Dell Mini 10 Specifications:

• Processor: 1.66-GHz Intel Atom N450
• OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Starter Edition
• RAM: 1GB DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz
• HDD: 250GB at 5400 RPM
• Screen: 10.1-inch Glossy 1024×600
• Graphics: Intel GMA 3150
• Wireless: WiFi 802.11b/g | Bluetooth v2.1
• Battery: 6-cell Lithium-Ion
• Card Reader: 3-in-one supported
• Size: 10.5 (W) x 7.7 (L) x 1.3 (D) inches
• Approximate Weight: 3.0 pounds

Design & Hardware
The new Dell Mini 10 is a completely new take on preceding models. It features an unusual clam-shell design with a display lid that doesn’t entirely cover the base. While Dell offers the Mini 10 in various colors including black, blue, green, pink, purple and red, the internal keyboard area and undercarriage remain black and white, respectively. Only the back of the display gets the paint job. Weighing in at about 3 pounds with a six cell battery, the Inspiron Mini 10 is beginning to lose its “netbook” title. It is about 1.5 inches wider and one inch longer than the older Dell Mini 9, which is a significantly larger footprint. With that being said, Dell deserves credit for building a visually appealing product that’s also durable and robust. The entire frame has minimal flex with help from the nearly uni-body design. And despite a glossy finish, the plastic body hides fingerprints easily, keeping the netbook looking brand new.

Opening the Dell Mini 10 lid reveals the 10.1 inch display, a webcam, a keyboard and touchpad. The palm rest and surroundings, which extend to the “butt” of the device, feature a quilted pattern design. There are two LED indicators on the left lip for power status and HDD activity. The left side of the netbook features a VGA port, two USB ports, and a multi-card reader with a pre-installed dust saver. Moving over to the right side, the netbook has a headphone jack, microphone in, another USB port, and an Ethernet port. Finally the power port is off to the right on the back side. For the most part, it’s a fairly common configuration for netbooks. There are no special features such as a HDMI port or a TV tuner on this particular model.

On another note, I do have to mention that Dell did somewhat “cheat” on the Mini 10′s design. One of the largest complains from customers and reviewers is the bulge that comes with an extended battery pack. It generally ruins the aesthetics and shape of a netbook or laptop. However, with the Dell Mini 10, there is no change in size between a 3-cell or a 6-cell configuration. That’s because the “butt” sticks out irrespective whether or not an extended battery is inside. While the device maintains a clean-slated design with an extended battery, it does pack unnecessary volume for customers who opt for the cheaper 3-cell battery.

Keyboard & Touchpad
Netbooks have become known for condensed and cramped keyboards. Apple’s CEO, Steve Jobs, claims this is a reason why people are turning to tablets such as the iPad. After having a hard time getting accustomed my Dell Mini 9 when I first purchased it, I would have had to agree. However, Dell has entirely revamped the previous issues and churned out a fully functional keyboard on this model. Unlike the Mini 9, which lacked a functions key row, the Mini 10 has all the bare essentials. Keys are evenly spaced and aren’t awkwardly sized. For the first time with netbook, I was able to immediately type comfortably and quickly. There wasn’t a learning curve to get accustomed to a new arrangement, and typing felt natural. Each key-press offers enough tactile feedback to reaffirm a click. Secondary function keys even offer quick access to wireless settings, battery status, display brightness, and volume controls. The entire typing experience is the best I’ve had with a netbook keyboard. I can easily write an essay, chat, or even blog from my netbook, practically.

While the keyboard was wonderful, the situation with the touchpad is rather tragic. Dell tried to increase the surface area by embedding the left and right-click keys into the trackpad, which turns out to be a serous mistake. The actual “click-able” area for those keys is now limited to only the bottom corners. A traditional physical key arrangement would have been more practical. A larger touchpad general makes for a great environment for multi-touch gestures, but Dell unfortunately didn’t include the necessary software on this model. But the most prominent issue remains the left/right click buttons. Since these are above the touch sensitive trackpad, performing a physical clicking often results with the cursor jumping away. I found myself to using the old-fashion double-tap-to-click feature and making best with using the physical right-click key when needed. While Dell had the right idea for expanding the usable trackpad area, dropping physical keys won’t play well with all users.

