Category: Netbooks

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Netbooks News Ultraportables

Acer #1 in netbooks

Yes, Asus is no longer at the top of the netbook market. After creating the market with its Eee PC, Asus has slipped to the #2 slot as Acer takes the overall lead with a 38% share of the market. In the same period, Asus captured just 30% of the netbook shipments. What makes this very interesting though is the fact that Acer only ships basically just one model, the Acer Aspire One. It comes in HD and SSD configs but that’s basically everything. Asus on the other hand has various variants of the Eee PC with a smorgasbord of configurations.

I think good marketing and pricing is what put Acer at number one. Armed with the simple fact that consumers want good value at a reasonable price, they turned the Aspire One into one of the better netbooks you can buy right now. And by the time the others catch up, they’ll be on their next generation of devices and maybe with some tricks up its sleeves.

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Netbooks Ultraportables

Lenovo IdeaPad S10 (6-cell battery) – 26,999 pesos

lenovo-ideapad-s10e


A new variant of the Lenovo IdeaPad S10 that comes with a 6–cell battery is now here in the Philippines. This new model seems to be the same as the IdeaPad S10e we mentioned recently but is simply called the S10 here in Manila. Not surprisingly, it appears just like an ordinary S10. What makes it unique though is the seemingly better keyboard with larger keys, a plus for netbooks of this size. It’s listed at different prices in various stores, but commonly sells for 26,999 pesos. Not a cheap price, now with other models selling for much less. However, this is somehow reasonable as the IdeaPad S10 is better in many respects compared to its competitors. But is the price difference completely justified? Only the market can tell.

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Netbooks Ultraportables

HP Mini 1000 in the Philippines

HP Mini 1000You can now buy the HP Mini 1000 in the Philippines, the updated version of HP’s netbook/ultraportable. This revision now has the Intel Atom processor instead of the underperforming Via offerings. According to Villman’s brochure for the BPI 0% Installment Madness Promo, the HP Mini 1001TU, a variant of the Mini 1000, has a suggested retail price of 21,948 pesos. You can also get it for 12 equal monthly installments of 1,829 pesos. Knowing that the HP Mini 1000 is one of the better–looking netbooks out there, this is good news for those seeking a chic–looking device that performs just as well as the rest of the market.

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Laptop Reviews Netbooks Ultraportables

Lenovo IdeaPad S10e Reviewed

lenovo-ideapad-s10e

PortableMonkey has a review of the newer version of Lenovo’s netbook, IdeaPad S10e. Not much different than the widely available S10, this updated model has a 6–cell battery and is equipped with a quick–boot OS that appears Linux–based and is made for basic tasks like email and browsing the web. Read on for the complete review.

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Laptop Reviews Netbooks Ultraportables

Asus Eee PC 901 vs Acer Aspire One vs Dell Mini 9

Portable Monkey has a comparison of three of the more prominent netbooks you can buy now, the Asus Eee PC 901, the Acer Aspire One, and the Dell Mini 9. Interesting how they rate these models in various aspects that will surely be of interest to potential buyers. But then again, TechCrunch tells us why ultraportable netbooks are not good enough. I don’t agree though.

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Laptop Reviews Netbooks Ultraportables

Samsung NC10: Doin’ everything right

samsung-nc10

Does it really do everything right? LaptopMag reviews this netbook/ultraportable from Samsung that retails for USD $499. It has a 10–inch screen making it slightly more usable, but at the expense of reduced portability. The spacious keyboard is something not too common among netbooks, so it’s a plus point for this model. In the beauty department, it surely does look good and should be a looker compared to its competitors. Is it worth getting? Read the review to find out.

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Asus Eee PC Laptop Reviews Netbooks Ultraportables

Asus Eee PC 900HA: Budget bestseller?

asus-eee-pc-900ha

I recently came across a review of the Asus Eee PC 900HA but before I read it, I thought it was just going to be one of many Eee PC variants that are becoming too common these days. After all, the specs is just the same as every other netbook these days:

  • Intel Atom 1.6 GHz processor
  • 160GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive (Seagate Momentus 5400.4)
  • 1GB of DDR2 RAM (667MHz)
  • Windows XP Home Edition Operating System
  • 9″ WSVGA LED-Backlit 1024 x 600 LCD
  • Ports: Three USB 2.0, 1 VGA monitor out, headphone jack, microphone input, SD card reader (SDHC-compatible), Kensington lock slot, Ethernet 10/100
  • Webcam (.3 MP)
  • Battery: 7.4v 5200mAh 4-cell battery (39Wh)
  • Wireless: 802.11b/g (Atheros AR5007EG)
  • One-year warranty
  • Size: 8.86 (W) x 6.69 (D) x .79 ~ 1.33 (H)
  • Weight: 2 lbs 7 oz

Nothing too spectacular, right? It has an ordinary notebook hard–drive for more storage but makes it noisier than an SSD module. Even the webcam’s downgraded from the 1.3MP one found on the Eee PC 900.

What makes the Asus Eee PC 900HA an interesting offering are the subtle niceties that comes with it. It has a reconfigured keyboard that’s a lot easier to type on. And with the Intel Atom, it is now a battery miser that can get to four hours of mobile use. And the clincher, a street price of around USD $250! The listed price is supposedly at USD $350 but it’s commonly found in the low 300 range. If it sells for less around 15,000 pesos here in the Philippines, it will be sure to fly off the shelves!

Note: Image courtesy of NotebookReview.com and/or its reviewer.

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Apple Netbooks New Products Rumors Site News Ultraportables

HP Mini 1000 Vivienne Tam Edition

HP Mini 1000 Vivienne Tam Edition

Yes, that’s the fashionably chic version of the HP Mini 1000. Noted designer Vivienne Tam comes up with a provocatively red Mini 1000 that you can easily mistakenly identify as a fashion accessory instead of a netbook.

Looks great! With a USD $699 price tag though, it will get buyers thinking twice. After all, you can get a much more usable Dell Inspiron Mini 12 for that money with some change to spare.

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Netbooks New Products Ultraportables

HP Mini 1000 with MIE

HP Mini 1000 MIE (Mobile Internet Experience)

MIE is HP’s Mobile Internet Experience, essentially a customized Ubuntu Linux variant with a very attractive interface. It will be offered in the new HP Mini 1000 and priced at USD $379, making it the cheapest Mini 1000 available.

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Netbooks New Products Ultraportables

HP Mini 1000

HP Mini 1000

After the not so impressive Mini-Note 2133, HP makes sure it gets its sequel right with the new HP Mini 1000. Now looking even sleeker than before, it is now powered by the Intel Atom unlike the Via processors that limited the previous model. Early photos shows an impressive black finish with probably the best keyboard in a netbook.

Priced at USD $399, the Mini 1000 just made the ultraportable/netbook market even more interesting. Expect a massive price war this coming Christmas season as all manufacturers push prices down for an upsurge in sales. We consumers are getting lucky.

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Netbooks

What is the ideal netbook battery life?

As manufacturers continue to develop new ultraportable netbooks at rapidly dropping prices, there are always some details that get compromised. Battery life is definitely on the top of the list.

Most models with 3 or 4–cell batteries can hardly get to three hours of battery life, some just enough for two hours. Premium options though are equipped with 6–cell Lithium ions that can manage five hour of mobile use.

The current notebook I’m using can only do around two hours on batteries, about the same as the Asus Eee PC 701 I used to carry as my mobile PC. From my experience, two hours seems a pinch and simply not enough. The five hours I’ve been hearing on the Acer Aspire One is very enticing, it’s more than twice than what I get.

So what do you think should be the bare minimum battery life for a truly usable untraportable netbook?

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Netbooks New Products Ultraportables

Dell Inspiron Mini 12 officially launched

Dell Inspiron Mini 12

Now the ultraportable is taken to the next level. You’ve heard about the Dell Inspiron Mini 9, right? Now Dell comes up with a 12–inch version that should appeal more to portable computer buyers. Armed with the same Intel Atom processor just like other ultraportables these days, it has 12–inch LCD display with a 1280×800 resolution, definitely much more usable for everyday use.

However, the same downside applies to this offering: the absence of an optical drive. But we know that you hardly need an optical drive for everyday use. Besides, most of us have desktop computers with DVD–writers anyway.

The less than USD $600 price tag is sure to get holiday shoppers excited. The Dell Inspiron Mini 12 appears to be a viable option to buying Apple’s Macbook Air, which comes at three times the price with basically the same limitations.

Are they going to sell it here in the Philippines anytime soon?