Best 12″ Netbooks Available Now
Here’s a follow up on our previous post on Top 12″ Netbook Candidates. This one lists all the 12″ netbooks available right now, which you might find useful if you’re indecisive about a big netbook or small notebook, or if you’re still looking for a back-to-school or back-to-college machine (you procrastinator, you!) :)
In a nutshell, the benefits on a 12″ netbook are larger screen size and keyboard. Drawbacks are higher pull on battery which most netbook manufacturers usually compensate on by replacing the faster Intel Atom 1.6GHz N270/ 1.66GHz N280 with the more power efficient but slower 1.33GHz 520 processor.
Best 12″ Netbook for Battery Life – Asus 1101 HA
I’ve spent a lot of time reviewing 12″ netbooks lately, and I keep comparing most of them to the Asus 1101 HA. A solid 12″ netbook available for only $420, the Asus 1101 HA has an 11 hour battery life. That’s unheard of in 10″ netbooks (except for the Asus 1005HA and MSI Wind U123), and it’s even more rare amongst the 12″ breed with their larger more power-consuming screens. However, you will find that the other 12″ netbooks tend to have better memory and storage capacities.
Read more about Asus 1101HA.
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Best 12″ Netbook for Performance – Acer Aspire 1410
The Acer Aspire 1410 comes with a Centrino processor. Known for having the chasis of a netbook and heart of a notebook. Also comes with 2-4GB RAM, a 250GB HDD and around 8 hour battery life, all for $440.
Read our Acer Aspire 1410 review.
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Best 12″ Netbook for Value for Money – Gateway LT Series
Trust me, I’m surprised the Gateway makes this list too. I compared the specs to the MSI Wind U210 and the Asus 1101 HA and realized, the Gateway’s LT series series ain’t that bad after all! It has the same higher specs (2GB RAM/250GB HDD) as the MSI Wind U210 and the crappy 5 hour battery. But it can support good HD playback with the Radeon x1270 graphics chip. At $400, it isn’t a bad buy at all. Just shows how much a brand name came affect your buying decision huh. :)
Read our Gateway LT Series Review.
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Best 12″ Netbook Newcomer – MSI Wind U210
I’m extremely intrigued by the 1.6GHz Athlon Neo MV-40 processor the MSI Wind U210 is powered on. Also, MSI claims the Radeon x1250 graphics card makes hi-def viewing a smooth experience. What more can you ask for? The white MSI Wind U210 is selling for $460, but I’d recommend you wait for the black Wind U210 to come out at $430 (it’s up for pre-order). A quick upgrade to Windows 7, and you should be all set.
Read our MSI Wind U210 Review
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Best 12″ Netbook based on Looks – Dell Inspiron 11z
Dell netbook-laptops just look good. And with Dell promising 40% better productivity and 39% better CPU performance than an Intel Atom N270 with the Dell 11z’s Intel Celeron 723 processor, I’d give it a shot. It costs $450, which seems to be the norm for 12″ netbooks (without ION).
Read our Dell 11z Review
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Our Wish List
Samsung N510 – possibly the first netbook with nVidia ION. Currently available in Europe and soon Korea.
The nVidiaLenovo S12 – Sure, we have the currently available Lenovo IdeaPad S12 – the one without nVidia graphics – available for $450. It doesn’t offer anything special, and I’d recommend the Asus 1101 HA and the MSI Wind U210 over this S12 any day. Especially since they’re in the same price range! Now when the nVidia version comes out, then we’ll consider this baby seriously.
And that’s all folks! Sheesh, who knew there were this many 12″ netbooks out there!
Related posts:
- 12″ MSI Wind U210 – worth it?
- Dell Inspiron 11Z Price Hike? Now $499
- MSI Wind12 U210 Now Available on Amazon
- MSI Wind U210 Up for Pre-order from Amazon
- Acer AO751 doing bizzarely well at Amazon
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