Best Mini Laptops

Ever since Asus introduce the Eee PC netbook, mini laptop has become the new trends in the laptop industry. We are seeing new mini laptop being introduced almost on daily basis. The Eee PC line from Asus for example, has released more than 10 models of netbook in 2008 alone. To keep up with the competition, other popular brands such as Acer Aspire One, MSI Wind, Dell Inspiron Mini, etc, have also released a comparable number of netbook models. To consumers, the assortment of mini laptops on the market today can be overwhelming. A simple guideline for selecting the best mini laptop is to consider the battery life, keyboard design, weight, and price of the mini laptop since most of them are having an almost similar specs. Below are the top 5 mini laptops that excel in these aspects.

1. Asus Eee PC 1000HE


As of now, the Asus Eee PC 1000HE is still considered the best netbook among all the Eee PC models. While the specs and features for this netbook are pretty standard for a machine of its class (160GB HDD, three USB ports, a webcam, VGA out, 4-in-1 card reader and the usual ethernet and WiFi connectivity), what really makes it a winner is the great battery life that support up to 7 hours of usage, the ergonomic keyboard design, and the easy-to-access panel for HDD and RAM upgrades. The only drawback for this netbook is that it's 3.2 pounds heavy, which is a little heavier compare to other netbooks.

Here's a great video review for the Asus Eee PC 1000HE. A Canadian version of Eee PC 1000HE (which has not much difference compare with the US version besides the multilingual keyboard layout, and the language of the OS) is used in the review, and the reviewer is comparing it with the the 8.9-inch Eee PC 900HA.



The Asus Eee PC 1000HE is currently available on Amazon.com for $384.48. It's currently the bestsellers in the Computers & PC Hardware department of Amazon.com.

2. Samsung N110


The 10-inch Samsung NC10 has been one on the best netbook in the market that gets a lot of positive feedback from the professionals as well as the the end users.. and the 2nd generation Samsung N110 further improves it to a near perfect netbook. Similar to the Eee PC 1000HE, it has a pretty standard netbook specs (1.6-GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB HDD, and 10.2-inch 1024 x 600 screen), and what makes it stand out from the crowd is the long battery life (more than 7 hours), ergonomic keyboard and touch pad, and the sleek design of this netbook. Compare to the Eee PC 1000HE, the Samsung N110 is more expensive (currently selling for $409.99 on Amazon.com) but is lighter weighing just 2.8 pounds.

Review for the Samsung N110 netbook:



3. MSI Wind U100


MSI Wind U100 is another solid performance netbook with a 10-inch screen, a comfortable keyboard, a very capable Atom processor, and 5-plus hours of battery life. The weight is just 2.6-pound, and is currently selling for $358 on Amazon.com.

Review for MSI Wind U100:



4. Acer Aspire One AOD150


Acer Aspire One is well known for it's low price, while other aspects of the netbooks are pretty decent. It's not the best mini laptop out there, but it definitely offers an excellent value. It has a slim and stylish design, good performance, and 6 hours of battery life. It might not be performing as well as other top netbooks such as the Eee PC 1000HE, but it beats the competition on price. The Acer Aspire One AOD150 is currently available on Amazon.com for $329.

Review for Acer Aspire One AOD150:



Also check out this great video - Asus Eee PC 1000HE vs Acer Aspire One AOD 150:



5. HP Mini 2140


The HP Mini 2140 meet almost all of the requirements that a good mini laptop should have: a well-designed keyboard, a durable design, and more than seven hours of battery life. The only drawback for this machine is its higher compare to other netbooks on the market. It's currently selling for $536.40 on Amazon.com. But the extra cash buys a more durable case and more endurance. You may check out the review roundup for the HP Mini 2140 in one of our earlier post.

And that's it for now. There are certainly no shortage of great quality mini laptops in today's market. As for now, these are the top 5 mini laptops that we would recommend to anyone interested in getting a mini laptop.

HP Introducing New Netbook Model - Mini 110

HP is introducing a new netbook model called the Mini 110 which is expected to be released on early June.


