TR’s back-to-school netbook guide

The netbook is a modern curiosity, a new class of notebook barely a year old and still going through its growing pains as manufacturers try to balance their designs properly. A netbook is characterized by low-end, power-efficient hardware, an exceptionally small and light chassis with a screen size topping out at around ten inches, and just enough horsepower for word processing and Internet usage. By paring down features and performance, manufacturers have been able to produce these small computers cheaply, pricing them well below their ultraportable forebears like Sony’s T series. In fact, netbooks often cost less than full-sized “budget” notebooks. It’s this blend of form, function, and value that has made netbooks so popular.

The functionality and practicality of modern netbooks like Asus’ seminal and ultimately class-defining Eee PC makes them attractive options in this back-to-school season. As a college student at UC San Diego, I’ve seen students carrying around notebooks of all sizes, including one person struggling to fit a massive Alienware notebook onto a tiny lecture hall desk. Students need computers for school, of course, and a portable machine that can be brought to class is extremely useful. But students also don’t tend to have a lot of money, and as a result, they often settle for seven- or eight-pound laptops. With the advent of the netbook, however, a student’s load can easily and cheaply be lightened. Using an inexpensive netbook for class and a more powerful desktop at home—even a small-form-factor machine in a dorm room—suddenly becomes both a practical and viable option, especially when you consider that many netbooks manage at least three hours of battery life, which is exactly the length of a single, long lecture.

Of course, the runaway success of the Eee PC has led to a flood of new models from players both large and small. Here, big boys like HP, Dell, and Lenovo pit their wares against smaller players like Everex, MSI, and Gigabyte. The number of netbook flavors available is simply staggering, and although the underlying hardware of many of these units is similar, key differences distinguish each one from its peers. We’ve summed up those differences in a comprehensive guide to the netbook market, complete with our recommendations based on hands-on experience with the models you can buy today.

The common netbook platform
Early entries into the netbook market had to make do with underclocked Celeron M processors and the occasional Via C7-M, with the vast majority of manufacturers biding their time until Intel released its Atom processor. The Atom was designed to offer the bare minimum of performance in a small, power-efficient package that’s cheap to produce. The result, at least so far, is the Atom N270, a 1.6GHz chip with a maximum TDP (thermal design power) of just 2.5 watts. This chip generates so little heat that it can operate without a fan. And the Atom is cheap, too, or at least cheap enough for Intel to sell it mounted on a Mini-ITX motherboard for less than $70.

Intel has paired the Atom processor with a version of its venerable 945 chipset dubbed the 945GSE, which includes an old ICH7M south bridge (or I/O hub) component. The 945GSE is widely regarded as the Atom’s Achilles’ heel, in part because while the processor sips power, the chipset has a TDP of six watts—nearly three times that of the CPU. Given the relative youth of the netbook concept, one can consider Intel’s current Atom implementation to be a first draft. Future versions of the platform due next year promise to integrate the majority of north bridge functionality into the processor itself, resulting in a smaller package with lower power consumption and superior performance.

With the 945GSE chipset comes support for Serial ATA storage devices and DDR2 memory, along with Intel’s Graphics Media Accelerator 950 integrated graphics processor. The GMA 950 is woefully underpowered for gaming, but then the Atom wasn’t designed for that purpose. The GMA 950 also lacks hardware acceleration for high-definition video decoding, but again, but this proves to be a moot point for netbooks that rarely feature screens with enough pixels for even 720p content. So although it’s not the slickest integrated graphics processor on the block, the GMA 950 can at least handle common netbook tasks like word processing and web browsing.

And what about Internet access? No netbook would be complete without it, so you can expect every entry in the market to include 802.11b/g wireless networking and an Ethernet port at the bare minimum. A healthy number of netbooks also include 802.11n support and Bluetooth connectivity.

Intel’s Atom platform is by and large the most popular one for netbooks, but Via’s C7-M processor makes an appearance in HP’s Mini-Note 2133 series, coupled with Via’s Chrome 9 integrated graphics. Unfortunately, the C7-M’s performance is poor even by netbook standards. Via has already begun producing its Nano successor to the C7-M, and based on what we’ve seen from the CPU, it’s faster than the Atom. The Nano hasn’t officially made its way into any netbooks, but HP has placed an order for the new chips, so it’s possible the Nano could materialize in HP’s next Mini-Note.

The low power consumption, affordable price tags, and small form factors that define the netbook genre carry their own trade-offs. As we’ve stated, performance isn’t exceptional. Netbooks don’t feel as snappy as even a budget desktop system, and they certainly aren’t suited to anything more demanding than basic desktop tasks, standard-definition multimedia playback, and maybe than running a red-eye filter on a photo. Display resolutions tend to be limited to 1024×600, with smaller form factors shrinking keyboard sizes. Most users can comfortably adjust to these limitations, but if you have larger hands, you’ll want to pay particular attention to keyboard size, especially if you intend to use a netbook for word processing or note taking.

