Smaller and cheaper have always been big tech buzzwords, and the currently hot category of Netbook laptops seems to be embracing that spirit better than anyone else in recent memory. After all, we used to be crazy for 11- and 12-inch ultraportable laptops, which combined uninspiring performance and poor battery life into packages costing upward of $2,000. Now we can get comparable performance and (sometimes) better battery life in small 9- and 10-inch systems for $400-$700.
With low-power processors, tiny screens and finger-cramping keyboards, most of these Netbooks aren't good for much more than surfing the Web, checking e-mail, working on office documents, and maybe a little light multimedia playback--but that's 90 percent of what we do with our laptops anyway.
Still, the Netbook craze may be getting out of hand. Even without upcoming entries from Dell and Lenovo, we've looked at five new models recently, and consumers who may very well be interested in a second or travel laptop are confused by the different components, prices and even operating systems available.
To help clear up the confusion, we looked at a bunch of current Netbooks and created a handy chart to show you what's inside each one, as well as battery life, and most importantly, price.
CNET's handy Netbook comparison chart
| Name | CPU | Hard Drive | RAM | OS | Screen | | Price |
| 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 | 12GB SSD | 1GB | XP | 8.9 | 315 | 599 | |
| 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 | 40GB SSD | 1GB | Linux | 10.0 | 356 | 699 | |
| 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 | 8GB SSD | 512MB | Linux | 8.9 | 134 | 379 | |
| 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 | 80GB HDD | 1GB | XP | 10.0 | 116 | 499 | |
|
1.2GHz VIA C7-M | 30GB HDD | 1GB | Linux | 7.0 | 183 | 399 |
Do you want a more detailed comparison? Check out "Searching for the perfect Netbook."
To our surprise, we found that none of these Netbooks hit all the benchmarks we were looking for--some were underpowered, some had terrible batteries, and others simply cost too much for what should be almost an impulse purchase.
The Eee PC 901 hits most of the marks, and we love its extended battery life, but at $600, it's just as expensive as a comparable 15-inch budget laptop. The Eee PC 1000 is even more expensive, thanks to its best feature, a 40GB SSD drive, but again, excellent battery life, topping five hours.
Acer's Aspire One is great-looking Netbook, and at $379, it's also one of the cheapest. However, by saving a few bucks, you have to accept a measly 512MB of RAM and a battery that lasts only about two hours. It also has a Linux OS instead of Windows XP. While that certainly has its advantages (cheaper, runs well with less RAM), we generally prefer Windows XP in our Netbooks--it's more familiar to people, and makes it easier to install new software or troubleshoot problems.
The MSI Wind came close to fulfilling our Netbook dreams, but we'd rather have a smaller SSD drive (for less weight, better battery life, and hopefully more reliability, thanks to its lack of moving parts), than an 80GB standard platter drive. Also, at less than two hours, this is one of the worst batteries we've seen on anything besides a massive desktop replacement.
The Sylvania G Netbook has some decent component choices, but it was totally undone by a tiny 7-inch screen, virtually unusable touch pad, and a sluggish older VIA processor (we're still waiting to see something with VIA's new Nano Netbook CPU, which has been garnering some positive buzz).
If you're in the business of making PCs, listen up, because we're about to tell you how to build the perfect Netbook--a Frankenstein-like system, combining our favorite parts from all the Netbooks we've tested.
Our dream Netbook
- CPU: 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270--We're open to new challengers, but this has quickly become the default Netbook CPU.
- Hard Drive: At least 20GB SSD--We know SSD drives are expensive--but that's our minimum for useful storage and expansion.
- RAM: 1GB--Perfect for running the stripped-down version of XP found in many Netbooks.
- OS: Windows XP--Netbooks are supposed to be especially consumer-friendly--having a familiar operating system helps, plus it's easier to install new software or troubleshoot problems.
- Screen: 8.9-inches--The best marriage of usability and portability.
- Battery: At least 180 minutes--We know longer battery life requires bigger, bulkier batteries, so we'll compromise for a solid three hours.
- Price: $499--Here's the most important part. A Netbook needs to come in less than that magic $500 mark to stand out from the scores of cheap mainstream laptops on the market.
So there's our challenge to the computer industry. Build one of these, and you'll not only likely sell a ton of units, but you'll also have the satisfaction of saying you built the perfect Netbook.
Or, if you have a better idea of what the perfect Netbook would include, let's hear it--there's plenty of space for comments below.
Hewlett-Packard (HP) chose a relatively obscure processor from Via Technologies for its high-profile Mini-Note 2133. An HP marketing manager explains why.
The HP 2133 Mini-Note PC starts at $499 and weighs only 2.7 pounds
(Credit: Hewlett-Packard)The Via C7-M offered what HP needed now, according to Robert Baker, a notebook product marketing manager for HP. "Via gave us that right mix of performance and price for the type of environment that this product is going into--content consumption." And the chip's low power requirements were a plus too. "Their power (efficiency) is where we needed it to be for this platform. Web surfing, creating Power Points," Baker said.
CNET Reviews said the 2133 Mini-Note performed at "an acceptable level" when "surfing the Web and working on office documents" but "doing very much more than that, or open too many windows at once, and things will start to bog down." And CNET Reviews added this: "We won't kid you--this CPU (1.6GHz Via C7-M) did not perform well at all on our standard benchmarking tests."
Via C7-M processor
(Credit: Via Technologies)Timing also factored into HP's decision to go with Via's C7-M. Intel's low-cost Atom processor--which will compete directly with Via chips--is not shipping yet from Intel. Though Baker did not cite the Atom explicitly, he alluded to timing exigencies. "The other key thing was we were designing for education. We had to bring the product to the market now. A slip of a month kills you," he said. Educators need to get their hands on units "so they can make decisions for purchases they'll roll out during the summer when they're doing the vast majority of their purchases."
HP will, however, consider other processors such as the Atom when it's time to refresh the lineup. "There will be an interim refresh about six months in. If the Atom is the right processor, that's what we'll go with. We'll look at everything in the market at that time," he said. Via is slated to bring out a higher-performance "Isaiah" processor in the June time frame. HP will also look at that, he said.
The design for the 2133 was not driven by the wow factor, which is an Apple forte. "We didn't say, hey, we want something cool." The design was a result of a long process of "taking feedback from our customers. All those conversations were well over a year ago. This has been in development for a year now."
Whether ultra-compact, low-cost notebooks like the 2133 (starting at $499) and the Eee PC constitute a sea change in notebook buying habits nobody can say yet. To date, small, fully-functional notebook PCs--which the 2133 is intended to be--have carried a high premium. Look no further than the MacBook Air, said Baker. The Air starts at about $1,700 and jumps to above $3,000 with a solid state drive (SSD). The svelte, 2.8-pound HP 2510p subnotebook for corporate customers starts at about $1,500.
If this class of notebooks does take off, "you'll see more and more bang for your buck baked into these small machines," Baker said.
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