The Best NetBooks Of 2008 and 2009

The Asus Eee PC is the godfather of the mobile netbook revolution. Since its release, many other PC vendors have developed a netbook to match, and although some of these competing design have managed to introduce new features, the Eee PC still maintains its lead as one of the best sellers.

Over the last 18 months, we have seen many netbooks from several different vendors. Some of them viable contenders in the netbook wars, but Asus always seem to answer back. Lets take a look at some of the best and most popular netbooks.

ASUS Eee PC 701 4G

When it was released 18 months ago, the Eee PC 701 was the cheapest netbook on the market priced $363. It came with the Xandros version of Linux, had a 4GB solid state drive, a 7 inch screen, 512MB of RAM and an Intel Celeron M CPU.

ASUS Eee PC 900

Next came the Eee PC 900. With an 8.9 inch screen it was slightly bigger than the 701 4G, but it came with more RAM to match.

Both Linux and Windows Xp version were made, however the Linux version included a larger solid-state disk, making more expensive – $472 compared to $436.

HP 2133 Mini-Note PC

HP was the next company to jump on the netwbook bandwagon, and it’s first release, the 2133 Mini-Note PC, was aimed at the business user.

It came with an 8.9 inch screen, a VIA C7-M CPU (1.6GHz), 2GB of RAM, a huge 160GB hard drive, and ran Windows Vista Business edition. It also boasted an ExpressCard/54 slot, making it a desirable choice for users wanting to use a 3G data card.

The 3133 Mini-Note PC was priced $499. The second version, with a 1.2GHz CPU and 1GB of RAM, was priced at $899.

ASUS Eee PC 701 4G (Lush Green)

Asus quickly stepped up their game after HP made its move on the market, revising the price of its Linux Eee PCs down to $349 and making them in a number of colors including Lush Green.

ASUS Eee PC 901

The company also released the weightier, but more powerful and robust model, the Eee PC 901. With its 6-cell battery providing 5 hours of battery life, this model became the most popular choice for users on-the-go.

It came with an Intel Atom N270 (1.6GHz) processor,1GB of RAM and an 8.9in screen. The Windows model came with a 12GB solid-state disk, the Linux a more useable 20GB. The Eee PC 901 was also the first netbook to employ the Gigabit Ethernet and 802.11n wireless networking technologies.

At its release the 901 was priced at $472.

MSI Wind U100

The next vendor to release a netbook was MSI. Its first model was white, sported a 10in screen, an 80GB hard drive, 1GB RAM, and Intel Atom N270 (1.6Ghz) processor, and ran Windows XP. The Wind U100 also had a 6-cell battery providing great battery -life.

Unfortunately this model was quite top heavy and would often fall over. At its launch, the model as priced $509.

Acer Aspire One

Next-up was the Aspire One from Acer. This model quickly became popular, it came with an 8GB solid state drive but also included two SD memory card slots, one of which could be used to expand the internal storage by up to 12GB.

It had an 8.9 inch screen and weigh just 900 grams. The Linux version ($436) sported 512MB of RAM, whereas the Windows version ($509) was available with 1.5GB of RAM.

ASUS Eee PC 1000H

Next Asus release the first netbook to include a conventional hard drive disk. Despite making more noise than previous SSD models, the Eee PC 1000H offered far more data storage space and faster read and write times.

The 1000H had a 10in screen, an Intel Atom N270 CPU (1.6GHz), 1GB of RAM, 802.11n wireless, and ran either Windows Xp or Linux. At its launch the Eee PC 1000H was priced at $509.

Dell Inspiron Mini 9

Dell entered the market with its Inspiron Mini 9. It came with an 8.9 inch screen, an Intel Atom N270 CPU (1.6GHz), 1GB of RAM and a 16GB solid state drive.

The Mini 9 was know to generate quite a bit of heat, but due to its 3G slot, mobile vendors offered the model as part of their mobile broadband plans. Without a mobile phone plan, the Mini 9 was priced $436.

Lenovo IdeaPad S10

Released in 2008, the Lenovo IdeaPad S10 has become the laptop of choice for the Department of Education and Training’s notebook deployment for teachers and students. The deal is worth $109 million, and will cover the cost of 267,000 units for program.

The IdeaPad runs Windows XP, has a 160GB hard drive, a 10in screen, and 1GB of RAM. It it also has an ExpressCard/34 expansion slot. All this for a price of $509.

Toshiba NB100

The NB100 was the first model to offer a sleep-and-charge USB port. From this port users can charge other mobile devices such as MP3 players or mobile phones. The NB100 sports an 8.9 inch screen, an Intel Atom N270 (1.6GHz) CPU, 1GB of RAM, a120GB hard drive and runs Windows XP.

It was priced $520 at the time of its release.

Fujitsu M1010

Unlike other vendors who opted for larger screens, Fujitsu kept its M1010 small, but still managed to cram in the features.

The M1010 comes with an Intel Atom N270 CPU (1.6GHz), 1GB RAM, and has a 60GB hard drive. It also has an ExpressCard/34 slot and cost $509 at the time of its release.

Dell Inspiron Mini 12

With a 10.2in screen, the Inspiron Mini 12 is a little bigger than its Mini 9 counterpart. The Mini 12 comes with an Intel Atom Z530 (1.6GHz) CPU, 1GB of RAM, and an 80GB hard drive. Unfortunatley the Mini 12 has a poor battery life, and no 802.11n wireless.

The higher cost of the Mini 12, priced at $618, is mainly due to the larger screen which sports a resolution of 1280×800.

HP Vivienne Tam Special Edition Notebook PC

This classy designer netbook saw what was once a device aimed at the student market, develop into a device wanted by fashion enthusiasts.

Acer Aspire One AOD 150

The second netbook from Acer, the Aspire One AOD 150, comes with a larger 10.2 inch screen, and Intel Atom 1.6GHz processor, 1GB RAM, 160GB hard drive, Windows XP, and has one of the best screens on the netbook market.

Priced at $581 the battery life could be a little better, but it’s possibly the best netbook for watching films on.

HP Mini 2140

The HP Mini 2140 is one of the most powerful netbooks on the market. It features an Intel Atom processor, 2GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive. Like the 2133 brother, it runs Windows Vista Business and has a ExpressCard/54 slot and 802.11n networking.

The HP Mini 2140 is priced at around $499.

Kogan Agora Netbook Pro

The Kogan Agora Netbook Pro is one of the best value for money netbooks available. It comes with a 10. 2 inch screen, a1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, 2GB of RAM, 802.11g wireless networking, a160GB hard drive, a 6-cell battery and runs on Linux-based Ubuntu operating system.

All this for a price tag of $392.

ASUS Eee PC 1000HE

The Eee PC 1000HE is the revised version of the 1000H model. It features an improved keyboard design and a longer battery life.

The Eee PC 1000HE comes with a 10in screen, 160GB hard drive, 1GB of RAM and an Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz CPU. There is also a version with the faster Intel Atom N280 processor.

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