The Smorgasbord

It’s time for a “2009 Netbook Review”. I’ve down a few reviews of Netbooks in the last year, and I figured there must be more out there since it’s almost mid-year. It’s funny, google netbooks and get 28 million results. This time last year there were only a few models to even blog about. There’s even a Wikipedia entry about them. Even though this sub-compact laptop segment started as a way to get a mini-notebook under $300, prices now range from $250 – $1,200.

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.

ASUS EEE PC 1002HA 10"LED WIN XP LAPTOP NEW 1000 SERIES

US $312.99 (0 Bid) End Date: Wednesday Mar-17-2010 12:00:31 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Bluetooth 2.0 Module BT-183 4 ASUS EEE PC 901 1000 S101

US $36.99 End Date: Wednesday Mar-17-2010 18:27:51 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $36.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Bluetooth 2.0 Module BT-183 4 ASUS EEE PC 901 1000 S101

US $36.99 End Date: Wednesday Mar-17-2010 19:35:09 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $36.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Bluetooth 2.0 Module BT-183 4 ASUS EEE PC 901 1000 S101

US $36.99 End Date: Wednesday Mar-17-2010 22:18:32 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $36.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Bluetooth Module 2.0 BT-183 ASUS 4 EEE PC 901 S101 1000

US $24.88 End Date: Thursday Mar-18-2010 7:15:35 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $24.88 Buy it 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.

Dell Inspiron Mini 9 910 White Laptop Windows XP

US $249.95 End Date: Tuesday Mar-16-2010 21:22:11 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $249.95 Buy it now | Add to watch list

DELL INSPIRON 10 MINI 1012 N450 NEW 9 HARD2FIND 1DAY NR

US $230.00 (1 Bid) End Date: Tuesday Mar-16-2010 22:10:38 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Dell Inspiron Mini 9-910 Laptop BLACK @ ndc 9336

US $229.00 End Date: Wednesday Mar-17-2010 5:35:13 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $229.00 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Dell Inspiron Mini 9-910 Laptop BLACK @ ndc 9338

US $299.00 End Date: Wednesday Mar-17-2010 5:35:32 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $299.00 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Dell Inspiron Mini 9-910 Laptop BLACK @ ndc 9580

US $299.00 End Date: Wednesday Mar-17-2010 5:56:19 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $299.00 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.

9 ELH 120V 300W Projector Bulbs. G.E.. Sylvania, Wiko

US $50.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Tuesday Mar-16-2010 21:20:53 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $75.00 Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list

Sylvania G Netbook (No Reserve)

US $36.98 (2 Bids) End Date: Thursday Mar-18-2010 22:00:53 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

6F6-G SYLVANIA"""" NOS""Very Rare'''' WOW''""L@@K''

US $4.99 (0 Bid) End Date: Tuesday Mar-23-2010 12:53:03 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Sylvania Sylvania G netbook meso

US $219.95 End Date: Saturday Apr-03-2010 15:05:38 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $219.95 Buy it 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.

Lenovo IdeaPad S10 4333-22U WITH aircard

US $187.61 (4 Bids) End Date: Tuesday Mar-16-2010 22:22:42 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

NEW Lenovo IdeaPad Y550 T6600 4GB Nvidia GT 240M Win 7+

US $785.00 End Date: Wednesday Mar-17-2010 5:04:16 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $785.00 Buy it now | Add to watch list

NEW 1 LENOVO IDEAPAD S10E NETBOOK NOTEBOOK WINDOWS XP

US $298.86 End Date: Wednesday Mar-17-2010 8:06:40 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $298.86 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Lenovo Ideapad Y550-4186 New Open Box 320 gb HD

US $406.61 (22 Bids) End Date: Wednesday Mar-17-2010 8:52:05 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Lenovo Ideapad S12 Netbook 12.1" 1G 160G XP 295955U 1yr

US $349.99 End Date: Wednesday Mar-17-2010 9:42:24 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $349.99 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.

