Emachines D620-5777 Notebook Computer Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I have to say that I like this little laptop. I got mine for $369 at Office Depot. At a "netbook" price I have a real laptop. That means I have a 14" screen (not 7-10"), a full size keyboard (not a tiny one) and a CD/DVD burner (not available on netbooks). In addition, it came with Vista Basic which is less of a resource hog than Vista Premium and a number of useful programs like Microsoft Works, NTI burning and backup software and Google Desktop. My computer came with 2 GB RAM.
I find the performance to be more than adequate for routine tasks and much speedier than netbooks that I have used. With a real sized keyboard I feel that this computer could handle real tasks like typing a 10-20 page paper. There is more than enough power to do those things that the typical user would want, like some simple photo editing.
Obviously this is a bargain laptop so you can't expect the same features that you would get in a $1000 computer. You won't find a webcam or even a SD card reader but you can certainly add those via USB if needed. Speaking of USB, you only get 2 ports as opposed to the usual 3 and don't expect anything fancy like an HDMI or external SATA port.
Will this computer:
Run MS Office? Yes
Run a simple photo editor? Yes
Run Adobe Photoshop? Probably not too well
Run Print Shop? Yes
Run Adobe Illustrator? Probably not too well
Edit a short You Tube video using MS Moviemaker? Yes
Edit a long HD movie using Adobe Premier? Probably not
Play simple 2D games? Yes
Play complex, high action 3D games? Probably not
Use a web cam for Skype? Yes, but you will need to supply your own USB camera
Read flash cards? Yes, but you will have to buy a cheap USB card reader
All in all I think the folks at eMachine thought long and hard to create a useable machine at the lowest price point. In my opinion they succeeded. If you want a super powered gamer in a fashion color look elsewhere. If you need a basic machine that is bigger but also more user friendly than a netbook check out the eMachine.


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Windows Vista Home Basic Included!AMD Athlon 2650e Processor

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Lenovo Ideapad S10 10.2-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, XP Home) White Review

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(More customer reviews)I originally bought the tiny Asus eee PC for a good friend, basically as an "upgraded thumb drive with a screen" capable of web browsing. Needless to say, with Linux, a 4 gb "drive..." wi-fi, web cam and not much else, it was pretty sad and limited - but at the same time, it clearly showed some potential. But let me be perfectly clear: DON'T buy one of these.... It's basically a quirky toy. I can't tell you about the newer models.
I decided to pick up an Acer Aspire One for myself and overall, I was extremely pleased. With the familiar XP interface and a 160gb drive, a noticeably better web cam and far better performance via the extra 512 memory even running XP. It felt substantial, the monitor was gorgeous, keyboard far better than the baby Asus, battery life was good - but not great. The only rub came when it was time to upgrade the memory. The Aspire One came with one gb on board with the potential to add only an additional 512 memory chip. Still, every bit helps on the small netbooks.
And there's when you find the nightmare. The Aspire One is an absolute NIGHTMARE to upgrade memory OR replace a hard drive. It involves removing the keyboard, the mainboard, numerous levels of wires, screws and connectors. There are "how to videos" on YouTube - but they are not for the faint of heart.
While I could have gone on being generally happy with the Acer, I was really disappointed in the absolutely and uncharacteristically WRONGHEADEDNESS (for Acer especially) of this consumer unfriendly design flaw - especially since there is an easy access door on the bottom that only leads to an empty compartment for a possible future LAN card upgrade which many, if not most, users will never use. Then there was a growing amount of consumer complaints concerning overheating, thermal shutdowns, defective fans and more. Two more of my friends has bought Aspires after seeing and playing with my machine and one friend nearly immediately had thermal problems. Not a good average.
The final "temptation" to switch came when Lenovo managed to release it's S10 model with the 10.2 inch screen earlier than expected. Among the most prominent kudos in almost every review was the absolute EASE OF CONSUMER UPGRADE. One panel on the bottom accesses BOTH your *hard drive and memory slot. You can upgrade *either or both easily in under five minutes. I had the extra half gig in and running with virtually no effort nor silliness and the little extra punch made the already speedy little machine feel even quicker. Definitely worth the time and small price.
The unit feels light but sturdy, much like the Aspire. The monitor is simply spectacular! Bright and crisp!
*Note: Among Lenovo's more interesting features is a "one button restore" feature which enables the user to restore the hard drive back to the original factory computer configuration with all original programs and drivers intact and ready to go should something turn the drive into an unrecoverable basket case. (Of course this is why God invented ACRONIS TRUE IMAGE and made it so easy to use...)
BE WARNED: IF YOU PHYSICALLY REPLACE YOUR EXISTING HARD DRIVE, LENOVO'S MANUAL SAYS THAT THE ONE BUTTON RESTORE FEATURE WILL NO LONGER WORK. So far, I have not been able to get a clear answer as to whether another drive cloned with Acronis WILL work or not as the restore function seems to depend on files already stored on the original drive and not some physical recognition scheme. I can't help but believe that a clone, even one of a different sized hard drive SHOULD be recognized, but I'm not going to risk the restore feature just to experiment right now. I'll just save an identical sized clone drive for down the road.
Strangely - VERY strangely - probably the biggest reason I switched came from the difference in the 10.2 in screen. I'm a newspaper reporter and I frequently have to do photos and graphics modifications on site. You will be absolutely amazed in the jump from 8.9" to 10.2". ESPECIALLY when you are doing something that you have ABSOLUTELY NO BUSINESS DOING on a netbook... RE: Graphics mods and retouching.
The Keyboard is just about as close to a full sized notebook as you'll come. It's more comfortable and responsive than the Acer which is not bad in it's own right.
So all in all, it's really close. I've had great luck with Acer products over the years, but this time the LENOVO S10 just had a "LITTLE" too much of an extra edge to ignore.
BTW, regardless of which netbook anyone finally decides on, I should share that I was able to find one of the new Total Micro Technologies flat Power Station batteries ([...]) and these things are nothing short of AMAZING! They generally run over $400 each but I was able to find a gentleman who overstocked for a major project and bought two brand new for $99 each. Long story short: They will power the LENOVO with FULL POWER, NORMAL TO HIGH VOLUME, FULL SCREEN BRIGHTNESS, EXTERNAL USB DRIVE AND DVD for WELL OVER SEVEN CONTINUOUS HOURS. Prowl around Amazon and Ebay. You might get lucky!
Hope this helps! Do remember to check out the ACER, ASUS and LENOVO USER FORUMS - especially under TROUBLESHOOTING and KNOWN ISSUES before you take the final plunge. Good luck!

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Lenovo Ideapad S10: 10.2"/Atom-N270/1G/160G/XP/10.2"/White

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HP Pavilion DV2-1110US 12.1-Inch Entertainment Laptop Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Just one week after I buy this notebook from Amazon, the price falls by $27 and Amazon refuses to match the price drop. Quite disappointing in that regard. I ordered this on a Wed, Amazon shipped on Sunday and it arrived on Tuesday with free shipping. So that was good.
On to the notebook. First the pros:
Build quality is good and it feels expensive compared to most sub $500 note/netbooks.
Large keys on the keyboard while not as spacious as a regular keyboard works better than than those from Acer that use the chicklet size keys. One of the reasons why I chose this over the Acer Timeline series.
Screen is bright and sharp.
Small compact and lightweight since it doesn't have a built-in DVD drive (uses an external drive). Design looks clean and modern with none of that clunky look from the low end Lenovos or Toshibas.
Uses Vista 64 bit edition
Has HDMI port to plug into HDTVs
Dedicated graphics processor and memory.
Now the cons:
Battery life is average 2-3 hours
Uses single core AMD Athlon Neo processor which is underpowered for Vista. There're occasional lags when running basic things like browsers, Word, etc. The CPU is maxed out at 100% most times.
The initial applications and drivers installed seem to make the notebook run really slow. I tried to watch videos on Hulu.com and they were jerky and slow. After installing updated video drivers and IE8 and Firefox, it worked better. Strange for a notebook professing to be an "Entertainment" notebook to be that bad at video until the drivers were updated. Despite the dedicated graphics processor and memory, video performance is just average and can a bit slow at times.
Bloatware. There are several but not too bad.
HP MediaSmart: this is pretty useless since the notebook already has Windows Media Center. The software itself is nothing great and eats up additional memory and CPU cycles.
Bottom line: This notebook is just barely able to run Vista 64 since the CPU is underpowered. It's a compromise between a full blown notebook and netbook since it has a decent size hard drive and screen. To make it perform better, you'll have to remove all the bloatware and unnecessary applications, and download the latest software updates and drivers. I'll be upgrading to Win 7 when it arrives so hopefully, that'll improve the performance further. Also probably look into upgrading the 2gb ram to 4gb.


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EXQUISITELY THIN: Refining the dv series to achieve optimal mobility, the new dv2 wears a magnesium-aluminum alloy case, an LED display and a 92% of full-size keyboard. It offers optional WWAN, runs on breakthrough energy-efficient AMD processors and removes the internal optical drive. The elegant modern lines and metalized finishes that define the dv series remain but with a profile less than 1" thin and starting weight of just 3.81lbs. Lustrous magnesium-aluminum alloy casing on the outside is complemented by color-matched HP Imprint finish on the inside in Moonlight white. External optical drives are available in Espresso black. HP¿s mobile products have won coveted International Red Dot, iF and CES Innovation design awards and been recognized by other leading design institutions.SURPRISINGLY ENTERTAINING: Carry on your favorite entertainment with the standard, large-capacity hard drive.Burn CDs and watch DVD films with the external optical drive. Providing more choices than ever, HP MediaSmart enables access to DVDs, videos, photos, music, and Internet TV at the touch of a button.Get access to watch the best video clips from Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, and MTV. Built-in demos show you how to add music to your slide shows or videos with drag-and-drop functionality ¿ and much more. An HDMI port enables you to watch films on an HD TV. Muvee Reveal makes creating films complete with effects and transitions a snap! SRS Premium Sound pours through Altec Lansing speakers delivering great audio.What's in the box: dv2-2110us laptop, 65W AC Adapter, 6-Cell Lithium-Ion battery, Symantec Norton Internet Security 2009 with 60 days complimentary live update, Microsoft Works, HP MediaSmart. Muvee Reveal,Cyberlink DVD Suite, Adobe Acrobat Reader and HP Games Powered by Wild Tangent.

