Lenovo Ideapad S12 ION review roundup

Whilst the 12.1-inch Lenovo Ideapad S12 has been around for many months, the ION version was only recently released. Lenovo waited for the launch of Windows 7 before release, which some feel took some of the steam out of its early momentum. Especially as the S12 was the first announced ION netbook, however in the end the HP Mini 311 and Samsung’s N510 launched ahead of it (at least in Europe).

A couple of sites have reviewed the Lenovo S12 ION. Laptop Mag found the graphics performance to be good and the S12 offered a spacious keyboard, bright colourful display and loud speakers. However, it was let down by poor battery life and felt that the HP Mini 311 offered better value for money, as it is both cheaper and lasts for two hours longer. The S12 ION lasted for three hours and forty-five minutes in terms of battery. Read more

Samsung N130 reviewed – poor sibling

Laptop Mag has followed yesterday’s Samsung N140 netbook review with a look at its budget brother, the Samsung N130. The Samsung N130 has an official price point of $349, but can be found cheaper and offers the same keyboard, touchpad and matte display as the N140.

However, that’s where the positive comparisons end. The N130 comes with the weaker 1.6GHz N270 Atom CPU and 4000 mAh 6-cell battery. The N140 came with a 1.66GHz N28 Atom and 5200mAh capacity battery. It is also only equipped with a mono speaker to further differentiate it from the N140 that comes with stereo SRS audio.

The Samsung N130 lasted for four hours and forty-four minutes, this is nearly two hours less than the N140, a significant difference. Laptop Mag suggests spending a bit extra and going for something with a bit more oomph. You can read their full review here.

Samsung N140 reviewed – battery life not class leading

The 10-inch Samsung N140 netbook is the latest incarnation of the best-selling NC10 model. Laptop Mag has published its review of the N140 and it seems to have done the NC10 proud in most respects. However, it is let down by battery life, at least when compared to the competition.

The Samsung N140 lasted for six hours and thirty-two minutes on its 6-cell 5200mAh battery, higher than the average of 5h:21m. Whilst this is certainly respectable, competing models are now starting to deliver significantly higher battery lives. Even the company’s older N110 netbook offered an extra hour of battery life, although it is using a higher capacity 5900mAh battery.

Other (minor) negative points include a glossy lid that is a fingerprint magnet, the touchpad buttons are narrow in use and SD cards stick out from the slot. Apart from that however, the Samsung N140 wins points for its class-leading keyboard, bright matte display, large touchpad, SRS audio, Windows 7, fast CPU and value price point at $399. Click here to check out the full review.

Asus Eee PC 1005HR netbook with HD display tested

The Asus Eee PC 1005HR is pretty much identical to the Eee PC 1005HA apart from the fact that it sports a high-resolution (1366 x 768) display. Peter from Netbooked has his review up of the device and whilst it took time to adjust to the small font-size, Windows can be adjusted to make for a more comfortable experience.

The 1005HR is also quieter over the 1005HA according to Peter. Combine this with a 7-hour battery life, excellent keyboard and multi-gesture touchpad and you have a very capable machine. It’s just a shame it’s only being sold in Japan right now. Click through for the video review. Read more

MSI Wind12 U230 officially launched & reviewed

Details of the 12.1-inch MSI Wind12 U230 ultra-thin already popped up on its official website at the end of last month although the product page was pulled shortly after. MSI has now officially unveiled the Wind12 U230. The model is similar to the U200/U210 models, but comes with Windows 7 and is powered by AMD’s new Congo 1.6GHz dual-core processor.

The company claims that AMD’s new platform consumes 60 percent less power than standard notebooks and offers 4-hours of battery life. It also comes with the AMD RS780MN and SB710 chipsets that support HD and DX10 and ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics. Read more

Acer Aspire Timeline 1810TZ review roundup – great battery life

The number of 11.6-inch CULV-powered ultra-thins coming onto the market is bewildering. No company wants to be left behind in this lucrative segment that sits between netbook and notebook. Acer is attacking this market with a number of models, albeit each with slightly different specs. The Acer Aspire Timeline 1810TZ is powered by a 1.3GHz Pentium dual-core SU4100 processor, 3GB RAM, 250GB HDD and Windows 7 Home Premium.

TrustedReviews reviewed the 1810TZ and came away with positive impressions and scored it 9/10. They even went as far to say that “the 1810TZ is about as close as we’ve ever come to giving a laptop a 10/10.” One of the main things they were most impressed with was that it’s 6-cell 5600mAh battery lasted for an enduring eight hours and 43 minutes. Read more

Toshiba Satellite T115 ultrathin reviewed – worth consideration

The Toshiba Satellite T115 (or T110 as it is known in the UK) is the company’s first CULV-powered 11.6-inch ultra-thin. Just as many companies jumped onto the netbook bandwagon, it looks like we are seeing a glut of 11.6-inch ultra-thins too. This is great news for the consumer, helping to drive competition.