Fujitsu LifeBook U810 5.6" Notebook

US $205.50 (6 Bids) End Date: Tuesday Mar-16-2010 23:46:41 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Fujitsu LifeBook U810 5.6" Notebook (800MHz Pentiu

US $646.86 (0 Bid) End Date: Tuesday Mar-16-2010 23:54:42 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Fujitsu LifeBook U810 5.6" Notebook (800MHz Pentiu

US $750.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Wednesday Mar-17-2010 1:15:19 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Fujitsu LifeBook V1010 w/FREE Magellan GPS

US $1,000.00 (1 Bid) End Date: Wednesday Mar-17-2010 3:25:56 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Fujitsu Lifebook P7010 Wireless WIFI Card WM3B2200BG

US $9.49 End Date: Wednesday Mar-17-2010 5:46:18 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $9.49 Buy it 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.

This “MSI Wind Netbook Review” shows that there actually are some differences between all the sub and ultra compact laptops flooding the market right now. The biggest complaints about these little netbooks are that they keyboard is too small, the screen is too small, or the processor is too slow. The MSI Wind doesn’t really seem to have any of those problems since it boasts a 10 inch screen, a pretty good sized keyboard, and a Ghz atom processor that’s overclockable. It’s 2.6 lbs and just a bit more in physical size than the eee PC. It’s got jacks for LAN, headphone, mic, VGA, a memory card reader, decent speakers, and about 4-5 hours of battery life. The MSI wind has a 6 cell battery (most of the netbooks have only 3), and the right shift key is actually normal sized. Oh – did I mention that it also had integrated wireless bluetooth built-in?

Here’s a video review of the MSI Wind:

MSI Wind All-In-One AE1900 TOUCH Computer PC 18.5 WinXP

US $499.99 End Date: Wednesday Mar-17-2010 0:00:09 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $499.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

New MSI Wind NetBook Model U100-013US

US $202.50 (22 Bids) End Date: Wednesday Mar-17-2010 0:02:31 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

NEW MSI Wind Wind Nettop 100 1.6G/Intel 945GC Barebone

US $156.66 End Date: Wednesday Mar-17-2010 10:17:36 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $156.66 Buy it now | Add to watch list

USB External Burner DVD ROM Drive FOR Msi wind U100 U90

US $59.99 End Date: Wednesday Mar-17-2010 10:41:52 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $59.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

USB External Burner DVD ROM Drive FOR Msi wind U100 U90

US $59.99 End Date: Wednesday Mar-17-2010 10:42:28 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $59.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

MSi WIND U100-641US 10-inch Black Netbook

US $499.99 End Date: Wednesday Mar-17-2010 11:41:35 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $499.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

EXTERNAL USB DVD RW BURNER DRIVE FOR MSI Wind Notebook

US $37.00 End Date: Wednesday Mar-17-2010 14:16:49 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $37.00 Buy it now | Add to watch list

EXTERNAL USB DVD RW BURNER DRIVE FOR MSI Wind Notebook

US $37.00 End Date: Wednesday Mar-17-2010 14:28:18 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $37.00 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Since I’ve been looking at Netbooks, the HP Mini-Note should definitely not be overlooked since it was one of the first to be classified in this category as an ultra subcompact laptop gadget. I like the fact that it’s not Intel, and that you can configure the hard drive and memory to your liking, in addition to both Windows and Linux flavors. It can be a little more pricey than the others depending on how it’s configured, but it was one of the only ones to pack a 1280×768 resolution into the tiny 7.8″ screen! What more could you ask for though – you get Wi-fi, a webcam, and both express and SD card slots – in addition to the normal USB connects. All in a little 2.8lb case!