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Asus Eee PC 1001P-MU17-PI 10.1-Inch Intel Atom Netbook Computer (Rose Pink) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Ordered this netbook because I was looking for an n450 powered device akin to the 1005 line.
Well let me say that I'm glad I didn't spend the extra 60 bucks. This computer has everything the 1005 line has minus bluetooth (honestly, I don't think I've ever met a person who uses bluetooth) battery life (11 vs 14 hours, real world 8 vs 11 hours), harddrive space (160GB versus 250GB which is a negligible difference), display (matte screen vs glossy screen equal resolution), wireless (g vs n) and finish (matte vs glossy).
Now, that seems like a lot of differences, but all of them, save battery life, are pointless bells and whistles that do nothing to affect the performance of the computer (akin to putting a moon roof and a spoiler on a car and jacking the price up).
Battery life is the only worthwhile difference between the two models (maybe worth 60-80 bucks depending on what your plans are). It would have been nice to have wireless n, but most users probably won't notice a difference.
As far as the screen and finish go, I think matte is actually an advantage. A glossy screen is exhausting to read on in bright light. I'll never understand what the recent obsession with glossy screens is; they are murderous to the eyes. As for a glossy finish, your netbook will look like a piece of well worn packing tape after 15 minutes (big greasy fingerprints everywhere!).
I've heard a lot of people complain that the keyboard of this model feels spongy, but I think they must be typing with mallets, because the 1001p keyboard feels like every other laptop I've ever used. It does not depress in the corners or anywhere for that matter and I'm a fairly hard typist.
The first thing I did when I got this computer was clean install windows 7 ultimate and office 2003 (office 2007 being an unholy abomination; a grievous injustice perpetrated upon all of mankind). So far the netbook has been breezing through applications on 1GB ram with nary a stutter. I would highly recommend upgrading from the absolute garbage windows 7 starter, it doesn't even let you change the wallpaper and is solely intended to annoy you. Furthermore, you might as well get rid of all the asus software (it periodically generates pop-up ads asking if you want to pay for something) and just install the drivers for lan and wireless, you really don't need the others.
In conclusion (ah, high school english where would I be without you) The 1001P is a solid, surprisingly powerful little netbook with excellent design. It is more than adequate for most computing tasks short of video editing. And for 280$? Are you kidding me? How can you complain?

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Asus Eee PC 1001P-MU17-PI 10.1 inch Intel Atom N450/1 GB/160 GB/W7S Netbook Computer (Rose Pink)

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HP 2140 Mini-Note - Atom N270 / 1.6 GHz - RAM 2 GB - HDD 160 GB - GMA 950 - Gigabit Ethernet - WLAN : Bluetooth 2.0 EDR, 802.11 a/b/g/n (draft) - Vista Home Basic - 10.1" Widescreen TFT - camera - Smart Buy Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)From netbooks I owned HTC Shift, Asus eee 1000HA and Asus eee 1002HA. I tried out my friends Acer Aspire 1, HP mini 2133 too. So I know how to compare and from my point of view this is excellent laptop. Yes, I call it laptop. Sony calls it's P-series a laptop too, but I think sony p-series is a toy, and cannot replace my laptop, while hp mini 2140 surely can.
Technically it's like most other netbooks on the market: intel atom n270 1.6 Ghz 533mhz FSB, 1-2GB RAM, 160GB HDD, GMA 950 graphics, Wi-Fi b/g/n(draft), BT 2.0+EDR, 10/100/1000 ethernet. It has some strange resolution, non-standart 1024x576 instead of 1024x600. But I didn't notice much difference because of those 24 pixels. Perhaps it was the only way to keep it inside the same chassis as hp mini 2133. Screen is glossy, it could be also good and bad thing about this model. They made very minor changes from old chassis. One is less noticeable but yet important change is side vent design. Side vent holes were placed vertically in old 2133 and as a result, when you place it on soft surface they can be covered from bottom. In 2140 they placed them horizontally, and it increases the side vent clearance from the floor and it has more space at the bottom and less chances to be covered when placed on soft surface. You better check pictures.
Vista runs fine on it.
I've been searching a lot, read many reviews and ended up with a few models to choose from before buying 2140:
Sony P series
Kohjinsha SX
Asus eee 1000HE
HP mini 2140
Sony was out because of it's style. It's more suitable who those who don't care much about productivity but rather for style and look. Yes it looks perfect, it's glamor but I don't think I'd be able to accomplish my daily tasks on it.
Kohjinsha SX is still my favorite one, but it's price is very high. HP wins with it's price here.
Asus eee 1000HE has new cpu intel atom n280, the only netbook for the moment that can afford it. Unfortunately they placed it all in almost the same chassis as in 1000HA, which looks cheap. All plastic. Because of the same reason I skipped over samsung nc 10 and acer aspire 1.
In 2140 improved screen size with the same chassis as it's predecessor 2133. They moved speakers to the bottom of the screen and made screen bigger, while keeping the chassis same size.
I was a bit confused why they didn't put n280 in it. Perhaps it takes too long in huge companies like HP to do some design changes and implement latest technologies in their products.
I had some doubts about this model. It's predecessor 2133 was very poor in means of heat and power consumption and noise. It was awful. I was afraid that this model will repeat those mistakes. But it uses intel atom n270 instead of VIA in 2133 which has less power consumption. So i decided to give it a try.
After buying this thing I found out that:
BAD THINGS FIRST:
1) It cannot be easily upgraded. In order to charge it with SSD I would probably have to disassemble it. eee solves it much easier. (Update: recently, when upgrading it to SSD I found out that it's not that easy, you just got to be careful when pulling keyboard in order to reach disk drive).
2) Battery is not as long as eee or samsung nc. Extra 6 cell battery looks ugly and makes 2140 non-transportable
3) Screen is a bit too high brightness. You need to adjust brightness from control panel to make it normal. It's fixable.
4) Weight is not very well balanced. Back side is heavier than front
5) Charger is big enough, bigger than eee's charger. It's a brick like in normal laptop.
6) Doesn't include any accessories but charger, CDs and manual. At least one cheap case would be fine, before I buy normal case. All eee have slim case in box.
GOOD THINGS
1) it has the best keyboard in the world. I'm so surprised with it's superior quality and comfort that I think it's even more comfortable for me to type on HP mini 2140 than on desktop keyboard or any other laptop/umpc/netbook keyboards (I tried a lot).
2) excellent design. comparable to sony viao, maybe better but not worse than that. It doesn't look like budget netbook. HP looks like >1000$ model for much less price.
3) It's fully functional laptop. It has normal resolution (1024x576) for 10'' screen. I do not understand how one can put 1280x768 on 8'' screen like sony did. You can't see anything but videos on sony p-series screen.
4) It has express card 54 slot, which many comparable netbooks doesn't have. I will place 3G card in it. I don't like 3G card pulling out of USB port, prefer it to be mostly hidden in express slot.
5) It still weights only ~1.2kg. SSD version maybe even lighter
4) this model is much cooler, quiter and battery lasts longer than on hp mini 2133. With web browsing, wi-fi on you can get up-to 3.5 hours. More intensive applications - 2.5-3 hours. I tried it with the following applications running: SQL developer, Netbeans IDE, Outlook, google chrome with 3-4 tabs open while windows update installing updates in the background and heavy network and HDD IO and it lasted about 2 hours. I think it's OK. Not as much as eee but OK.
5) I read in reviews that some people were complaining about touchpad, and that buttons are not comfortably placed. I didn't notice that. I think they did a good compromise by placing buttons on the left and right sides of the touchpad, while keeping touchpad itself big enough. Buttons are comfortable for me.
6) It's built up very good. Feels like hp mini 2140 is one solid peace of metal and plastic.
6) Ergonomics. Everything seems to be there where you expected it to be. Every inch is used very effectively, no wasted space here, as a result dimension are very good, looks much smaller than eee pc 1000 series.
7) hp drive guide 3d technology, maybe not important for most of the people, but it's good one. Parks HDD headers when it senses movement or falling. Can save data one day, or maybe not :) It depends.
8) Finally!!! HP engineers managed to optimize OS and not overload it with HP software and removed loads of icons from tray and startup programs that used to be in all OS's preinstalled by HP and other vendors. They did a good job this time, and I spent less time optimizing and updating OS.
Being honest I would give this laptop 4.5, since I didn't have such a chance I choosed to give it 5 instead of 4.
***********************************
EDIT: 27 Sep 2009
After half year of use I can say that this netbook is very durable. Yesterday, The child hardly pressed on the lid and on the keyboard while netbook was open and left unattended. As a result lid opened up on 180 degrees though normally lid does not open more than 130 degrees (it's mechanically blocked). There was a crack noise and lid did not close after that. I thought that plastic top was broken but actually only metal frame was damaged. I closed the lid, pressed it hard several times, so that metal frame becomes to it's original state and it is fine now. Lid opens and closes normally, as it was before. Plastic frame did not crack, and lid movement is still solid. No visible evidence of recent operation.

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HP 2140 Mini-Note PC Smartbuy Intel 1.6GHz 10.1" SD2048MB (1D) 160GB 5400abgn (BC)BT 3 cell 1-1-0VHB OR

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ASUS UL20A-A1 Thin and Light 12.1-Inch Silver Laptop - 7.5 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I just upgraded to this laptop from an 8.9" Atom-powered netbook (an Asus EeePC 900HA). Here are my thoughts after using the UL20A for a few days:
Pro's:
1. SMALL FOOTPRINT & LIGHT WEIGHT. The footprint of the laptop is similar to an 8.5"x11" sheet of paper (just slightly narrower and slightly longer), and at 3.3lbs, putting it in your briefcase or backpack is no more burdensome than an extra book or binder.
2. EXCELLENT KEYBOARD. The relatively large "chiclet" keyboard makes for an effortless typing experience.
3. PERFECT SCREEN SIZE. With a 12.1" 1366x768 screen, you're getting the resolution of a 13.3" laptop in a smaller package. At 130 pixels per inch, text on the 12" screen is often pretty small, but still acceptable. I would however advise against smaller screens (e.g. 11.6") at this resolution.
4. EXCELLENT PERFORMANCE. Despite the low clock speed, the UL20A's Core 2 Duo is MUCH faster than any Intel Atom. HD YouTube videos play flawlessly at ~67% CPU utilization, and general performance seems much smoother than on my old netbook. I especially notice the difference when scrolling through PDF's, which was often very slow and jerky on my EeePC.
5. EXCELLENT BATTERY LIFE. After 4.5 hours of mixed light web browsing, email, and PDF viewing, I still had 40% charge left. If the battery continued to be depleted at that rate, you'd end up with--that's right--exactly the quoted 7.5 hours! I used Windows 7's "Balanced" power scheme (not any of Asus's Power4Gear modes). After some testing, I can confirm that the processor will ramp up to max frequency during heavy usage with this mode, so there's no reason not to leave it in "Balanced" all the time.
6. VERY QUIET. Even when using it in a quiet room, it's nearly impossible to hear any fan noise.
7. EXTRA WARRANTY. The UL20A comes with 1 year of "accidental damage" coverage.
8. LITTLE THIRD-PARTY BLOATWARE. The only (non-Asus) bloatware was an anti-virus software trial and some silly games. I uninstalled these in minutes (and replaced the A-V trial with Microsoft's free Security Essentials program).
9. WINDOWS 7 HOME PREMIUM. Unlike most netbooks, which ship with either Microsoft's ancient Windows XP or the crippled Windows 7 Starter Edition, this laptop comes with the full "premium" version of Microsoft's brand-new OS.
Con's:
1. ANNOYING TOUCHPAD. The texture of the touchpad causes way too much friction, which irritates your finger. The pointer also periodically freezes, placing a strange gray circle near the cursor (this is probably some stupid Synaptics feature I haven't figured out how to disable yet).
2. GLOSSY SCREEN. This causes annoying reflections, but in fairness most laptops have these nowadays.
3. ABSURD JUMBLE OF ASUS UTILITIES. Asus includes nearly a dozen separate utilities for various functions. Most have weird names, and it's not apparent what they do until you click on them. They also each seem to have their own distinct (amateurish) user interface. At the very least, Asus needs to cut the number of included programs in half (both through consolidation and elimination of pointless and redundant functions).
4. DISAPPOINTING LCD QUALITY. As was the case with my EeePC's screen, the contrast is too high, and there's a significant blue-ish hue by default. I do NOT recommend this laptop for SERIOUS photo editing (i.e. not for professionals). It should be fine for most users though.
Summary:
This notebook seems to hit a sweet spot between netbooks and full-size laptops: You're getting an almost full-size keyboard, adequate screen resolution, snappy performance, and Windows 7 Home Premium, while retaining much of the portability, low-cost, and battery life of a netbook.

