Kev
06-11-2009, 07:03 PM
I finally got round to upgrading my HP 2133 today. The HP 2133 was a good little netbook. It was slow qand video was terrible but it was solid and once it was up and running, wasn't too bad of a machine.
I've watching the developments of netbooks in the last few months and I decided to upgrade. I looked at a lot of machines including the Eee 1000HE (with it's 9 hour battery), the Samsung NC101 and many other alternatives.
The thing is, at the moment just about every netbook as the same spec. Same intel chipset, same 1GB of ram, same 160GB hard drive, same 10.2" screen, etc.
However, a few days ago I came across the Asus N10J, a machine that Asus decided not to include in their Eee branding and is instead branding it as a fully functional laptop.
http://www.electricbandits.com/picture.php?albumid=4&pictureid=34
Although the N10J has the older Atom N270 processor instead of the slightly better N280, it boasts a lot of improvements over other netbooks currently available. The main one being a dedicated graphics chip - yep, this tiny laptop, with a 10.2" screen boasts a normal integrated graphics chip and a Nvidia 9300M GS with with 256MG VRAM. There is a switch to change between either graphics chip, which means you can use the weaker one when you want to conserve battery.
In addition it has
* 3 USB ports
* One HDMI Slot
* VGA port
* 10.2" screen
* 2GB Ram
* 250GB Hard Drive (5400 RPM)
* Windows Vista Business with the option to downgrade to Windows XP Professional
* Fingerprint reader
* Face recognition login utlity
* Draft N wireless
* 1.3MP Webcam
* Bluetooth
* ExpressCard
* 6 cell battery
* 8 in 1 card reader
At 1.4kg, it is slightly heavier than some other netbooks out there but it is still light. Plus, it's battery is between 4-5 hours, much less than the 9.5 hours that the Eeee 1000HE apparently has. However, for me, battery was never a deal breaker.
An added bonus is the ability yo boot up to linux in 6 seconds. This enables you to quickly browse the web, manage files or use skype without having to boot vista or xp up.
I ordered mine today from CCL Online (http://www.cclonline.com/product-info.asp?product_id=28792&tid=frooct) for around £486 (that includes next day delivery). It also comes with a carry case, mouse and an external dvd writer. Even though most other books cost around £300 in the UK at the moment, for what you get in this (larger hard drive, more ram, HDMI, graphics chip etc), I think it's great value for money.
It arrives tomorrow morning so I will let you all know what it's like in a few days :)
Kevin
I've watching the developments of netbooks in the last few months and I decided to upgrade. I looked at a lot of machines including the Eee 1000HE (with it's 9 hour battery), the Samsung NC101 and many other alternatives.
The thing is, at the moment just about every netbook as the same spec. Same intel chipset, same 1GB of ram, same 160GB hard drive, same 10.2" screen, etc.
However, a few days ago I came across the Asus N10J, a machine that Asus decided not to include in their Eee branding and is instead branding it as a fully functional laptop.
http://www.electricbandits.com/picture.php?albumid=4&pictureid=34
Although the N10J has the older Atom N270 processor instead of the slightly better N280, it boasts a lot of improvements over other netbooks currently available. The main one being a dedicated graphics chip - yep, this tiny laptop, with a 10.2" screen boasts a normal integrated graphics chip and a Nvidia 9300M GS with with 256MG VRAM. There is a switch to change between either graphics chip, which means you can use the weaker one when you want to conserve battery.
In addition it has
* 3 USB ports
* One HDMI Slot
* VGA port
* 10.2" screen
* 2GB Ram
* 250GB Hard Drive (5400 RPM)
* Windows Vista Business with the option to downgrade to Windows XP Professional
* Fingerprint reader
* Face recognition login utlity
* Draft N wireless
* 1.3MP Webcam
* Bluetooth
* ExpressCard
* 6 cell battery
* 8 in 1 card reader
At 1.4kg, it is slightly heavier than some other netbooks out there but it is still light. Plus, it's battery is between 4-5 hours, much less than the 9.5 hours that the Eeee 1000HE apparently has. However, for me, battery was never a deal breaker.
An added bonus is the ability yo boot up to linux in 6 seconds. This enables you to quickly browse the web, manage files or use skype without having to boot vista or xp up.
I ordered mine today from CCL Online (http://www.cclonline.com/product-info.asp?product_id=28792&tid=frooct) for around £486 (that includes next day delivery). It also comes with a carry case, mouse and an external dvd writer. Even though most other books cost around £300 in the UK at the moment, for what you get in this (larger hard drive, more ram, HDMI, graphics chip etc), I think it's great value for money.
It arrives tomorrow morning so I will let you all know what it's like in a few days :)
Kevin