The Display
While the Inspiron Mini 10 unit Dell sent Skatter Tech featured a 1024-by-600 pixel 10.1 inch LCD display, a higher resolution configuration option for 1366-by-768 pixels is also available. Our unit’s screen was bright and crisp with great horizontal viewing angles. There was minimal discoloration and washout even when seen from nearly a 180 degree angle. This makes the Mini 10 great for sharing videos with friends sitting beside you. On the other hand, vertical viewing angles weren’t nearly as great and the picture began to appear distorted past just 20 degrees. For the most part, reading text, viewing images, and watching videos wasn’t a problem in doors. Visibility becomes a larger issue under direct sunlight due to a glossy screen, but that’s a problem with just about every laptop.

Speakers and Headphones
Most netbooks I’ve owned or reviewed have generally had poor audio quality. The speakers were often cramped into awkward places such as under a keyboard, on the bottom or elsewhere to compensate for a lack of space. The Dell Mini 10, on the other hand, rocks out with an excellent set of stereo speakers, which are found under the lip on the front of the unit. Audio gets loud enough to watch videos when cooking, traveling in the back seat of a car, or just relaxing in bed. Keep in mind, audio sounds muffled if placed on a bed or sofa instead of a solid desk. The speakers somewhat lack on bass, which may be an issue for some genres of music, but they still produce highs articulately and crisply. Plugging in a pair of decent headphones only offers a superior listening experience.

Webcam and Microphone
The Mini 10′s webcam is by no means spectacular. It features a 1.3 megapixel webcam which is the standard for most netbooks. I put the webcam to the test with Skype 4.2, which supports HD-like video quality. As with most webcams, the Mini 10 struggled to perform well in low-light situations. Adjusting the brightness settings and adding additional light to my room solved the problem. Making out faces and expressions isn’t too difficult, but it’s not particularly great. An improved imaging sensor in a future iteration would be a welcome addition. That’s especially essential since video chat is becoming a larger part of our everyday lives. As for the microphone quality, it gets the job done for casual conversations. Programs such as Skype detect and select it automatically. People on the other end of the call could hear me clearly without any issues. If you want a better audio, you can always plug in a USB microphone or an analog one into the line-in port.

Performance
The Mini 10 sports the latest Pine Trail 1.66 GHz Intel Atom N450 CPU along with 1GB of RAM. It has an edge over the last generation of netbooks running on the Intel Atom N270 processor. Although improvements aren’t easily noticable when it comes to launch programs like Firefox, Skype, or Trillian, benchmarks do show better numbers. The wPrime 32 test took 126 seconds on the Mini 10 while it took 132 seconds on the Mini 9. With 1GB of RAM and a 250GB 5400RPM RPM HDD, the netbook booted into Windows 7 Starter Edition in about a minute and 30 seconds. It unfortunately took about a half-minute longer to reach the desktop than the Mini 9 with a Solid State Drive. On the other hand, the Mini 10 excelled when it came to read and write speeds. Regular file transfer operations copied a 1GB video podcast file at a rate of 22 MB/s. When it came to watching a live TV stream from SlingBox or an episode on Hulu, performance actually kept stable for the most part. There were a few occasional stutters, but it was an overall better experience than with other netbooks. A $30 Crystal HD Broadcom Media Accelerator upgrade, which wasn’t included in our review unit, is now available and should offer a vastly improved multimedia experience.