Compared to its predecessor, HP has made several improvements to the Mini 110, including larger hard drive capacities, improved graphics performance, more USB ports, and comes with Syncables software that's used for synchronizing files between netbook and another PC. There will be 3 color options available for the Mini 110: black, white and pink.

There will be 3 different edition of HP Mini 110:

• HP Mini 110 XP Edition: This model comes with either a 32GB solid state drive or a 160GB hard drive, 1GB of RAM, and optional WWAN. At launch this netbook will be available with the same black swhirl pattern found on the HP Mini 1000, but in July it will also be available in white and pink. The HP Mini 110 XP Edition will also be available with an optional Broadcom Crystal HD Enhanced Video Accelerator for handling 1080p video. A high resolution 1366 x 768 pixel display option will eventually be available as well. This netbook should be available starting June 10th with a base price of $329.99.

• HP Mini 110 Mi Edition: This version comes with Ubuntu Linux and HP’s custom Mi Edition interface for the operating system. It will be available with up to 2GB of RAM and a hard drive up to 250GB. Prices start at $279.99. The HP Mini 110 Mi Edition should be available June 10th for $279.99.

• HP Mini 1101: This model will be available with Windows XP Home, XP Pro, or Vista. You can also get it with freeDOS if you want to install your own operating system. It’s available with a 32GB SSD or 160GB or 250GB hard disk. There’s also an optional EV-DO/HSPA mobile broadband modem. The HP Mini 1101 will be available starting June 1st with a starting price of $329.
  

[Source]

Acer Aspire One AO751H Quick Review Roundup

Acer has recently launched the Aspire One AOH751H, which is the very first netbook in the market that comes with an 11.6-inch screen. The other main internal part of this netbook are: an Intel Atom Z520 Processor, 1 GB of RAM, and 160GB hard drive.

According to Acer Senior Product Manager, Ray Sawall, the major complains that people have for a 10-inch netbook, is that the keyboard and screen size are too small for typing and surfing the Internet. The 11 inch Acer Aspire One AOH751H is designed to overcome these problems.

While the Aspire One AO751H is yet to be released, Gadgetmix has already done a quick review on this netbook. They complemented this netbook for its high-resolution display (1366 x 768 pixel), full-size keyboard, great battery life, and multi-touch touchpad. Also, the Aspire One AO751H is pretty thin and light compare to the popular Eee PC 1000HE from Asus. On the negative side however, the Acer Aspire One AO751H is found to have a slow boot up time, and slightly slower performance compare to other netbooks with N270 processor.

We have also spotted a few video reviews for the Acer Aspire One AO751H on YouTube. On the third video below, you will find that the Aspire One AO751H doesn't seem to run well under Vista.

MSI Wind U123 Now Available

MSI Wind U123 which was reviewed a while a go is now available on Amazon.com for $349.99 with a 6-cell battery.
Here's what you will get for the price you pay for:

• 10.2-Inch 1024x600 LCD Panel, Webcam 1.3M, Exclusive MSI EasyFace (Face Identification software) Inside
• Intel Atom N280 1.66GHz Processor
• 1GB DDR2 533 Mhz SO-DIMM (1 Slot) upgradable to 2 GB MAX
• 160GB 2.5-Inch SATA Hard Drive
• Windows XP Home, 6 Cell Battery

Overall, the MSI Wind U123 is an above average netbook. You might want to check out the review roundup for the MSI Wind U123 before purchasing it.

Eeebuntu 3.0 Now Available - Linux Based OS Designed Specially For Eee PC User

Windows XP and Linux are the 2 operating system that dominate the world of netbooks as of now. While there's nothing much you can do with the Wondows XP, there are quite a number of variation of Linux OS that a netbook user can choose from, and Eeebuntu is one of them.


