Fantastic Netbooks

Acer Aspire One 533 Specification

FantasticNetbooks — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 11:00:05 +0000

The Acer 533 netbook uses the newer Atom N455 processor - no performance inscrease but the ability to use faster DDR3 memory

The Acer Aspire One 533 netbook is the newest is the hugely popular Aspire One family of netbooks, we take a look at the spec and some of the features.

The first thing to note is that the processor is the slightly newer Atom N455 processor, which allows you to use marginally faster DDR3 memory instead of the older DDR2 memory. Some more expensive models are fitted with the 1.83Ghz Atom N475 processor, which will be the first performance boost we’ve seen in netbooks for quite a while.

The availability for the N475 fitted Acer 533’s appears to be limited at the moment with the only online store we’ve seen with availability being Saverstore at a price of £311.

The design is similar to other Acer netbooks and slim although you do get a slightly protruding battery that causes the keyboard to be sloped although that is not too uncomfortable. The keyboard is excellent with the keys having a positive feel and the layout is very good. The touchpad is also easy to use and is multi-touch although the rocker buttons are a bit stiff.

You get the usual 10.1 inch screen with a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels. The glossy screen on this Acer 533 is pretty good, sharp and strong colours.

The battery life is quoted at 8 hours although likely daily use will be around the 5 to 6 hours mark, which is ok although not outstanding.

Other models higher in the Acer 533’s range have Bluetooth 3.0, which we have also recently seen in the newest Samsung netbooks, including the Samsung N230. Bluetooth 3.0 is around 8 times faster than Bluetooth 2.0 so does offer an improvement over the old Bluetooth standard.

The reviews are just started to trickle in now for the Acer 533 and, once we have collated them we’ll add the 533 to our netbook rankings plus provide a review roundup to see how the newest Acer stacks up against the competition.

For now though, here is the full Acer Aspire One 533 specification.

Continue reading: Acer Aspire One 533 Specification

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Dell Mini 1012 Quick Review Roundup

FantasticNetbooks — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 11:00:18 +0000

Battery life was a clear strong point for the Dell Mini 1012 with reviewers

The Dell Inspiron Mini 1012, to give the netbook its full name, is the most recent of the Mini 10 lineup and is the best of the bunch. We roundup the reviews for the Mini 1012 pointing out its good and bad points before giving our own verdict.

Before we get into the Dell Mini 1012’s reviews, let us remind ourselves of the Dell’s specification:

Dell Mini 1012 Specification

Intel Atom 1.66Ghz N450 processor
1Gb RAM
250Gb hard drive
10.1 inch WSVGA screen
1024 x 600 pixel resolution
3 x USB ports
Wifi – 802.11b/g
Bluetooth
1.3 megapixel webcam
Microsoft Windows 7 Starter Edition
6 cell battery – 8.5 hours battery life
Weight – 1.3Kg

Go to the full specification for the Dell Mini 1012.

A specification only tells you so much about a netbook so what do the reviewers think? Let’s start with the good points.

Dell Mini 1012 Good Points

Battery Life – all 4 reviews were thankful for the long battery life of the Dell Mini 1012 with 8.5 hours quoted. CNet, Notebookcheck and Computer Shopper all tested the Mini 1012 in real use situations and found the battery life to be between 6 and 7 hours in total. Somehow, Expert Reviews got almost 9 hours out of their Mini 1012 so not sure what they did to get that much life out of it, probably nothing, i.e. no WiFi, no web surfing, no using the Dell netbook.

Design - another area that the majority agreed upon was the design with CNet stating that it was ’sophisticated’ whilst Computer Shopper went as far as ‘gorgeous’. Expert Reviews stuck with ’stylish’ whilst notebookcheck didn’t mention the design specifically in its good points, instead noting that the case and hinges were stable.

Keyboard - both Notebookcheck and Computer Shopper picked out the keyboard as being very good, superior and much improved over previous Dell Mini 10’s.

