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Best Buy is set to launch its lowest-advertised-price laptop to date--an Acer model based on Intel's venerable Celeron chip.

Acer laptop

(Credit: Best Buy)

Thought Netbooks were as low as a laptop's price can go? Another category of ultra-low-cost laptops has quietly emerged. These aren't small or ultra-thin or frugal with power consumption. There's nothing remarkable about these laptops--except price.

Best Buy said it will start selling on Wednesday the $249 Acer laptop--the retailer's lowest-advertised-price laptop ever. The laptop comes with an Intel Celeron processor, 15.4-inch screen, 2GB memory, a 160GB hard drive, and Windows 7 Premium. The model is available while supplies last.

Currently, the lowest-priced laptop listed on Best Buy's Web site is an Acer Aspire with an Advanced Micro Devices Athlon Processor (model: AS5532-553). On Tuesday, it was selling for $329.

Why the proliferation of low-cost laptops? "It's gone from one PC per household to one PC per person," said Justin Barber, a Best Buy spokesman. "And sometimes more than one laptop per person," he said, referring to Netbooks, which are marketed as companion devices to a higher-end PC.

At the core of the low-cost Acer laptop is an Intel Celeron Processor 900--not an Intel Atom chip, which is standard fare for sub-$300 Netbooks. The Celeron is a faster design than Atom: the 900 series packs 1MB cache of cache memory and is rated at 2.20GHz.

By comparison, the Z550 Atom is rated at 2.0GHz and integrates only 512K of cache. The Atom's performance is also hampered by fundamental design constraints: it is built for power efficiency not speed.

Netbooks continue to be the most popular low-cost laptop category, however. Best Buy lists dozens of Netbooks on its Web site from Hewlett-Packard, Asus, Samsung, Gateway, Nokia, Lenovo, and Toshiba, among others. Most are priced around $350.

Just the other day here at the CNET N.Y. offices, a co-worker IMed me with a question from his uncle, who was shopping for an affordable laptop for his niece. Should he consider buying a laptop he saw on sale recently, which had a large screen and a DVD burner, for only $350?

I had a feeling the laptop in question was similar to the Toshiba L455-S5975, and it turns out I was basically right. For ultracheap laptop bargains, there are two ways to go: buy a small, cheap Netbook, or go with a full-size low-end laptop sporting a processor such as an Intel Celeron 900.

Either way, you're not getting a lot of processing power. To get something more significant, you need to climb up to around $500 and go with either a dual-core thin-and-light or a cheap Core 2 Duo or equivalent laptop, such as the Toshiba Satellite T135-S1309 (we reviewed the similarly configured but more expensive T135-S1310 here).

For around $300, though, 10-inch Netbooks like the Dell Mini 10v provide nice portability and design, but lack an optical disc drive or a full-size keyboard/screen, and tend to have less RAM and smaller hard drives.

The Toshiba Satellite L455-S5975, which we reviewed as part of our holiday retail laptop roundup, falls in the other camp. It has a bright, large 15.6-inch screen, a full-size tapered keyboard, and a DVD-burning drive. It also has a decent amount of hard drive space at 250GB.

But that's where the advantages end. With an underpowered single-horsepower Celeron, it can't achieve most of what you'd like a big-screen laptop to do in the first place, such as play back high-quality full-screen streaming video. It also lacks a Webcam, something many Netbooks have, which is nice for students who use webchat or Skype (although a USB plug-in can also do the trick). Most importantly, however, its battery life ran at under two hours, which is worse than any Netbook.

For portability and battery life, a Netbook is still the better choice. But if you really need that optical drive and feel like you can't live without a really large screen (in other words, you're looking to plant this on your desk and not travel much), something like the L455-S5975 might be a decent second computer for a household looking to save a little cash. But if it were us, we'd save a couple hundred more and go with something that doesn't look like it escaped from the year 2000. At least you can rest easy that everything comes with Windows 7 now, Netbooks included.

Read the rest of our Toshiba L455-S5975 review.

Toshiba Satellite L455-S5975

The Inspiron 11z: Dell's affordable thin-and-light (or, Netbook Plus?)

(Credit: Dell)

While much was made of Dell killing off its Mini 12 Netbook recently, one question raised was: what might fill that 11-to-12-inch void in the future? That question is answered, in part, with today's announcement of the Dell Inspiron 11z, an 11.6-inch thin-and-light weighing only 3 pounds. How thin? At its thickest point: 1.02 inches, according to Dell's specs. This is Dell's first real entry into thin-and-light, a category that's been gaining momentum recently (the Acer Aspire Timeline 3810T, MSI X340, and Lenovo IdeaPad U350 to name a few).

Inside, there's no Atom processor, but instead a single-core 1.2 GHz Intel ULV Celeron 723. Equipped with a three-cell battery, Dell promises long battery life in a chassis that's "24 percent smaller than 14-inch laptops" (but this is an 11.6-inch laptop, so how is that fair?). Unfortunately, that "long battery life" equates to 3 hours in the press release, but we'll remain optimistic. The keyboard is 92 percent standard-size, close to a regular laptop experience (although sometimes we've found that small differences in ergonomics can be disorienting). Like a Netbook and most thin-and-lights, the 11z has no optical drive.