The Eeebuntu is a custom version of Ubuntu Linux designed specially for netbooks. While the recent release of Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty Jackalope has built in improved support for netbooks, Eeebuntu 3.0 which is developed based on Jaunty Jackalope, takes one step further by using a custom kernel designed to work with all of the hardware and custom hotkeys on most Asus Eee PC netbooks.

There are 3 version of Eeebuntu avaialble for download now: Base, Standard and NBR. The base version is the smallest, lightest and most stripped down among the three. It comes with only the usual configuration applications, Firefox, restricted extras and the Eeeconfigure application. It takes little space on your netbook to install the base version of Eeebuntu, and you can choose to install other apps of your choice after it's installed. The standard version is the most popular among the three. It contains everything you need to get working and playing on your EeePC, which includes a basic Ubuntu installation plus a full suite of internet applications such as Firefox, Pidgin, Thunderbird, OppenOffice applications, VLC Media Player, and Compiz desktop effects. NBR includes the Ubuntu Netbook Remix interface. And the NBR version (stands for Netbook Remix) is similar to Standard version, but uses the Netbook Launcher, which is customised for the small screen of the EeePC by providing a tabbed environment with easy to access icons for all the applications and documents you use day to day.

The Eeebuntu 3.0 is now available for download on its official website. You might want to try it out if you are a Linux user, and is not satisfied with your current Linux OS.

Asus Eee PC 1008HA Review Roundup

Update: Asus Eee PC 1008HA is now available on Amazon.com for $419.99

Asus Eee PC 1008HA, also known as the Seashell netbook, is one of the thinnest netbook around. It boast a very slim and classy design, without sacrificing the functionality.






Here's the rundown of the Seashell netbook's specs:

• 10.1" LED Backlight WSVGA Screen (1024x600)
• Intel Atom N270/ N280 CPU
• 1GB DDR2 SO-DIMM
• 160GB HDD and 10GB complimentary online Eee Storage
• 3-Cell (up to 4 hrs) or 6-cell (up to 10.5hrs) battery
  

While the Eee PC 1008HA is not yet officially released in the US, there are already quite a number of reviews been done on this netbook, and most of them are favorable. Overall, they are impressed with the slim and stylish design, the ergonomic keyboard and touchpad, and the above average performance of this netbook.

The biggest drawback of the Eee PC 1008HA however is the non-user-replaceable battery, which means you cannot switch to a backup battery when the original one run flat. This is a big disadvantage for those who need to travel long distance. Asus however manage to offset this by delivering a decent battery life. A 3-cell battery will give you around 4.5 to 5 hours of typical usage, according to TrustedReview. So you can expect a much longer battery life when the netbook run under 6-cell.

In short, the Asus Eee PC 1008HA, an extremely shiny netbook with most features and functionalities found to be on par or above, is a perfect netbook for average users, especially for the fashion forward individuals. Only if you are a hardcore netbook user who want to take control of every part of the machine, you may find the Eee PC1008HA not to your taste due to the inaccessible battery. The Asus Eee PC 1008HA is currently available for pre-ordeer on Amazon.com for $409.99.

The verdict from some of the expert reviews:

Trusted review:

"Hardcore netbook users, who want the very best battery life possible for the least amount of cost, won't find the Eee PC 1008HA to their taste - not least due to the inaccessible battery. Yet, Asus has delivered a very refined and classy netbook without sacrificing functionality and this should be applauded. And, while it is expensive for a netbook, it delivers enough that it isn't extortionate. Thus, if you're after a little more refinement than regular netbooks can deliver, this is your best bet." full review

CNet UK:

"The Eee PC 1008HA Seashell is a stunning netbook. It's very comfortable to use, extremely light and portable, and is a good all-round performer. For us, the Eee PC 1000HE's superior battery life makes it the better machine, but the Seashell holds its own in what is an increasingly competitive netbook market." full review

RegHardware:

Get over hang-ups about built-in batteries and you'll see the 1008HA as not just a very, very sexy, slimline netbook but as an eminently portable and a powerful one too. The only aspect we don't like is the very limited upgrade path. We'd like the price to be keener, but you do get an impressive feature set for your money, certainly more than much cheaper netbooks provide. If you're willing to make a few trade-offs, this is one gorgeous netbook. full review

PC Pro:

"Stunning design goes hand in hand with fine usability, but the non-replaceable battery and high price count against it." full review

Dell Announced Latitude 2100 Netbook

Dell has just announced a new 10-inch netbook, Latitude 2100, which targets the educational market.