Battery Life
If there’s one predominately important feature for netbooks, it’s the battery life. The Dell Mini 10 easily exceeds expectations. I was able to squeeze about 9 hours on average out of the 6-cell battery pack. My usage generally consisted of typing on Microsoft Word and browsing the web. I also often had Skype running for instant messaging. Battery life does see a significant impact when watching Adobe Flash videos, heavily multitasking, or running resource intensive programs. For my kind of usage, though, the netbook lasts me through an entire day. I had the unit on me during my trip to Google I/O 2010 and WordCamp 2010. Although I carried the power adapter with me, I realized that I wouldn’t have to scavenge for a power outlet if started the day with a full charge. In comparison, the Mini 10 offers an edge of about 4 hours of additional runtime over the brand new Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3t and the now-outdated Dell Mini 9.

Included Software
I’m getting sick of bloatware and customers are too. Dell tries their best to cut costs for consumers by slapping unnecessary applications onto laptops, but it’s a serious mistake. While Skatter Tech readers, who are generally somewhat geeky, will simply start fresh with a clean install, the average buyer won’t know how. The included bloatware on the machine severely degrades battery life and makes for an unusable computing experience. My machine came pre-installed with a ridiculous number of programs including a Dell Dock, Cozi Calendar, GoToAssist, McAfee SecurityCenter, Microsoft Office Trial, Microsoft Works, Live Essentials, and a few more. Some of these, such as the extra dock program, are just simply unnecessary with the Windows 7 taskbar. And programs such as McAfee, brought the netbooks CPU to a grinding halt. My first experience with the Mini 10 left a bad taste in mouth since it would take a painstakingly longtime just to open a file browser or even Internet Explorer. Although I solved the problem by removing some programs, Dell needs to clean up their custom OS distribution. A jump up from Windows 7 Starter Edition would be nice too.

The Bottom Line
I’ve owned an Acer Aspire One, an Asus Eee PC, and a Dell Mini 9 since netbooks first made their debut. I’ve also tested a Lenovo, Sony, and a few other brand-name netbooks, but the Dell Inspiron Mini 10 became my instant favorite. Aside from a few complains about it being a bit bulkier than the average netbook and having a less than phenomenal touchpad, it’s one of the best netbooks I’ve come across. Issues such as bloatware aren’t limited only to Dell, most laptops come with the same issue. When it comes down to it, the Dell’s netbook offers an amazing 9-hour battery life and even has a visually appeal form factor. With an excellent display for multimedia, a quality set of stereo speakers for tunes, and a great keyboard for typing away, the Mini 10 has all the bare essentials. The netbook doesn’t falter on performance either. The starting price of just $299 for the base model is attractive too. If you are looking for netbook with great battery life at an affordable price, you can’t go wrong with the Dell Inspiron Mini 10.

Buy: $309 for Mini 10 on Amazon
Links: Dell.com Inspiron Mini 10

The Specifications:

• Processor: 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270
• OS: Windows XP Home with SP3
• RAM: 1GB DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz
• Screen: 10.1-inch LED Glossy 1024×600
• HDD: 160GB at 5400RPM
• Video: Intel GMA 950
• Wireless: WiFi 802.11b/g
• Battery: 6-cell Lithium-Ion
• Card Reader: 4-in-1
• Ports: 3x USB, VGA, Ethernet
• Weight: 2.65 lbs with 6-cell

The Hardware – 4/5 stars
When consumers generally think of Lenovo, they imagine an ugly business-oriented machine with that infamous red-stub mouse. That’s no longer the case when it comes to Lenovo’s new lineup of IdeaPad Netbooks. The black edition we received features rounded edges and a glossy finish that evokes friendlier feelings. Plus, with an artistic pattern on the lid, it’s clear that the IdeaPad appeals to the mass consumer market. Opening the lid has a smooth motion that reveals a simple inner layout. The power button and mouse keys have a sliver finish offering a sharp contrast from the black body. There’s three stickers representing Intel Atom, Windows XP, and Dolby Audio that I would have removed immediately for a cleaner look if this wasn’t a review unit.

For the most part, weight is evenly distributed throughout the body. Unfortunately, the 6-cell battery offsets the balance towards the back of the unit. I generally despise any unit that has an accessory that departs from the general aesthetics and style of a gadget. Fortunately the 6-cell battery isn’t required, but rather is an upgrade from the 3-cell that sits flush with the casing. The extended battery also raises the netbook at an angle making it appealing for typing on a desk, however it ends up causing discomfort when on your lap. Plus, the bulging battery is always an awkward fit in backpacks, cases, or sleeves.