Like a broken record, netbook detractors consistently point out that one can usually find a budget full-sized laptop that offers substantially better performance for roughly the same cost. Ultimately, you have to decide whether the battery life and portability offered by a netbook is worth the performance that these systems leave on the table.

The big netbook comparison table
There are scores of netbook models currently available on the market, and each one is a little different from the next. We’ve attempted to sum up some of the most important differences between the various flavors in a couple of handy charts below. The first covers the guts of the systems, while the second delves into form factors and pricing. You’ll find a few Aspire One and Mini-Note 2133 configurations spread across these two tables; each config is numbered to make flipping between the two tables a little easier.

The tables below may be a little daunting. Just consider them a resource if you want to do some comparions, if that helps. We’ll talk about each of the major netbook brands in the following pages.

This first chart covers hardware components, and we can clearly see the proliferation of Intel’s Atom processor. Also popular are LED-backlit screens, which is impressive considering that the display type is relatively uncommon on full-sized notebooks. LED backlights are preferable to traditional CCFL designs because they produce much more even lighting (which in turn helps improve viewing angles and overall screen brightness) and consume less power. 1024×600 seems to be the resolution of choice for the latest crop of netbooks, whether they be 8.9″ or 10.2″ models. Only HP’s Mini-Note offers a 1280×768 display resolution, while 7″ models settle for just 800×400 pixels.

Most recent netbooks make do with 1GB of memory, although some are available in 512MB and 2GB configurations. Storage options also vary. Some systems include relatively low-capacity solid-state drives, and others use standard 2.5″ mechanical hard drives with much higher capacities. Note that some SSD configurations split storage between a pair of independent drives, the smaller of which is generally faster and used as the system drive.

As our chart nicely illustrates, Asus has practically flooded the market with Eee PC variants. Asus maintains that it offers so many models to provide consumers with plenty of choices, but Atom processor shortages are likely responsible for the bifurcation of the Eee PC lineup into Atom- and Celeron-based camps. We’ve tried to cover the most common Eee PC derivatives here, but we have left out some of the more obscure options.

In contrast to Asus’ many Eee PC models, HP and Dell treat their netbooks as configurable systems. You can roll your own on each company’s website, and our price search engine lists numerous configuration combos for each.

Despite similar hardware configurations, netbooks are available in a range of sizes and weights. Battery life varies from one model to the next, and we’ve been most impressed with the run time of the 6-cell batteries in Asus’ Eee PC 901 and 1000 40G. Netbook batteries are typically available with three, four, and six cells.

The first netbooks may have launched with Linux, but they’re now available with Windows XP and even Vista. Manufacturers generally offer users a choice between operating systems, either through a configuration option or entirely different models. The custom Linux installs we’ve seen on some netbooks are pretty slick and very user-friendly, but they don’t offer the flexibility of Windows XP. Netbook-optimized versions of Ubuntu and other distros are available for those who want a more complete Linux-based operating system.

Naturally, netbooks also differ on price. Acer’s Aspire One looks to be the bargain of the bunch, ringing in under the magical $400 mark most associated with the genre. There seems to be a price war waging, too: Acer cut Aspire prices not long ago, and Asus has followed with discounts of its own.

Asus’ Eee PCs
As the first netbooks, Asus’ Eee PCs tend to be the standard by which others are judged. Much like any conversation about The Dark Knight results in a chorus of “Heath Ledger should win a posthumous Academy Award,” any review of a modern netbook invariably mentions the Eee PC.

The original Eee PC (now called the Surf or 700 series) may have fathered the netbook class, but this first effort tends to be divisive. The seven-inch screen’s resolution is oftentimes too low, and the Chiclet-sized keys are extraordinarily impractical for proper typing. There was a lot to be said for the concept, though, and the Eee PC line as a whole has matured into the 900 and 1000 series, which feature larger screens and improved keyboards while maintaining the performance and in some cases increasing the battery life of their predecessors.

Unfortunately, I have to use the word “series” to describe many of these Eee PC offshoots. Despite the brand only appearing about a year ago, Asus has already swamped the market with Eee PCs whose similar model designations can often be confusing. Can you name the difference between the 1000H and 1000HD without checking the last page? Didn’t think so. Making any sense of the Eee PC lineup shouldn’t be so difficult, and since other manufacturers typically only offer one or two models, they don’t have the same problem. The Eee PC lineup is further complicated by color options, where one 1000 model may only be available in black or white while another may be available in pastels.

The merciful solution lies in the numerical designators for each series: the 700 series features a 7-inch screen, the 900 series features a larger 8.9-inch screen, and the 1000 series moves up to a 10.2-incher. Even then, though, the 900 and the 901 are entirely different designs, as we noted in our review of the 901.