Different from most netbooks on the market today, the Latitude 2100 comes with a thick and heavy chassis. It measures 10.4" x 7.4" x 1.6" and weighs 3.4 pounds when put together with the optional 6-cell battery, making it one of the bulkiest netbook around. Also, in preparation for the rigorous use by the school students, Dell has designed the Latitude 2100 with rubberized cases, and offers an optional handle / shoulder strap, and docking cart that schools can use to store and charge up to 24 netbooks.

Other specs for the Latitude 2100 is quite similar to other netbooks on the market: Intel Atom CPU, 1GB RAM, 16GB SSD, Windows XP, etc. The rubberized cases will be available in a variety of colors including yellow, green, blue, and red.

Check out the introductory video for the Latitude 2100:


Also, Laptop Magazine has done a review on the Dell Latitude 2100. Check it out.

[via CNET News]

Asus Eee PC 1008HA Hits FCC and Available For Pre-Order Now On Amazon

I bet many people have been desperately waiting for the release of the Eee PC 1008HA Sea Shell netbook, especially after reading the reviews and comparison of it with the Eee PC 1000HE. The good news is that this slim and sexy netbook has made its appearance at FCC, and is expected to be made available really soon!

Amazon has already started to accept pre-orders for Eee PC 1008HA, both in Pearl White and black color, at the price of $409.99.

Acer Officially Announced The Aspire One AOD250 and AO751h for North America

Acer has officially announced its newest Aspire One line-ups, AOD250 and AO751h for $298 and $379.99 respectively in US.


The main difference between the Acer Aspire One AOD250 and AO751h are the screen size and battery capacity. The Acer Aspire One AOD250 is equipped with a 10.1-inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display and a 3-cell battery, while the Aspire One AO751h features an 11-inch, 1364 x 768 pixel display and a 6-cell battery. Also, while both Aspire One D250 and AO751h comes with the same 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processor, the AO751h offers an option to switch the CPU to 1.22GHz Atom Z520.

Here's the full specs for the Acer Aspire One AO75:

• IntelR Atom Processor Z520 (1.22GHz, 490MHz FSB, 512KB L2 Cache)
• Genuine Microsoft Windows XPR Home (Service Pack 3)
• 11.6-inch WXGA 16:9 ratio Acer CrystalBrite? High Definition LED back-lit TFT LCD (1364 x 768 resolution)
• Mobile IntelR US15W Express Chipset
• 1024MB DDR2 533 MHz SDRAM Single Channel Memory
• Integrated IntelR Graphics Media Accelerator 950
• 160GB SATA 5400RPM Hard Drive
• Multi-in-1 Digital Media Card Reader and Dedicated SD Card
• Acer InviLink? 802.11b/g Wi-Fi CERTIFIEDR
• Acer Crystal Eye Web Camera
• Two Built-in Stereo Speakers
• Three USB 2.0 Ports
• 6-cell Li-ion Battery (5200mAh)
• 11.18" (W) x 7.79" (D) x 1" (H)
• Sapphire Blue
• One-Year Standard Warranty
• Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price: $379.99
  

And here's the specs for the Acer Aspire One AOD250:

• Intel Atom Processor N270 (1.60GHz, 533MHz FSB, 512KB L2 Cache)
• Genuine Microsoft Windows XPR Home (Service Pack 3)
• 10.1-inch WSVGA 16:9 ratio Acer CrystalBrite? LED back-lit TFT LCD (1024×600 resolution)
• Mobile IntelR 945GSE Express Chipset
• 1024MB DDR2 533 MHz SDRAM Single Channel Memory
• Integrated IntelR Graphics Media Accelerator 950
• 160GB SATA 5400RPM Hard Drive
• Multi-in-1 Digital Media Card Reader
• Acer InviLink 802.11b/g Wi-Fi CERTIFIEDR
• Acer Crystal Eye Web Camera
• Two Built-in Stereo Speakers
• Three USB 2.0 Ports
• 3-cell Li-ion Battery (2600 mAh)
• 10.17" (W) x 7.24" (D) x 1" (H)
• Ruby Red
• One-Year Standard Warranty
• Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price: $298.00

[via Engadget]

HP Mini 2140 Review Roundup

The HP Mini 2140 Notebook PC is designed to cater to the mobile professional. This business-grade netbook features a 10.1-inch screen, a remarkably large keyboard, a high capacity hard drive, and plenty of impressive features.







Here's the rundown of the HP Mini 2140 specs:

• 10.1-inch diagonal HP Illumi-Lite LED (available in SD 1024 x 576 or HD 1366 x 768)
• Intel Atom N270 Processor 1.60GHz
• 1 GB 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
• 160 GB 5400 rpm SATA
• Mobile IntelR GMA 950 Graphics
• Choice of 3-cell or 6-cell battery
• Genuine WindowsR XP Home

Overall, the HP Mini 2140 is an excellent mini laptop. It has best build quality and keyboard design among all netbooks on the market today. The expressCard slot offers fantastic expansion possibilities, and the 6-cell battery offers up to 7 hours of battery life. The major complain that most people have on the HP Mini 2140 when it was first released was the low screen resolution of 1024 x 576, which HP has already resolved now by offering a high definition resolution (1366 x 768) option.

Now let's look at some reviews done by the professionals on the HP Mini 2140:

jkOnTheRun:


Liliputing:


Laptop Magazine:

"The $529 HP Mini 2140 (starting at $499) rises above the majority of the netbook competition by incorporating a well-designed keyboard, a durable design, and more than seven hours of battery life. Some may prefer the $499 Samsung NC10 (also a LAPTOP Editors’ Choice winner). It’s $30 less than the similarly configured HP Mini 2140, and its six-cell battery doesn’t bulge from the bottom of the chassis like the Mini 2140. But the extra cash buys a more durable case and more endurance." (full review)

NotebookReview:

"The HP Mini 2140 proves HP can make a serious netbook for business professionals and students alike. Unfortunately for HP, the amazing design and solid range of features are diminished by a low-resolution screen. That said, there is a silver lining to this stormy cloud. HP informs us that the 2140 will be offered with a higher resolution screen (1366 x 768) later in 2009 for a modest price increase, and we're glad to hear that.

As it stands now, if you're willing to put up with the lower resolution screen the Mini 2140 is probably the best netbook on the market. However, if you're willing to wait for HP to offer a higher resolution screen later this year you will be even happier." (full review)

Conclusion: HP Mini 2140 is a near perfect mini laptop after HP resolve the low resolution issue. The only reason that might set you back from buying this top class mini laptop is the higher price tag compare to other netbooks on the market.. but it's still a highly recommended netbook as you will get what you pay for.

Asus Eee PC T91 TouchScreen Netbook Gets An Early Review

While Asus first touchscreen netbook, the Eee PC T91 is yet to be released, TechRadar has already got a chance to review a pre-production unit of this machine. Overall, they are very impressed with this touchscreen netbook and rate it 4.5 out of 5 stars.


The Eee PC T91 is complemented for its brilliant touch screen, solid build quality, excellent battery life, and comfortable keyboard. On the down side, besides being a finder print magnet, the Eee PC T91 suffers from the same flaw that the Eee PC 1008HA have: a non-user removable battery.

The Asus Eee PC T91 is expected to be released in June 2009.

