When Intel announced the availability of its low-power chip, the Atom, at Computex in Taiwan this week, it signaled that the age of the cheap mini-notebook had finally arrived.
Not bad for a product category that no one cared about six months ago.
Since its October 2007 introduction, Asus' small, low-cost Eee PC has become a sleeper success, selling more than a million units, according to its manufacturer. That success has prompted other manufacturers to announce their own mininotes, including such mainstream PC manufacturers as HP, Dell and Acer. Intel also has proposed a standard for low-cost ultralights that it is calling "Netbooks."
This sudden success is a bit of a surprise, given that computer companies have been trying to create a market for ultraportable notebooks for more than a decade. None of those attempts, however technically inspired, ever took off. They were either too compromised by crummy keyboards, substandard displays, anemic performance, or all three. And to top it off, manufacturers expected consumers to pay a premium for these tiny but crummy pieces of technology. Earlier ultraportables like the OQO Model 02 and Sony Vaio UMPC cost $2,000 and up.
Today's mini-notebooks, by contrast, are finding success because they're so inexpensive, hovering around $500 and in some cases much less.
But which ones offer the best value? We decided to find out, by tabulating the price and key features of the mininotes that are currently available (or which will soon be available). We added the hard drive-based MacBook Air, even though it's not a cheap mini-notebook, because its light weight and slim profile put it close to the category in spirit, if not in its particulars.
Take a look at our Google spreadsheet with all the details (you can sort it and everything), or just peep at the screenshot below.
Which one offers the best value depends on what exactly you're looking for: Processor speed, storage capacity, screen size, or weight.
Here's one way of looking at things:
In the following list, we try to help by describing the details of the currently available sub-notebooks. We think that a combination of overall quality and low price is the most important qualifier. Add in the key factor of portability, and the attractive principles of simplicity (no Vista OS here) plus the size of the screen, and we can start to understand why these notebooks are becoming popular.
On with the show (and the tiny screens):
Price: $550
Weight: 2.2 lbs
OS: Linux or Windows XP
Core Electronics: Intel CPU
Display: 8.9-inch TFT Display. Plus, a larger resolution (1024 x 600) that makes a big difference in visibility.
WIRED The RAM was doubled from the first Eee PC (from 512 MB to 1 GB),
and the solid-state storage system jumps to 20 GB (at Linux –- for the
Windows XP model, the storage high is 12GB). The keyboard is the same
size as the old one, but it’s designed so it feels bigger. (It will
still feel small for those with mid-to-large hands).
TIRED The price is getting up there. Ideally, $500 should be the
highest mark these types of notebooks should go up to, and will cause
buyers to think about going up the next level, for a full laptop.
Price: $400
Weight: 2.0 lbs
OS: GNU Linux, Windows XP compatible
Chipset: Intel CPU
Display: 7.0-inch display.
WIRED It’s a beautiful machine, and the people without previous Linux
experience will fare fine with this one. The solid-state drive makes it
fairly shake-proof, a necessary component of any portable gadget. Also
includes a good web cam.
TIRED Battery life goes about 2 hours, 20 minutes only, which is
disappointing. Only 1.3GB free storage space available straight out of
the box. The mouse buttons are very small. And touch-typing is still
too hard for regular-sized adult hands.
Price: $400
Weight: 2.0 lbs
OS: gOS Linux build
Core Electronics: 1.2-GHz Via C7-M processor, 512MB of RAM
Display: 7" WVGA TFT Display (at 800 x 480 res)
WIRED The Everex 30GB hard drive is larger than the others. Checking the net is
fast and easy, video streaming is good, and the desktop design is fine.
TIRED According to several reviewers, the keyboard is too small, the
touchpad is difficult to manage and the resolution leaves a lot to be
desired. Not only that, but the touchpad is oddly positioned on the
left hand side, above the keyboard. Not great.
Price: $400 ($200 tax-deductible)
Weight: 3.2 lb
OS: Fedora Linux
Core Electronics: AMD Geode LX700, with 1024 MiB SLC NAND flash, high-speed flash storage.
Display: LCD 7.5” dual-mode TFT display (984(H) × 738(V) color pixels in backlight mode).