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Style and Performance in Perfect Harmony The energy-efficient, slim and stylish ASUS UL20A-A1 notebook redefines ultraportable notebooks. Free yourself from power cords and start exploring with up to an amazing 7.5 hours* of all-day battery life. Powered by the ultra-low-voltage Intel® Core™2 Duo processor SU7300 and optimized with 2GB of DDR2 SDRAM, the UL20A-A1 takes you further than most other notebooks with eye-catching style and a generous 250GB of storage. Its ultra-slim profile makes traveling a breeze and its 12.1-inch HD LED-backlit display offers bright, vibrant visuals and advanced energy efficiency. Effortlessly navigate your e-mails and favorite websites with the enhanced multi-touch trackpad and complete important assignments with ease using the comfortable chiclet keyboard. The UL20A-A1 also features Altec Lansing speakers, plus SRS surround, for a virtual home theater experience on the go. The UL20A-A1 is built from the ground up to give you the best value; it\'s an ultraportable notebook that truly delivers mobility on demand. A complete notebook warranty package is icing on the cake. ASUS UL20A-A1 come standard with a 1-Year Global Warranty and more*:
Thirty-days flawless display guarantee
Free two-way standard shipping
24-hour tech support seven days a week Plus ASUS Accidental Damage Protection: ASUS UL20A-A1 are also protected come with a One Year Accidental Damage Warranty protecting the notebook from drops, fire, spills, and surge.**


Key Features

All-day computing with up to 7.5 hours of battery life1
Exceptionally compact and light, just over 1-inch thin, and less than 3.3lbs
Powered by the Intel Core2 Duo Processor SU7300 for energy efficiency
Color Shine 12.1-inch LED-backlit widescreen HD display that uses less energy and gives you an immersive cinematic experience
2GB of DDR2 system memory for smooth performance with Windows 7 Home Premium installed
250GB 5,400rpm hard drive for fast, convenient storage and access to all your documents, music, videos, and photos
Chiclet style keyboard and multi-touch trackpad for comfortable and intuitive use
Built-in 802.11n wireless connectivity that enables \'real-time\' video conferencing and Internet browsing
Integrated webcam for connecting with your friends and family
Altec Lansing speakers enhanced with SRS Premium Sound for home theater quality acoustics
ASUS IceCool Technology provides a cool-to-the-touch palm rest
Express Gate, exclusively from ASUS, enables ultra-fast booting so you can connect to the web in just 10 seconds
ASUS SmartLogon—facial recognition system detects your face and logs on automatically
ASUS 360: 1 year global warranty and ASUS ADW: 1 year accidental damage warranty*

Learn More
Takes You Where You Want to Go
Energy Efficient Processing
Comfort Included
Eye-Catching Sophistication
The Ultra Mobile Warrior
ASUS Exclusive Windows 7 Features
ASUS 360* -- 1 Year Global Warranty
ASUS ADW* -- 1 Year Accidental Damage Warranty**
For PC\'s running Windows 7 Home Premium
Warranty
ASUS 360* (1 Years Global Warranty) + ASUS ADW* (1 Year Accidental Damage Warranty**) + Flawless Display Guarantee ASUS UL20A-A1 comes with ASUS 360 (1 years global warranty), ADW (1 Year Accidental Damage Warranty*) and Flawless Display Guarantee. If the purchaser discovers one defective bright dot within 30 days of purchase, ASUS will replace the panel without cost to the purchaser.
What's in the Box
ASUS UL20A-A1
AC Adapter
6 cell Battery Pack
Warranty Information Cards
Specifications
Operating System: Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Display: 12.1-inch HD LED-backlit Widescreen (1366 x 768)
Intel Platform: Intel Core2 Duo processor SU7300 (1.3GHz)
Graphics: Intel GMA X4500MHD
Wireless: WLAN 802.11b/g/n (draft 2.4GHz n)
LAN: 10/100 Mbps Ethernet
Memory: 2GB DDR2 DRAM 800MHz, (upgradeable to 4GB)
Storage: 250GB 5,400RPM Hard Drive
Camera: 0.3 Megapixel
Speakers: SRS Premium Stereo Speakers by Altec Lansing, Hi-Definition Audio CODEC
Microphone Digital Array Microphones
Card Reader: 1 x 8-in-1 card reader: MMC, SD/SDHC, Mini-SD, MS, MS-Pro, MS-Duo, MS Pro-Duo , XD
Input/Output: 1 x Mic-in, 1 x audio-out (S/PDIF), 3 x USB 2.0 ports, 1 x RJ45 LAN
Video Output: 1 x VGA port/Mini D-sub 15-pin
Keyboard: 18.33mm with MS Windows function keys
Battery Pack: 6-cell Lithium Ion Battery, - Up to 7.5 hours1
Power Supply: Input: 100~240 V AC, 50/60 Hz universal
Dimensions: 11.8 (W) x 8.4 (L) x 1.0 (H) inches
Weight: 3.3lbs (with 6-cell battery)
Color: Silver 1Estimated maximum battery life test was done in ASUS Power4Gear battery saving mode with Mobile Mark 2007. Actual battery life may vary based on product settings, usage patterns and environmental conditions. *For notebooks purchased on or after Sept. 10, 2007. The ASUS 360 Notebook Service Program and Accidental Damage Warranty covers "ASUS" brand notebooks only, and does NOT extend to: "Built on ASUS," "ASMobile," "Powered by ASUS," the Eee PC, or some other models. These retailers are currently among the companies that do NOT participate in the ASUS 360 Notebook Service Program and Accidental Damage Warranty: Best Buy, MicroCenter, and The Source by CircuitCity in Canada. Limited of one claim per notebook for Accidental Damage Warranty. ASUS reserves the right to discontinue this program and to modify the terms and conditions thereof at any time. ASUS Accidental Damage Warranty Program starts from the date of your ASUS notebook purchase, when all the requirements are met. **One incident covered per notebook All specifications and terms are subject to change without notice. Please check with your supplier for exact offers on selected models. Products may not be available in all markets. Product may not be exactly as shown in photos. Celeron, Celeron Inside, Centrino, Centrino Inside, Core Inside, Intel, Intel Logo, Intel Atom, Intel Atom Inside, Intel Core, Intel Inside, Intel Inside Logo, Intel Viiv, Intel vPro, Itanium, Itanium Inside, Pentium, Pentium Inside, Viiv Inside, vPro Inside, Xeon, and Xeon Inside are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.

Click here for more information about ASUS UL20A-A1 Thin and Light 12.1-Inch Silver Laptop - 7.5 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium)

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Gateway LT2030u 10.1-Inch Red Netbook - Over 7 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Starter) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I bought this notebook (Black LT2032u) at Best Buy a few days before Black Friday, and so far, I'm rather impressed. Bought this more my wife, since she can never seem to get on my computer (I'm always on it). Plus, it's so small and light, we can leave it downstairs on the entertainment center, instead of her having to go upstairs to the computer room to use a computer.
It's form factor is just about the perfect size. My only complaints are:
1. The keyboard is a bit cramped for my bigger hands (but it's a netbook, so I can't really fault it for that, as I knew what we were buying)
2. The fact that the edges of the lid don't have any lips or hold points, so opening the cover when it's closed can be a bit tricky. A lot of times, I have to use my fingernail to start prying the lid from the base. Overall, not a deal breaker by any means, but can be annoying sometimes.
3. It comes with a Gateway Backup Utility for backing up your PC, but since the Netbooks don't come with a writable DVD drive (or any for that matter), the utility says no drive is available, and won't do a backup. Personally, I think this a flaw that Gateway should have considered, and modified the program to let you write to a DVD drive if you have one, or write an image to the Hard Drive, so you can move it to another PC on the network, and burn it to a DVD there.
The pc itself runs good. It came with the standard Atom 270, 1 GB RAM, built in Video Card, built in webcam, etc, except, this had a 250 GB HDD instead of a 160 GB HDD, and it came with Windows 7 Starter. While I don't care for how scaled down Win 7 starter is, again, I can't fault Gateway for that (blame Microsoft). I immediately upgraded the RAM to a 2 GB chip (replacing the 1 GB), and it is rather quick with this addition. Plus, I installed Google Chrome (which is much quicker than IE, and even Firefox by a bit), and it cruises the web with ease. I also uninstalled all the Norton bloat ware, and installed Windows Security Essentials Antivirus, which, believe it or not, is really very good and light (great for a Netbook). Oh, and it's free! Also pulled of the Microsoft Office Trial, and installed OpenOffice (also good and light, and great for a Netbook).
After two weeks of playing with it (yeah, I know, I supposedly bought it for my wife!!), I find myself not going upstairs to the computer room to use my main PC (a 6 month old new Toshiba Laptop) as much, and instead, I can do most of what I need on this one.
Really haven't run into to any other issues (other than those mentioned above), and I have to say, we're very glad we got it. Plus, when it was on sale at Best Buy for $279, it was a great price, considering all the other netbooks with Win 7 and a 250GB HDD were at least $350. I was originally considering the Toshiba NB205-N330, but that was $399+. Yeah, it may have had a N280 instead of the Gateway's N270, and a little bit fast BUS speed, and Bluetooth (I can buy a USB Bluetooth adapter for $4 if I need one), but, to save over $120, it was worth it. I don't think I would have really noticed the difference too much (at least not when I was playing with both at Best Buy side by side).
I'm very glad I purchased it, and I highly recommend it. Even a few of my friends who've come over, and I showed it to them, were very impressed. Save yourself a few bucks, and go with this over the higher priced Toshiba, Asus, etc. You won't be disappointed!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Gateway LT2030u 10.1-Inch Red Netbook - Over 7 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Starter)

The ultra-portable design of the Gateway LT netbook (model LT2030u) is ideal for those on the move who need a quick, easy way to connect to the Internet and stay in touch with family and friends. Weighing less than 3 pounds, it features a 10.1-inch LED-backlit display and an easy typing keyboard. Check e-mail, communicate with friends via VOIP and webcam, share photos, surf the web, listen to music, watch movies and more--wherever you are. It also features a multi-gesture touchpad that enables you to pinch, flick and swirl your fingers for an intuitive navigation of web pages, photos, spreadsheets and more. And you'll get extended use on the go with the included 6-cell battery, which provides up to 7 hours of continuous use.
The Gateway LT has a luxurious look with a high-polished finish, rounded edges, silver hinges and engraved metallic logo. Plus, its textured palm rest hides fingerprints and wears much better than glossy-finished palm rests--making it as durable as it is chic.