Toshiba Mini NB200 Reviewed

The Toshiba Mini NB200, or known as Dynabook UX in Japan, is reviewed over at Portable Monkey. The good things about this machine which they like are the excellent build quality, descent battery life (3.5 hours with a 3 cell), light weight, and the extremely quiet fan. On the bad side, they found the Toshiba Mini NB200 to have a speaker with low, inadequate sound volume, and the lid opening range is very limited. It's also worth noting that the RAM of the Mini NB200 is upgradable to 2GB despite the fact that Toshiba says the netbook maxes out at 1GB, according to Portable Monkey. Read the full review here.

Asus Eee PC 1008HA Reviewed

Asus unveiled the Eee PC 1008HA, one of the company's thinnest and lightest netbooks to date, at CeBIT in March. It is just 1-inch thick and weighs 2.4 pounds. The specs, however, is similar to most of other Asus netbook: a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N280 processor, 1GB of DDR 2 memory, a 160GB hard drive with Windows XP on it, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1, a 1024 x 600 display and SRS Surround Sound audio. Recently, Asus has officially announced that the netbook will be released in the UK on May 15th.


While there are still a few days away from the 1008HA release date, Trusted Reviews has already got their hands on the machine, and done an early review on it. According to the review, the Eee PC 1008HA is sleek and pretty, but sacrifices the battery life. Here's their verdict:

"Hardcore netbook users, who want the very best battery life possible for the least amount of cost, won't find the Eee PC 1008HA to their taste - not least due to the inaccessible battery. Yet, Asus has delivered a very refined and classy netbook without sacrificing functionality and this should be applauded. And, while it is expensive for a netbook, it delivers enough that it isn't extortionate. Thus, if you're after a little more refinement than regular netbooks can deliver, this is your best bet."

Also, I4U has done a comparison between the Eee PC 1008HA and Eee PC 1000HE, and the result is that they favor the Eee PC 1008HA over the Eee PC 1000HE. According to them, the only factor that Eee PC 1000HE beats the Eee PC 1008HA is the battery life, while the Eee PC 1008HA is slimmer, lighter, and more portable than the Eee PC 1000HE. Here's the verdict:

"The above comparison between the Asus Eee PC 1008HA and the Asus Eee 1000HE shows that the 1008HA is all set to overtake the Asus Eee 1000HE as the undisputed king among Asus netbooks if the price is right. Asus Eee PC 1008HA caters in the same way to both fashion forward individuals and those looking for a high performance netbook. Asus has not started to ship the Asus Eee PC 1008HA and therefore, its exact price is unknown. Unless the price is not much higher than $387, the price at which the Asus Eee PC 1000HE sells, you should opt for Asus Eee PC 1008HA without hesitation."

Overall, the Eee PC 1008HA Seashell looks like a pretty promising netbook!

Asus Eee PC T91 to Release in UK Soon

Asus Eee PC T91, the first touch screen convertible netbook from Asus, is coming soon to UK.

The Eee PC T91 made its first appearance at CES in January, and after 4 months of waiting, according to Electric Pig, Asus finally confirmed that the T91 model will be released in UK in either late May or early June, with an RRP in the region of ￡449 (around $677 US). There's no announcement on its availability in US yet, but is believed to be released in US soon as well since AllAsus.com has started to take pre-order for the T91.


The Asus Eee PC T91 will features a 1.33GHz Intel Atom Z520 CPU, a 5 hour battery, and an 8.9 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel touchscreen display that can be folded down over the keyboard for use in tablet mode.

MSI Wind U123 Now Available For Pre-order

MSI Wind U123 is spotted to be available for pre-order now on Amazon.com. It's currently listed at a price of $349.99, and with the following specs:

• 10.2-inch LED backlight (1024 x 600 pixels)
• 1.66 GHz Intel Atom N280 Processor
• 1GB (DDR2 533) Upgradable to 2GB
• 160GB SATA HDD
• Intel GMA950
• Intel 945GSE + ICH7-M
• 802.11b/g Wireless LAN
• 6-cell lithium ion battery
• Windows XP Home

Checkout the review for MSI Wind U123 for more details about this netbook.