One of the best features is the price: Dell's Web site lists the Inspiron 11z as $399, the same cost as a Netbook.

So, you might ask, why get this over a Netbook? For one, it runs Windows Vista SP1 Home Premium--while Windows 7 is just around the corner, this OS qualifies for a free upgrade. And the 11z also breaks through the XP Netbook barrier of RAM/hard drive space, with 2GB and 250GB respectively. Other notable features include HDMI-out and a 1.3-megapixel Webcam. The Inspiron 11z comes in Obsidian black with silver tones.

Full specs below, as well as more product shots after the break. ... Read more

Updated at 4:30 p.m. PDT: adding Windows 7 and Celeron processor information.

There's a new $299 laptop in vogue at stores--and it's not a Netbook.

Toshiba 15-inch Satellite has bounced around in price from $299 to $329

(Credit: Best Buy)

These laptops sport big screens, optical drives, plenty of memory, and reasonable graphics horsepower. In other words, this is nothing like a $299 Netbook.

And, in case you haven't noticed, they sell out quickly. The $298 Wal-Mart laptop was gone before most people could reach for their wallet and the Best Buy $299 Acer laptop vanished almost overnight once the price went viral.

Best Buy chimed in again very briefly for a few days (during the week of August 3) with a $299 Toshiba laptop sporting a 15-inch screen but then bumped the price up to $329.

But whether it's a $298, $299, $309, or $329, it's a laptop design that has landed. And it is a real competitor to the 10-inch Netbook, which costs about the same.

Here's the challenge: a lot of the Netbook's appeal is price. If retailers offer something with more robust hardware in the same price range, these tiny laptops are at risk of ... Read more

Looks the same as other HP laptops, but not nearly as powerful inside.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Editors' note: This review is part of our 2009 Retail Laptop and Desktop Back-to-School roundup, covering specific fixed configurations of popular systems that can be found in retail stores.

One thing we noticed when reviewing the lowest-priced entry-level laptops in our retail roundup was the presence of the Intel Celeron 900 processor. Showing up twice (in the Compaq CQ60-417DX and the Toshiba L305-S5955, discussed below), it's an outdated, poorly performing CPU.

The sneaky thing, however, is that this processor shows up in a chassis that also houses more highly powered machines. Perhaps this downgrading and price-cutting has been inspired by the success of Netbooks. Regardless, it can be confusing for consumers. $350 or $399 sounds like a great deal for a laptop, but is it still worth it with an processor that's not much better than a Netbook?

In our Back-to-School retail laptop roundup, we've taken a look at a few real bargain-basement machines. Along with the Toshiba Satellite L305-S5955, the Compaq Presario CQ60-417DX comes in at less than $400. Although it's 50 dollars more than the Satellite L305-S5955, it also has a larger, 15.6-inch, higher-resolution 16:9 screen, comes with a Windows 7-upgrade-eligible Windows Vista Home Premium OS, and has a keyboard and touch pad that were far more comfortable for us. But, you should be forewarned: both systems are nearly identical otherwise, and both come with a pretty bare-bones Celeron 900 processor.

However, for only $29 more, you can get a laptop with a significantly better dual-core processor in the Dell Inspiron 1545-012B, so the underpowered processor at the CQ60-417DX's core can't be overlooked. For your entry-level computing needs, we recommend looking elsewhere.

For the same price, would you rather have a larger screen and Vista, or a Netbook?

Read the rest of our review.

For one thing, $350 gets you a lot of bulk.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Our back-to-school retail roundup of laptops is currently under way, and one of the machines we recently tested was the cheapest of the bunch: Toshiba's $350 L305-S5955. That's the cost of a Netbook (and some cost even less).

It's hard to hate a laptop that only costs $350. Indeed, decent televisions weren't even this cheap half a decade ago. The first question that pops into one's head when confronted with such an absurdly low number is, "What am I getting for that?" The second question is, "Can I get away with owning one?"

For a 15.4-inch laptop, what comes under the hood? Last year's L305-S5875, which cost $675 and was housed in a nearly identical case, came with a 200GB hard drive, 3GB of DDR2 RAM, and a 1.86GHz Pentium Dual-Core T2390. Therein lies the difference: this year's L305 has a 160GB hard drive, only 2GB of RAM, and an inferior Celeron 900 processor for nearly half the cost. In essence, it has the guts of a Netbook in a 15.4-inch laptop's body (the earliest Netbooks actually used Celeron chips, before Intel release the Atom processor).

While this laptop is fine for basic e-mail, media viewing, music playing, and other simple tasks, we wouldn't recommend it for any sort of multitasking or serious mission-critical computing. It's already more than a bit of a dinosaur in 2009, and it won't get any less outdated, making it a questionable investment. On the other hand, Windows 7 should run fine on it (although most new Vista Basic systems are ineligible for a free upgrade), and this could be the sort of bargain a low-expectations consumer is looking for.

Read our full review of the Toshiba L305-S5955.