It comes pre-installed with the Microsoft Windows 7 Starter operating system, which combines the latest in reliability and responsiveness with the familiarity and compatibility of Windows. It includes new Windows 7 features like Jump Lists to help you to better find and manage files, and connecting to printers and peripherals is easier than ever. (Learn more about Windows 7 Starter below.)

This netbook is powered by the 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 processor, which is designed especially for mobile devices and features an innovative hafnium-infused circuitry that reduces electrical current leakage in transistors to conserve energy. The integrated 54g Wi-Fi networking (802.11b/g) will keep you connected to email and all your social networks. Other features include a 250 GB hard drive, 1 GB of RAM (667 MHz), three USB ports, and 5-in-1 memory card reader.



Key Features
10.1-inch high-brightness LED-backlit display delivers a 1024 x 600 resolution for less scrolling while searching the Internet and staying productive while traveling
Windows 7 Starter makes small notebook PCs easier to use because it puts less between you and what you want to do--less waiting, less clicking, less hassle connecting to networks. And Starter combines the latest in reliability and responsiveness with the familiarity and compatibility of Windows. (Learn more)
Get more features with Windows Anytime Upgrade. A small notebook PC running Windows 7 Home Premium is even easier to use. The new taskbar and advanced navigation features make launching programs, opening files, managing windows, and getting around your PC faster and easier. Personalize your PC to be just the way you want it with helpful gadgets and desktop themes--even turn your desktop into a slideshow of your favorite photos. And you get the best entertainment experience on a PC. With Windows Media Center, you can watch shows for free when and where you want with Internet TV.
Multi-gesture touchpad allows you to intuitively navigate WebPages, media libraries, photos, spreadsheets and more by simply flicking, swirling and pinching your fingers.
1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 processor extends battery life and power efficiency to deliver excellent mobile performance and Internet connections on the go (includes 533 MHz front side bus and 512 KB L2 cache)
250 GB hard drive (5400 RPM)
1 GB of RAM (667 MHz) to help complete your netbook tasks quickly and easily.
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 integrated video processing
0.3-megapixel webcam integrated into the display bezel for easy video chats and conferencing
54g Wi-Fi networking (802.11b/g)
VGA video output for connecting to an external monitor
5-in-1 memory card reader
VGA video output
Built-in stereo speakers
Dolby Headphone Technology provides the dramatic sound effects of a 5.1-channel soundtrack.
HD Audio provides your system with the support it needs to handle the most cutting-edge audio content. Plus, you'll hear more of your tunes and tones, with auditory playback coming out at a higher quality than systems without HD sound.
Pre-loaded software includes Microsoft Works for word processing and spreadsheet work. Enjoy a 60-day trial version of Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007.
6-cell battery for up to 7 hours of use
Dimensions: 10.17 x 8.04 x 1.03 inches (WxDxH)
Weight: 2.95 pounds
Warranty: 1 year parts and labor

Networking, Connectivity & Expansion This netbook has an integrated 54g wireless LAN that's compatible with 802.11b and 802.11g networks, and it also provides Fast (10/100) Ethernet networking.

3 USB 2.0 ports for connecting a wide range of peripherals--from digital cameras to MP3 players
Analog video output: 1 VGA
5-in-1 memory card reader compatible with Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, MultiMediaCard, Secure Digital, and xD-Picture Card
1 headphone jack, 1 microphone jack
10/100 Fast Ethernet

What's in the box This package contains the Gateway LT2030u netbook, 6-cell rechargeable battery, AC adapter, and printed documentation

It also comes with the following software: Microsoft Works (applications for word processing, spreadsheet, calendar, and email); 60-day trial of Microsoft Office 2007

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Windows 7 Starter makes small notebook PCs easier to use because it puts less between you and what you want to do—less waiting, less clicking, less hassle connecting to networks. Windows 7 Starter combines the latest in reliability and responsiveness with the familiarity and compatibility of Windows.



Intel Atom Processor: Your PC's Perfect Internet Companion Take the Internet to more places with the long battery life and flexibility of a compact, lightweight netbook powered by the incredibly small, amazingly smart Intel Atom processor. It features a design structure that packs in 47 million transistors into a single chip sized at just 22mm (0.87 inches), and it uses just 2.5 watts of power--less than 1/10 of the 35 watts used by an Intel Core 2 Duo processor--for excellent battery management. This 1.6 GHz Atom N270 processor also includes a power-optimized front side bus of 533 MHz for faster data transfer on demanding mobile applications and a 512 KB L2 cache (which temporarily stores data).

Click here for more information about Gateway LT2030u 10.1-Inch Red Netbook - Over 7 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Starter)

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HP Pavilion dm4-1060us 14.1-Inch Laptop Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I just got this notebook to send off to college with my daughter. I've been in the computer business for over 35 years, and this is one of the best PC notebooks I've ever had (I'd give it 5 stars, but it is not a Mac Book - my daughter prefers Windows).
But I have owned a bunch of PC notebooks over the years, including several other HPs, and this is the best PC notebook I've ever owned - a really excellent mix of size, performance, and style. Aside from its technical specs, it really is attractive for a notebook - way to go HP design team!
My daughter is very fussy about keyboards and trackpads, and to win her approval is a huge endorsement. I've been watching the ads for PC notebooks knowing college starts this fall, and this HP dm4 really caught my eye. I'd been considering the 8 hour ASUS machines, but this 6 hour HP was enough better in other specs to seal the deal. For a PC, the claimed 6+ hours (over 4 in reality) is way better than almost any other PC notebook (although Mac Books are much better).
Compared to most other PC notebooks, this one wins because: very light (other reviews say it is one of the very lightest 14" notebooks), fast (Intel i5 mobile, not just an i3), 4Gigs RAM, 500Gig hard drive (and 7200rpm, not 5400!), fingerprint scanner (and it really works well and seamlessly - encourages good security), bluetooth, WiFi N, HDMI + VGA, eSATA, Windows 7 64-bit, great battery life, great size and weight. Just right mix. (Just a note - it uses shared graphics, just fine for anyone except hard core gamers - probably improves battery life.)
SUMMARY: A great balance of price, performance, and style. Should easily last four years of college.
PROS: Size, weight, style, CPU performance, fingerprint scanner, memory
CONS: screen size (beautiful LED display, but at 768 pixels high, a bit low - wish it were 900), really loaded with crapware (but that is typical of almost any PC notebook today, especially HP - check out pc decrapifier)

Click Here to see more reviews about: HP Pavilion dm4-1060us 14.1-Inch Laptop

Count on a thin, lightweight laptop that has everything you need and want. The HP Pavilion dm4-1060us Notebook PC delivers exceptional performance from the inside out. Manage your passwords, access online accounts and secure files easily using the integrated fingerprint reader and exclusive HP SimplePass software. With a battery that lasts up to 6.5 hours per charge, you can forget about plugging in your HP laptop all the time. This stylish notebook PC also has a durable metal chassis finished in brushed aluminum with the stream design in argento.Have fun wherever you go, whether it\'s around the house, across town or on the road. The HP Pavilion dm4-1060us Notebook PC is designed for how you live. Watch DVDs using the built-in optical drive and 14-inch diagonal High-Definition LED display. Integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth help you connect and sync your HP laptop to a printer, MP3 player or smartphone without using cables. Video chat in low-light environments using the HP webcam, plus transfer photos from a digital camera to your notebook PC using the digital media reader.

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Toshiba Satellite L455-S5975 - C 900 / 2.2 GHz - RAM 2 GB - HDD 250 GB - DVD?RW (?R DL) / DVD-RAM - GMA 4500M - WLAN : 802.11b/g - Windows 7 Home Premium - 15.6" Widescreen TFT 1366 x 768 ( WXGA ) TruBrite - matte silver Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I purchased this to be used like a netbook, except bigger and with all the benefits of a laptop. For $320 (Best Buy) you can't go wrong. For a light mobile laptop that is as quick as you need it to be and offers all the features a netbook doesn't, this is a perfect alternative. This will make a perfect laptop for a teen, college student or the person on the run. This isn't a Toshiba high end laptop, but for surfing the Internet, using Office and connecting it to my cable line and recording TV, this thing handles it all with no problems and does it fairly quickly. The graphics and sound quality is pretty good, and the 15" screen is perfect for watching TV. I am impressed and I am glad I came upon this opportunity instead of going with a netbook for just a bit more. This is a nice laptop and a steal for what I paid, even for the price offered on Amazon, but I recommend checking around (Best Buy on-line). You can't go wrong, Toshiba makes great products and from what I have seen in the week of using this, this is one of them.


Click Here to see more reviews about: Toshiba Satellite L455-S5975 - C 900 / 2.2 GHz - RAM 2 GB - HDD 250 GB - DVDRW (R DL) / DVD-RAM - GMA 4500M - WLAN : 802.11b/g - Windows 7 Home Premium - 15.6" Widescreen TFT 1366 x 768 ( WXGA ) TruBrite - matte silver

Quality and value! The Satellite L450 brings the right balance for people who need a laptop that's ideal for completing everyday tasks, but also want added multimedia features - at home and on the move.The DVD SuperMulti drive allows you to watch DVD movies and create your own CDs and DVDs.

Click here for more information about Toshiba Satellite L455-S5975 - C 900 / 2.2 GHz - RAM 2 GB - HDD 250 GB - DVDRW (R DL) / DVD-RAM - GMA 4500M - WLAN : 802.11b/g - Windows 7 Home Premium - 15.6" Widescreen TFT 1366 x 768 ( WXGA ) TruBrite - matte silver

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HP Mini 1115NR 8.9-Inch Netbook - 3 Cell Battery Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I had been looking at the mini laptops with solid state drives for a couple of months and picked up the HP Mini (Netbook) 1115NR a couple of weeks ago. I booted it up, began writing a text file, went online, and then it died. It had been on for about two hours. After some research online I found out that HP rushed this product to market and that the 'black screen of death' is a somewhat common problem. The machine will not boot up at all. The power light goes on, but that is it. Basically the flash drive gets corrupt and cannot be accessed. I returned the laptop and got my money back.

Click Here to see more reviews about: HP Mini 1115NR 8.9-Inch Netbook - 3 Cell Battery



What's in the box?

HP Mini 1115NR netbook
HP 30W AC adapter
HP 3-cell Lithium-Ion Polymer battery

Remember Accessories HP Mobile Mini USB drive HP USB notebook stand HP 30W AC adapter HP 3-cell Lithium-Ion Polymer battery

[1] Not included. Please purchase separately. ENERGY STAR and the ENERGY STAR logo are registered U.S. marks.