Resolution - the larger screen resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels offered by the Dell Mini 1012 was highlighted by Notebookcheck and Expert Reviews. However, the configuration offered by many retailers is with a screen at a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels.

Silent - Notebookcheck ran lots of tests to do with noise and heat and found that the Mini 1012 is particularly silent in its operation.

Build Quality – Notebookcheck also appreciated the stable case and hinges of the Dell Mini 1012.

Colour Options – Computer Shopper was taken with the different colour options available with the Mini 1012, so they listed that aspect as one of their highlights.

LoJack - Computer Shopper also appreciated the fact that Dell offer 1 year subscription to the LoJack theft recovery service although this only appears to be offered in the US and not when purchasing UK Dell Mini’s.

Security Extras – Another good point from Computer Shopper is for the ’security extras’, which we think they mean the McAfee SecurityCenter antivirus service preinstalled on their Mini 1012. This software is included and, according to the Dell UK website, you get 15 months subscription.

Dell Mini 1012 Divided Opinion

Smooth HD – straight onto the first point of disagreement with reviewers is whether the Dell Mini 1012 can play video smoothly with Notebookcheck being convinced that it can whilst Computer Shopper, Expert Reviews and CNet all explaining that streaming video is stuttery.

Dell Mini 1012 Bad Points

Touchpad - practically all the reviewers, with the exception of CNet, highlighted the touchpad as being a poor area for the Mini 1012. Reviewers stated that either poor touchpad feedback, difficult mouse buttons or even just being difficult to use were the bits they didn’t like about the touchpad.

Smaller Hard Drive – CNet picked up on the fact that their review model only had a 160Gb hard drive instead of the more usual 250Gb hard drive offered in competing systems. In the UK, there are 2 Dell Mini 1012 models, either a 160Gb hard drive version (with Windows XP) or a 250Gb hard drive model (with Windows 7), which is only £20 more.

Air Temperatures – back to Notebookcheck’s detailed testing and they spotted that the temperature of air emitted by the Mini 1012 was high.

No HDMI – Notebookcheck was disappointed by the lack of a HDMI port in the Mini 1012.

Webcam - Computer Shopper thought that the webcam was mediocre.

Upgrading Memory – Expert Reviews found that if you wanted to upgrade your memory from 1Gb to 2Gb of RAM then you would practically need to take the Mini 1012 apart so you could swap the memory, which they found difficult to do.

Dell Mini 1012 Overall Score

Overall Score – 86.5% (compiled from 4 top industry reviews)

This currently places the Dell Mini 1012 at an overall position of 4th in our netbook rankings from a total of 69 netbooks.

Dell Mini 1012 Reviewer Comments and Verdicts:

1. CNet – This retail version of Dell’s Mini 10 Netbook, called the iM1012-687OBK, has a great battery, but chances are it’s sitting on a shelf right next to a less expensive Netbook with a bigger hard drive.

2. Notebookcheck – Five and a half hours of runtime with 720p video clips and six and a half hours for surfing without using the HD chip. No other Nvidia Ion netbook bids such runtimes.

3. Expert Reviews – Its HD support might not be up to much and the touchpad’s annoying, but the high-resolution screen makes this a desirable choice.

4. Computer Shopper – This sturdy netbook delivers excellent battery life, not to mention color options and one of the best keyboards we’ve seen.

Dell Mini 1012 Reviews Used to Compile This Report:

1. CNet – posted on 18th March 2010 and gave the Dell 1012 7.4 out of 10.

2. Notebookcheck – posted on 2nd April 2010 and gave the Dell Mini 1012 86%.

3. Expert Reviews – posted on 23rd April and gave the Dell Mini 1012 5 stars out of 5.

4. Computer Shopper – posted in April 2010 and gave the Dell Mini 1012 8.6 out of 10.

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Toshiba NB250 Specification

FantasticNetbooks — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:00:53 +0000

What reviewers like about the Toshiba NB250 is its large keyboard and the fact it is comfortable and easy to type on.

