With no sign of abatement in sight, recession-addled consumers continue to flock towards the small, low-cost, low-power laptops called Netbooks. According to IDC, Netbooks went from essentially zero to a full 8 percent of the portable computing market in 2008, making this a bright spot in an otherwise gloomy economy for PC makers.
Typically, a Netbook means a 10-inch display, Intel's Atom CPU, 1GB of RAM, Windows XP, and a 160GB hard drive--but those lines are clearly beginning to blur. Some of the Netbooks in this roundup include new CPUs from AMD and Via, or larger displays (that some would say disqualifies them from being Netbooks at all--a position we can't say we fully disagree with).
And beyond these current models, we have several potentially interesting new Netbooks on the horizon, including Dell's Mini 10v, which intends to bludgeon the competition with a $299 starting price; and Asus' Eee PC 1008HA, which reinvents that popular line with a slim, upscale design.
See our reviews of all the latest Netbooks after the break.
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According to Digitimes, Intel's road map for the rest of 2009 is crystal clear and full of code names. Released Tuesday morning, the report shows that Intel is ready to start up-selling consumers on fancier new portable processors later this year across its entire product line. It's a triple-front chip attack on your holiday wallet.
The highest-end ($1,200 and higher) machines will run the long-awaited dual-core "Calpella" platform, which basically refers to better-performing chips. Midrange machines ($700-$1,000) will get CULV-based processors, low-voltage dual-core CPUs that give more of a real notebook performance, as opposed to the currently limited Atom horsepower of Netbooks. (CULV stands for "consumer ultra-low-voltage.")
As for the ever-affordable Netbook line, where users can get a new Dell for only $299, expect the current Atom processors to be sold through the summer in advance of upgraded fancier new Netbook processors--with faster integrated graphics, and probably higher price points--in September. Right now they're code-named "Pineview" just to be all top-secret.
CULV is the most intriguing movement. Set to attack the $700-$1,000 price point, dual-core CULV machines will outperform AMD Athlon Neo machines, which are currently faster than Netbooks but slower than full dual-core laptops (the HP Pavilion dv2 runs an AMD Neo). If a fancy Netbook runs for $500, small CULV notebooks will be very attractive upgrades. Would you rather have cheaper or faster? Or both? Either way, 2009's shaping up for some big processor changes.
For a long time, Intel's Atom CPU ruled the minilaptop universe, powering Netbooks from Asus, Dell, HP, Acer, Lenovo, and others. After all, who wouldn't want an inexpensive processor capable of powering an almost-pocket-size laptop? Especially one perfectly suited of handling basic coffee shop chores such as Web surfing, e-mailing, or blogging.
But when you're on top, everyone else wants a piece of your action. Two new potential Atom-killers have launched recently, each looking to steal some market share from Intel with variations on the Netbook theme. The contenders, in brief, are:
Intel Atom
The smallest processor currently made by Intel, the Atom is found in a majority of Netbook-style laptops. The most common versions are the Atom N270 (1.6GHz) and Atom N280 (1.66GHz), and popular Atom-powered systems include the Asus Eee PC 1000HE and Acer Aspire One AOD150.
AMD Athlon Neo
Intended as a step up from Atom-style Netbook processors, AMD's Athlon Neo will be seen in ultrathin laptops such as the new HP Pavilion dv2. That particular system has a 1.6GHz Athlon Neo MV-40 CPU and a 12-inch display.
Via Nano
Chipmaker Via has replaced its older low-power CPU, the C7-M, with the new Nano, specifically designed for Netbooks. The 1.3GHz Nano U2350 was first seen in the Samsung NC20 Netbook.
So, how did laptops with these CPUs fare when pitted against each other? To start with, it's important to note that these are different Netbook-style systems from different vendors, so this is not an exact comparison--many other factors besides the CPU affect performance--but it's similar to the choices you'll face when shopping for a low-cost, low-power laptop.
As one might expect, there's no clear winner. We sampled three laptops, one with each processor, and in this particular grouping, the system with the Intel Atom was fastest in our multitasking test (but none of these single-core systems were particular adept at this task), but the one with the Via Nano was the fastest in one of our single-application tests (in this case, our iTunes encoding test), while the Netbook with the AMD Neo was fastest in another single-application test using Jalbum, a photo program we sometimes use in place of Photoshop for low-power or Linux-based systems. The Neo is theoretically the fastest of these CPUs, but it's also running Windows Vista, which has historically been less suited for Netbook-style laptops than XP.
Note: Remember that this is a comparison of three example systems, using data from previously published reviews, and performance scores rely on more than just the CPU.
| Note: lower scores are better | Intel Atom N280 | Via Nano U2250 (Samsung NC20) | AMD Athlon Neo MV-40 (HP Pavilion dv2) |
| Multitasking test (seconds) | 3,960 | 5,257 | 7,218 |
| Apple iTunes encoding test (seconds) | 718 | 367 | 589 |
| Jalbum (seconds) | 219 | 228 | 175 |
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