Click here for more information about HP Mini 1115NR 8.9-Inch Netbook - 3 Cell Battery

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Toshiba Mini NB305-N440BN 10.1-Inch Netbook (Java Brown) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Let's get real here. Netbooks ARE NOT replacements for those of you folks who should be shopping for a NOTEBOOK. Having owned at least 4 Toshiba notebooks in the past and currently on my first Sony notebook, I'd expect those machines to do the heavy lifting... serious Photoshopping, DV editing, CAD modelling, rendering, moderate gaming, etc. It'd be irresponsible to ding netbooks on how inadequate they are at these tasks. With this in mind, the Toshiba NB305-N440 fills a very helpful role for those of you who already have a full-fledged notebook or desktop chugging away in the background.
The Toshiba netbook's 3lb weight and size makes it incredibly portable, handleable, and stowable. Grab it single-handedly at the palmrest, grab it at the hinges, or scoop it up from underneath; it's construction feels sturdy and solid where you don't have to worry about something falling off from this kind of abuse. For you existing notebook users, ever feel like you're devoting 80% of your backpack to carrying around that bohemoth... or how about trying to use a 15" screen on the dining tray in the cattle-section of an economy flight? ESPECIALLY when you're just using it to compose a few paragraphs for a meeting, class, or email rant? The NB305 netbook remedies this exactly. The 10.1" screen can be comfortably angled away from you even when the passenger in front decides to stay reclined throughout the flight. Size and weight. Advantage? Netbook.
Unlike other netbooks, Toshiba's NB305 has a design that accomodates a 6-cell battery as standard. No outrageous goofy protrusion as in HP and Sony's extra-cost offering. With the lid closed, the whole package remains as svelte and stowable as lesser competitors with their 3-cell designs. And BECAUSE the Toshiba NB305 has a 6-cell Li-Ion as standard, real-world usage equates to a 5-7 hour run-time with the brightness set at max while pounding away at tasks that make the hard drive thrash around. Coming from a decade of using 2-hour notebooks, its amazing to be away from an AC outlet for that long.
How about useability for a 1.66ghz machine? With the Microsoft-imposed configuration of 1gig RAM, I had my doubts about Windows 7 Starter edition. It turns out the NB305-N440 boots into the desktop in a reasonable amount of time and simple websurfing, emailing chores are handled without issue. Sites that make use of Flash like Hulu, Youtube, and a myriad of other flash-navigation stuff is very surfable on this netbook. The VGA webcam offers adequate resolution and has a wide enough capture angle to make this netbook suitable for video Skyping. Where it falls short is the speaker volume. This is pandemic of all netbooks. When in the boundaries of your personal space, the dinky speakers are barely audible enough for a conversation in all but the emptiest of coffee shops. Those of you hoping to give one of these to grandma as a dedicated Skype device should hope grandma doesn't mind wearing headphones. No issues with the netbook's mic as the other party will hear you fine. Did this netbook slow down? Eventually. By the time I had Skype fired up, two tabs in IE8 loaded on sizeable pages and a THIRD tab buffering a show on Hulu, the 1gig ram had to swap stuff into the hard drive. Bumping up to 2gigs DDR3 RAM would help, but you'll have to yank out the existing one.
At first unboxing, the Toshiba NB305-N440's brightness is set midway; passable, but not something I'd want to scowl at for more than an hour. Crank up the brightness settings and the Toshiba's efficient LED backlit screen shows itself to be very crisp, very readable, quite bright. The next several hours was spent installing personal stuff, Win7 updates (224megs), and removing the thankfully small amount of Toshiba bloatware. All that time the bright screen was legible and comfy on the eyes. Even after Windows Update did everything it wanted, the netbook still booted up in the same 40-ish second span. That's kinda impressive considering they're still using a non-SSD traditional hard drive. Part of this can be attributed to the reduced amount of OS baggage in Windows 7 Starter edition. On that note, there was hardly anything I missed in this OS-lite. Can't change the wallpaper? No big deal. The only plausible nit here is that Win7 Starter lacks multiple user accounts... so those hoping to lock things down and hand it to their tots might have to upgrade beyond "Starter Edition".
The heat vent on the left side emitted therms about the equivalent of holding your hand up near a fluorescent desklamp. It's there, but in no way bothersome.
While Senor Jobs positions his iPad to be a "consumption" device, there are those of us who wish to stay productive and the reason for a netbook's existence is to sport that keyboard. The Toshiba NB305 netbooks don't disappoint here. Touch-typists will appreciate chicklet keys that feel as nicely spaced as all the other keyboards they've worked on. Toshiba saved space by narrowing the traditionally long caps-lock, shift, and enter keys. The touchpad is nice too... full-size just like most big-boy notebooks. Possibly the biggest of ANY netbook. Dedicated left and right buttons are in the appropriate expected spot.
The last and most prominent nit is that the NB305 lacks built-in Bluetooth. Bluetooth would allow the Toshiba netbook to simultaneously control a mouse, feed a wireless headset, and transfer files between your smartphone. Being internal, it wouldn't eat up a USB slot. Alas, neither the preconfigured units or ToshibaDirect offers internal Bluetooth in their netbooks. (Oddly, the Bluetooth SOFTWARE stack is already installed) The only recourse is their low-profile USB Bluetooth 2.1 dongle. Speaking of USB, one of the three slots on this netbook offers power even when the machine is off. This means only having to carry a USB charge cable for your phone instead of a larger dedicated wallwart when travelling lite.
This leaves the last de rigueur issue, High Definition. It's seems the rage to pair up HD with netbooks nowadays. I'm one of the biggest HD snobs out there, but after using a netbook for several hours, forcing HD into a netbook form factor is just pointless... moreso when it only serves to kill the battery life with its high CPU/GPU requirement and the high-capacity battery requirement itself. Being able to stay productive for a 6-hour stretch on a Toshiba netbook trumps the notion of hunching over a 10" screen squinting at a "high definition" file for two hours. If I'm missing a show, I'm willing to "settle" for a 480P stream from Hulu on a Toshiba NB305-N440 rather than give up two thirds the amount of battery life in some of these HD netbooks. Need a portable high-definition playback machine? Get a full-fledged notebook; full-HD widescreen, larger/louder speakers, blu-ray drive. I suggest this from first-hand experience.
Need to be productive while staying highly mobile? This Toshiba NB305-N440 is appropriate for THAT task. I can't really ding it for lack of internal Bluetooth now that Toshiba offers their low-profile dongle. Yes it takes up a precious USB port, but it'll make up for it by its versatility in handling a (Bluetooth) mouse, headset, smartphone, pen tablet, etc. The streamlined 6-cell battery and other forward-thinking features like LED backlight, USB charging, diminuitive AC adapter, and draft-N WiFi makes this a well-focused netbook. In its pricepoint, the NB305-N440 netbook offers a great degree of functionality out-of-the-box, exudes a good amount of sturdiness, comes with a 3 year warranty, and is born from a company that's been into mobile computing for nearly two decades now.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Toshiba Mini NB305-N440BN 10.1-Inch Netbook (Java Brown)


Enjoy the lighter, brighter side of mobility with the affordable, super-compact Toshiba Mini NB305-N440BN, which weighs less than 3 pounds, is small enough to throw in a purse or bag, and has a brightly colorful 10.1-inch LED-backlit screen. Offering a durable textured finish and cover in Java Brown, it features a full-size keyboard for comfortable typing and a larger touchpad with Multi-Touch Control, which enables you to navigate documents, web pages and images more easily.

Combining the power of the latest Intel Atom N455 processor and NM10 Express chipset with a six-cell battery for up to 8.75 hours of battery power, you'll be able to go through an entire day of school, work or errands without worrying about a recharge. The battery pack is neatly hidden under the casing of the netbook to preserve its sleek, ergonomic design.

The 250 GB hard disk drive is protected using an integrated 3D impact sensor which detects freefalls, shocks and vibrations. The Toshiba Mini also features a USB Sleep-and-Charge port, which allows external USB devices such as mobile phones and personal media players to charge from the netbook even when it is turned off. Other features include fast DDR3 RAM, an integrated webcam, and a mono speaker.

This Toshiba Mini comes pre-installed with the Microsoft Windows 7 Starter operating system (32-bit version).



Key Features
10.1-inch LED backlit widescreen display (1024 x 600-pixel resolution) provides richer colors and clearer definition--perfect for browsing the Internet.


1.66 GHz Intel Atom N455 processor (512 KB L2 cache, 667 MHz FSB) combines performance and energy efficiency to explore the Internet and stay connected while mobile.


250 GB SATA hard drive (5400 RPM)


1 GB of installed DDR3 RAM (667 MHz; expandable to 2 GB)


Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3150 video processor with up to 250 MB dynamically allocated shared graphics memory.


Wireless Connectivity
With its integrated Wireless-N Wi-Fi networking capabilities, this laptop provides up to five times the performance and twice the wireless range using 802.11n-compatible routers as you would with 802.11g networks. It's also backward compatible with 802.11b/g networks (commonly found at Wi-Fi hotspots and in older home routers.



Included Toshiba Software:
Toshiba Media Controller offers simplified media sharing. Using an intuitive drag-and-drop interface, it lets you share videos, music and pictures from the media library on your laptop with compatible devices in your home entertainment network, or with other compatible laptops and devices, like an Xbox 360 game console. And you can do it all without moving equipment, burning discs or fumbling with cables.
Toshiba Bulletin Board is an easy-to-use organizational and productivity app that lets you build your own personalized space on your desktop. With Toshiba Bulletin Board, you can quickly and easily manage your to-do lists and calendars, plus create your own custom work area by pinning your favorite photos, documents, links and more.
Toshiba ReelTime helps you cut down the time it takes to search for files. The easy-to-use app takes traditional text-based file structures one step further to help you find what you're looking for more quickly. Accessible from your taskbar, it shows you a visual timeline of your recently accessed files--using graphical thumbnails--so you can easily identify and get to your files faster.



Included Toshiba Utilities:
USB Sleep and Charge offers a great way to keep your portable electronics powered up without requiring your laptop to be on. With this laptop's Sleep and Charge USB port, you'll be able to charge your smart phone, MP3 player, and other portable electronics--all without having to keep your laptop awake.
Hard Drive Impact Sensor takes the worry out of taking your most important files and multimedia on the go. Able to detect sudden movement along three different dimensions, the impact sensor (a complex system of hardware and software) helps safeguard your data by "parking" the hard drive heads in the event of a drop or sudden movement. And it works faster than you can blink to help protect your laptop and all-important data.



Up to 8.3 hours of battery life (6-cell battery; 48 Wh)


Dimensions & Weight: 10.47 x 7.57 x 1.43 inches (WxDxH); 2.6 pounds



Microsoft Windows 7 Starter makes small notebook PCs easier to use because it puts less between you and what you want to do--less waiting, less clicking, less hassle connecting to networks. Windows 7 Starter combines the latest in reliability and responsiveness with the familiarity and compatibility of Windows. Some features include:

Features like Jump Lists, Pin, Snap, and Windows Search all make using a small notebook PC simple and easy
Joining home networks with other PCs running Windows 7 is easy and simple
Connecting to printers and devices is easier than ever
Supports the latest hardware and software
Internet Explorer 8 improves the safety of web browsing

Environmental Specifications
Energy Star 5.0 certified
Gold EPEAT designation for meeting standards to help reduce its environmental impact.
RoHS compliant effectively reducing the environmental impact by restricting the use of lead, mercury and certain other hazardous substances

Learn more about Toshiba's environmental commitment.