I generally would complain about the glossy finish since it’s a fingerprint nightmare, however that’s the trend just about every gadget manufacturer has taken. The chassis of the IdeaPad S10-2 is quite robust. It’s definitely heavier than the Dell Mini 9, but seems stronger and definitely won’t warp under pressure. I found the “feet” on the bottom and sides of the netbook a bit obtrusive and rugged. With some tweaks, the IdeaPad could have been as clean of a design as the Dell Mini 9. I was also glad that Lenovo kindly offers easy-access to replace or upgrade hardware components such as the RAM and Hard Drive which are hidden under two screwed in panels on the bottom. Overall, it’s a great layout and from what I’ve seen at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this month, the IdeaPad S10-3 only gets better.

Connectivity – 5/5 stars
The S10-2 netbook offers a standard set of ports that are found on most netbooks. There’s a total of three USB ports: one on the left and two on the right side. That’s a great idea to prevent too many cables from cluttering a single side. Ethernet and VGA connectors are on the left side along with a line in for microphones and line out for headphones. On the front there are some standard LED indicators and a 4-in-1 reader that supports cards including Secure Digital (SD) and Memory Stick (MS). The AC power connector, Kensington lock, and WiFi switch are on the right side. The IdeaPad is completely on par with most netbooks on the market, there aren’t any extras or anything missing.

Keyboard & Touchpad – 2.5/5 stars
I wasn’t exactly too impressed with the keyboard and touchpad. While it’s expected that a smaller body requires reducing the size of keys, there are some issues that are worth mentioning. Lenovo decided to take a regular keyboard and shrink it proportionally until it fits on this 10-inch netbook’s body. This makes typing especially difficult for those coming from a regular keyboard and for those with large hands. I should also mention that Lenovo laptop keyboards interchange the “Fn” and “Ctrl” keys, which may take some getting used for those who aren’t familiar with their ThinkPad products. (You can apparently tweak that setting in the BIOS to switch the functionality.)

Dell, for example, tried to keep the keys as large as possible on the Dell Mini 9, but ended up running out of space and removing the entire function key row. That was a diaster for Dell, but they fortunately took a fresh approach on the new Mini 10 netbook with a keyboard that runs nearly edge-to-edge with the frame. Lenovo seems to have struggled on this S10-2 netbook, but has cleaned up their act on the new S10-3 model which features a 98% full-size keyboard. Other than those layout quirks, the keyboard does offer a quality feel and it’s still comfortable to use once you figure out where the keys are. There’s a decent amount of tactile force feedback which is an important aspect of a great typing experience.

I am also disappointed to say that I found myself frustrated with the touchpad. Even I’m aware that this is a small device, the touchpad simply seems too small. Even the Dell Mini 9, which has a frame that’s an inch smaller than the IdeaPad S10-2, sports a larger touchpad. I often felt constrained and ran into the small raised border surrounding the touchpad when making quick movements. There’s support for the pinch multi-touch gesture to zoom in or out, which is an appreciated addition. The dedicated scroll region unfortunately limits the area available for regular movements even further. Implementing a two finger scroll could potentially have saved some space. The left and right-click keys were thankfully the best part of the touchpad area. They offer a nice quick click for feedback when pressed. Both the keys are large enough for regular use and are easily accessible. Lenovo should have allocated more space for the touchpad as they have with the new IdeaPad S10-3.