The Toshiba NB250 is the latest netbook that follows the successful and very well made NB300, NB305 and NB205 models. So is the NB250 roughly half way between the NB205 and NB305 then? Let’s find out.

From all accounts the Toshiba NB250 is the entry-level netbook whereas the NB305 would constitute the premium netbook in the range. However, as per usual, the specifications of each are very similar. One slight upgrade is that you get the newer Atom N455 processor, which is practically the same as the N450 processor although you can use DDR3 memory as well as older DDR2 memory. The NB250 still comes with 1Gb RAM and integrated GMA 3150 graphics.

The model in this specification, the Toshiba NB250-10G has a 160Gb hard drive and Windows XP but you can get other models with 250Gb hard drives and Windows 7 if you pay around £20 or £30 more.

What reviewers like about the Toshiba NB250 is its large keyboard and the fact it is comfortable and easy to type on. Coupled with a good touchpad and you’ve got a fairly easy to use netbook. The battery life for the NB250 is not bad, about average for netbooks with the 6 cell battery giving around 5 to 6 hours of use.

Once there are a few more reviews in for the NB250, we’ll collect them together a provide a review roundup, similar to the one produced for the NB305 recently. The NB250 will also be added to our netbook rankings in due course.

For now though, here is the full Toshiba NB250 specification.

Continue reading: Toshiba NB250 Specification

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Samsung N150 Plus vs N210 Plus vs N220 Plus vs N230

FantasticNetbooks — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 11:00:08 +0000

The Samsung N230 netbook claims an impressive 13.8 hours battery life

Samsung have updated their range of netbooks, by releasing a refreshed versions of the N150, N210 and N220, essentially by sticking ‘plus’ on the end, and launching a new model, the Samsung N230. How do these 4 compare and are they worth considering?

Samsung have made some of the best and most popular netbooks ever, including the original best netbook, the NC10 and subsequent masterpieces the NC20, N120 and N140, all of which ride high in our netbook rankings. From the 2010 models, the N220 received rave reviews whilst the N210 did not fare so well even though there are only a few differences between them.

Just over halfway through the year, Samsung has decided to refresh its main current models plus release a brand new netbook, the N230.

At first glance, there does not seem to be that much difference between the original models and the newer versions, apart from the word ‘Plus’ added to the end of the name.

What this essentially means is that the newer versions have been fitted with Bluetooth 3.0 High Speed, which is 8x faster than the Bluetooth 2.0 and these upgraded netbooks have got longer lasting batteries.

The N230 is also very similar in terms of its specification to the other models. One of the main differences being that it has even more battery time with reviews finding the battery life to be anything from 8.5 hours heavy use to over 12 hours light use, which is pretty astounding. That is getting close to the 13.8 hours that Samsung claim.

This looks like an impressive netbook, with an anti-reflective screen, a subwoofer for better sound quality, a more sensitive webcam and a slim and very stylish design with a keyboard that spans the full width of the available space.

As soon as we see some more reviews of the N230, we’ll collect them together and provide a roundup and also add each of the new models to our netbook rankings.

In terms of availability, the new models are available in stock at many of the better retailers, Amazon has all models with PC World stocking the N210 Plus and N220 Plus for around £320 and £330 respectively. Oyyy has them both cheaper with the N210 Plus at only £286 at the time of preparing this blog post. Finally, Laptops Direct has the N230 at a similar price to Amazon.

For now though, which one of these Samsung netbooks do you prefer? Have a look at the full comparison below.

Continue reading: Samsung N150 Plus vs N210 Plus vs N220 Plus vs N230

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Toshiba NB305 Quick Review Roundup

FantasticNetbooks — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 08:41:39 +0000

The Toshiba NB305 netbook replaced the popular NB205, being fitted out with the Atom N450 processor, a bigger hard drive, improved sleek design and generally making it even better.

