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Portable and Affordable
A mini-comparison of three mini-laptops
By Luke Senecal
With today's seemingly 24-hour workday, the demand for connectivity wherever you go is as high as ever. And with the economy the way it is, prices are much more of a concern than before. Luckily, there are companies looking out for the little guy, launching smaller and more affordable laptops. Three of these companies' (ASUS, Everex, and HP) subnotebooks, dubbed "netbooks," will be reviewed and compared in-depth in this article. Although they don't have CD drives or superior graphics, they'll do for basic use. We will start with the Taiwan-based ASUS.
ASUS released its Eee PC in October 2007. Since then they have sold 300,000 units and estimates several million in sales for 2008. The Eee is just 9 inches long, 6.5 inches wide and ranges from .9 to 1.4 inches deep depending on the series. The Eee's weight ranges from just under to just over 2 pounds. But what really sets the Eee apart from the rest of the pack is its solid-state drive (SSD) using flash memory. The advantages of an SSD is that there are no moving parts, unlike a standard hard drive, so there is smaller risk of damage from a fall. The SSD also has faster startup, and because is requires no spin-up, there's no noise, and of course, a smaller weight and size. Though the price per gigabyte is much higher, and the capacity is much lower (although BiTMICRO Networks announced a 1.6 terabyte SSD) than standard hard disk drives, it works well for light-duty.
On a technical front, the Eee PC is lacking in many areas. It comes with just 2-8 GB of memory and 512 MB RAM. In the standard models the screen size is a mere 7", and on the 900 series it jumps to 8.9". The Surf models lack a built-in camera, but the non-Surf and 900 models come stocked with one. Despite the lowly standards of the Eee, there are many ways to improve it yourself, if need be. The helpful bloggers at Eeeuser.com have posted many Eee PC hacks and upgrades, if you don't fear turning your PC into a melted pile of plastic. Most importantly, the Eee will cost just $300- $550.
Next up is the CloudBook, developed by Everex. It's closer to the standard computer than the Eee with its 30 GB hard drive, but other than that, they're worlds apart. First off, the CloudBook doesn't have a regular touchpad at the bottom of the keyboard. Instead, the touchpad is located in the upper right corner of the computer, and the mouse buttons are on the lower left corner, just below the screen. The CloudBook uses this design so it could be used while standing or walking, not just sitting.
Also, the CloudBook doesn't run on a well-known OS, like Windows XP or OS X; it instead uses the Open-Source Linux based gOS. The gOS will come with application software from Mozilla, Skype, Facebook, Openoffice.org and Google. Fear not, computer illiterate, Everex has released drivers to support XP, making it much simpler to install (though doing so will void the software warrantee. The hardware warrantee, however, will remain unaffected).
The screen size of the CloudBook is the same as the smaller of the Eee's, just 7". Its outside dimensions are similar also, 9"x6.6"x1" and just over two pounds. Though the current version doesn't have a touch-screen, Everex plans to release a future version with one. It's a steal at just $400 with one year limited warrantee, and 24/7 live tech support.
Last, but not least, the HP 2133 Mini-Note PC. This is by far the most expensive machine reviewed, but it may be worth it. The 2133 starts at $500 for the basic Linux OS and 4GB flash memory and climbs to around $600 if you want Windows Vista and 120 GB of storage. Its standard hard disk drive is protected by an accelerometer-based shock protection feature, and if that wasn't enough for you, the entire thing is encased in a tough brushed aluminum shell. The downfall of using a metal on the outside is that it can become hot easily (Over 110 degrees after 45 minutes).
While the 8.9 inch display is a good looking one, a protective Plexiglas coating makes for a headache inducing glare floating in front of the screen. The touchpad is wide and responsive enough, but the mouse buttons' location (on the sides of the touchpad) are a bit awkward.
The 2133 is the closest to a full-sized laptop of all three reviewed here, so it may be the best choice for those who don't adapt well to change, though all three are well designed. If you're not looking for a lot of special features or over the top graphics and sound, a cheap and portable netbook might be the right choice for you.
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