Netbooks lighten load for travellers

IT used to be that miniaturisation cost big bikkies, with the lightest and most compact laptops attracting a premium over their beefier brethren.

But after the launch of the Asus Eee PC last year, the so-called netbook market has erupted with light and cheap laptops.

Hewlett-Packard, Acer and others have entered the netbook game, which involves producing a straightforward, lightweight machine with a small screen, no optical drive and just enough grunt to drive basic tasks such as web browsing, email and office productivity.

Dell is on the verge of launching its own netbooks. Meanwhile, netbook market maker Asus has been bulking up its Eee PC range and the most recent is the Eee PC 1000H, with larger screen and hard drive. Tech Check pitted the Asus against HP's 2133 Mini-Note.

Asus Eee PC 1000H

THE first Eee PC weighed less than 1kg, used flash memory rather than a hard drive, had a tiny 7in screen, a weedy 900MHz processor and cost just $499.

Asus has since fattened up the range, the feature set and the price. Instead of the shockproof solid state drives that have typified netbooks, the 1000H has an 80GB hard drive, although its sister ship, the 1000, comes with a 20GB SSD for those who prefer no moving parts in their netbook innards.

The 1000 series has 10in displays, 1GB RAM, Bluetooth, wireless N, Intel's new, snappy but cheap 1.6GHz Atom processor and six cell batteries for a claimed three to seven hours between charges.

It also has three USB ports, an ethernet port, microphone and headphone sockets, built-in microphone and webcam, a pair of speakers, VGA out and a SD card reader.

There's a choice of GNU Linux or Windows XP, which is what the review machine was loaded with.

The review box came in glossy black, which looked a lot more businesslike than the toylike white that characterised the first Eee PCs. The larger screen was bright, clear and easy to read, and performance running XP, especially with the Atom CPU operating in full power mode, was brisk for a netbook.

The main letdown on the Asus was the keyboard, which felt cheap and clacky compared with the superb set of keys on the HP 2133. But for long typing sessions there's the option of plugging in a full-size keyboard.

The larger screen and beefier battery also mean the 1000H is pushing the limits of netbook dimensions, weighing in at 1.45kg and 265mm wide by 185 mm deep.

SPECIFICATIONS
Features: 80GB hard drive, 1GB RAM, Windows XP Home, 1.6MHz Intel Atom processor
Price: $699
More at: www.asus.com.au
Rating: 8/10

HP 2133 Mini-Note

HP sees its 2133 Mini-Note machines occupying the upper end of the netbook world, and at $899 for the entry level model, which we reviewed, the price certainly reflects HP's perception.

Flip open the nicely rounded, matt-silver finish case on the 2133 and the box looks and feels like it is worth the extra money over the Eee PC, especially when you start to type on the large, well-designed keyboard.

The Mini-Note has an 8.9in screen, weighs in at about 1.2kg depending on specifications and measures a svelte 255mm by 165mm.

Like the Eee PC the HP box has three USB ports, an ethernet port, microphone and headphone sockets, built-in microphone and webcam, a pair of speakers, VGA out and an SD card slot. It adds some expandability in the form of an ExpressCard slot.

The base model we reviewed had 1GB of RAM, a 1.2MHz processor and a 100GB hard drive. For another $100 you get 2GB of RAM, 1.6MHz processor and a 160GB hard drive.

Shelling out the extra dough is definitely worth it for the extra RAM and slightly faster processor. With its sluggish Via C7 processor, the 2133 needs all the help it can get in the grunt department, especially as it runs Windows Vista Business rather than the XP or Linux more commonly found on low-horsepower netbooks.

Be prepared to spend lots of time counting "one potato, two potato" while the 2133 boots, loads applications and opens new screens. Presumably HP will upgrade the 2133 to an Atom CPU in the future, and the sooner the better.

SPECIFICATIONS
Features: 100GB hard drive, 1GB RAM, Windows Vista Business, 1.2MHz Via processor, ExpressCard slot
Price: $899
More at: www.hp.com.au
Rating: 7/10

CONCLUSION

NETBOOKS won't play DVDs or grind through graphically intense games, but their portability makes them perfect for everything from hopping around coffee shop meetings to flying around the world.

The HP has an excellent keyboard for a netbook device and looks and feels a cut above its market brethren, but its snail-like performance belies its comparatively high price tag.

At $699 with its 10in screen and zippy Atom processor, my money would go on the Asus.