You can further slim down the Eee PC line by ignoring anything with a Celeron processor—the Atom is here, and while it doesn’t feel any snappier than a Celeron, it does consume less power. The shakier seven-inch models are fading into obscurity in favor of larger, more functional designs, as well.

Eee PCs are generally well-built, with all the features one might want in a netbook. But they also boast one of the more awkward keyboard quirks we’ve seen, putting the up arrow key right where touch-typists would expect to find the right shift key. This curious positioning yields a normal directional pad, but the relocated right shift key gives at least one TR editor fits.

Still, the Eee PC remains the netbook to beat. We’re particularly fond of the 1000H for its roomy keyboard, standard 2.5″ hard drive, and 6-cell battery. In fact, our own Scott Wasson just bought one for himself.

Acer’s Aspire One
Acer’s recent entrant into the netbook market, the Aspire One, has been turning heads for good reason: it sports a remarkably stylish chassis and an aggressive price tag that plants it squarely in competition with older seven-inch Eee PCs. The One has also been widely available for some time, and it recently received a generous price cut.

Acer’s netbook features the same basic connectivity options and features as its peers, and you can get it with Windows or Linux. The system uniquely features a pair of SDHC slots. While one of these functions as a basic SDHC reader, the other adds the capacity of inserted cards to the system’s main storage volume. Despite the limited capacity of 8GB SSD-based One models, the additional SDHC slot allows users to add storage easily and inexpensively.

Acer also offers an Aspire One model that employs a more spacious 120GB mechanical hard drive. This version comes with Windows, making for a more flexible system overall—And one without any keyboard quirks to speak of aside from relatively small keys.

The Aspire One is a solid contender for the netbook crown, particularly because versions can be found online for as little as $325.

HP’s Mini-Note 2133
HP has taken a different approach to the netbook than its peers with the Mini-Note. This netbook is not available on the home/home-office page of the company’s website. Instead, it’s being targeted more aggressively at business users, with a price tag to match. The 2133 is distinguished by its use of Via’s C7-M processor, and the system’s 1280×768 display resolution is higher than that of any other netbook currently available. The system itself is also quite stylish, and it features the best keyboard we’ve seen from a netbook.

Unfortunately, the Mini-Note’s Via processor produces mediocre performance compared to the Atom. The screen’s scratch-proof but high-gloss coating is also quite reflective, all but forcing the user to run higher screen brightness settings that quickly drain the battery. These flaws are exacerbated by a $499 starting price, with loaded configurations reaching nearly $800.

In the end, the Mini-Note’s value proposition is questionable. We like the attractive design, high-resolution screen, and fantastic keyboard, but you’re probably better off waiting for HP to slip in an Atom or perhaps one of Via’s new Nano processors, which just happen to be pin-compatible with the C7-M.

MSI’s Wind
MSI’s Wind U100 netbook is a strong competitor, with features similar to its contemporaries and one of the brightest screens on the market. The Wind runs cool and quiet, and its keyboard is a respectable, usable size. MSI has also made it easy to crack the Wind open for upgrades.

The major drawbacks to the Wind have to do with its middling battery life and high price tag. In order to mitigate the low battery life, consumers can expect to shell out an extra $50 for versions that come equipped with a six-cell battery—no small request on a netbook with a price that already sits at the high end of the market. The software loaded onto the U100 is also rife with head-scratchers. It’s inexplicable why a netbook devoid of an optical drive would come with Ulead disc burning software, but the Wind does. MSI’s documentation for the unit also leaves a lot to be desired.

Dell’s Inspiron Mini 9
Dell very recently introduced its entrant into the netbook market. Originally known as the “E” and later as the “Inspiron 910,” Dell appears to have finally settled on calling its netbook the Inspiron Mini 9. Boasting a similar platform to its competitors, Dell distinguishes the Inspiron Mini 9 with a keyboard that is either ingenious or ridiculous, depending on whom you ask.

Dude you’re getting a Dell! (Source: Dell)

What’s so different about the keyboard? The Inspiron Mini 9 doesn’t have dedicated function keys, instead relying on the portable computing stalwart “Fn” key to unlock secondary functions for the letter and number keys. While this may be an irritating change for some, the function keys on my keyboard (outside of F4) generally see about as much play as a Jonas Brothers video. Potentially more problematic is the Inspiron Mini 9’s awkward placement of the right shift and quotation keys.

As one might expect, Dell offers numerous configuration options with the Inspiron Mini 9, including your choice of operating systems, integrated web cams, and solid-state storage. However, the system can’t be configured with a mechanical hard drive, capping internal storage capacity at 16GB.

