Many of us enjoy the flexibility of having small portable laptops that are readily available for use, this has truly been possible with the advent of low-cost netbooks. Before netbooks consumers were limited to overprice ultraportable notebooks. These ultraportable notebooks were severely underpowered, expensive, with limited availability and limited selection. As for myself, I purchased a Sharp MM20 ultraportable notebook back in July of 2004, this notebook was low-power, compact and had a beautiful display. I enjoyed using this notebook for graduate classes in business travel. I have been waiting for the next generation of netbook computers to be released before I would buy a replacement for my old Sharp, as it has recently ceased to function I have began to research the newer netbooks that are and will be released shortly. The main qualities that I have been looking for in these next-generation net books have been the newer Intel atom processors with NVIDIA’s ion video chipset. Upon researching these new networks I have discovered that many of them will not be released until after the Microsoft Windows 7 release on October 22, 2009. Currently there are only two netbooks that truly meet the requirements of the newer processors and video chipset (HP Mini 311 and Samsung N510), but there are also two other networks that meet the video chipset requirements (ASUS Eee PC 1201N and Lenovo IdeaPad S12). Below is a table of the specifications of these for netbooks:
Next Generation Netbook Specifications.
| ASUS Eee PC 1201N | HP Mini 311 | Lenovo IdeaPad S12 | Samsung N510 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows 7 Home Premium | Windows XP Home | Windows 7 Home Premium | Windows XP Home |
| Processor | Intel Atom N270 | Intel Atom N280 | Intel Atom N270 | Intel Atom N280 |
| Chipset | N/A | N/A | Intel 945GSE | NVIDIA MCP79-D9 |
| Memory | 2GB | 1GB DDR3, DIMM | 1GB DDR2 (533MHZ) | 1GB DDR2, SODIMM |
| Video | NVIDIA ION GeForce 9400M | NVIDIA ION LE | NVIDIA ION | NVIDIA ION LE |
| Display | 12" LCD (1366x768) | 11.6" LCD (1366x768) | 12.1" (1280x800) | 11.6" LCD (1366x768) |
| Backlight | LED | LED | LED | LED |
| Storage | 250GB (5400RPM, SATA) | 160GB (5400RPM SATA) | 160GB (5400RPM SATA) | 160GB (5400RPM SATA) |
| Wired LAN | 10/100 | 10/100 | 10/100 | 10/100 |
| Wireless LLAN | 802.11 B/G/N | 802.11 B/G/N | 802.11 B/G/N | 802.11 B/G/N |
| Bluetooth | 2.1 EDR | 2.1 EDR | 2.1 EDR | 2.1 EDR |
| VGA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| HDMI | N/A | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| USB | Yes, X Ports | 3 Ports | 3 Ports | 3 Ports |
| Headphone | Yes | Yes (combo jack) | Yes | Yes |
| Microphone | Yes | Yes (combo jack) | Yes | Yes |
| Mediacard Slot | Yes | 5-in-1 Card Reader | 4-in-1 Card Reader | SD/SDHC/MMC |
| Camera | 1.3MP | 1.3MP | 1.3MP | 1.3MP |
| Battery | 6 Cell Li-Ion | 6 Cell Li-Ion | 3 or 6 Cell Li-Ion | 6 Cell Li-Ion |
| Price (USD) | $513 | $475 | $599 | $719 |
I have established criteria for determining which unit meets my personal requirements more. My highest priorities are processor (the newer N280 vs. the older N270), video chipset (the newer HD capable NVIDIA Ion vs, the existing Intel), memory (max RAM and type) and price. Secondary priorities are the display wireless features and hardware connectivity. A breakdown of my priorities and their weights in ranking for each net book is found in the table below.
Personal Personal Decision Ranking.
| ASUS Eee PC 1201N | HP Mini 311 | Lenovo IdeaPad S12 | Samsung N510 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Priorities | Rank | Total | Rank | Total | Rank | Total | Rank | Total | |
| OS | 7 | 2 | 14 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 14 | 1 | 7 |
| Processor | 10 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 20 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 20 |
| Memory | 9 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 18 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 9 |
| Video | 10 | 3 | 30 | 3 | 30 | 3 | 30 | 3 | 30 |
| Display | 5 | 3 | 15 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 10 |
| Backlight | 5 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 10 |
| Storage | 4 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4 |
| Wired LAN | 4 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 8 |
| Wireless LLAN | 6 | 3 | 18 | 3 | 18 | 3 | 18 | 3 | 18 |
| Bluetooth | 6 | 3 | 18 | 3 | 18 | 3 | 18 | 3 | 18 |
| VGA | 6 | 3 | 18 | 3 | 18 | 3 | 18 | 3 | 18 |
| HDMI | 4 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 3 | 12 | 3 | 12 |
| USB | 5 | 3 | 15 | 3 | 15 | 3 | 15 | 3 | 15 |
| Headphone | 2 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 6 |
| Microphone | 2 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 6 |
| Mediacard Slot | 4 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 12 | 3 | 12 | 2 | 8 |
| Camera | 4 | 3 | 12 | 3 | 12 | 3 | 12 | 3 | 12 |
| Battery | 5 | 3 | 15 | 3 | 15 | 2 | 10 | 3 | 15 |
| Price (USD) | 10 | 3 | 30 | 3 | 30 | 2 | 20 | 1 | 10 |
| Total: | 254 | 265 | 237 | 236 |
Based on the decision matrix the HP Mini 311 is just barely the winner with the primary factors of the N280 Atom processor, 3GB max DDR3 RAM and the lower price at $475.
Until then, I will wait for the release of Windows 7 and updates to these netbooks. If any major changes occur with hardware specifications along with the operating system specifications I will update this blog post.
Update (Nov. 28, 2009):
Since the release of Windows 7, the newer netbooks with Windows 7 and NVIDIA Ion processors have been trickling out to online stores, here are a few links and prices on these newer netbooks:
ASUS 1201N ($499.00):
- ExCaliber PC
- Updated Specification, now includes Intel Atom 330 Dual Core Processor: Engadget
HP Mini ($399.99-$963.99):
Lenovo IdeaPad S12 ($429.99-$649.99):
- Lenovo Store (customizable)
- Newegg
Samsung N510 ($599.99):
NVIDIA has listed netbooks that use their Ion graphics processor: Ion Netbook List
References:
1.) ASUS Eee PC 1201N:
- September 18, 2009 Liliputing Article
- September 20, 2009 Endgaget Article
- September 21, 2009 Slashgear Article
- September 22, 2009 TechTree Article
- September 15, 2009 Techpinas Article
- October 6, 2009 HP Mini 311 Product Page
3.) Intel Atom
- May 25, 2009 Netbook Choice Article
- July 25, 2009 Lilputing Article
- August 20, 2009 Gizmodo Article
5.) NVIDIA Ion
Scott Yee, Technologist, Consultant, Aerospace Engineer and owner of 