Learn More


25th Anniversary of Toshiba Laptops
This year, Toshiba celebrates its 25th anniversary of innovations and quality in the notebook PC business. Beginning with the launch of the Toshiba T1100, the world's first clamshell-type, fully functional laptop PC, Toshiba has led the with such innovations as the first laptop with a color monitor in 1991 and a laptop with integrated CD-ROM drive in 1995 (followed by the addition of a DVD drive in 1998). And in 2009, Toshiba unveiled the world's first ultraportable laptop with 512GB solid state drive.

Today, Toshiba continues to be a leader in eco-friendly manufacturing, with virtually all of its consumer laptops earning EPEAT Gold status for meeting standards that help reduce overall environmental impact.

Click here for more information about Toshiba Mini NB305-N440BN 10.1-Inch Netbook (Java Brown)

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Acer Aspire AS1551-5448 11.6-Inch Laptop (Mesh Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This review applies to both the 721 and the 1551 (I own the 1551, but the cons mentioned are common to both)
Vertical Viewing Angle
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One MAJOR shortcoming of these Acers (AO721/AO1551) is the vertical viewing angle. In fact if you look at a black, but still backlit screen, at the optimal viewing height/angle, you will see that the only part that is actually black is a horizontal stripe which is about 1/3rd of the vertical height of the screen. Above and below this stripe (i.e., the upper and lower thirds of the screen) are basically a dark gray. As you move your head up and down and/or tilt the screen, the image changes brightness dramatically in the vertical direction. Fortunatelly, the horizontal viewing angle is pretty good, but you almost have to tilt the thing perfectly to maximize vertical viewing and brightness falloff. I can see this happening with a 24-27" LCD screen at small viewing distances, but with a tiny laptop screen that measures approx. 5 5/8" vertically, this is plain embarassing for a 2010 run of LCD panels. In my opinion, one star should be taken off for Acer taking the cheap route with something as important as the screen. Fortunatelly, at 200 nits the screen is relatively bright at its maximum brightness, giving one some consolation to the non-uniforum vertical brightness issue.
Cheap Plastic Hinge Arms that Hold the LCD Panel
------------------------------------------------
Not much to say here. The arms are hollow molded plastic and do not seem sturdy at all. As you open and close the panel, there is some give, and one constantly fears that these things will break in a year. A friend of mine has an older model Acer netbook whose swivel arms and mechanism feels much more sturdy. I'm going to take off a half-star here, for Acer saving a whopping $2 on something this important, and not using aluminum hinge arms, opting for hollow molded plastic instead.
Bloatware
---------
Seriously Acer, how much bloatware needs to be installed on an Ultra-Portable? Couldn't you just supply all the crap on a cheap 4GB MiniSD memory card or something (since these things do not contain optical disc readers) and let the user choose whether or not they were interested in all the apps most users won't even use. I won't go into too many details here about each installed app, but let me just say that it took at least a good 45 mins to an hour to uninstall all the junk (involving at least a good handful of required restarts for good measure). Some of the device drivers were as much as nine months old, as well. I realize that nearly all laptops and netbooks come with some bloatware, but I think that the amount included on these is way over the top. Half a star off for the trouble of uninstalling the junk and replacing very outdated drivers.
Inability to Adjust Brightness after Putting Laptop to Sleep
------------------------------------------------------------
The title says it all. Put the laptop to sleep, wake it up and you will no longer be able to adjust screen brightness until the next reboot. I won't subtract any more stars here, because this may be fixed with a future BIOS, but it is a royal pain in the neck for now.
Update: Thanks to some workaround tips from on the MS forums along with some of my own experimentation with this particular model, I now have a workaround. The workaround is to set your "Choose what closing the lid does" action in the Control Panel / Power Options to "Do nothing." Unfortunately, that means that you will now have to manually put the display to sleep prior to closing the lid. This is a pain, but in my opinion it's a good idea in any case, because you will cause less vibration while the hard drive is still active (i.e., still spinning), putting the laptop to sleep prior to closing the lid. What this whole two step (Step 1. Press Fn-F4 to enter Sleep Mode and wait for completion / Step 2. Close the lid) process buys you is this:
- Putting the laptop to sleep will still cause the "inability to adjust brightness" issue
- However, you can get your brightness controls back, without a reboot, by following this procedure:
"WITHOUT putting the laptop to sleep, close the lid and reopen it several seconds later."
Since closing the lid is set to "Do Nothing" this seems to be a no-op (i.e., a pointless non-operation). However, this seems to re-enable the keyboard brightness control, although the cool pop-up that tells you the current brightness level will no longer pop-up until the next reboot. The keyboard brightness adjustment controls will once again be functional, though.
I realize that this whole process is a royal pain in the rectum, so you may not want to go through the trouble unless you actually have a need to adjust screen brightness frequently after putting the laptop to sleep.
Laptop Cannot be Used Comfortably on Lap Without a Lap Mat
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If you try to use it on your lap (e.g., on a plane, train, bus, toilet seat, whereveer you would normally use a laptop on your lap) it will rock back and forth when you use the lower portion of the laptop (i.e., the Acer Pad and the mouse buttons). I am talking about a significant amount of rock (picture a rocking chair) which basically makes it unusable, or perhaps usable if you want to be uncomfortable and destroy the hard drive in short order. I won't subtract stars, because I am uncertain if other similarly sized laptops share this problem. I would recommend a lap mat if you need to use your laptop on your lap. Targus make a good one (Lap Chill Mat).
Laptop Takes a Long Time to Charge
----------------------------------
I am talking hours while in a sleep state here. No stars off, but it is a pain.
UPDATE: Many more technical details are available in the comments section below this review.
UPDATE 2: In retrospect, after upgrading the HD on the unit and looking at the crap other manufactures have put out in recent weeks, I have decided that I may have been a little harsh in giving this product three stars, so I've bumped my rating up to four stars.


Click Here to see more reviews about: Acer Aspire AS1551-5448 11.6-Inch Laptop (Mesh Black)


Acer Aspire 1551: Ultraportable Performance
Weighing just over 3 pounds, the ultra-mobile 11.6-inch Acer Aspire AS1551 notebook PC (model AS1551-5448) offers great performance features in a netbook-sized chassis and weight that lets you travel light. Premium usability features include a full-sized keyboard for more accurate typing and a multi-gesture touchpad that is perfect for scrolling, rotating images, zooming and browsing--all with fingertip convenience. And with up to 5-hours of battery life, you can mobile longer when not connected to an AC outlet.

With the AMD Athlon II Neo dual-core mobile processor and 4 GB of memory, you'll enjoy the benefits of multi-core processing that does more in less time. And the impressive ATI Radeon HD 4225 Graphics delivers the performance you need to take your high-definition experience to the next level by combining the power of desktop graphics with mobility so you can experience smooth viewing of rich content built from popular sites like Hulu.com or YouTube.

Enjoy the next generation of video playback with the HDMI output, which allows a single cable to transmit uncompressed high-definition video and audio to your digital TV or capable external monitor. Immerse yourself into your entertainment with Dolby Sound Room, delivering spectacular surround sound from any pair of speakers or headphones. Other features include ultra-fast Wireless-N Wi-Fi networking, and an integrated webcam for video chats.

This Aspire laptop comes pre-installed with the Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium operating system (64-bit version).

Note that, because of its size, the Aspire AS1551 doesn't include a DVD drive, but you can connect an optional optical drive to the laptop via a USB port.

Key Features
11.6-inch CineCrystal LED-backlit widescreen display with 1366 x 768-pixel resolution (native 720p for high-definition viewing), support for a 16.7 million color depth, and high brightness rating (200-nit).
1.5 GHz AMD Athlon II Neo dual-core processor K625 (2 MB L2 cache) provides a full-featured PC experience, exceptional HD entertainment and long battery life rating so you can do more on the go.
320 GB SATA hard drive (5400 RPM)
4 GB of installed DDR3 RAM (1066 MHz; maximum capacity)
ATI Radeon HD 4225 graphics card provides exceptional features, performance and power-efficiencies that enrich what you see and do (256 MB - 1405 MB dynamically allocated shared graphics memory).
Multi-Gesture Touchpad allows you to pinch, flick and swirl your fingers across the touchpad for more natural photo and video viewing as well as intuitive navigation of websites such as Google Earth. It also enables you to scroll, zoom in and out and flip through web pages, photos, spreadsheets and more. (Learn more)
Built-in webcam and microphone delivers solid communication to all your family and friends.
Built-in stereo speakers with Dolby Sound Room, which combines a suite of technologies to deliver truly stunning virtual surround listening from your two laptop speakers, or on headphones for a more immersive private performance.
Wireless-N Wi-Fi networking capability provides up to five times the performance and twice the wireless range using 802.11n-compatible routers as you would with 802.11g networks. It's also backward compatible with 802.11b/g networks (commonly found at Wi-Fi hotspots and in older home routers). This laptop uses Acer InviLink Nplify technology that enables multi-stream input or output for faster and more reliable bandwidth, and it also offers Acer SignalUp technology for enhanced antenna efficiency.
Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000)
Multi-in-1 Digital Media Card Reader compatible with Secure Digital (SD), MultiMediaCard (MMC), Memory Stick (MS), Memory Stick PRO (MS PRO), xD-Picture Card (xD)
Three USB 2.0 ports
HDMI high-definition audio/video output allows a single cable to transmit uncompressed high-definition video to your digital TV or LCD. It also includes a standard VGA video output.
Windows 7 Home Premium makes it easy to create a home network and share all of your favorite photos, videos, and music. And you can watch shows for free when and where you want with Internet TV on Windows Media Center. Get the best entertainment experience with Windows 7 Home Premium.
Get more features with Windows Anytime Upgrade. It's the best way to add features to Windows 7, takes as few as ten minutes, requires no software or downloads, and you'll keep your existing programs, files, and settings. Windows will walk you through the simple upgrade process.(Learn more)
Pre-loaded software includes Microsoft Works SE 9.0 for word processing and spreadsheet work. Enjoy a 60-day trial version of Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007.
Up to 5 hours of battery life (6-cell battery)
Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.0 x 1.1 inches (WxDxH)
Weight: 3.1 pounds
Warranty: One-year parts and labor limited warranty with concurrent International Traveler's Warranty
Energy Star certified

What's in the Box This package contains the Acer Aspire AS1551-5448 notebook PC, rechargeable lithium-ion battery, AC adapter, and operating instructions
It also comes with the following software: McAfee Internet Security Suite (trial version); Google Toolbar; Acer Recovery Management; Acer GridVista; Microsoft Works; Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007 Trial (60 days); Norton Online Backup

Learn More
The Acer Multi-Gesture Touchpad
A Multi-Gesture Touchpad allows you to pinch, flick and swirl your fingers across the touchpad for more natural photo and video viewing as well as intuitive navigation of websites. The Multi-Gesture Touchpad enables you to scroll, zoom in and out and flip through Web pages, photos, spreadsheets and more.