Acer And Asus To Release 11.6-inch Netbook

Acer Germany has recently listed a new 11.6-inch netbook model called the Aspire One 751 on their website. The netbooks is equiped with an Intel Atom Z520 processor paired with a US15WExpress Chipset, 2GB RAM, LED-backlit 200-nit WXGA display with 1366×768 resolution, Wi-Fi b/g and an optional Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, and triband UMTS/HSPA WWAN. While there's no words on when this netbook will be made available in the US, it's expected to hit UK market within this month, and is expected to priced around $518.


At the same time, Digitimes is also reporting that Asus will be releasing a 11.6-inch Eee PC netbook this month. There's no further information available for the 11.6-inch Eee PC at this moment, other than that it will account for 30% of Asustek’s shipments for the rest of the year, according to the company's president Jerry Shen.

Most netbooks today have the standard size of either 8.9-inch, 10.1-inch or 12-inch display. And it looks like now the 11.6-inch netbook size is going to be another new standard size for netnook. We suspect that there will be more 11.6-inch netbooks from other brands popping up soon.

Samsung N310 Now Available in UK

After being released in Korea few days ago, the Samsung N310 mini laptop now show up on Amazon UK, and also several other UK online stores. The price listed on Amazon is £399.05.


Among all other Samsung netbooks, the N310 is the one with a moree unique design. It is covered with a colorful rubberized coating that comes in blue, turquoise, red, and black, while the keyboard and screen that covered in glass goes virtually from one end of the chassis to the other.

The internal parts are similar to most other standard netbooks today though: a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processor, 160GB HDD, 1GB of RAM, a 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display, and a 4-cell battery which Samsung claims will last up to 5 hours.

Dell Mini Laptops

Since 2008, Dell has released quite a number of new mini laptop models. We will give you an overview of each models of mini laptops in each product lines from Dell. We will also add in reviews for each models of Dell mini laptop in this post as they are available.

Currently there are 3 models of low-cost mini laptop in the Dell Inspiron line:

1. Inspiron Mini 9


Inspiron Mini 9 is the first netbook model from Dell. It has an 8.9-inch display and the starting price is as low as $279.

The specification for the Dell Inspiron Mini 9:

• Glossy 8.9 inch LED display (1024X600)
• Up to Intel® Atom Processor® N270 (1.6GHz/533Mhz FSB/512K cache)
• 1GB DDR2 RAM at 533MHz
• Up to 16GB Solid State Drive
• Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 950
• Wireless 802.11g Mini Card
• Optional AT&T built-in cellular mobile broadband (HSPA 7.2)
• 32WHr Battery (4 cell)
• Genuine Windows XP Home Edition

Dell provides its customers with the flexibility to configure their own specs. The specification listed above are the maximum specs that you can get, and the price of the final product will base on the configuration selected. There are several reviews being done on the Dell Mini 9 laptop, and the overall rating for this netbook is above average. Check out the video review below, and the Inspiron Mini 9 review roundup which links to several expert reviews on this machine, and giving you an overall idea of good and bad about this netbook.



2. Inspiron Mini 10


The Inspiron Mini 10 is another netbook from Dell that comes after Dell Mini 9. It has a 10.1-inch screen size and a starting price of $399.

The specification for the Dell Inspiron Mini 10:

• 10.1" Widescreen Display (1024x576)
• Up to Intel Atom Processor Z530 (1.6GHz/533MHz FSB/512K Cache)
• 1GB DDR2 SDRAM
• 160GB, 2.5inch, 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
• Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 500
• Wireless 802.11g/n (1510) Mini Card
• 24WHr Lithium-Ion Battery (3-cell)
• Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition SP3
  

Released in February 2009, Dell is a little late in joining the 10-inch netbook competition, but the Inspiron Mini 10 is still outstanding in a few ways. It's one of the thinnest and lightest netbook in its class, provide several colorful design options, has a bright glossy display, and a roomy keyboard. However, at similar price, the 3-cell battery on this machine is making it less competitive compare to other netbooks in the same class such as the Asus Eee PC 1000 HE and Samsung NC10.



