NetbookTech

A netbook makes the perfect gift this holiday shopping season. With the economy taking a nosedive, more consumers than ever before are looking for the best bang for the buck and a netbook fits the bill just nicely. Don’t think that netbooks are relegated to just geeks either. Both men and women love netbooks (remember that ASUS found that many who buy netbooks are in fact women!).

They’re small; they’re light; they’re cute; they’re sexy; and most of all, they’re full function PCs that are useful.

With that said, welcome to our first annual holiday shopping guide for netbooks. Our goal here is to help you pick that right netbook – whether it’s for your kid, your wife, your girlfriend of boyfriend, your parents, or of course, yourself. Without further ado, let’s take a look at our recommended systems for 2008!

Shapes and Sizes..

The current crop of netbooks primarily feature two screen sizes – 8.9 inch and 10 inch display sizes. (though Dell does feature a new 12 inch platform – the Inspiron Mini 12 netbook – more on that later on).

Recommended 8.9 inch netbooks:

8.9 inch displays were popular in the early days of netbook history. The major benefits of the 8.9 inch netbook come down to size and weight. The downsides? size – for both the display and the resulting keyboard (except for the HP Mini-Note 2133 which had one of the best keyboards for this class – unfortunately it was paired with a VIA processor). Here’s our short list of recommendations – you really can’t go wrong with any of the following 8.9 inch models:

ASUS Eee PC 900/901 series:

No conversation about netbooks would be complete without mentioning ASUS and their Eee PC family. ASUS got the netbook market moving in late 2007 and continued the onslaught in 2008 with the introduction of several new models (almost too many to count). In the 8.9 inch category, we have the ASUS Eee PC 900 series which features the Intel Celeron processor. Other specs include solid state drives (there are also hard drive based models – the Eee PC 900HD), Wi-Fi, 1GB of RAM, and your choice of Windows XP Home or Linux. If you look around you can easily find this netbook for under $300 dollars (Best Buy offers this netbook as an outlet item for under $300 dollars with a 16GB SSD and Windows XP).

If you want the Atom processor, there’s also the Eee PC 901 which is slightly more expensive.

Acer Aspire One

The Aspire One is Acer’s first netbook and until recently, one of the best values out there. For $349, you get an Intel Atom processor, 1GB of RAM, 120GB HDD, 3 cell battery and Windows XP. If you’re willing to spend a little more money, you can opt for a larger hard drive and a longer life 6 cell battery or if you want to spend a bit less, there are also Linux models to choose from. The Aspire One does suffer from a somewhat noisy fan – but this depends on your tolerance for noise. Utilities exist for both Windows and Linux that help alleviate that issue. Two final complaint – it suffers from a horrendous mouse button layout (to the left and right of the trackpad) which you’ll also find for the HP netbooks AND it’s a pain in the ^#*&*(Q@ to upgrade.

Prices range from $300 dollars on up.

Dell Inspiron Mini 9

The first netbook offered by Dell, the Inspiron Mini 9 features an Atom processor, a solid state drive, and your choice of either Ubuntu Linux or Windows XP Home. If you’re in the UK, you can even get this netbook for free from Vodafone with a 2 year mobile broadband account. Most reviews of the Mini 9 have been fairly positive – with some even going as far as installing OS X on their system (actually you’ll find this a common project among netbook owners out there). The Mini 9 is only hobbled by a small battery and the lack of a hard drive as an option.

Recommended 10 inch netbooks:

Have a need for a larger display and keyboard while keeping the weight at under 3 pounds? Then look no further than a 10 inch netbook system. This class currently provides the best balance between price, performance and usability. Here’s our recommended 10 inch systems:

ASUS Eee PC 1000 series

Again, the most well known netbook brand makes an appearance here with the 1000 series. You can choose between a solid state version (1000 40G) or a hard drive version (1000H). Standard configurations include the 10 inch 1024 x 600 display, Intel integrated graphics, Wi-Fi, stereo sound, and plenty of port. The keyboard’s larger and more comfortable than Eee PC 900 models but for whatever reason, ASUS opted to make the right “shift” key rather small. Most models feature the Intel Atom processor except for the Eee PC 1000HD which comes with the Celeron processor and sells for under $400 dollars. The one great thing about Eee PCs – there’s a large user and developer community for the platform which means if you have any questions, they’re bound to be answered. Our only other complaint? We’re not fans of the mouse buttons.

Prices for the Atom models range from the low $400 dollars on up.