The TouchPad can also be disabled with a one-touch button, eliminating accidental cursor movement with palms and wrists when using an external mouse.

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
Pre-installed with the Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium operating system (64-bit version), you'll be able to easily create a home network and share all of your favorite photos, videos, and music. Windows 7 is the easiest, fastest, and most engaging version of Windows yet. Better ways to find and manage files, like Jump Lists and improved taskbar previews, help you speed through everyday tasks. Windows 7 is designed for faster and more reliable performance, so your PC just works the way you want it to.

And with Windows Anytime Upgrade, you'll be able to add new features to your PC in as little as 10 minutes. Windows will walk you through the simple upgrade process, it requires no software or downloads, and you'll keep your existing programs, files, and settings

Click here for more information about Acer Aspire AS1551-5448 11.6-Inch Laptop (Mesh Black)

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HP Mini 110-3030NR 10.1-Inch Netbook (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I purchased this netbook to lug around Europe on an upcoming trip. Why carry around my beastly 8 lb dinosaur (that's on its last legs anyway) when I can carry something much lighter? This is my first netbook, so my experience with other netbooks is somewhat limited. That said, I'm not a complete stranger to them either, so take that for what it's worth.
First thoughts: wow, this HP setup stuff is annoying. I could be up and running manually in probably half the time. I guess it's useful for n00bs. At least it's one and done.
Second thoughts: Wow, there's a lot of crapware on this thing. That includes anything with "HP" in its name and plenty of other stuff as well.
Third thoughts were much more positive. After removing all the above crapware and getting this puppy configured to my liking, I was enjoying a really slick machine.
So netbooks are for browsing the web and watching some Youtube videos and such, right? Well, it does just fine at those tasks. I REALLY like the keyboard. That's really the one feature that nailed it for me. I've typed on other netbooks, and found them to be universally abhorrent. Not so with this little guy! Aside from hitting = instead of backspace, I can type almost full speed. It seems to be lacking PageUp and PageDown, and they're sorely missed. I tend to prefer to scroll with buttons rather than the touchpad, but if you're unlike me, you probably won't care.
I also appreciate that they put the useful functions (play, pause, volume, etc) as the primary function of the Function keys. I don't often need F1-F12, and I'm guessing you don't either. They're still available by holding the Function key (you know, the blueish one).
Windows 7 Starter is something of a cruel joke, but it's standard for this market segment, so not especially noteworthy.
The QuickWeb or whatever it's called is VERY fast. Within 5 seconds of a cold boot, you've got a usable machine. I don't use the mode much, because I don't do much IM or Skype these days. I prefer having access to a more full-featured (i.e. AdBlock) browser as well. I'm sure the function has its uses however. For one, it makes for great bragging rights. I impressed a few friends with it...and then booted into Windows when it came time to actually USE the thing.
WiFi reception is strong. I discovered a bunch of new WiFi networks near my house. 'Nuff said. I've connected to a few different networks in various locations with no problems. I was unable to connect to my cousin's network, however. She probably gave me the wrong password.
With the included 6 cell unit, battery life has been superb, after admittedly somewhat limited use. I got at least 9 hours out of my first charge. I generally have the brightness turned all the way down, and I turn off WiFi when not in use. The power settings are more or less at their defaults. Can't find any room to complain here. People that view a lot of video will probably experience faster drain. I don't spend a lot of time on that stuff (at least not on a 10.1" screen...not when I have a 22" monitor available for consuming video).
The display is nice enough. I'm not very demanding for this sort of thing when it comes to netbooks. Resolution is low, so I definitely recommend tweaking your web browser to reclaim some wasted vertical screen real estate. I managed to find some Firefox plugins that let me merge some toolbars and shrink them vertically. Then I found one to hide the names of my links on my Bookmarks toolbar. Very slick, and I probably regained a good half inch of vertical space. However many pixels that is. I've not had any problems with glare, but then again, my usage has been indoors or in the car (not while driving!)
Sound. Again, I have low standards here. It's loud enough to hear easily. My friend has a full-size laptop (a Toshiba) that is very nice, but really crappy when it comes to volume. You can crank it up to barely a whisper. Thankfully, that's not a problem with this HP. I already mentioned this, but the dedicated volume buttons are worth revisiting.
The fit and finish is quite excellent. The bottom of the unit is smooth and unblemished. No vents or anything to block or require cleaning. The unit is kind of annoying to open due to the lack of something good to grip. Regardless of that minor fault, it's a good looking unit that's just waiting for your fingerprints. A matte finish would be a nice option, but what is this, the early 2000's?
So, what's missing? HDMI, for one. Multitouch. Hard drive is smallish. If you can wait for configuration, you can order one of these from HP with a 250 GB hard drive for a reasonable upcharge. I didn't have enough time to wait, so I went stock.
At the end of the day, this product is highly recommended. I'd honestly put the review closer to 4.5 stars, but that's just not an option. I don't want to round up to 5, cause then it would seem like the usual review hyperbole.
Here're the quick facts for those that don't like prose:
Pros:
keyboard size/layout/feel(!)(seriously, it's great)
useful function keys
price
battery life (flush-fitting 6 cell battery FTW!)
overall fit and finish
QuickWeb is neat and possibly useful
Cons:
no HDMI (minor gripe...it's definitely an entry-level unit)
no multitouch (see above)
kind of annoying to open (nothing to grip)
loads of crapware
smallish 160 GB hard drive

Click Here to see more reviews about: HP Mini 110-3030NR 10.1-Inch Netbook (Black)

Enjoy ultra portable internet surfing and entertainment. Small, slim and stylish in black, the HP Mini 110-3030NR lets you surf the web and stay connected wherever you go. Amp up the fun with this netbook by playing videos and music and showing off your photos. E-mail, chat and instantly access your files from anywhere with exclusive, integrated software.At less than one inch thin and starting at just 2.99 pounds, this ultra-compact netbook won\'t weigh you down. With a 10.1" diagonal display and nearly full-size keyboard, the HP Mini 110-3030NR doesn\'t skimp on features—it comes complete with built-in wireless LAN, a 5-in-1 integrated Digital Media Reader for easy file transfer and a webcam with integrated digital microphone.HP QuickWeb gives you fast access to your favorite sites, e-mail, IM and more. Stream video from other PCs easily and fast with HP MediaStream and use HP QuickSync to synchronize files with your home PC and connect to the same wireless network with ease.

Click here for more information about HP Mini 110-3030NR 10.1-Inch Netbook (Black)

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HP Mini 210-1030NR 10.1-Inch Black Netbook - 9.75 Hours of Battery Life Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I purchased this netbook because of the small size, excellent price, long battery life, and great customer service that HP is known for.
As far as the computer goes...
The computer itself is very light weight and easy to tote around. Not too heavy in a purse or bag and the size it great for concealing what you're carrying, say on a city bus or train.
I'm not a big Winblows fan so I changed the OS to Linux Mint 8 and that gave me back around 8 or 10GB of space that the old OS was eating up. There is plenty of room on the hard drive for a mid-sized music collection, lots of files, and plenty of pictures with room to spare.
The keyboard is great, but lacks a home key, page up, and page down. The touch pad gives you the ability to double click or single click by touch and there is a button on the keyboard for a right-click action.
The AC adapter is plenty long for most tasks and the battery life is excellent.
The webcam is fairly low quality but for basic things, such as using Skype or other conferencing methods, it will do the job. Speakers and mic are great and produce good quality sound for a netbook.
Customer Service...
After having the 210-1030nr for only two weeks, my hard drive went bad. No drops, no spills, no crazy room mates, just went bad. I called HP customer service and they were excellent! They're sending me the shipping materials to send the computer back and are footing the repair bill for me. Great customer service, just like I expected.
The 210-1030nr would have earned that fifth star had the hard drive not gone bad on me. I know, however, that this is a rare occasion for a netbook and sometimes things are not made properly or other issues occur that are beyond my, or any one else's, control.
This HP has performed very well up until the hiccup with the hard drive. My boyfriend was very impressed with the machine, despite his initial aversion to it's small size; he was worried it would be fragile or flimsy. He will be purchasing one for himself very soon.

Click Here to see more reviews about: HP Mini 210-1030NR 10.1-Inch Black Netbook - 9.75 Hours of Battery Life

Prepare to be noticed when you take this Netbook out on the town. Small, slim and stylish, the HP Mini 210 lets you surf the web, stay connected, and be entertained wherever you go.Amp up the fun by playing videos and music or showing off your photos.Exclusive, integrated software keeps you in sync with your life by letting you e-mail, chat, and instantly access your files from anywhere.Take just what you need And leave the rest on your primary PC. At less than one inch thin and starting at just 2.69 pounds, this ultra-compact PC won\'t weigh you down. You\'ll enjoy a 16:9 10.1" diagonal BrightView Infinity display and nearly full-size keyboard.

Click here for more information about HP Mini 210-1030NR 10.1-Inch Black Netbook - 9.75 Hours of Battery Life

