Netbook CPU shootout – AMD vs. Intel vs. VIA

Whilst Intel’s Atom CPU is found in the majority of netbooks released to date, it is facing competition from other vendors who are looking to jump onto the netbook cash-cow. Apart from prospective ARM processors, AMD recently launched the Athlon Neo which is found in the 12-inch HP Pavilion dv2 and is meant to be a step-up from Intel Atom CPUs. VIA also launched the Nano chip, intended specifically for netbooks and has first been seen in the Samsung NC20.

Crave looked to try to compare these CPUs against each other, however it is not a precise comparison as they effectively benchmarked three different netbooks. Fighting Intel’s corner was an Asus Eee PC 1000HE complete with 1.66GHz N280 Atom CPU. VIA’s representative was the afore-mentioned Samsung NC20 with 1.3GHz Nano U2250 CPU. AMDs benchmarks were conducted by a HP Pavilion dv2, which came with an Athlon Neo 1.6GHz MV-40 processor.

Crave ran three different benchmarking tests and unsurprisingly there was no clear winner, with each CPU winning one test each. Intel’s Atom was the fastest in the multi-tasking test, the VIA Nano won the iTunes encoding test while the AMD won the Jalbum photo-program test. Since this is not an apples-for-apples comparison I would take the results with a pinch of salt. Each netbooks configuration would affect the outcome and they each have different clock speeds. Check out the table after the break. Read more

Asus S121 ‘netbook’ now on sale in Taiwan

Whether a mini-notebook with a 12-inch display can be classified as a netbook is debatable. Asus does not include its 12.1-inch S121 as part of the Eee PC family, unlike its little brother the 10-inch Eee PC S101. What we do have however, is a model that shares similar gorgeous looks and the little touches that highlight the S121 is a premium product. These touches include a very slender form-factor and leather palm rests.

You do have to wonder though whether the S121 is more style than substance. It is only powered by a 1.33GHz Z520 Atom CPU and comes with 1GB RAM and a 160GB hard-disk drive. It also does not use the dual storage system utilised by the S101.

The Asus S121 is now on sale in Taiwan for the equivalent of $799/€605/£545. Obviously quite pricey compared to other netbooks that offer more bang for your buck (Samsung NC10 and the Asus 1000HE spring to mind). However, for those for those that are seriously looking at this luxury ‘netbook’ I would imagine value for money isn’t too high up on the agenda.

Via Fudzilla.

Fingerprint sensors to appear on more netbooks

Fingerprint sensors already appear in quite a few laptops, but so far it is a feature that has remained absent from netbooks. Asus’ first Eee PC with optical drive, the 1004DN is the first netbook to include this technology and according to AuthenTec it won’t be the last. Read more

NbC: Asus Eee PC 1000HE Unboxing

Asus kindly sent us an Eee PC 1000HE to put through its paces. We are hoping to have a full review up in a week or so, but in the meantime we thought we’d share our unboxing of the 1000HE.

We were sent a white model and it certainly looks attractive with its glossy white lid. The 1000HE is almost identical to the 1000H but has a faster CPU (1.66GHz N280 Atom versus the 1.6GHz N270 Atom in the 1000H), a chiclet keyboard and better battery life (9.5 hrs versus 7 hours for the 1000H).

We’ll be doing the full range of battery, HDD and CPU tests that you would expect over the next few days. If there are any questions you’d like answered, feel free to ask away in the comments section and we’ll do our best to answer them. Click through for a full gallery of photos. Read more

Netbook Review Roundup 11/04/2009

Netbook Choice’s roundup of netbook reviews from around the web from Wednesday 8th Aptil to Saturday 11th April 2009.

Acer Aspire One D150 @ blogeee.net

Asus Eee 1000HE @ I4U

Asus Eee 1000HE @ Notebooks.com

Emtec Gdium Liberty 1000 @ Laptop Mag

HP Mini 1000 Mi edition @ CrunchGear

OCZ Neutrino @ Laptop Mag

Samsung NC20 @ Computer Shopper

Samsung NC20 Hands-On @ PC World

Sony Vaio P-series netbook (VGN-P11Z/R) @ bit-tech

Asus Eee PC 1000HE wins Laptop Mag’s Netbook Madness

Over the last few weeks, Laptop Mag has organised a netbook faceoff featuring sixteen netbooks. Two netbooks have competed against each other vying for public votes to ensure it gets through to the next round. The netbook that has now emerged victorious is the Asus Eee PC 1000HE against the runner-up, the Samsung NC10. There wasn’t that much in it, with just over 13,000 votes cast, the 1000HE took 54 percent of the vote compared to 46 percent to the NC10.

This is probably not surprising given that the Asus 1000HE costs a similar amount to the Samsung NC10 whilst having a longer battery life. However, it would be interesting to see how the 1000HE compares against Samsung’s upcoming N110 which Samsung claims will last for 9.5 hours. Click through for a full chart of the final result. Read more

Battery life of 13 netbooks compared, MSI U115 emerges victorious

Netbook vendors and consumers are placing increasing importance on battery lives. We have seen a number of netbooks announced recently from all of the major players (MSI, Samsung, Asus and Acer) who are trying to push longer and longer lasting battery times. To take the headache out of finding out which ones last the longest, Netbook Review has undertaken the arduous task of comparing the battery life of thirteen different netbooks.

