Samsung NC20 Goes Nano?
It seems Samsung has finally made its decision to bypass Atom processor and go with VIA Nano processor for Samsung NC20 netbook. The VIA processor is known for power and efficiency. The VIA processors are also known for their onboard cryptography capabilities, but the jury is still out on its performance vs. Atom processors. If we have learned anything from Interl vs. AMD fight is that every processor has its advantage and disadvantages, and at some point the choice becomes subjective. But we will see how NC20 performs very soon!
MSI Wind U120-024US Netbook
MSI Wind U120-024US Netbook is a powerful mobile laptop that is designed to attract business travelers and college students alike. Netbooks are designed to be portable yet powerful enough to allow their users to consume data on the Internet. MSI Wind comes with plenty of features to allow you to do just that.
The Wind, an acronym for “Wi-Fi Network Device,” comes with an energy-efficient and yet powerful Intel Atom 1.6GHz Processor to provide longer operation hours and superior mobile performance. MSI Wind is 7 inches wide by 10.23 inches long, and weighing just 2.6 pounds. That’s lighter than some of those college books. The Wind features an ergonomically designed keyboard that is only 20% smaller than a full sized notebook keyboard. One of the big issues that folks have with smaller devices is the fact that they find their keywords harder to use. With the Wind, you can type without having to worry too much press 4 keys at once.
The Wind comes equipped with a 10″ back-lit LED screen that provides superior color quality and brightness makes it possible to read documents and watch videos without hurting to eyes. In addition, the 1024 x 600 screen resolution can fully display web pages, which makes it ideal for Internet browsing. I like the fact that MSI Wind comes with a wireless N adapter, and the 1.3 MP web-cam makes it easy to do video chat. The facial recognition software is a plus here.
The connectivity feature sets are adequate for most users:
- Wireless N Adapter
- Ethernet LAN
- 4-in-1 Card Reader – SD, MultiMedia Card, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro
- 3 x USB 2.0
- Headphone out
- Microphone-in
- VGA, RJ-45
With the Wind notebook weighting 2.6 pounds you can practically take it anywhere. And the battery lasts you for about 5.5 hours. That’s more than enough to get some serious work done before needing your charger. MSI Wind costs only $350 and is an affordable solutions for those who live a mobile life. I would like to see more battery life but other than that MSI is a great choice for netbook fans.
Verdict: A-/B+
Acer Aspire One AOD150-1165 Netbook
Acer has created one of the top netbooks on the market today in Acer Aspire One AOD150-1165 10.1-Inch Netbook. Not only Aspire 1 is portable, but it comes with a 6 cell battery that allows you to get about 6 hours of normal usage per charge.
Acer Aspire One AOD150-1165 Netbook comes packed with 160 GB hard drive–plenty of space for storing documents, videos, and audio–this Aspire One also features 1 GB of installed RAM (1.5 GB maximum), 54g Wi-Fi networking (802.11b/g), multi-format memory card reader, multiple USB ports, and built-in email, web browsing, and digital media applications.
Lenovo Ideapad S10 10.2-Inch Netbook
Lenovo Ideapad S10 10.2-Inch Netbook is a mobile laptops designed for people on the go who do not want to sacrifice performance for portability. You get the best of two worlds with S10. You get what you would expect to get with a top notebook. Decent CPU power, plenty of space to store your ideas, and a device that weighs than some college books. The price is is about $380, which makes this affordable to most college students and small businesses. Let’s see what S10 has to offer in detail:
Lenovo S10 Features
- Weight: S10 is super portable. It weighs only 2.4, and it’s only 1.04 inch thick. Easier to carry around than some books.
- Screen: the 10.2 inch size LED back light screen provides you with enough screen real estate to get your work done, and light makes it easier to read documents.
- CPU: it will be a matter of time before we see 2.0GHz netbooks, but at 1.66GHz S10 is close enough.
- Battery: the 3 Cell Lithium-Ion battery will get you about 3 hours of us under normal condition. The battery make last longer depending on what you use S10 for.
- Size (LWH): 7.2 inches, 9.85 inches, 1.08 inches
Lenovo S10 is a good netbook for folks who are looking for performance but don’t want to break their budget. I would like to see more battery life. Top netbooks last for 7-9 hours of use, so getting 3 hours out of S10 is not ideal. The connectivity features also leave something to be desired. Wireless G is the bare minimum needed to get Internet work done properly these days, and it would’ve been better if S10 came with a wireless N adapter.
Verdict: B.
Windows 7 Coming To Netbooks?
It seems Microsoft is not ready to keep XP running on netbooks around the world. Information Week has a story about Steve Ballmer indicating Microsoft’s intentions to dominate the world of netbooks. Netbooks have been selling like hotcakes lately. Add to that the flat sales numbers for laptops, and you’ve got a brand new market for Microsoft to dominate.