Display – 3/5 stars
The display on the IdeaPad S10-2 isn’t too extraordinary. It’s an average 10.1 inch glossy screen with LED back-lighting running at a 1024 x 600 resolution. There’s nothing that truly sets it apart from other netbook screens. The display is recessed into the casing with a thick surrounding bezel. Most new laptops and netbooks manufacturers are opting for the cleaner look of an edge-to-edge display with a single piece of glass. Although this display is glossy, it isn’t too difficult to use in bright rooms, but will almost always look dull under direct sunlight. The blacks are also brought out further due to the glossy screen. If you look closely, the grid-line appearance of the pixel arrangement is more noticeable than on other displays. The viewing angles are not a problem if the IdePad is on your lap or on a table directly in front of you. However, the colors quickly begin to deteriorate if the screen is tilted forwards or backwards. Fortunately, horizontal viewing angles are good enough to accommodate a person sitting besides you.

Speakers – 2.5/5 stars
As with most netbooks which are tight on space, the speakers on the IdeaPad are into a poor location. Instead of facing the user, the speakers are currently pointing downwards. Everything sounds muffled if the netbook is on your lap, on a bed, or a sofa. However, it wasn’t much of a problem if it’s on a desk since the netbook’s “feet” create enough of a gap. But the speakers could have definitely been outfitted in a better location. There’s nothing spectacular about the audio quality and the midrange is mediocre, but it’s not a problem for enjoying Hulu, YouTube, and other web video content. They get loud enough and get the job done. The audio card is decent and if you plugin a decent pair of headphones, everything sounds vastly better. Plus, you won’t be disturbing others either.

Webcam & Microphone – 3/5 stars
There’s no better way to put a webcam and microphone to the test without using Skype. I opted to use the 4.2 beta version that supports HD-like video quality. Although this laptop only has an underpowered .3 megapixel resolution camera, I hoped to stream some quality video. Unfortunately, I found myself quite disappointed with the quality. Images were dark, grainy, and pixelated even in a bright room. It’s definitely a problem if you can’t make out a face easily. After using this, I couldn’t possibly appreciate that improvements a decent 1.3 megapixel camera offers more. As for the microphone, it was actually fairly clear for conversations. If you want a better microphone, you can always plugin either a USB microphone or an analog one into the line-in port. But for the most part, the microphone will do just fine for having a voice conversation with someone from a quiet office setting.

The IdeaPad S10-2 also came with a VeriFace facial recognition login security software. I programmed it to myself to give it a run. Although I had never tried it, I was quite impressed with the convince factor. Just sit in front of the laptop and it jumps past the Windows XP sign-on screen in just a few seconds. To test it further, I had a few friends try their faces in place of mine. I’m Indian and I was glad to see that the software immediately dismissed all three friends who were Vietnamese, Palestinian, and Caucasian respectively. I then had another Indian friend try logging in and after a few failed attempts, it randomly decided to let him in. We attempted to reproduce the occurrence, but weren’t able to do so. While VeriFace was convenient, I don’t know all the details on the platform’s security precautions and I feel we should probably give this technology some more time in the oven.

Operating System – 3/5 stars
When the IdeaPad S10-2 came in from Lenovo, it furnished a bloated version of Windows XP Home. There were nearly 55 processes running and it was a mess. Some of these apps included an older version of Symantec Anti-Virus, a trial version of Microsoft Office, MSN Messenger, some browser toolbars, and a few often unused Adobe programs. A clean install of the same operating system on a netbook generally has about 30 processes running at startup with drivers and essential programs installed. For an experiment, I opted to install Windows 7 Professional for further tests. It installed surprisingly quickly and worked seamlessly. Just about all the drivers were automatically configured. Although the Windows Index Rating was a minimal 2.0, it still managed to run Aero for translucency and effects. Surprisingly, even Windows Media Center 7 ran fairly well. The largest downside of Windows 7 is RAM consumption, nearly using twice as much as XP, there’s not much left over for programs. I would highly recommend stripping out the 1GB dimm and upgrading to 2GB if you want to run Windows 7. For the most part, Windows XP still works great for netbooks and should be able to accommodate the average user’s needs. Although manufacturers are loading Windows 7 Starter on new netbooks, I would have been happy to use XP on this netbook if it weren’t filled with nearly as much bloatware. Lenovo should consider the toll bloatware takes on a netbook’s performance and battery life.