Lenovo IdeaPad S10

Lenovo nearly got it right on the very first try with the IdeaPad S10. This 10 inch netbook features an Atom processor, choice of 512MB or 1GB of memory, an 80GB hard drive, Wi-Fi, optional Bluetooth, chassis colors ranging from black, white, blue, and red, and of course Windows XP Home. It’s incredibly easy to upgrade the memory and hard drive on the system (contrast that with the painful Acer Aspire One upgrades). Unfortunately, the keyboard’s a bit of a letdown considering Lenovo also owns the ThinkPad brand. The touchpad, while supporting multi-touch, is a bit small for large fingers and the system only comes with a three cell battery for now. However, the price is fairly competitive at $399 on up and you can easily get the S10 at major retailers, e-tailers, and of course at Lenovo.com.

Oh yes, we even tried installing OS X on the S10 – the white one nearly looks like a MacBook system no?

Prices range from $399 on up.

MSI Wind

The MSI Wind was the standards bearer of 10 inch netbooks for much of 2008 and is arguably the best netbooks money can buy. With recent price drops, you can purchase the Wind for as low as $349.99 at Best Buy (though it’s still pretty hard to find at the retailer – your better bet would be to purchase it at Newegg.com or mwave.com). At $349, the Wind practically has it all – an Atom processor, a 10 inch matte finish display (better than glossy displays in direct sunlight), a 120GB hard drive, Wi-Fi, and Windows XP Home. Oh did I mention that the Wind has a wonderful 92% keyboard that easily sets it apart from other netbooks? The low end models comes with a 3 cell battery but if you want more oomph, then you can opt for the more expensive 6 cell battery system (which also comes with a larger hard drive). So any real complaints? Not really. The Wind is popular for a reason folks – it’s one solid machine. Oh yeah – it’s a fan favorite for modders also.

Prices for the MSI Wind range from $349 to just past $500 dollars.

Samsung NC10

Samsung and it’s NC10 netbook are still relative newcomers to the netbook field but the early reviews have been extremely positive. The NC10 appears to have the perfect balance of everything – an Atom processor, 160 GB hard drive, 1GB of memory, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and a 6 cell battery for extra long life (we’re talking 6 to 7 hours of life folks). The real kicker? It appears the NC10’s keyboard is just slightly better than the Wind! All this for a system that generally costs less than $500 dollars. Not bad right? The only problem thus far – it’s practically impossible to find here in the U.S. If you see the Samsung NC10 netbook, you just might want to snatch one up for yourself.. err your loved one I mean.

Prices are generally at around or under $500 dollars.

Honorable Mentions:

Several netbooks deserve honorable mention for this guide – although they were typically either too expensive or just not practical enough for a holiday gift guide.

ASUS Eee PC S101

If you’re looking for a super sleek, MacBook Air-like netbook, then nothing beats the ASUS Eee PC S101. The netbook features a High Gloss Graphite cover, an Atom processor, 1GB of RAM, and a 16GB Solid State Drive. Oh yes, the S101 also costs a pretty penny. Be prepared to cough up over $650 dollars for the unit. However, if money is no object, then the S101 is certainly a sight to behold.

ASUS N10

While not part of the Eee PC family, the N10 is typically categorized as a netbook system. It comes with an Atom processor, a 10 inch display, 2GB of RAM, 160GB HDD, Wi-Fi, Altec Lansing speakers, and Windows Vista. However what makes the N10 stand apart from the rest is the inclusion of discrete graphics – the NVIDIA GeForce 9300M. All this will cost ya as the typical price of the N10 also runs past $650 dollars – well into the low end notebook market.

Dell Inspiron Mini 12

We’re hesitant to place the Inspiron Mini 12 on this list – simply because the system has its fair share of flaws. First the things that make the Mini 12 an honorary member of this list. It has a 12 inch, 1280 x 800 display, an beautifully thin chassis that weighs less than 3 lbs, and an Atom processor inside. The bad parts? It has a slow 4200 RPM hard drive, supports a max of 1GB of memory, and comes preloaded with Windows Vista (though Dell claims that XP and Linux will soon be available).

If you’re on the market for a netbook with a display larger than 10 inches, then the Inspiron Mini 12 is basically your only choice right now.

HP Mini 1000

Finally, there’s the HP Mini 1000 netbook – the company’s second generation netbook system and the first to feature the Intel Atom processor. The 10 inch netbooks feature 1GB of RAM, 802.11 Wi-Fi, Solid State Drives/Hard Drives, optional Bluetooth, and a 92 % keyboard. Unfortunately the Mini 1000 shares the same insufferable mouse button layout schema of the 2133 and the Acer Aspire One. If you can look past that, the HP Mini 1000 is certainly an interesting system though not necessarily the best bang for the buck.

Deals, deals, deals

This is a great time to land some excellent netbook deals. Expect some great deals on new netbook systems as companies and retailers attempt to clear out inventories in anticipation of new models for 2009. Make sure to monitor websites/forums for upcoming deals, newspaper ads, and of course the websites of various hardware manufacturers (Dell, Lenovo, HP), for sales. We hope this guide helps you out this holiday season!

Happy Holidays!