Mini-Note, and Acer Aspire One, so it’s time to take a look at some of the new Netbooks out there this year. Here’s five that I hadn’t seen before.

Asus Eee PC 1000

Asus pretty much created the Netbook segment all on their own, the new Asus Eee PC 1000 is the latest model they offer, coming in at just under $500. It’s about 3 pounds, and it’s a bit bigger than it’s predecessors, but it’s more what people are looking for because it has more keyboard space, battery life, storage, and screen.

Asus claims the 6-cell battery can last up to almost 8 hours. It has 1GB Ram, an Atom processor, and both an 8GB solid state drive (SSD), and a 32GB Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) drive. You also get 1024×600 resolution, bluetooth, wifi, and built-in webcam and microphone. Most ratings I’ve read in Asus Eee 1000 reviews were 3.5 out of 4 stars.

There are quite a few models of Eee 1000, and you can choose from either Windows XP or Linux versions.

US $14.95 (1 Bid) End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 20:00:46 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

US $11.50 (0 Bid) End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 0:48:16 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

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US $12.00 End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 1:30:39 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $12.00 Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $210.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 14:11:39 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Dell Inspiron Mini 9

I’ve pretty much always hated Dell, but it’s no surprise that the big computer manufacturers have come out with their own models of netbooks. The mini 9 is loaded with Ubuntu and carries an Atom processor – like the Asus Eee, but it only has a 4 cell battery (versus the 6 in the Eee). You get built-in wireless and Lan ports, but the bluetooth will cost you $20 extra (well worth it). You get a 16GB Solid State SSD drive for storage, but it does have a 3 in 1 card reader. Most reviews I’ve read have been 2.5 out of 4 stars for the Mini 9, and quite a few say the Webcam sucks.

US $249.99 End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 22:10:48 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $249.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $19.99 End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 10:38:14 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $19.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $185.99 End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 15:57:10 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $185.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $99.99 (0 Bid) End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 22:51:25 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

US $34.98 End Date: Saturday Jul-31-2010 4:35:28 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $34.98 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Sylvania G Netbook

When I started this review I certainly didn’t think I’d be reviewing a subcompact laptop by Sylvania! The last thing I owned by that company was a 70′s TV. Because this is their first foray into the laptop markets, you won’t see very many reviews of this model online. The ones you will find say the keyboard is too small and missing the right shift key and some of the darker colors look weird.

However, it does have 1GB Ram, an Atom processor, three different SD card slots, and an 80GB hard drive. It is a SATA hard drive (not SSD), but it is more storage than any of the netbooks with SSD’s. It comes with Ubuntu as well. The reviews I was able to find were 2.5 out of 4 and 3 out of 5 stars, making this an ‘average’ netbook.

US $5.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Sunday Aug-01-2010 7:46:59 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

US $189.95 End Date: Sunday Aug-01-2010 15:05:38 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $189.95 Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $0.01 (0 Bid) End Date: Sunday Aug-01-2010 18:07:39 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

US $9.99 End Date: Monday Aug-02-2010 4:58:31 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $9.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $149.99 (0 Bid) End Date: Monday Aug-02-2010 15:38:51 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Lenovo Ideapad S10

Lenovo is the company that has been manufacturing IBM “Thinkpads” for years, it’s no surprise that this would be called an “Ideapad”. It should be durable as hell too! This one carries an 80GB hard drive, but only 512MB ram standard (ouch!). You do get wifi, lan, AND bluetooth. It may only have 2 USB slots, but it does have an express card slot – something most of the others don’t. It has a 10″ screen, but only a 3-cell battery. Most reviews I’ve read give it 3 out of 4 stars.

US $849.00 End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 20:22:28 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $849.00 Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $371.99 End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 21:29:45 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $371.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $371.99 End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 21:30:06 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $371.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $62.98 End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 21:41:55 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $62.98 Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $62.98 End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 21:41:58 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $62.98 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Fujitsu Lifebook U810

The Fujitsu Lifebook is the only ultra-portable that’s also a tablet PC! For that kind of functionality – you will pay about double the price of most netbooks though. It has an atom processor, 1GB ram, bluetooth, LAN, and wifi. You get a 40GB hard drive and 4 cell battery. The biggest con is that the screen is only 5.6″, which works great for a tablet, but is nearly HALF the size of most the popular netbooks on the market. It does have an SD card reader, but only a paltry single USB connection! It has a built-in webcam and mic, but most would say the keyboard is cramped. Most reviews I’ve read give it 3 out of 4 stars.

US $3.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 19:45:02 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

US $29.90 End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 19:58:51 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $29.90 Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $7.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 20:22:03 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

US $5.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 20:23:02 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

US $99.99 (2 Bids) End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 20:25:11 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Conslusion

There are definitely lots of entries in the netbook segment now, and it’s no surprise that the best one of the lot is from the manufacturer that started this new netbook category – the “Asus Eee 1000″. The others are viable entries, but have some maturing to do. Just make sure that you do your homework before buying, so you can get the one best suited to your needs. That are tons of review and comparison sites out there, but the only ones I really pay any attention to (and would recommend) would be the netbook reviews at test freaks, and also about.com, and c|Net.

Check out some of the ones I found:

US $3.58 (0 Bid) End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 20:54:38 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

US $1.96 End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 23:53:06 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $1.96 Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $1.96 End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 23:55:54 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $1.96 Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $47.49 End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 0:36:19 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $47.49 Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $0.01 (0 Bid) End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 2:39:02 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

US $35.28 End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 2:41:05 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $35.28 Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $0.02 (0 Bid) End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 7:47:26 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

US $8.90 End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 10:02:41 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $8.90 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Here’s a video review of the MSI Wind:

US $291.99 End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 19:29:31 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $291.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $499.95 End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 19:58:04 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $499.95 Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $62.98 End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 21:42:06 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $62.98 Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $9.95 End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 21:44:47 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $9.95 Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $17.52 End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 23:35:23 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $17.52 Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $33.99 End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 0:09:17 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $33.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $669.99 End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 1:51:55 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $669.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $76.00 (7 Bids) End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 5:04:23 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Here’s a video review:

You can find the HP Mini-Note for pretty reasonable new and used prices on ebay, here are some ending soon:

US $15.52 End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 13:29:19 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $15.52 Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $4.75 End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 14:03:45 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $4.75 Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $15.56 End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 16:31:55 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $15.56 Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $16.50 End Date: Saturday Jul-31-2010 0:47:42 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $16.50 Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $16.50 End Date: Saturday Jul-31-2010 0:47:48 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $16.50 Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $99.77 End Date: Saturday Jul-31-2010 3:07:55 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $99.77 Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $149.94 End Date: Saturday Jul-31-2010 3:20:36 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $149.94 Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $15.99 End Date: Saturday Jul-31-2010 4:05:24 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $15.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list