Laptop Mag has its review up of the T115 and found that it delivered better performance than Atom netbooks as well as over 7 hours of battery life. However, compared to the Acer Aspire 1410, it underperforms on most tests whilst costing $80 more. It does have a slightly better battery life but the keyboard is also not as comfortable. Overall, they feel it is still worth a look, but there are other models that offer better value for money. Click through for the main review points. Read more

HP Pavilion dm1 reviewed – solid CULV ultrathin

The HP Pavilion dm1 11.6-inch CULV-powered ultra-thin has seen its first review from Netbooked. It is powered by a dual-core 1.2GHz Intel SU2300 processor that should be able to handle 1080p YouTube video. It wins points for including a solid keyboard, low fan noise, good audio and a battery life of 4.5 hours.

However, on the negative side, the lid is subject to flex, the touchpad doesn’t support multi-touch and has rather stiff touchpad buttons. The model tested also didn’t feature Bluetooth and Wi-Fi draft-n. Click through for the main key review points. Read more

Samsung X120 review roundup – poor battery life

The 11.6-inch Samsung X120 CULV ultra-thin has now seen its first reviews. Despite a short 2.5-hour battery life, Cnet UK claimed it was their favourite 11.6” ultra-thin released so far. The liked its portability, nice screen and comfortable keyboard.

TrustedReviews also reviewed the Samsung X120 and found that it was let down by poor battery life, this is despite being well-designed and having good performance. The mouse buttons are placed on either side of the touchpad that is another minor annoyance. Read more

Nokia Booklet 3G review roundup – let down by slow CPU & HDD

Reviews are starting to trickle out for Nokia’s first entry into the netbook segment. It seems that the Booklet 3G has had a bit of a mixed reception. Yes, it has superb build quality and a long battery life, but most of the negatives mirror our initial take of the device back in early September.

Crunchgear found that the Booklet 3G was too generic and underpowered to be considered a great product. Even in general use, the netbook was laggy when it came to rendering web pages and loading YouTube videos. As this netbook will mainly be sold on contract they also felt it was “folly” to be locked into a contract for 2 years given the lack of power under the hood. Read more

Lenovo Ideapad U150 reviewed – great build quality; 5hr battery

Peter over at Netbooked has put the Lenovo Ideapad U150 ultra-thin through its paces and it seems to be well regarded. The build quality is a step above most netbooks, the keyboard is very comfortable to use, it plays HD Youtube videos and even has a reasonable 5-hour battery life.

Other positives included good audio quality and one of the best touchpads he’s used. There were a few annoyances however, including the placement of Ctrl and Fn keys (a staple of most Lenovo laptops), the 6-cell battery protrudes and it was a little noisy. Check out the key review points after the break. Read more

Acer Aspire 1410 (dual-core) review roundup

A number of sites have posted reviews of the 11.6-inch Acer Aspire 1410 in recent days. Just to be clear, the device reviewed is the recent dual-core Windows 7 refresh, rather than the earlier single-core machine. This SKU features a 1.2GHz Intel Celeron SU2300 processor, 2GB RAM, 160GB HDD and a 6-cell 4400mAH battery.

Along with updated specs, Acer managed to knock $50 of the RRP to $399, which makes it look like an enticing bargain. This a point echoed by Liliputing, who felt that there isn’t “another machine that offers as much as the Aspire 1410 at this price point.” They managed to get around 5 hours out of the battery under normal web use. Read more

Point of View’s 10.2-inch Mobii ION netbook reviewed

Netherlands-based company, Point of View, announced its 10.2-inch Mobii ION netbook around three months ago although it’s been distinctly quiet since. However, Fudzilla has today released one of the first thorough reviews that I’ve seen of this unit. The Mobii ION is currently on sale in Europe for €339, along with one other ION netbook, the 11.6-inch Samsung N510.

The Mobii ION was recommended for its good looks (it comes in a number of bright colours), build quality and it stood tall against a number of gaming and HD video tests. 1080p HD playback was possible via the HDMI port and Call of Duty 4 managed 25fps at low resolutions. One of the few points against it was poor European availability and a small keyboard/display versus the larger Samsung N510. Check out the key review points after the break. Read more

NbC: Universal 7″ to 13″ Netbook Car Mount Review

The netbook form-factor has taken off for a number of reasons, this includes its value price offering, long battery life and compact chassis. For these reasons, many people take their netbooks on the move when a laptop just wouldn’t be practical. Whilst this most often means carrying a netbook in a rucksack, the use in cars is set to become more prevalent going forward.

Whilst some may question the need for netbooks in cars, it can be handy for business people looking to respond to emails and one can also use them as a portable media player. Also, whilst GPS in netbooks is still few and far between, the emergence of smartbooks next year will see GPS functionality as standard in these devices. Ultimate-Netbook is looking to tap into this market by selling one of the few netbook car mounts on the market. Read more

Sony Vaio X 11.1” ultra-portable reviewed

For those amongst you who can afford the astronomical £1,299 asking (base) price for the Sony Vaio X, then you’ll be interested to hear that T3 has published its review of the ultraportable. All of the marketing that I’ve seen from Sony UK has this device targeted to business users and it seems that they will value its tiny dimensions and featherweight chassis.

T3 felt it was an amazing bit of engineering married with a graceful design. It wasn’t all roses though as the thin frame is subject to flex and the keys on the keyboard have very little travel, along with the mouse buttons. The 2GHz Z550 Atom processor is good enough for most Office tasks. However, with an excellent 11.1-inch display and a premium carbon fibre shell you’d certainly have bragging rights by carrying this under your arm. Check out the key review points after the jump. Read more

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