Performance – 4/5 stars
The IdeaPad S10-2 performs on par with most netbooks on the market. The lack of a SSD might make it take slightly longer for startup or shutdown, but it was still faster at both than my Dell XPS M1530. The laptop recovers from standby in just a second or two at max. Firefox played fairly well, but would often freeze up while the CPU catches up if I had too many tabs open. The currently stable version of Adobe Flash doesn’t have GPU acceleration so 480p Hulu videos were often hard for the netbook to digest. It would begin to jitter for a few seconds every few minutes. Although programs like VLC were able to handle playing large video files smoothly, the laptop really can’t handle Full HD 1080p content yet. However this netbook works great for word processing, web browsing, and a lightweight entertainment.

In terms of raw performance, the Atom N270 processor performed on par with just about all the other netbooks we’ve tested using the same CPU. See the image above for numbers. To my surprise, the 160GB 5400RPM hard drive was faster than the 200GB 7200RPM one in my Dell XPS M1530, so no complains there. The device did begin to get somewhat warm near the HDD when stressing it with resource intensive applications, however wasn’t anywhere close to being unbearable. That fan is to take credit for that and thankfully it was fairly silent as well. Some netbooks I’ve tested have gotten awful warm and become difficult to hold.

Battery Life – 5/5 stars
I was quite impressed with how long this laptop would keep running for. With Windows 7, I achieved a little over 6 hours with brightness lowered to about 25%, volume off, and WiFi on. I spend most of the time typing documents and browsing the web. I also achieved close to the same amount when I took this along with me to the Consumer Electronics Show to live-blog a few press conference using a Sprint 4G USB modem. I should mention that the original operating system, Windows XP, offered even more efficiency clocking in at 7 hours. In contrast, my Dell Mini 9 with a 4-cell battery only offers about 4 hours of battery life. If you plan to watch a CPU intensive flash video on Hulu or heavily multitask, the 6-7 hour run-time is not realistic. But for the most part, the 6-cell 47WHr battery is quite impressive. As the next generation of netbooks are beginning to reach the 10 hour mark, I couldn’t be more excited. However, I’m still turned off by the fact that this battery obtrudes from the shape and design of the IdeaPad S10-2.

Bottom Line
A netbook is by no means a replacement to a full computer. The IdeaPad S10-2 is a great complement for students to take notes in class, for business users to take on trips, and for young children to play around. I was quite satisfied with the style, durability, and quality of this netbook. With a superb battery life, you won’t be disappointed or looking for an outlet on those long commutes or trips. While the extended battery is a bit obtrusive, the benefits of the added run time outweigh the bulk. I was upset to find excessive bloatware and would highly recommend performing a clean install with the latest drivers and programs. The IdeaPad S10-2 price starts at just $330 through Lenovo.com and the specific configuration we reviewed is available for $300 on Amazon. The laptop is available in a few colors: Grey, Black, White, Pink and designer covers. Upgrades including a boost to Windows 7 Starter, a slightly faster CPU, Bluetooth, and a few other features are available. When it comes down to it, if you need a laptop that’s compact, affordable, and durable, you won’t go wrong with Lenovo’s IdeaPad S10-2.

Buy: IdeaPad S10-2 Netbook
Links: Lenovo.com IdeaPad S10-2

In addition to the new Atom processor, the 2010 refresh of Mini 10 claims up to 9.5 hours of battery life (6-cell), a new Broadcom HD media accelerator, surround sound, an optional built-in HDTV tuner, Bluetooth, and  WiFi with a GPS module. The Mini 10 is also available with Mobile Broadband as well. The current lineup looks like it will be available in 6 colors: Blue, Red, Pink, Green, Black and White.

