So you want a tiny laptop, but you're not sure which one to get? It all seemed so clear in the beginning -- you had your mind set on an Eee PC 701 or 900, but then half the laptop manufacturers in the world suddenly went and made copycat machines.
Fear not, be-puzzled reader, Crave has seen nearly all these Eee-type machines and we're pretty well-placed to tell you which one might be best for you. We've locked ourselves in a room, gorged ourselves on Red Bull, analysed the pros and cons of each, and can now bring you the fruits of that labour.
Over the following pages you'll find our unique assessment of the Eee PC 700, 1000 and S101, MSI Wind, Acer Aspire One and more.
As you can see there's a fair bit of choice. Get stuck in and see if your opinion matches ours. If it doesn't, you're probably wrong. Regards.
Most of you are probably too young to remember Apricot. The company shot to prominence in the 1980s with innovative computing platforms, but eventually had its backside handed it to it by just about everyone. Fast-forward a couple of decades and the Apricot brand is back -- its mission: to cash in on the hottest trend.
The Picobook has a relatively large 8.9-inch screen with a native resolution of 1,024x600 pixels, and that's large enough to view the majority of Web pages in full. It has 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and a quite spacious -- for a netbook -- 60GB hard drive. It's also very portable thanks to its 1kg chassis, and its 4,400mAh battery should deliver a half-decent battery life.
Where do we start? The Picobook uses a super-lethargic VIA C7-M, and it's not even the semi-tolerable 1.6GHz version, either -- it's the pull-your-hair-out-slow 1.2GHz model. This might not have been so bad if Apricot also used a Linux operating system with low system requirements, but it had the audacity to pull its Linux offering, because it was 'too complicated'.
Now. ￡299.
At number 9, we have the little chap that sparked the miniature laptop revolution. The original Eee PC drove yet another nail into the already air-tight coffin of ultra-mobile PCs and inspired the entire computing world to follow in its diminutive footsteps.
The Eee PC 700 is among the smallest of all netbooks. It still packs some decent features, though. Its 900MHz Intel Pentium M CPU and 512MB of RAM (1GB on the 701) offers enough grunt to run Windows XP or Linux operating systems, the 0.3-megapixel webcam lets you take self-portraits and video chat with friends, and it's cheap -- in its RM Asus miniBook guise, you can buy one for as little as ￡169.
That 7-inch screen has a pretty rubbish 800x480-pixel resolution, which means many Web pages don't fit properly -- you have to scroll sideways to read bits that fall off the edges. The keyboard is pants, too -- unless you have the fingers of a small child (and you should probably give those back), you'll struggle to enter text accurately. The storage on offer isn't great either. The 700 is available with 2GB, while the 701 gets a maximum of 4GB of solid-state storage, which really isn't a great deal to play with.
Now. From ￡169.
Michael Dell once hinted that his company wouldn't be taking netbooks seriously. That Dell has forged ahead, however, and made not one, but three mini laptops shows the company is taking the market more seriously than it lets on.
The Mini 9 uses an 8.9-inch screen, making it slightly larger than the Eee PC 700. Its best attribute, however, is its built-in HSDPA modem. Buy a Mini 9 with a Vodafone mobile broadband contract, or place your 3G SIM card in the slot beneath the battery, and the Internet is your oyster. The Mini 9 uses an Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz CPU and 1GB of RAM, so it's faster than the two previous entries, and can be bought with either Ubuntu or Windows XP. Battery life is a decent, if hardly mind-blowing, 3 hours 21 minutes.
Though it's larger than the Eee PC 700, the Mini 9's keyboard is ultimately just as fiddly and the 8.9-inch screen isn't as comfortable as those on larger netbooks. Dell allows users to configure most of its laptops at the point of purchase, not the Mini 9. This is a shame, because the Mini 9 would have ranked more highly if it was possible to replace the mediocre 16GB of solid state storage and its four-cell battery.
Now. ￡269.
The Mini 9 is great for go-anywhere Internet access. There are better netbooks available if 3G access isn't a priority, however. Read more in our full Dell Inspiron Mini 9 review.
In at number 7 is the 901: the Eee PC 700 on steroids. It's Asus' attempt to iron out all the problems associated with the 700, and -- in light of stiff competition -- keep the Eee PC brand at the top of the netbook food chain.
The 901 ditches the geriatric 900MHz Intel Pentium M in the 700 in favour of a 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU and 1GB of RAM. That's good news, since the Atom CPU is both faster and more power-efficient than its predecessor. In our tests, the 901 lasted a whopping 4.5 hours on its six-cell battery -- over an hour longer than most of its rivals.
Most of the 901's other specs are identical to the 900. It still uses an 8.9-inch screen, which some users -- although probably not that many -- will find a strain on the eyes. The keyboard's also rather small, so unless you have tiny fingers, it's not the sort of machine you'll want to type long documents on.
Now. ￡275.
We could barely stifle a yawn when we first heard about the Mini 1000. That's because its predecessor, the 2133 Mini-Note, failed spectacularly to impress us. HP, however, seems to have learned from its mistakes and its latest effort is right up there with the best.
The Mini 1000 has lost none of the aesthetic appeal of its predecessor. The chassis is now plastic instead of metal, but we love the pretty patterns on the lid and the fact it now weighs 1.1kg, not 1.3kg like its overweight grandfather. More significantly, HP's ditched the super-slow VIA C7-M CPU found in the 2133 Mini-Note and hopped on to the Intel Atom N270 bandwagon, so the Mini 1000 is genuinely quick.
