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.
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.
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:
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.
. It's currently listed at a price of $349.99, and with the following specs:
, and also several other UK online stores. The price listed on Amazon is £399.05.