The Toshiba NB305 netbook replaced the popular NB205, being fitted out with the Atom N450 processor, a bigger hard drive, improved sleek design and generally making it even better. But what did the people who review netbooks think about it?

We’re rounding up the reviews of the Toshiba NB305 netbook, including the good points, bad points and those niggly areas where reviewers can’t seem to decide, in an effort to sort out the wheat from the chaff.

Reviewers are often a funny bunch, what one reviewer thinks is a brilliant feature, another will believe the opposite. You can’t simply take the opinions and observations of one review so we’ve collected the top 8 reviews for the NB305 to provide the roundup below.

Before we get into the Toshiba NB305’s reviews, let’s remind ourselves of the Toshiba’s specification:

Continue reading: Toshiba NB305 Quick Review Roundup

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Asus Eee PC 1015PE Specification

FantasticNetbooks — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 11:00:26 +0000

The Asus 1015PE's aluminium lid is non-glossy so will not end up with finger print smudges all over it.

The Asus Eee PC 1015PE is one of the newest in a long lineup of very similar netbook models. But can we distinguish the 1015PE from the rest in this full specification?

You can already guess that the internal components of the 1015PE are much the same as other netbooks launched this year with an Intel Atom N450 processor, 1Gb RAM and Windows 7 Starter Edition).

What you may not know is that the Asus 1015PE not only has a spacious keyboard but that it combines that with a comfortable and wide touchpad.

The size and style of the 1015PE is very similar to the 1005PE, which is not much of a surprise although the lid is non-glossy so will not end up with finger print smudges all over it, and aluminium. The 6 cell battery does stick out of the back a bit plus you are actually getting less battery life than the 1005PE, everyday use of around 6 hours as opposed to the 1005PE’s much longer time of 8.5 hours.

If glossy screens are your thing then you’ll appreciate the 1015PE’s, which has the usual 1024 x 600 resolution although viewing angles are narrow.

We are waiting for more reviews of the Asus 1015PE to come in, just having seen the 6 out of 10 awarded to the 1015PE by Engadget back in July so far. Once more reviews see the light of day we’ll add the Asus 1015PE to our netbook rankings.

Here is the full Asus Eee PC 1015PE specification.

Continue reading: Asus Eee PC 1015PE Specification

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Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3 Quick Review Roundup

FantasticNetbooks — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 18:42:18 +0000

The Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3 is a big improvement on the S10-2 and has a fantastic keyboard

The Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3, to give the netbook its full name, is the most recent of the S10 lineup and follows the disappointing S10-2. We roundup the reviews for the S10-3 pointing out its good and bad points before giving our own verdict.

Before we get into the Lenovo S10-3’s reviews, let us remind ourselves of the Lenovo’s specification:

Lenovo S10-3 Specification

Intel Atom 1.6Ghz N450 processor
1Gb RAM
250Gb hard drive
10.1 inch WSVGA screen
1024 x 600 pixel resolution
3 x USB ports
Wifi – 802.11b/g/n
Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
1.3 megapixel webcam
Microsoft Windows 7 Starter Edition
8 cell battery – 7 hours battery life
Weight – 1.5Kg

Go to the full specification for the Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3.

A specification only tells you so much about a netbook so what do the reviewers think? Let’s start with the good points.

Lenovo S10-3 Good Points

Keyboard - of the 7 reviewers, 6 of them specifically mentioned in their appraisal of the Lenovo S10-3 that the keyboard was ‘top-notch’, ‘excellent’ or ‘doesn’t disappoint’. Only Notebookcheck didn’t specifically list the keyboard as a plus point but did say that the keyboard was well laid out with big keys.

So it is safe to say that the keyboard is one of the stand out features of the S10-3 and is very comfortable to type on, for a 10 inch netbook.