Dell Inspiron Mini 10 Specs:

• Processor: Intel Intel Atom N450 @ 1.66 GHz
• Display: 10.1-inch 1024×600 or ‘HD’ 1366×768
• Sound: Built-in speakers with SRS Surround sound
• Extras: HDTV tuner and location-aware GPS
• Media: Broadcom Crystal HD for smooth HD playback
• Wireless: WiFi b/g + Bluetooth + Mobile Broadband
• RAM: 1GB DDR2 @ 800MHz
• Storage: 160GB or 250GB HDD
• Battery: 3 or 6-cell integrated with up to 9.5 hours
• OS: Windows 7 Starter, XP Home, or Ubuntu
• Weight: About 2.75 – 3.1 pounds (with 3-cell batter)

As Dell expects the starting price to begin at just $299, these should be a big hit. It might be time for me to upgrade my Dell Mini 9 soon. In addition, just about every other laptop maker should have a new iteration of their lineup freshly packed with the Intel Atom N450 available at some point next month. We’re publishing a few reviews of the Netbooks in the coming week. Plus, we’ll be on the show floor of the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2010 bringing you the latest.

Link: Dell.com | Netbook Gift Guide

Best Battery Life: Asus Eee PC (1005HA-EU1X)

One of the early companies to debut with the popular netbook market was ASUS and for the amount of time they have gained quite some experience in terms of their hardware designs and innovations. Enter: the Eee 10.1″ model available to customers in a spacious 160gb hdd. The display is a 1024×600 resolution WSVGA made for more ease in viewing your content. The core specs are similar to most other netbooks out on the market but perhaps what makes this netbook so popular today is the lightweight and professional looking design. The newly revamped keyboard is a great example of how far along their lineup of netbooks has come. This one also boasts a whopping 10.5 hr battery life!

Buy: Asus Eee PC 1005HA for $330

The Basics: MSI Wind (U123-003US)

Another early contender in the market of netbooks is MSI with their lineup of mobile notebooks dubbed ‘Wind.’ These attractive netbooks are not only easy on the eyes but also easy on the hassle. According to customer ratings and reviews, this piece of hardware runs spry thanks to its 1.66 gHZ processor and 667 onboard memory. Also attractive this option is the crystal clear display measuring 10.2″ and the more powerful Intel GMA 950 graphics. Should be getting plenty of mileage as well with 9-cell lithium battery and you even get a protective case to boot.

Buy: MSI Wind U123 for $380

Well Rounded: Samsung (N110-12PBK)

Samsung has seemingly been slow to adopt into the world of netbooks but I guess with time and patience you get the right product out into the world. The design is solid and its internal hardware is highlighted with Intel’s GMA 950 for video and 160gb hard drive  for storage. Also included in this tidy little notebook is Bluetooth support. Screen sizes in at 10.1″ making good use of the more capable graphics card. Runs Windows XP like a champ.

Buy: Samsung N110 for $375

Mid-Range: Acer Aspire (751h)

Arguably the brand that has been seeing a lot of market share in recent years is the Taiwan based Acer. Known for its affordable machines without sacrificing an arm and a leg, the public is now treated to one of their latest entries into the netbook coliseum. After many revisions, the Acer Aspire is now a lean mean fighting machine. Updated with the 11.6″ size screen capable of doing 1366 x 768 resolution (720p) this easily sits higher up on the food chain in the netbook world. The brilliant screen is not put to waste as it also is outfitted with an HDMI port for the greatest HD experience on the go. Plus with HD audio and support for up to a total 4GB memory you start see a blurring in the line between netbook and notebook. But staying true to its nature this fella weighs in at just 3 lbs!

Buy: Acer Aspire 751H for $390

Sweet Design: Toshiba (NB205-N310)

Also a newer brand to deliver on the netbook market is Toshiba. They already have a good reputation for making well priced and reliable notebooks so it’s not surprising that they deliver on a well made netbook. This particular model boasts a 10.1″ screen with a nice crisp 1024×600 resolution. Perhaps the most distinguishing of this netbook is the elegant design. The row of indicators light up to tell you what services you have on. The card reader is placed in the front instead on the side. The keyboard is spaced well and large enough for those with larger hands to type comfortably (as comfortably as you could on a netbook). I particularly found the raised keys on the keyboard to be a pretty aesthetically pleasing. The NB205 series are preloaded with Windows 7 starter and pack a larger 250gb hard drive that will be sure to keep the media users happy.