Toshiba Satellite L305-S5955

The new Asus Eee Box B203 is powered by the Intel Celeron processor instead of the Intel Atom featured in previous versions.

(Credit: Asus)

Asus has beefed up its Eee Box line with the addition of a Celeron-based B203.

As expected, Asus' new Nettop is largely unchanged from the B202, but it features a budget-minded Intel Celeron 220 CPU, instead of the Intel Atom found in earlier versions. Asus also increased the hard-drive options in the new model, offering a 120GB and 160GB version in addition to the 80GB offered in previous versions.

The B203 comes with four USB ports, a flash card reader, a DVI output, and Ethernet and Wi-Fi connectivity. The Nettop runs Windows XP Home, but Asus recommends Windows Vista.

Pricing wasn't available on Asus' Web site on Sunday night, but the processor change is expected to drop the cost of the Eee Box from $350 to $240, allowing the small form-factor desktop to better compete with similarly low-cost desktops and laptops.

The Atom N270 processor got buried last week under the mobile Internet device PR juggernaut. But it may prove to be more popular initially than the high-profile Atom Z5XX series for MIDs.

As previously reported, the Atom Z500, Z510, Z520, Z530, and Z540 series of processors will go into handheld-size mobile Internet devices (MIDs) such as the Lenovo IdeaPad U8. Intel promoted the Z5XX series heavily at IDF because the chipmaker needs to jump-start a new category of personal computers that fit in your pocket. Whether consumers actually need these devices is a question that will be answered later this year.

Intel Atom, Celeron segmentation

(Credit: Intel)

The Atom N270 is quite different in this respect: It has a ready-made market. The N270 will go into an existing market segment--Netbooks--and will replace the popular Celeron in many cases, making this Atom potentially a high-volume chip. For example, currently, the Eee PC and Intel Classmate (technically Netbooks) use the Celeron. Versions of both these compact notebooks are slated to use the Atom. Based on Intel's description of the market, this category of Netbooks will use the N270 (see graphic).

Though the die (the actual processor inside the chip package) is the same for both the Atom Z5XX series and N270, the packaging and chipsets are different (see graphic). The N270 will use the 945GSE and 82801 (ICH7M) core logic. A version of this chipset (with 950 integrated graphics) is used in low-cost notebooks and desktops today. The Celeron has traditionally used the lower-end 915 chipset.

So, the way it shakes out is: the Atom Z5XX series for MIDs; the N270 (and upcoming processors) for Netbooks; the Celeron for low-cost notebooks. Note: the Atom Z5XX series includes a single-chip with integrated graphics called the Intel System Controller Hub.

Intel Atom N270 processor platform

(Credit: Intel)

Via-based Everex gPC2

(Credit: Wal-Mart)

Intel's low-cost Atom processors will be at the core of inexpensive PCs. And inexpensive computers these days often come with Linux.

How do PC companies shave off the last hundred dollars or so to get to $299 or in some cases $199? Easy. They swap out Windows (pricey) for Linux (free).

Case in point: Home Depot, the home supply store, sells a Mirus-branded desktop with either Windows or Linux. Based on the same hardware, one model sells for $419, the other for $299. Can you guess which one is $299? That's a steep price cut--more than 25 percent--for the system with Linux. Inside the Mirius is a Celeron D 420, which lists for $34, the cheapest chip that Intel currently lists on its pricing Web site.

Linux-based PCs like this are prime real estate for Atom. Especially when reports this week cite the cheapest upcoming Atom processors (due in the second quarter) at below $30.

A likely high-profile candidate for Atom and Linux is the Eee PC. The Linux option allows resellers to keep offerings as cheap as possible. The current Eee PC at Newegg is priced at $349 with Linux and a Celeron M processor (the forerunner--from the standpoint of market positioning--to Atom).

Processors from Via Technologies also match up well with Linux operating systems such as gOS. Wal-Mart sells (online) an Everex gPC2 TC2512 desktop computer with a 1.5GHz Via C7-D Processor and Google-centric gOS for $199.

(Correction: gOS is a Linux distribution from "Good OS LLC.")

The Asus Eee PC is a candidate for the Atom processor.

(Credit: Asus)

Though Atom-based computers with Linux will be targeted at emerging markets, the success of the Eee PC in mature markets like the U.S. and Japan means that there is pent-up demand for stripped-down but practical PCs. "In emerging markets it will be a first PC. In mature markets, it will be a second or third PC within a household," said Dean McCarron, founder and principal of Mercury Research. Also, an Atom-based desktop could potentially go on the back of a monitor that is used in point-of-sale applications, McCarron said.

And don't overlook Via's C7 or low-end versions of its upcoming Isaiah processor being paired with low-cost computers with a Linux option. The V7 is slated for HP's upcoming HP 2133 Mini-Note PC and Isaiah is expected to garner a number of design wins in both ultraportable notebooks and desktops.

Though the HP 2133 may not be the best example of a low-cost PC (it is expected to come with Windows Vista Business, hiking the price to almost $750), expect Linux-based "Netbooks" (Intel's self-described category for small, inexpensive notebooks) to be less expensive than this.