Notebook Sleuth » 10″

Wal-Mart’s Big Gamble?: The Mirius Netbook

Derek — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:12:34 +0000

Yes, Wal-Mart is a large company that has conquered the globe with their ultra low prices, but their own netbooks? Apparently, they may be giving it a shot with their new line of netbooks designed for bargain prices and basic usage being released soon.

The line is called the Mirius, and here’s the basic specs: A 10.2″ LCD display, 1GB RAM, and a decent sized 120GB hard drive, along with a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU, a 3-cell battery, and Microsoft Windows XP, three USB ports, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, a VGA output, and an SD card slot.

Not bad for its suggested $248 price tag, we’d say. Time will tell if it proves to be a popular line with consumers, with extreme power being so inexpensive these days.

Subsidies are Good: Verizon/Gateway join up on a netbook PC

Derek — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 23:10:30 +0000

It’s the flavor of the year: wireless companies joining up with notebook companies to bring great low prices to computers with contract deals. Yet another very nice deal launched recently with Verizon and Gateway.

Verizon is poised to release the Gateway LT2016U (which to be fair, is the Acer Aspire One D250 with Gateway clothing over it).

Features: a 10.1-inch display with 1GB of RAM, 160GB hard disk drive, webcam, and Microsoft Windows XP Home (standard on many netbooks nowadays). It also has a Qualcomm Gobi 3G module which supports internally both CDMA EVDO and EDGE/UMTS/HSPA 3G data courtesy of Verizon.

The Gateway LT2016U will be priced at $249.99 after $100 rebate with 2-year contract agreement, so there’s a bit of a “catch”, but the price is tough to beat.

A “Clear” Choice: The Acer Aspire One D250 with HD screen

Derek — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 20:28:30 +0000

Watching movies seems to be a new thing for laptops, thus the run on HD level screens on laptops of late. Acer has themselves released a new notebook with an HD screen as well with very solid stats.

The codenamed Aspire One D250 netbook has a 10.1-inch display with 1280 x 720 resolution as opposed to 1024 x 600 typical of this level of of laptop. We welcome the trend, as the previous resolutions weren’t suitable for games and the like.

While, the rest of the specs remain solid: 1.60GHz Intel Atom N270, 1GB RAM, roomy 160GB HDD, webcam, and also in a welcome inclusion: Windows XP SP3 OS and a 6-cell battery for slightly longer battery life.

Apparently, this one is already out for pre-order in Norway and should be available in more territories by August or so.

Priced Just Right: The Sony VAIO W Netbook

Derek — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 19:34:51 +0000

Sony’s line of laptops have traditionally held two things to be true: they’re stylish and cool, and they tend to be a little overpriced. Perhaps they’re starting to get the message, because Sony has responded by announcing the release of their new Vaio W line of netbooks with some very decent stats at a reasonable price.

Sony will make its new Sony VAIO W netbook avaiilable for your greedy hands in early August 2009. It has an Intel Atom processor (pretty standard on these now), a 10.1-inch widescreen LCD with 1366×768 resolution, a decent 160GB hard drive, and Microsoft Windows XP included.

The Sony VAIO W series can be obtained with several very contemporary shades of color: berry pink, sugar white and cocoa brown. The units will retail for around $500, a very nice price point for Sony.

Small and Useful: The BenQ JoyBook Lite U102

Derek — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 03:29:24 +0000

Small package, still pretty powerful and useful. That seems to be the theme for many laptop makers these days, and BenQ isn’t an exception to this philosophy. Witness: The JoyBook Lite U102.

BenQ has released a new netbook computer that weighs only about 1Kg, so it can literally go anywhere you need it to go. This portable machine features a 10.1-inch WSVGA backlit display with 1024 x 600 resolution (typical for this size), a fairly muscular Intel Atom N270/N280 processor, 1GB RAM, 250GB HDD, a webcam and 3G, WiFi, 3 USB ports and Windows XP included.

Pricing and exact availability was not released.

Better Late Than Never: HP releases Mini Netbooks

Derek — Wed, 27 May 2009 19:01:02 +0000

HP has just now realized what a cash cow netbooks can be these days, and they’ve finally gotten off the horse and released a few of their own, and they sound pretty solid.

HP released three new netbooks in its HP Mini line: the 1101, 110 XP, and 110 Mi.

All of these feature a 10.1-inch widescreen display, autosync stuff built in to sync files with your primary PC easily, and a fairly solid 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 / 1.66GHz N280 processor with GMA 950 graphics, 3 or 6 cell batteries (6 cell recommended, believe us), and Wi-Fi built in too.

The Mini 110 XP model comes with 1GB RAM, an important choice of 160GB HDD or 32GB SSD, and a Broadcom HD Enhanced Video Accelerator, which is good for 1080p video playback, if you’re into that sort of thing on a laptop.

You can also choose the interesting Linux-powered Mini 110 Mi that comes with a very solid 250GB HDD and 2GB memory (more memory for Linux, not known as a system hog, is a rather curious decision).

We know: you’re waiting for the prices. The 1101 will for $329 in simple gloss black, and the “black swirl” design Mini 110 XP and Mini 110 Mi will retail for $329.99 and $279.99, respectively and be released in mid-June. The HP Mini 110 XP will be released in pink chic or white swirl designs (they’re late to the “design” parade as well, but now they’re trying) will be released in early July.

Netbook Joy: The MSI Wind U123

Derek — Fri, 22 May 2009 17:07:39 +0000

Netbooks have become the darlings of the laptop industry of late, and this is just another example. They’re small and easy to carry, and are perfect for on the go business needs. MSI is a company specializing in tiny, efficient netbooks, and they released their latest model in the US finally.

The MSI Wind U123 is finally shipping in the US via Amazon. The price: a very reasonable $349.99 with a 6-cell battery in two colors, red or blue.

This mini-laptop comes with a 10.2-inch screen with a solid 1024 x 600 resolution (enough for browsing and e-mailing; not really a heavy gaming system), a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 processor (pretty zippy), 1GB RAM, a sizable 160GB hard drive, a webcam, and all the network goodies, as you’d expect: WiFi, Bluetooth and comes with the Windows XP Home OS, fairly standard on netbooks.

A model with a longer lasting 9-cell battery can be pre-ordered for $379.99 as well.

New Players: Verizon to launch their first netbook

Derek — Wed, 13 May 2009 00:07:56 +0000

You might think with the downturn in PC sales that this would be a bad time to break into the industry. Apparently, Verizon doesn’t think so, and is prepared to knock out pricing on their new systems.

Verizon Wireless is set to announce and launch their very first netbook/computer model, titled the HP Mini 1151NR, which will be available on May 17th via retail and other channels.

The netbook will retail at, get this: $199, but with the provision of a 2-year contract and after mail-in-rebate. In addition, you’ll have to spend $40-$60 monthly for data/wireless internet access (where Verizon steps in, no doubt).

So here’s the specs: a 10.1-inch display screen, a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processor, Intel 950 graphics, 1GB RAM, an 80GB hard drive. It’ll also include full WiFi, Bluetooth support and a 3-cell battery built-in. Not a bad deal at all for the price.