Bundled Software – the utilities that are bundled with the Lenovo S10-3 went down well with several reviewers, namely Laptopmag, PC Advisor and PC World. PC Advisor noticed that the software was aimed mostly at business users with facial recognition security utility called VeriFace plus some disaster recovery software called OneKey Recovery.

Design - if an attractive netbook is what you are looking for then the Lenovo is one, which is ratified by Notebookcheck, Computer Shopper and PC Mag.

Loud Speakers – for a netbook the Lenovo S10-3’s speakers are quite loud, a fact noticed by both Laptopmag and Computer Shopper.

Operation System – only Laptopmag seemed to really appreciate the instant-on operating system

Quiet and cool - Notebookcheck were the only reviewer to specifically mention that the Lenovo runs fairly quiet and cool.

Lightweight - PC Mag believed the S10-3 to have a very light chassis, even with the 6 cell battery. However, the weight of the Lenovo is 1.5Kg, which we here at Fantastic Netbooks consider to be pretty heavy for a 10 inch netbook. A lightweight netbook would be around 1.1Kg.

Other good points were that CNet believed the S10-3 to have a ‘Compact Body’ whilst Notebookcheck highlighted the ‘Stable Case’.

Lenovo S10-3 Divided Opinion

Battery Life – a big of disagreement on the battery life with Notebookcheck believing that the S10-3 had a long battery life whilst Computer Shopper said it was mediocre and Laptopmag stated it was shorter than the competition’s. We think the best measure of any netbook’s battery life is our Longest Battery Life rankings where the S10-3 comes in a creditable 17th out of 65 netbooks.

Inexpensive - some more disagreement, PC Mag thinking the S10-3 is inexpensive whilst PC World believed it to be pricey.

Performance - another point of consternation, Computer Shopper thought it was acceptable performance for the price although we’re not really sure what Computer Shopper thought of the price as they didn’t really decided whether it was expensive or not. Other than that PC Advisor, Notebookcheck and PC World all thought the performance was sluggish and I’m guessing didn’t think it was acceptable for the price. In other words, the S10-3 is possibly a bit slow considering you are paying more than most of the competition.

Lenovo S10-3 Bad Points

Touchpad - it was broadly agreed that the touchpad was a little cramped and awkward to use. This is possibly been compromised because of the larger and more comfortable keyboard and was highlighted by Laptopmag, CNet, Computer Shopper and PC Mag.

Hard Drive – unfortunately we don’t understand why smaller hard drives are a problem plus don’t really consider 250Gb to be a ’small hard drive’. Perhaps we’re still living in the days when 40Gb was considered a lot but both Laptopmag and PC Mag mentioned that they thought the hard drive was small. It is possible that the US spec. machine reviewed only had a 160Gb hard drive.

Video Playback – of particular mention by both PC Advisor and Computer Shopper was the fact that trying to play video was problematic.

Palm Rest – CNet felt it was necessary to mention that the palm rest was particularly cramped.

Keyboard - we have been a little bit naughty in that we didn’t include Notebookcheck’s comment about a ‘yielding keyboard’ in the keyboard roundup above. So we’re mentioning it here, way down where nobody scrolls.

Screen - Notebookcheck also highlighted that the display is not AR coated, whatever that means. We believe that Notebookcheck are unhappy at the reflections created by the S10-3’s screen and wish it had some sort of coating to prevent them.

Not very configurable – PC Mag felt that the S10-3 is not very configurable. We’re not really sure that they mean but if you want a really configurable netbook then don’t buy this one.

Lenovo S10-3 Overall Score

Overall Score – 70.9% (compiled from 7 top industry reviews)

This currently places the Lenovo S10-3 at an overall position of 53rd in our netbook rankings from a total of 66 netbooks.