3. Inspiron Mini 12


With a 12.1-inch display, we consider the Inspiron Mini 12 a mini laptop instead of netbook. It has a starting price of $399 and comes with the following specification:

• 12.1" widescreen TrueLife® Display (1280x800)
• Intel®Atom®Processor Z520 (1.33GHz/533MHz FSB/512K Cache)
• 1GB DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz (onboard)
• 60GB PATA Hard Drive (4200 RPM)
• Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 500
• Wireless 802.11g Mini Card
• 48WHr Lithium-Ion Battery (6-cell)
• Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition
  

Here's a great video review on the Inspiron Mini 12 by mobilecomputermag.co.uk:



And finally this video gives you an overview of all 3 Dell Inspiron Mini laptop:

MSI Wind U123 Review Roundup

MSI recently released a new netbook model, U123 which is an upgrade for the formal model U120. Compare with U120, it comes with a more powerful Intel Atom N280 processor, and a higher upgrade limit of 2GB RAM rather than the 1GB limit on the U120.


This video gives you a quick overview of the features and specifications of MSI U123:



Here's the specification for the MSI Wind U123:

• 10-inch 1024 x 600 LED Backlit Display (Anti-glare)
• Intel Atom N280 CPU
• 1GB DDR2-667 RAM (Upgradable to 2GB)
• 160GB HDD (5400RPM WDC WD1600BEVT-22ZCT0)
• Intel GMA950 Graphics
• 6-Cell 5200mAh Lithium-Ion Battery
• 1.3MP Webcam
• Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
• 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi
• LAN 10/100 Port
• Multi-card reader (5 in 1)
• 3x USB 2.0, D-Sub, Microphone, Headphone ports
• 260 x 180 x 19.75mm Dimensions
• 1.35kg / 2.9lbs (with 6-Cell)
• Windows XP Home SP3

The Wind U123 can be further categorized into 3 versions:

- U123: the standard fare model
- U123H: equipped with a 3.5G (HSDPA) WWAN module
- U123T: equipped with an integrated TV tuner

Unfortunately, the company does not provide a forth option that combined all features from the 3 above into one "perfect U123".

MSI has been building netbooks with promising performance since its first netbook model, U100, and this latest model does not disappoint us as well. Here are a few reviews done by the experts, which most of them give this machine a thumbs up:

1. Laptop Magazine:
Giving the MSI Wind U123 netbook a rating of 4 out of 5, Laptop Magazine complements this machine with its attractive design, comfortable keyboard, long hours of battery life, and competitive price. The only thing that they don't like is the stiff mouse buttons and small touchpad, but you can easily overcome this by getting a wireless laptop mouse. Overall the MSI Wind U123 is still a recommended netbook:

"For just $379, the MSI Wind U123 offers good performance for a netbook and more than 8 hours of endurance. While the similarly configured ASUS Eee PC 1000HE ($399) and Samsung N110 ($469) have more comfortable touchpads and slightly better keyboards, the MSI Wind offers a complete package for a very competitive price." read full review

2. Portable Monkey:
Similar to Laptop Magazine , Portable Monkey likes the excellent build quality & design, and also the long battery life of the netbook. The drawback are (1) due to the shape of U123, it cannot be placed on the lap comfortably and (2) if you upgrade anything inside this machine, your warranty is voided.

"The MSI Wind U123 does really well with the important features: an excellent keyboard and display that is relatively quiet and gets up to 6.5 hours on a single charge, but is marred but many more minor flaws: You can’t place it in your lap properly, upgrading your internals voids your warranty, no built-in touchpad scrolling capability and the microphone volumes were barely audible. Some of these flaws look like they will be fixed with firmware updates but the warranty issue will be a deal breaker for most." read full review

Overall, the MSI Wind U123 is great in build quality and performance, but with the limitation that you are not allowed to upgrade the internal parts of the machine or your warranty is void. This shouldn't be an issue for the average users, since most of them will not be doing this.