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:

HP 2133 Mini-Note mint condition power on but no video

US $81.00 (5 Bids) End Date: Wednesday Mar-17-2010 12:29:39 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

New HP 2133 mini-note 8.9" LCD Screen NEW N089A1-L01

US $77.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Wednesday Mar-17-2010 13:38:47 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $85.00 Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list

HP Mini Note Netbook

US $56.00 (3 Bids) End Date: Thursday Mar-18-2010 13:16:05 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $399.00 Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list

HP Mini-Note 1133CA 1.6GHz/1GB/80GB WWAN 2YR Warranty

US $325.00 End Date: Thursday Mar-18-2010 13:36:38 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $325.00 Buy it now | Add to watch list

HP 2133 Mini-Note bluetooth WIFI XP Pro w/cds webcam A+

US $150.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Thursday Mar-18-2010 17:00:49 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Power Supply Cord HP 2133 2140 2533t 4410t Mini-Note PC

US $16.95 End Date: Thursday Mar-18-2010 23:40:02 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $16.95 Buy it now | Add to watch list

HP Mini-Note USB CD-ROM Drive CD player boot play games

US $9.95 End Date: Friday Mar-19-2010 4:04:35 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $9.95 Buy it now | Add to watch list

HP 2133 Mini-Note

US $300.00 End Date: Friday Mar-19-2010 7:37:55 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $300.00 Buy it now | Add to watch list

I’ve recently discovered the wonder of the “netbook” that everybody seems to be clamoring about. Basically the sub-compact or “mini-notebook” is very popular and this category is now dubbed the “netbook”. Probably because it’s small, about the size of a book, and primarily used do do things on the ‘net.

I’ve reviewed one before, but at the time the phrase “netbook” wasn’t yet coined. I posted twice about the original Asus eee PC review (linux), and the Asus eee PC Windows XP review.

Although there seems to be quite a few “netbooks” out on the market now, the one that every seems to know other than the eee is the Asus Aspire One netbook. I can only imagine what kind of problems this is going to cause for the tech clueless since the names are so darn similar (Acer, Asus).

If you’re in a hurry and want the short version, here’s a video review you can watch of the Acer Aspire One:

The Acer Aspire one is a 2 lb wonder. Depending on model screen size varies from 7-10″, same for HDD size 120-160GB+ (unless you get one with a SSD, which would probably be 8GB or less). Most units seem to have 1GB Ram, and I’ve seen a few claiming to be able to run Vista Ultimate. They all seem to come with a webcam (although crappy .3 megapixel), and a headphone jack. You also get 3 USB jacks, a microphone jack, and even a monitor out if you need to hookup to a projector. You get of course a LAN jack and Wireless b/g, speakers, a card reader, and usually Windows XP loaded on the system. There is of course a Linux version too. Supposedly the new Windows 7 is designed to run on portable netbooks as well (without the hardware constraints of Vista).

You’re probably wondering – what do people that bought the Acer Aspire one really think of it? Well I can tell you that PCWorld gave it a damn near 5 star review. The same goes for nearly all the reviews on Amazon. Boot time is just over 20 seconds, and normal tasks like Facebook, Myspace, watching video on YouTube, using Firefox, and copying over your favorite album are all quick and easy.

If you’re up for one of these little wonders, I would definitely check out some of the latest auctions for both new and used ones on eBay right now:

USB DVD±RW Burner f Acer Aspire One ZG8 751 751H AO751

US $63.66 End Date: Tuesday Mar-16-2010 21:22:22 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $63.66 Buy it now | Add to watch list

2.0 Bluetooth Module + Cable for acer aspire one D250

US $18.99 End Date: Tuesday Mar-16-2010 22:03:47 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $18.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Mini 19V 1.58A Adapter F Acer Aspire One PA1300-04 ZG-5

US $9.98 End Date: Tuesday Mar-16-2010 22:14:29 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $9.98 Buy it now | Add to watch list

BRAND NEW Acer Aspire One

US $350.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Tuesday Mar-16-2010 22:15:03 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Acer Aspire One USB, Audio, Memory Card Reader Header!

US $9.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Tuesday Mar-16-2010 22:32:21 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $10.00 Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list

Acer Aspire One Used

US $200.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Tuesday Mar-16-2010 22:40:56 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Acer Aspire One AOD250-1026 Atom N270 1.6GHz 1GB 160GB

US $238.53 End Date: Tuesday Mar-16-2010 22:46:04 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $238.53 Buy it now | Add to watch list

AC Adapter Power supply+Cord For Acer Laptop Aspire ONE

US $6.69 (0 Bid) End Date: Tuesday Mar-16-2010 22:46:47 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list