Packard Bell dot S2 reviewed – budget netbook with innovative features

Packard Bell’s dot S2 is their budget 10.1-inch Pine Trail netbook powered by a 1.66GHz N450 Atom, 1GB RAM, 250GB HDD and Windows 7 Starter. It also features a multi-gesture touchpad, Wi-Fi, webcam and Dolby Sound.

TrustedReviews took one for a spin and came away with some positive impressions, calling it “one of the better Pine Trail models so far.” They really liked the chiclet keyboard and textured touchpad, whilst the glossy (1024 x 600) display and speakers were also of decent quality.

Packard Bell quotes an 8-hour battery life using its 6-cell 4,400mAh (48Whr) battery. TrustedReviews managed just over six hours in a video loop test at 50 percent screen brightness. The dot s2 also comes with some innovative features such as a power supply with a rotating removable plug and XSync, a synchronisation kit to transfer data between the netbook and desktop PC.

Despite the cheap price (£299), Packard Bell bundles a high quality neoprene sleeve with Velcro fastening and a full version of Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 into the mix. Overall it seems worth consideration. You can read the full review here.