Comparison of top 3 netbooks – Asus 1005HA, Toshiba NB205, Acer AOD250
UPDATE 11/26 – WEIGHT ADDED
Overwhelmed by your choices and don’t know which netbook to buy? The three best selling netbooks on Amazon are the Asus 1005HA, the Toshiba NB205 and the Acer AOD250. Don’t know what this means? Here’s an explanation.
Let’s start with basics that all these netbooks come with.
- Windows 7 Starter – even though XP is awesome, if you’re investing you want the latest. Come 2010, Microsoft will be phasing out XP and all new softwares/products will cater to Windows 7
- 6 cell battery – gone are the days of the 2 hour lasting laptop. You’re netbook needs to last longer, especially once you’re connected to the web (be it by wireless or data card). 6 cell batteries come at different capacities and can offer about 5 hours (4400 mAh) to 7.5hours (5200 mAh) to 9 hours (5800 mAh)
- Decent specs – While a 1.6GHz Z530 processor from Intel is ideal, let’s assume you don’t want to shell out too much money on this netbook. Settle for an 1.66GHz N280 and about 250GB RAM. Webcam/ports/connectivity are pretty much similar across most netbooks.
If all three netbooks come with the above, what sets them apart? Read on:
Great netbook, people have had great experiences. The AC adapter is quite small which is good. Asus Tech Support apparently is pretty terrible. 92% keyboard. Weighs 2.8 lbs with a 6cell battery.
($378)
.
The NB205 looks very different from the Asus 1005HA and the Acer AOD250. Another aesthetic difference – it comes in Pink and Brown as well. Chiclet style keyboard is pretty nifty and keeps dust OUT. Comes with full sized keyboard and touchpad – which means there’s a lot of ‘wasted’ bezel space around the display. Comes with more pre-installed software or ‘bloatware’ than the other two. Weighs 2.93 lbs with a 6cell battery.
($350)
Very easy to upgrade RAM. Has only one touchpad button which can get in the way of smooth continuous computing. Keyboard is slightly smaller than most netbooks at 89%. Weighs 2.8 lbs with a 6cell battery. ($345)
I guess the comparison doesn’t *REALLY* help. All three are great netbooks. At the end of the day it really boils down to price and aesthetics when you’re choosing between the three. Good news – you really can’t go wrong!
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Filed under: Acer Aspire One Netbooks, Asus Eee PC Netbooks, Toshiba Netbooks
One thing I’d like to see in any of these comparisons is weight. I’m interested in a netbook as a traveling tool, and a 2-lb vs. 3-lb netbook is significant.
@Ralph – added in the weight. The Asus and Acer weigh 2.8lbs – the Toshiba 2.93lbs. Doesn’t really help, but narrows your choice down to two perhaps?
You’d save about 4lbs if you opt for a 3 cell battery, but you can’t really travel with something that lasts only 2hours..
You definately have left out some important information for the ASUS 1005ha. Granted it is comparible to any other netbook…..I mean when everyone is using the ATOM platform there is not much you can change. Except that ASUS has the ability to tweak and enhance it’s visual and overall performance. ASUS uses a program called SHE, Super Hybrid Engine. With this program you are able to under and overclock your ATOM processor. This is great when you need that extra boost to play media, or saves on battery when you just need to be on the go and check email. Also the EEEpctool which will allow you to increase the brightness of the LCD above what is listed in the Windows panel, for bright sunny days outside. ASUS has also “unlocked” the FSB and processor which gives you the ability to overclock and increase the FSB to achieve processor speeds of 2.1ghz. (which I have proven), using a program called SETFSB. This is the only netbook I have seen that lets you tweak every aspect of it, and holds steady. Hands down ASUS has gone above and beyond the average ATOM based netbook!!!!!