Buy: Toshiba NB205 for $309

Specs Master: Gateway EC Series (EC1435u)

Gateway continues to keep me interested in their latest lineups especially with their entry into netbook production. This model in particular goes head-to-head with the  Acer Aspire matching its screen size of 11.6″. It weighs in light as well and reviews have cited it to run quiet without too much fan noise. The touchpad is multi gestured and it feels nicer and more responsive than the Aspire. The operating system that does come preloaded is Windows 7 Home Premium64-bit. Max 4 GB memory capacity, 160 gb hard drive, 1x HDMI port, and 1.2ghz celeron processor.

Buy: Gateway EC1430 for $550

Best Graphics: HP Mini (311-1000NR)

HP is perhaps the leader in affordable and reliable computers and with their inclusion of a netbook lineup you can probably expect to see the same treatment. This time around it boasts a look slightly more synonymous with their full-sized notebooks and overall taking on a sturdier look (it shows in the weight slightly higher than the rest). It boasts Nvidia’s ION Le graphics solution and handles your higher quality video with less hassle and interruption. This paired with the bright 720p screen will make your media playback all more enjoyable. Battery life is also good, rated at around 6+ hours.

Buy: HP Mini 311 for $450

Tips the Scale: Lenovo IdeaPad (S12)

The Lenovo IdeaPad is pretty much a skinny-fat. It’s still marketed as a netbook however its screen size is 12″ (1024×800 resolution) and weighs roughly 3.4 lbs.  It is chock full of all the features you can find in the other netbooks out there. It sports the classic IdeaPad look  on the outside with a full-sized keyboard and a functional touchpad. Underneath the hood you’ll find a capable Nvidia ION chipset and 2gb RAM to power all your netbook endeavours. Comes preloaded Windows 7 32bit. If you’re looking to get the most out of your netbook hardware, look no further this one fits the bill!

Buy: Lenovo IdeaPad S12 for $435

This is a part of our ongoing Skatter Tech Holiday Gift Guides.

An average brand-name Netbook (e.g. Dell, HP) with a standard 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor and 1GB of RAM costs about $300. Cell Phone carriers including AT&T and Verizon now offer subsidized Netbooks with a 3G Wireless Broadband card built in. So the big question: “Is it worth purchasing a Netbook with a contract?” The simple answer is NO.

For example, let’s take a look at the HP Mini 110. It retails for about $300 excluding tax straight from HP.com. Verizon Wireless offers the same configuration of the Mini 110 for a subsidized price of $150. Half-off seems like a great deal, but it’s not. First there’s a $35 activation fee. Next you’ll have to sign-up for a data plan that costs $60 per month for just 5GB of data. I should note that there’s also a $40/month data plan that offers just 250MB of data. Considering that I feel 5GB itself is too little, 250MB is just ridiculous. Plus there’s also a 2-year contract associated with the device. To get out, you’ll have to pay the $175 early termination fee. So if you add that up here’s what you get:

$150 (HP Mini 110) + $35 (Activation Fee) + $1440 (5GB Plan, $60 x 24 Months) = $1625.

Keep in mind that I didn’t include tax either. That’s nearly the cost of a fairly high-end Dell XPS laptop or MacBook Pro. Although Netbooks are a great tool, it’s not a good idea to spend that much for one and be stuck with it for two years. The technology is evolving and new models that run faster and longer keep coming out. Dual Core Atom processors are probably going to hit Netbooks within the next few months. Your Netbook will be outdated in no time. Unless you need a computer with 3G Broadband at all times, it might be better just to use hotspots when you need access. If you decide to upgrade your netbook every year, you can do so and still end up paying less than half of what a contracted Netbook costs. If you really need broadband on the go, either try to add a tethering plan to your current phone, grab a MiFi that works with multiple devices, or a separate 3G USB Modem.

Links: AT&T Netbooks | Verizon Netbooks