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Choosing the Right Netbook
Don't Give Up
HP's first netbooks were all high-priced compared to similarly-featured netbooks, and there were two reasons for that. First is build quality. They have aluminum and magnesium bodies and super-sexy keyboards, with large speakers that surpass most normal laptops'. The second is the display: all the Mini-Notes have high-gloss, high-resolution, WXGA (1280x800) displays under their metal lids. The Mini-Notes are arguably the best-looking, most professional of the netbooks. The Mini-Notes come in five configurations starting at $300 and going as high as $650. I only recommend the most expensive Mini-Note, as it has enough RAM for Vista (2GB; 1GB on the other models is technically below the minimum system requirements once you factor in the shared memory with the GPU) and has the heavier 6-cell battery capable of providing a nicer 4.5hr wall-free running time. Another good inclusion is a 7,200RPM hard drive; since disk speeds are common bottlenecks, this boost makes using a netbook more like a full-on laptop. Of course, it costs about as much, so that should really be expected. But for some reason, HP pulled the plug on them. They're still around--HP is still selling them, although they're not making them--they've been replaced with a much less interesting Mini 1000. While in the middle for construction and quality looks, right there with the MSI Wind and non-Eee Asus netbooks, and priced the same, they don't stand out much, or maybe they cost too much.   Super-fast 7,200RPM hard drive High resolution WXGA display Aluminum/ magnesium alloy case, keyboard Powerful enough for Vista (Business included) 3lbs; 6-cell battery only good for 4.5hrs Expensive Harder to findVista HP Mini-Note Price: $650 HP Mini-Note 2133 at a Glance, Linux Models High resolution WXGA display Aluminum/ magnesium alloy case, keyboard Enterprise Linux with support, not a "lite" OS Lightest of the 2133s, 2.8lbs Slow processor compared to Atoms (1GHz, 1.2GHz respectively) No Bluetooth 3-cell battery good for 2-3hrsLinux HP Mini-Note Configurations: 4GB SSD, 512MB RAM, $300 120GB hard drive (5,400RPM) 1GB RAM, $400 Mini 1010 at a Glance Large screen and keyboard Good construction and looks Light at 2.4lbs Bluetooth 3-cell, 3hr battery 8GB SSD 512MB RAMXP-only, $360 Mini 1035 at a Glance Large screen and keyboard Good construction and looks Light at 2.4lbs Bluetooth 3-cell, 3hr battery Slower 60GB 4,200RPM HDDXP only, $450
Page 1: So what's the deal with these 'Netbooks' anyway?
Page 2: Asus Eee PC Page 3: Acer Aspire One & MSI Wind Page 4: Asus N & S series Page 5: HP Mini-Notes Page 6: Lenovo, Samsung & Dell Page 7: Further Reading & Final Selection 
Related Articles Add Comment
5 User Comments 1 - Posted by
Anthony
on December 14, 2008 - 1:37 am I got my Dell Mini9 for $300 - XP, 8GB SSD, 512MB. I upgraded the RAM to 2GB and the new 16GB SSD will be here next week hopefully. Of course I'm just going to hack it and put OSX on it... =^) Also, the Mini9 has has BTO Bluetooth option. 2 - Posted by
roberton
on December 14, 2008 - 2:25 pm Funny you should mention nethack. I've got the original Eee (700?) and I do indeed play nethack on it a lot! This is partly on an installed copy, but more so now just using telnet to nethack.alt.org.
3 - Posted by
saxuntu
on December 14, 2008 - 5:05 pm I don't know what the hell your talking about with the SSD being slower. I'm writing this on a Dell Mini 9. It loads Open Office faster than my computer with a standard HD, 3GHz processor, and the same amount of RAM. As for the keyboard its a 9 inch computer, what do expect. Complaining about netbooks being small is kind of missing the point.
4 - Posted by
paulb
on December 14, 2008 - 6:15 pm Talking about missing the point (even when your intro touches on it) - netbooks' success are a classic case of the marketeers missing their own market ... the first generation were apparently thought of as low cost devices for students etc - hence their abysmal battery life. But the Atom generation brought with it some more serious battery specs ... particularly the Eee 901, creating for the first time a viable low cost alternative to high end sub notebooks. For those of us who have to do serious but simple work on the move (using Office-type tools rather than Photoshop etc) they were a godsend. I'm with you on the preference for a decent hard disk rather than a cramped SSD. I had a 901 and liked it well enough but when my "proper" Toshiba failed I looked hard at the options and realised that a Samsung NC10 actually did pretty much everything I wanted from a mobile computer - a good keyboard, pleasant screen and more than enough poke to cope with office apps, even from Microsoft (I don't know what you're talking about there). Netbooks aren't toys for geek modders - they are good, serious tools for work, and a sudden outburst of rational design and specification. In that sense the Samsung is not distinguished by particular features - it's just the best execution of the concept (for the moment). 5 - Posted by
Kurtis
on December 15, 2008 - 2:44 pm I think I can speak for Max when I say that we know netbooks aren't just toys for geek modders. As writers, we very much realize the value of these little lunchbox 'puters, and I'm really glad to see that we finally have portable work computers with decent battery life that don't cost $3k.
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