Lenovo S10-3 Reviewer Comments and Verdicts:

1. Laptopmag - Lenovo did a lot of things right with the S10-3. Its design and keyboard are much improved over the previous generation, the speakers are positively booming (for a netbook), and its instant-on environment is easily the most attractive among netbooks. However, like the Dell Inspiron Mini 10, we’re not enamored with the touchpad and integrated buttons. So far, the only company that has gotten this right is Apple, although they have a lot more real estate to work with. Also, for $369, we would expect the S10-3 to have a larger hard drive, not to mention longer battery life. If storage is not a concern to you, then the $299 ASUS Eee PC 1001P is a better bargain; otherwise, the Toshiba mini NB305-N410 offers a larger hard drive and greater endurance for just $30 more.

2. PCMag - The Lenovo ThinkPad S10-3 is one of the few 10-inch netbooks that can pull-off a full size keyboard, but it sacrificed the touchpad in the process.

3. CNet - The Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3 is a marked improvement from its predecessor, the S10-2, and is one of the most compact yet comfortable Netbooks we’ve seen. However, it costs more than Netbooks with similar features.

4. Notebookcheck - If you are looking for a well built netbook with a long battery life, you should consider the Ideapad S10-3 despite its higher price. It’s not the ultimately perfect netbook, as the N220 has already earned itself this title. Samsung’s mini doesn’t have any weakness in the keyboard and also comes with a bright, AR-coated TFT. The smallest “problem” is the high-gloss lid.

5. PC World – Superior input ergonomics will sell this comparatively overpriced netbook.

6. PC Advisor – The Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3 10in netbook is much more than the sum of its parts. Type and point with one before you grab something else.

7. Computer Shopper – Good looks, a standout keyboard, and a competitive price make this netbook worth a look, despite its troublesome touch pad.

Lenovo S10-3 Reviews Used to Compile This Report:

1. Laptopmag - posted their review on 19th February 2010 and gave the S10-3 3 stars out of 5.
2. PCMag - posted their review on 3rd March 2010 and gave the S10-3 3 stars out of 5.
3. CNet - posted their review on 18th March 2010 and gave the S10-3 7.2 out of 10.
4. Notebookcheck - posted their review on 26th March and gave the S10-3 88%.
5. PC World – posted their review on 29th March and gave the S10-3 3 stars out of 5.
6. PC Advisor – posted their review on 30th March and gave the S10-3 4 stars out of 5.
7. Computer Shopper – posted their review in March 2010 and gave the S10-3 8.1 out of 10.

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Top 10 Netbooks For Going Back To School

FantasticNetbooks — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 21:58:10 +0000

Rounding up the top 10 netbooks for students heading back to school or off to University – we’re looking for lightweight and stylish netbooks whilst making sure they have great battery life and are made from strong stuff – does such a netbook exist?

I know it feels like the summer holidays have only just started and there is a long time before school starts again in September. You don’t want to think about it but you need a netbook to help you with your school work when the new term starts. Or perhaps you are heading off to college or university in a month or two and need a portable computer for writing essays, reports and conducting research.

So if you are thinking about a new netbook to start the new school year in September then I hope this roundup of the best 10 netbooks will be as welcome as an A+ mark in your first test.

I reckon that the main features to look out for when choosing a netbook for a student at school, college or university are the following:

Good battery life – having a decent battery life is essential if the netbook is going to be used throughout the day, not always where there is a power supply close to hand.
Lightweight – nobody wants to carry a heavy laptop around with them all day. Having a lightweight netbook will ease the burden and have you skipping between lectures, lessons or lunch.
Good value for money, i.e. cheap – whoever is paying for the netbook will appreciate it if you get a lot of netbook for your (their) money.
Good design – nobody wants a netbook that looks like a brick or an old Amstrad from the 1980s.
Comfortable keyboard – if the netbook is going to be used properly to write essays, reports, conduct research and prepare for exams then having a comfortable keyboard to type on is pretty important.
Screen – we’re not so concerned about having a screen that looks good when playing DVDs whereas something you can view when outside or under bright fluorescent lights means that matte screens rather than glossy screens would probably be better.
Build quality – it is fair to say that a netbook carried around a school or college is possibly going to get knocked about a bit. This means a flimsy netbook will not be much good so we are looking for one with some sturdiness and good build quality.