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Toshiba Mini NB205-N310/BN 10.1-Inch Sable Brown Netbook - 9 Hour Battery Life Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)UPDATE:
Just in case you decide to order a case for this netbook, keep in mind that the dimensions in the Amazon description or Toshiba's website (10.4 x 7.6 x 1.27 inches) are the dimensions of this netbook WITHOUT the 6-cell battery. If you look at the side-view photo in the Amazon description area (the one with the 7.6" measurement right below it), you'll see it's pictured without the battery. I just measured mine and with the 6-cell battery protruding from the back, it's actually 10.4 x 8.4 x 1.27 so many of the cases you find on Amazon made for 10" netbooks may not fit the NB205 with the 6-cell battery. Okay that's it for my update... read on for my original review...
----------
I just received my Toshiba NB205 yesterday and after spending many hours "playing" with it, I can easily say that, hands down, it is the BEST Netbook on the market today!
At the end of next week, I'll be traveling overseas and I wanted a small and lightweight laptop that I would be able to use to watch movies on the plane, transfer vacation photos and videos to, and use the internet for researching stuff from my hotel room. I currently own a 15" Macbook Pro but decided I didn't want to take it with me since it's a bit bigger & heavier and I can't afford to lose it. That's when I began researching these Atom-based Netbooks.
When I started researching, the Toshiba NB205 had not yet been released but there were still many netbook models out there by other manufacturers. I had originally considered the Samsung NC10, Acer Aspire One AOD250, Asus 1000HE, and Lenovo S10 as they all were pretty much equipped with similar configurations (Atom N270/N280 1.6 or 1.66Ghz cpu, 10" screen, 1GB ram, 160GB HD, 6-cell Li-Ion battery, Windows XP Home) and priced in the $350-400 price range. I won't go into too much detail about what I liked or didn't like about the other products but I had pretty much narrowed it down to either the Samsung NC10 or the Acer AOD250. Then I came across a pre-release review from Laptop Magazine on the Toshiba and decided to wait on my netbook. It was definitely worth the wait considering this is the first netbook I've come across that actually had noticeable differentiating features. When you compare all the others, it's kind of hard to choose from one over the other because they're all so similar!
The 4 biggest selling points on this Toshiba NB205 that had me wait for it was the 9-hour battery life, the look & feel of the keyboard, the size of the trackpad & buttons, and the overall aesthetics of it.
The whole point of buying a laptop this small and compact is for its portability factor. When you have to lug a brick-based AC adapter with you in fear the battery in your laptop won't last as long as you need it, it sure interferes with how portable carrying a laptop really is. A 9-hour lithium-ion battery will definitely solve that problem. Most of you are probably wondering how realistic that 9-hour rating really is... Let me just reassure you all, the battery life is GOOD! I brought it to a full charge, then unplugged it from the adapter and watched two movies on it (more on the movie playback capabilities later) and did 4 hours worth of web surfing afterwards -- all off the power from the battery on a single charge! You students out there can now bring it to all your classes and not have to look for a wall outlet! Oh, btw, I had the screen brightness set to 1/2 (level 4 brightness setting) and turned off the Bluetooth.
Netbooks are known for smaller keyboards and even worse, SMALL trackpads and trackpad button(s). In addition to the smaller size, many of the netbooks I saw in person at my local Fry's Electronics had very "cheapy"-feeling keyboards -- they just felt real fragile compared to the keyboard on my Macbook Pro. Enter the Toshiba NB205. Finally, a netbook that has a keyboard with keys that had the look and feel of a Mac keyboard and a robustly solid build to it. In addition to the look and feel, the keys were also pretty darn close in width to my Mac keyboard (both my Macbook Pro's keyboard, and my desktop Mac's keyboard). I'll try to post some comparison photos on Amazon this weekend for all those interested. The trackpad and buttons on the NB205 is also the biggest I've seen in the netbook category. Toshiba did a tremendous job in getting this right. Most of the other netbooks had really small trackpads and little miniature trackpad button(s) that felt real flimsy. Another feature that I like with the trackpad that's not stated anywhere is that the very right edge of the trackpad can be used for scrolling web pages or other documents (similar to the one on the Samsung NC10). This feature is not obvious as there are no arrow indicators like there is on the NC10 but it does support it!
I won't go into the aesthetics of this unit since you can pretty much see how amazing this netbook looks from the Amazon photos (I'll also add my own photos this weekend so you can get a better feel for the size, etc.) but let me now shift focus on using it.
Although I upgraded the memory on the unit to 2GB (I installed the Crucial 2GB 200-pin SODIMM DDR2 PC2-6400 800MHz Memory Module and it works great with the NB205!), all the testing I performed and am about to describe was done with the stock 1GB memory.
The very first thing I wanted to make sure this unit can do is play back, at the very least, DVD-quality movies (i.e. 480P movies (720x480 resolution)). One thing I'd HIGHLY recommend everyone who's interested in watching movies on their netbook do is download the FREE media player called VLC (Google "download vlc"). VLC is very lightweight and will play back movies a lot smoother than Quicktime or Windows Media Player; and given the inherently slower speeds of these Intel Atom processors compared to the Intel Core 2 Duo processors, using the VLC media player is your best bet. Using a free program called "Handbrake", one can convert their Bluray or DVD movies to AVC/h.264-encoded movies, which is what I used to convert some of my Bluray collection into a format that can be played-back on my NB205. Since it's out of the scope of this review and would require a tutorial guide of its own, I won't be able to explain how you would go about converting your Bluray or DVD movies. Anyhow, I first converted my Bluray edition of Valkyrie to a 720x480 resolution with a conservative 864kbs bitrate. The NB205 had NO PROBLEMS playing it back... It played back with very smooth video and the audio was synced up perfectly throughout the entire movie. So I decided to convert the movie again.... this time, using more aggressive settings... I converted it to a resolution of 1024x600 (since this is the native resolution of the NB205's screen) and a 2048kbps bitrate. Again, the NB205 was able to play the movie without a hitch. I didn't bother trying to convert the movie to 720P since the native resolution of the screen is only 1024x600 (it would be equivilent to 600P but 600P is not a standard). If you're planning to watch movies on the NB205 with someone else, you'll be happy to know that watching it from a 45 degree angle is very acceptible. Beyond the 45 degree angle, you won't be able to really see much so don't expect to have more than 3 people watching from it (why would you have more than 2 or 3 people watching off a 10" screen anyways!?).
Given it's capability to playback movies very smoothly, anything else I was going to throw at it would be child's play. Anyhow, I was reading that this laptop does get hot but after playing back two movies on it, it was not unbearable when resting it on my lap. So it doesn't seem like overheating problems will be too much of a concern for this laptop (but only long-term usage can really confirm this).
Another cool feature the NB205 sports that I'm not sure is available on all the other competitor models is a built-in accelerometer. It works the same way as the iPhone accelerometer but it's in the NB205 purely to detect if the laptop is about to take a fall. When it detects motion, it quickly moves the hard drive heads away from the hard drive to prevent any mishaps in case the hard drive is currently reading from or writing to the hard disks. Using a Toshiba software utility that's installed from the factory, you can change the sensitiviy threshold of the accelerometer or turn it off altogether.
There are obviously a lot more features that the NB205 comes with but I'm not going to explain each one simply because they're self-explanatory (such as bluetooth, wifi, etc.) but you can find out more about those features in Amazon's description of this product.
One final note before I conclude my review... Toshiba released two main models of the NB205 on the same day... the NB205-N310/311/312/313 (which is the model I have -- the NB205-N310/BN to be exact) and the NB205-N210. I think if you want to save $50, the NB205-210 would be a good choice as well -- provided you don't need Bluetooth or the Mac-style "chiclet" keyboard. For the extra $50, though, you also get the much sleeker, unique Toshiba-styling of the NB205-N31X series.
So if you're in the market for a very portable laptop, and you're considering a 10"-based netbook, the Toshiba NB205 is packed with features, enclosed around a very aesthetically pleasing body, and is very competitively priced!!!


Click Here to see more reviews about: Toshiba Mini NB205-N310/BN 10.1-Inch Sable Brown Netbook - 9 Hour Battery Life

Small enough to throw in a purse or bag, the affordable, super-compact 10.1-inch Toshiba mini NB205 netbook--which weighs just under 3 pounds--is designed with smart features like a full-sized keyboard and touchpad, long battery life, USB Sleep-and-Charge ports and a hard drive impact sensor that protects your data. You'll also get excellent battery life with the included six-cell battery that provides up to 9 hours of battery power--enabling you to go through an entire day of school, work or errands without worrying about a recharge.
Created especially for mobile devices, Intels 1.6 GHz Atom N280 processor uses an innovative design structure and hafnium-infused circuitry that helps reduce electrical current leakage in transistors--which means longer battery life when you're on the go. It also includes the Intel 945GSE graphics chipset, which provides browsing the internet, emailing, running basic PC applications and enjoying online digital media.

This model of the Toshiba mini NB205 (NB205-N310/BN) has a distinctively styled cover in Sable Brown, which is accented by a textured finish with a Matrix pattern. It features a 160 GB hard disk drive, 1 GB of RAM (upgradeable to 2 GB), 54g Wi-Fi networking (802.11b/g), Bluetooth connectivity, Fast Ethernet, and a Secure Digital memory card slot. It comes preinstalled with the Microsoft Windows XP Home operating system, which offers more experienced users an enhanced and innovative experience that incorporates Windows Live features like Windows Live Messenger for instant messaging and Windows Live Mail for consolidated email accounts on your desktop.



Key Features
10.1-inch LED backlit widescreen display (1024 x 600-pixel resolution) provides richer colors and clearer definition--perfect for browsing the internet
1.66 GHz Intel Atom N280 processor combines performance and efficiency to explore the Internet and stay connected while mobile (Learn more)
160 GB Serial ATA hard drive (5400 RPM) with an impact sensor that helps safeguard your data by "parking" the hard drive heads in the event of a drop or sudden movement. (Learn more)
1 GB of RAM (800 MHz; 1 memory slot; upgradeable to 2 GB)
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator GMA950 with up to 251 MB of dynamically allocated shared graphics memory
Webcam (0.3 megapixels) integrated into the bezel for easy video chats and teleconferencing
Three USB Sleep-and-Charge ports allow you to charge your mobile phone and other devices even when the notebook is asleep or off.
Full-sized keyboard (85 keys)
Integrated Wi-Fi networking (802.11b.g) so you can communicate, browse and share while on the move
Bluetooth connectivity for syncing smartphones and using headphone for online video chats and Internet telephony.
Fast Ethernet wired networking (10/100)
Built-in mono speaker
Microsoft Windows XP Home operating system
Up to 9 hours of battery life from included 6-cell battery
Dimensions: 10.4 x 7.6 x 1.27 inches (WxDxH)
Weight: 2.93 pounds
Environmentally focused with RoHS compatibility (reducing its environmental impact by restricting the use of lead, mercury and certain other hazardous substances), Energy Star 5.0 compliant, and EPEAT Gold compliant
Warranty: 1 year warranty with international limited warranty coverage

Networking, Connectivity & Expansion This Toshiba mini NB205 notebook has an integrated 54g wireless LAN (Atheros) that's compatible with 802.11b and 802.11g networks as well as Bluetooth connectivity (version 2.1 + EDR), which enables you to communicate and synchronize with Bluetooth-enabled peripherals such as PDAs and mobile phones. It offers the following ports:

3 USB 2.0 ports for connecting a wide range of peripherals--from digital cameras to MP3 players
Analog video output: 1 VGA
Memory card reader compatible with Secure Digital (SD), Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC), and MultiMediaCard (MMC)
1 headphone jack, 1 microphone jack
10/100 Fast Ethernet

What's in the box This package contains the Toshiba mini NB205-N310/BN netbook, rechargeable lithium-ion battery, AC adapter, and operating instructions.

It also comes with the following software: Norton Internet Security 2009, Microsoft Works 9, Windows Media Player, Google Toolbar, Toshiba PC Health Monitor

NOTE: The NB205-N310/BN belongs to the NB200 series. It will state this on the box.



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Power-Sipping Processor The Intel Atom processor uses a design structure that packs in 47 million transistors into a single chip sized at just 22mm (0.87 inches), and it uses just 2.5 watts of power--less than 1/10 of the 35 watts used by an Intel Core 2 Duo processor--for excellent battery management. This 1.66 GHz Atom N280 processor also includes a power-optimized front side bus of 533 MHz for faster data transfer on demanding mobile applications and a 512 KB L2 cache (which temporarily stores data).


Hard Drive Protection While the highly portable nature of mini-notebooks exposes them to the knocks and bumps that are an inevitable feature of life on the move, the Toshiba mini NB205 features a 3D-accelerometer monitoring system that detects freefalls, shocks and vibrations and protects the integrated HDD to secure against the loss of any personal data.

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