WIRED Kids will love it. Proceeds benefit a valuable non-profit agency
and cause. Super rugged. Battery withstands 2000 discharge cycles, and
a five-watt solar panel can provide enough juice to run it. Display can
be used outdoors and swivels into tablet mode.
TIRED The OLPC is too limiting for adults. Rubbery keyboard is too small, and
unfamiliar. Interesting new software makes it easy for kids to adapt,
but adults will find it hard. No WPA Wi-Fi support.
Micro-Star International (MSI) Wind:
Price: $458 - $1072
Weight: 2.3 lbs.
OS: Linux Novell or Windows XP
Core Electronics: Intel Atom 1.6GHz. Also with System Memory: 512 DDR2; 2GB Max
Display: 10-inch LED resolution of 1024 x 600.
WIRED The ‘Wind’ in MSI Wind stands for (Wi-Fi Network Device) so you
know where it’s laying its bets – on the net and on speed. Its keyboard
is supposed to only be 20% smaller than regular keyboards, which is a
necessary break with these laptops. Also includes 1.3-megapixel webcam,
1GB of RAM, and Bluetooth connectivity.
TIRED The smooth-pebble shape shell does not look enticing. The
magnifying-glass screen capability worries us – will it be so hard to
read that they needed to add this feature? The specs for the battery
also went from an awesome 7 hours to a day-of-release 3 hours.
Interesting.
Price: $500 for Linux, and $600 (starting) for Windows.
Weight: 2.9-3.7 pounds (with and w/o battery)
OS: Linux, or Windows Vista Business
Core Electronics: 1.6GHz VIA C7-M ULV, with 1024MB DDR RAM (for Linux) and 2048MB DDR RAM (for Windows Vista)
Display: 8.9-inch WXGA display.
WIRED It has a full-size QWERTY keyboard, so the HP 2133 is probably the most
comfortable of the lot. The Wi-Fi and al lits other net-connectivity
aspects perform well.
TIRED There’s no optical drive. You already know what we thought about
that with the Macbook Air (not bad, but limiting at this stage.)
There’s some talk of it being underpowered rig (120GB 7,200rpm) with a
not-great battery life and a tiny touchpad.
Intel Classmate PC (1st generation):
Price: About $250-$350 (depending on rig and OS)
Weight:
OS: Linux, and Windows XP Pro
Core Electronics: Intel Mobile Processor ULV 900 MHz, Zero L2 cache,
400 MHz FSB, Intel 915GMS chipset, DDR -II 256 MB or 512 MB, 1 GB Flash
(for Linux), 2GB memory.
Display: 7.0 inches
WIRED Using the XP OS allows for easier transition for students who’ve
used that one at home. This is probably the second most tough in this
list, behind the OLPC. Solid, responsive keyboard and touchpad. Good
battery life at about 3 hours, 40 minutes. And the Classmate's Full-screen video and Flash
video performs fine.
TIRED Very small screen looks bad next to these other ones. Tinny
speakers. Not nearly enough storage space (just half a gig available to
the user). Small keyboard is more appropriate for kids. No webcam.
Intel Classmate PC (2nd generation):
Price: About $250-$350 (depending on rig and OS)
Weight: 3.3-3.9 pounds
OS: Linux, and Windows XP Pro
Core Electronics: Intel Mobile Processor ULV 900 MHz, Zero L2 cache,
400 MHz FSB, Intel 915GMS processor, DDR -II 256 MB (Linux only) or 512
MB memory, 1 GB Flash (for Linux), 2GB/4GB Flash, 1.8 HDD
Display: 7-inch (800 x 480) color LCD and 9-inch (800 x 480) color LCD.
WIRED Using the XP OS allows for easier transition for students who’ve
used that one at home. Probably the second toughest in this list,
behind the OLPC. Solid, responsive keyboard and touchpad. Good battery
life at about 3 hours, 40 minutes. Full-screen video and Flash video
performs fine.
TIRED Very small screen looks bad next to these other ones. Tinny
speakers. Not nearly enough storage space (just half a gig available to
the user). Small keyboard is more appropriate for kids.