So now we have an idea of what we are looking for, let’s have a look at the top 10 netbooks.

Continue reading: Top 10 Netbooks For Going Back To School

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Asus Eee PC 1005PE – Review Roundup

FantasticNetbooks — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 15:46:26 +0000

Asus 1005PE offers fantastic battery life promising all day computing

The Asus Eee PC 1005PE was one of the first netbooks to hit the market using the Atom N450 processor, which promises 20 percent less power consumption. The 1005PE is very similar to the 1005HA but offers better battery life, a bigger hard drive and a better keyboard. What did our featured reviewers make of it?

Asus 1005PE Good Points:

1. Battery Life – the 1005PE has a Lithium Ion 6 cell battery reported to last up to 14 hours

The Asus 1005PE is one of the first netbooks to use the new Intel Atom N450 processor, which promises a 20 percent decrease in power consumption. Laptopmag was very appreciative of the fact that the 1005PE will last up to 10.5 hours on a single charge, in fact they got 10 hours and 36 minutes out of it, which is the best from a Windows 7 netbook with a 6 cell battery. Other don’t come close including the Toshiba NB205 (8 hours and 51 minutes), Nokia Booklet 3G (8 hours and 24 minutes – when on WiFi).

CNet ran the 1005PE for 8 hours and 25 minutes on their grueling brain drain test and they were very impressed by that figure.

FN – Everyone’s happy with the battery life that you can get out of an N450 processor and 8 hours on the brain drain test is pretty good going for the 1005PE.

Continue reading: Asus Eee PC 1005PE – Review Roundup

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Sony Vaio M-Series vs Sony Vaio W-Series netbooks

FantasticNetbooks — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 18:48:20 +0000

The Sony Vaio M11M1E netbook is priced alongside rivals such as the Toshiba NB305 and Samsung N220

Sony were relatively late to the netbook party (if you don’t include the P-Series ultra portable) and finally released the W-Series netbook in 2009. Now the M-Series joins as Sony’s cheapest Vaio yet, how does it stack up?

The Sony Vaio W-Series, or VPCW11S1E, was released in the Autumn of 2009 and represented Sony’s first foray into netbook territory after famously proclaiming netbook market as being a ‘race to the bottom’ earlier in the year.

What you got with the W-Series was a very well made netbook with excellent screen offering a resolution of 1366 x 768, which was practically unheard of in 10 inch netbooks, and pretty much still is. Other than that though, Sony could not bring a lot else of interest, the processor, RAM and hard drive combination was the same as most other netbooks in late 2009, the battery life was not great at only 2 and a half hours plus the keyboard was a bit small and the netbook was expensive.

Consequently, even though many people did like it, the Sony Vaio W-Series has only reached number 47 in our netbook rankings with an average score of 72.7%.

The M-Series therefore, attempts a slightly different tack, and is priced alongside many other netbooks rather than being pitched as a ‘premium’ netbook. The lower cost is obvious in the build quality, not what you expect from a Sony perhaps, it is attractive to look at, has a good keyboard, a good screen and this year’s equivalent of the processor, RAM and hard drive combination that every other netbook has.

The Atom N450 processor, 1Gb RAM and 250Gb hard drive featured in most 2010 netbooks allow an average battery life and a performance to be expected. The M11M1E is neither a bad netbook but nor is it a great netbook, which is what most reviewers seem to be saying. And because it is up against good netbooks at the same price point, such as the Toshiba NB305 and Samsung N220, then life may be difficult for the Sony Vaio M-Series.

We shall add the M-Series to our netbook rankings shortly and see how it shapes up against the W-Series plus over 60 other netbooks.

But which one of these Sony Vaio netbooks do you prefer? Have a look at the full comparison below.

Continue reading: Sony Vaio M-Series vs Sony Vaio W-Series netbooks

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