There are a number of things we don't like about the Mini 1000. Why, for instance, has HP gotten rid of the video output port so we can't connect it to an external monitor? Why has it turned one of the machine's three USB ports into a proprietary socket that only supports HP's elongated USB key, the Mini Mobile Drive? Why does it not have separate headphone and mic ports? Why is it nearly ￡400?
January 2009. ￡399.
Samsung once said there wasn't any money in netbooks, and that the market as a whole was potentially damaging to its laptop business. Within a month of that statement, however, it unveiled the NC10 -- an attempt to make extra cash and prop up its laptop business. Who'd have thought it? Well, us, actually.
Samsung hasn't tried to do anything too clever with the NC10. It uses the same base specification as pretty much every 10-inch netbook (1.6GHz Atom, 1GB RAM), but it does have a large 160GB hard drive and integrated HSDPA modem for go-anywhere Internet access. It should also have one of the best keyboards on the market, since its layout is almost spot-on and the keys are 93 per cent the size of their full-size counterparts. The dirtier members of society should also be pleased the keyboard sports 'Silver Nano' antibacterial technology to minimise the chances of contamination from dirty, er, hands. An 8-hour battery life is promised.
The NC10's mouse trackpad is pretty small. Worse still, it has a strip on the right side dedicated to vertical scrolling, which leaves you even less space for ordinary cursor movements. Word on the street is that it'll support multi-touch gesture inputs, but whether they'll be a help or a hindrance remains to be seen.
November 2009. ￡299.
Acer makes a splash at number 4 in our countdown with the Aspire One, a machine that has the potential to become the Neo of the netbook world. Neo? The One? Never mind. Anyway, Acer isn't content with simply making up the numbers -- the One's aggressive ￡199 price point, TV advertising campaign and massive list of features shows it really means business.
The One has most checkboxes ticked. It has a nippy 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU, up to 1.5GB of RAM, a non-glossy 8.9-inch WSVGA screen you can use even outdoors, a great keyboard, plus an optional HDSPA/3G module for go-anywhere Internet access. Storage starts at 8GB -- thanks to a solid-state drive -- but can be upgraded to an 80GB unit if you need more space.
This could easily have been the perfect 8.9-inch netbook, but Acer went ahead and fitted a rubbish mouse system, where the selector buttons live on either side of the trackpad instead of below it. You'll get used to it, but only after you've torn all your hair out. It's also worth noting the standard battery pack is a 2200mAh unit, which only gives 3 hours of life.
Now. From ￡199.
When the Eee PC 1000 was first unveiled, its relatively large size and weight led many to question whether it was a netbook at all. Not us, though. It has 'Eee PC' in the title, and that's all we need to know.
The 1000 series' girth allows it to have a 10.2-inch screen, running at 1,024x600 pixels. Its keyboard (the bane of the Eee PC 700 and 900) is much larger than before -- 92 per cent the size of a full laptop keyboard. Inside, it benefits from a 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU and up to 2GB of RAM -- making it among the most powerful in its category.
As you may have guessed, it comes in two versions: the Linux edition gets a 40GB solid-state drive, and the Windows XP model -- dubbed the Eee PC 1000H -- gets an 80GB mechanical drive. Interestingly, users will also get up to 20GB of Web-based storage included. High-definition audio, 802.11n Wi-Fi and a battery life of 3 hours 56 minutes also make it well worth looking at.
The 1000 series is obviously larger and slightly less portable than the 900 and 700 series. It weighs a not-insubstantial 1.33kg, so if your manbag is rather bijou, you may want to consider one of its smaller brethren. Also, when will Asus pull its corporate finger out and supply these things with integrated 3G? MSI, Dell and Acer have done it. Sort it out, Asus.
Now. ￡322.
We've already fallen in love with the MSI Wind U110, so it stands to reason that we'd go banoodles for its successor, the U120. It's not out yet, but we can pretty much guarantee that come January 2009 you'll be buying one.
Say goodbye to unsightly USB dongles; the U120 will sport its own integrated broadband adaptor. That, friends, means you can surf anywhere you damn-well please, any time you damn-well like. The Wind U120 is set to have a slightly more sophisticated look than the U110, but will probably feature the same 10.2-inch display, Windows XP, a 1.6GHz N270 Intel Atom CPU and hard drives up to 160GB in size. Add all that to battery life of 3 hours 39 minute and you've got a real winner. Booyah!
We've yet to find anything wrong with the Wind U120. Sure, pedants might moan about the relatively small mouse trackpad, and the fact the 160GB hard drive might get damaged if you drop the machine, but you're not a pedant, are you? Good.
January 2009. ￡TBC.
We thought the S101 was going to be a flop when we first heard about it. Not only was it expensive, it was aimed at suit-wearing business types and people who know what a cravat is. After taking a closer look at it, however, we've decided it is -- hands down -- the best netbook on the planet. Probably.
The S101 is the most attractive netbook on the market, without a doubt. Brown isn't the sexiest colour in the world, but Asus has chosen just the right shade and the right level of glossiness -- the S101 rivals a Snickers bar for lickability. The Swarovski crystals on either edge of the hinge might seem misguided on paper, but again, the implementation is absolutely spot-on. The whole thing is thinner and lighter than most netbooks, yet remains supremely usable.
The S101 has the misfortune of launching at a time when the most common spoken words are 'credit' and 'crunch'. Also, it doesn't have integrated HSDPA, but that's something you can learn to live with. Its 3 hour 23 minute battery life isn't spectacular either, but it's long enough to watch a couple of full-length movies -- and that's good enough for us.
Out now, ￡449
If you've got the cash, absolutely. The S101 is gorgeous, easy to use, lightweight and will make you the envy of your friends. Read more in our full review of the Eee PC S101 here.
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