Each of the netbooks were tested with the UserBench Battery 2008 benchmark, which involves stress-testing the battery to an absolute maximum. The author claims that the results present a worse-case scenario and should be the bare minimum life expected. The app plays back a WMV video clip with the display and hard drive set to never switch off. Power management was set to “always on”. Read more

Early impressions of Asus Eee PC 1004DN plus indicative pricing

Australia’s PC Authority has managed to get hands-on with the Eee PC 1004DN, Asus’ first netbook with embedded optical drive. Interestingly, they also revealed that the 1004DN has an Australian RRP of AUD1399, the first time we have an idea on pricing. This converts to roughly $995/€750/£680 so it certainly will not be cheap if the 1004DN ends up coming to the US/Europe.

Starting off with the chiclet keyboard, they found the comfort level was good with a good response, despite the rattle of the keys (something which a number of chiclet keyboards suffer with). The same couldn’t be said of the trackpad which they found to be “sticky and unresponsive”. Read more

Asus keeping 8.9-inch netbooks, Acer phasing them out

There was a point earlier in the year when Asus were making noises about phasing out their line of 8.9-inch netbooks. They have now decided to keep them but only for the procurement market according to Digitimes.

Acer, on the other hand, has decided to phase out the 8.9-inch netbook altogether and will focus its attention on 10-inch models. Asus will continue to push 10-inch models to consumers whilst it will target its 7-inch models to telecom partners. Asus also said that Eee PC shipments in Taiwan have doubled since last year, with shipments expected to reach between 16,000 – 17,000 units in April.

In other related news, Asus is planning to release a pink version of the Eee PC 1000HA during Softex Taipei (April 9 – 13). It will also be pushing its luxury netbook, the Eee PC S121.

Asus Eee PC 1008HA netbook hits the FCC

The Asus Eee PC 1008HA is certainly one of the most attractive netbooks due for release soon. The 10-inch netbook is just 1-inch thick and weighs 1.1Kg (2.4lbs). The 1008HA is expected to be launched in the UK this month at a price point of £359. The US launch should follow soon as the 1008HA has now hit the FCC.

There aren’t any test photos (either internal or external) of the 1008HA, the only one I came across showed the bottom of the unit with the label and FCC certification location. What is concerning is that there appears to be a lack of access panels for the HDD and RAM. Also, I can’t seem to make out a removable battery either. I really hope Asus don’t go the way of the Macbook Air with its sealed battery as I’m sure that would be a turn-off for many.

The Eee PC 1008HA has a 10.2-inch LED backlit screen which supports a resolution of 1024 x 600 and is powered by an Intel N280 Atom CPU and 1GB of RAM. It will also come with a 160GB hard-disk drive.

Via Netbook 3G.

Netbook Review Roundup 06/04/2009

Netbook Choice’s roundup of netbook reviews from around the web on Monday 6th April 2009. We have also included a few reviews that popped up over the weekend.

ASUS Eee PC 1000HE @ Future Looks

Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Mini Ui 3520 review @ Cnet UK

HP Compaq Mini 703EA @ Pocket Lint

HP Compaq Mini 703EA netbook – first look review @ What Laptop

HP Mini 2140 @ geek.com

Samsung NC20 @ Cnet

Zoostorm Fizzbook Spin @ What Laptop

Asus Eee PC 1004DN Manual reveals new info

Asus is set to launch its first netbook with optical drive, the Eee PC 1004DN, over the next month. Initial comments from Asus’ PR people in the UK and US suggest that the unit is unlikely to make it to western shores unfortunately. Despite this, the 1004DN remains an interesting netbook even if only to serve a sign of things to come. The manual for the 1004DN recently appeared online and browsing through it revealed some new information about the optical-drive netbook. Read more

Asus Eee PC T91 net tablet passes FCC

Asus upcoming 8.9-inch convertible tablet netbook, the Eee PC T91, has passed through the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). From the official e-filing page there doesn’t seem to be too much information there with just two photos from the documents that I could see. There also seems to be no manual attached either. There is no confirmation as to when this will appear in the US or for what price. According to UK Asus PR, the T91 is expected to appear in the UK in late May/early June for approximately £500.

The Asus T91 features an 8.9-inch (1024 x 600) LED backlit display, 1.33GHz Z520 CPU and 1GB RAM. As well as Windows XP, it will also come with Asus’ Easy Mode software to be used in tablet mode.

Via Netbook 3G.

Asus Eee PC 1000HA refresh sees new chiclet keyboard

A refresh of the 10-inch Asus Eee PC 1000HA is now shipping that comes with a chiclet keyboard as seen in the recently launched Eee PCs such as the 1000HE. Portable Monkey scoured US-tailers to find out that this new 1000HA is only available in black so far. It already appears to be listed in a number of e-tailers including Amazon and ZipZoomFly.

We have heard that Asus only plans to feature chiclet keyboards in future Eee PCs and also looks to be phasing the older style keyboards across their 10-inch Eee range. No word, so far, on whether we will see this 1000HA refresh outside of the US.

Netbook Review Roundup 02/04/2009

Netbook Choice’s roundup of netbook reviews from around the web on Thursday 2nd April 2009.

Acer Aspire One D150 @ GadgetMix

Asus Eee PC 1000HE @ vnunet.com

Quest For Netbook Nirvana: HP Mini 2140 @ Gizmodo Australia

Lenovo IdeaPad S10e @ What Laptop

Samsung NC20 @ Cnet

A Linux Netbook Done The Right Way: the Sylvania g Netbook Meso @ O’Reilly

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