Everex’s CloudBook
Everex’s early entry into the notebook market went straight to Wal-Mart stores across America. Based on Via’s NanoBook reference design (no relation to the new Nano processor), the CloudBook utilizes similar underpinnings to HP’s Mini-Note. The CloudBook is a fraction of the cost, though, and unfortunately a fraction of the quality. Where netbooks we’ve used exhibit surprisingly solid build quality, user reviews peg the CloudBook as flimsier, louder, and hotter than its competitors. And then there’s the system’s unique approach to the touchpad. Rather than being located below the keyboard, the touchpad and buttons are instead placed above it, with the touchpad measuring about the size of a postage stamp.

Where’s that trackpad again? (Source: Everex)

The CloudBook may be one of the cheaper netbooks on the market, but budget-minded users would be better off with the more affordable options from Asus and Acer.

What’s coming up
Many manufacturers have been quick to respond to the success of the Eee PC by releasing netbooks of their own, but several contenders still lurk just around the corner. These systems aren’t available for purchase yet, but we do know a few things about several netbooks that should be released in the coming months.

Lenovo’s sense of style (Source: Lenovo)

Lenovo will be getting into the netbook game with the IdeaPad S10. This system will feature the same Atom platform as the majority of its competitors, but in an unusual move for the company that has maintained the venerable ThinkPad notebook line, Lenovo will offer the IdeaPad in a variety of colors. Expect to see this 10-incher debut in October.

Gigabyte’s tablet netbook

A traditional purveyor of fine motherboards, Gigabyte has what may be the most unique and exciting netbook offering we’ve seen to date. The M912V brings tablet functionality to a netbook form factor with an 8.9″ touch-sensitive screen that features a 1280×768 display resolution. In an impressive feat of flexibility, the screen rotates and folds back on itself, converting the system into an honest-to-goodness tablet. The M912V won’t stray far from the Atom hardware that powers the rest of the netbook field, and it won’t be cheap. However, the system will have an ExpressCard slot, and its unique tablet functionality could resonate with those looking for more than just a pint-sized laptop.

The M192V in tablet mode

There’s more on the horizon than what’s coming from Lenovo and Gigabyte, too. Late last week, pictures emerged of Samsung’s upcoming netbook. Little has been confirmed about this system, but it will apparently use an Atom processor, feature a mechanical hard drive, and sport a 10.2″ display. Samsung’s netbook is apparently due to hit Korea next month, but there’s no word yet on when it might wash up on North American shores.

Conclusions and recommendations
In selecting the best candidates from the current crop of netbooks, we must first separate the weak from the field, like a pride of lions pruning a herd of gazelle. The most fragile gazelle in this pack and the first to go is Everex’s CloudBook, followed closely by all the seven-inch Eee PCs. Small screens with too-limited display resolutions introduced the netbook concept well, but the market has moved on, and 7″ models don’t even have much of a price advantage anymore.

Sharing one of the weaknesses of the Everex CloudBook—the Via C7-M processor—is HP’s Mini-Note 2133. Although it’s very attractive and equipped with both a high resolution-screen and a large, functional keyboard, the Mini-Note’s C7-M processor is mediocre at best. We’d expect more given the lofty price of available configurations. Another also-ran that must unfortunately be weeded out of contention is the MSI Wind U100. This otherwise fantastic unit is marred by poor battery life and a relatively high price that has only become more unattractive given recent price cuts from Acer and Asus. We can’t in good conscience recommend Dell’s Inspiron Mini 9, either. We’ve yet to get our hands on one to review, but the keyboard’s misplaced keys have us a little worried. Additionally (and surprisingly), the Inspiron Mini 9 isn’t any cheaper than its competition.

Ranking among best of breed is Asus’ Eee PC 901. This system balances features and portability, adding stellar battery life of nearly eight hours on a single charge. However, the 901’s potentially problematic segmented flash storage, coupled with dimensions that may be too cramped for some, limit the 901’s appeal.

That leaves us with two netbooks for Editor’s Choice consideration: the Asus Eee PC 1000 and the Acer Aspire One. Among the Eee PC 1000 variants, we like the 1000H version with the 2.5″ mobile hard drive the best. The 1000H gets high marks for sporting a healthy amount of fast storage capacity along with a larger keyboard and screen, all without sacrificing too much battery life. If you’re looking for a netbook that errs a little more on the side of full notebook functionality, the 1000H is the best option currently available. Recent price cuts have dropped the system’s price down to just $450, making it an exceptional value, all things considered. That’s good enough to earn it an Editor’s Choice award.

Acer’s Aspire One puts a slightly different spin on the netbook genre. The One brings the netbook back to its low-cost roots, with variants available for $400 or less. The Linux version of this system is outfitted with 512MB of memory and 8GB of flash storage, and it sells for an incredibly low $329. Coughing up an extra $70 doubles the memory and swaps in a 120GB hard drive loaded with Windows XP. If the Eee PC 1000H is too big or too pricey for you, the Aspire One is an excellent alternative, good enough to share the Editor’s Choice crown.