Windows 7 has been far more impressive than Vista. Vista felt rushed and underdeveloped. It seems Microsoft is trying to get right this time around with Windows 7. I just don’t agree Vista users should pay for Windows 7 as Microsoft promised us grand things with Vista only to admit the flaws of it later.
What do you think? Can netbooks handle Windows 7? Would you upgrade?
Apple Netbook Coming?
We have all heard rumors about Apple looking at Netbooks as their next shot to gain market in the mobile market. Netbooks are known for being portable and affordable. But Apple is a premium product. Does that mean we are going to see $700 Apple Netbooks in 2009?
Whatever the case, it will be very exciting to see Mac OS on a Netbook. Apple has some of the best laptops on the market. Why not bring the gift of “AppleBooks” to us consumer?
Samsung NC10-11GP 10.2-Inch Netbook
The NC10 mini notebook by Samsung is ideal for users who don’t want to break the bank and at the same time want to get their hands on a piece of hardware that allows them to consume data on the Internet. NC10-11GP is attractive and very portable yet pack the power needed to get business or college work done. Here is what you get with this laptop:
- Screen: the screen is 10.2-inch Wide and comes with 1024 x 600 WSVGA for screen resolution. Big enough to be comfortable on the eye and small enough to not take away from this netbook’s portability.
- CPU: Samsung NC10-11GP comes equipped with Intel Atom processor N270, 1.6 GHz, 533 MHz Front Side Bus, 512 KB Level 2 Cache, giving you enough power to consume data on the Internet.
- Hard Drive: 160 GB, 2.5-inch HD, 1 GB DDR2 800 MHz. More than enough for a mobile user, though I would like to see them increase it to 250 or 300 GB.
- Connectivity: 802.11 b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, 10/100 BaseTX LAN. It would be great if wireless N was suggested but a lot of networks around the nation are wireless g. And you can still connect to N networks.
- Battery: 6-Cell Lithium Ion lasts 8 hours for you, which is long enough to get some real work done without an adapter being needed.
- Weight: only 2.8. Ultra portable.
This netbook comes with Genuine Microsoft XP Home with Service Pack 3, a 1.3 Mega Pixel webcam, a Kensington Key Lock, and 1 year standard parts and labor. The device is in the $400, but still more affordable than fully-fledged laptops. Samsung NC10-11GP 10.2-Inch Netbook has some nice features. I would have loved to see backlit keyboard with this netbook. But overall, the power and portability of this netbook makes it attractive to anyone who lives a mobile way of life.
ASUS Eee PC 1000HE Netbook
ASUS Eee PC 1000HE 10-Inch Netbook EPC1000HE-BLK005X is designed for those who are constantly on the go and yet want to enjoy a long battery life with their netbooks. This netbook comes with Large LED Backlit Screen and Chiclet-style Keyboard that makes it very easy to use. Having the backlit features matters very much. It just makes to so much easier to read documents on your netbook. 1024 x 600 resolution makes it easy to view a single page without often needing to scroll left or right. Powered with a 1.66 GHz Intel Atom N280 Processor, you have enough power to get your work down without your netbook slowing down. You also get a 160 GB hard drive in addition to 1 GB of RAM, which should provide you with enough ammunition to get things down with your mobile laptop. If you need more storage, you can use the 10 GB E-storage that is offered to you by Asus which you can use to back up your files. And if you are ever bored, you can use the stereo speakers to listen to music or anything your heart desires.
Battery Life:
With 9.5 hours of battery life, your netbook will last even the longest flights without you having to charge and recharge your battery time and time again.This is all thanks to the hybrid engine used on this Asus netbook.
Connectivity:
EPC1000HE-BLK005X comes armed with an internal 802.11b/g/n that allows you to enjoy the highest Wi-Fi speeds on the go. Also included is Bluetooth V2.0 for flexibility and convenience with your Bluetooth devices. Eee PC 1000HE features 3 x USB 2.0 ports, 1 x VGA port, 2 x Audio input/output ports, 1 x RJ-45 port, Kensington Lock port.
Asus 1000HE comes with a decent microphone and a 1.3 MP web cam which you can use for video blogging and video conferences. The device weighs only 3.2 pounds and a 10 inch screen, which makes this device portable and adequate in size. The only downside is the device’s pre-installed OS, which is Windows XP. Then again, it’s better than having Vista on this machine.
Get your ASUS Eee PC 1000HE Netbook here.
ASUS Eee PC 1000HE Netbook EPC1000HE-BLU002X
ASUS Eee PC 1000HE Netbook EPC1000HE-BLU002X has the same features as the black ASUS Eee PC 1000HE Netbook, except it is colored in an attractive dark blue color. If you are fashion savvy or just don’t like the black Asus Eee, you should consider choosing this one.
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I would like to take this time to welcome you to Netbook Crunch, the premiere blog on everything netbook. Netbooks are highly portable laptops that are designed for those who live a mobile way of life. Our goal at Netbook Crunch is to be your one stop shop for everything Netbook. Whether you are looking to buy a netbook or compare netbooks, you can find it all on Netbook Crunch.
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