Mini notebook

[Cougar]

Any recommendation for mini notebook & not netbook? Fast & powerful enough for presentation mainly and mail access for business purpose.

[kwchang]

Read on the internet of upcoming new light notebooks (not netbooks). Look out for new DELL Inspiron and a new Lenovo T400

If you don't mind waiting a bit longer, like maybe end of the year or next year, the new Windows 7 will be able to support multi-touch notebooks. Which means tablet PCs are coming again with multi-touch screens very much like the iPhone or iPod Touch. Anyway, the new Apple operating system (Leopard?) hints at the fact that Apple is coming out with a tablet Macbook as well very soon.

Exciting times ... that is if you are willing to wait.

[FloWong]

I use the Lenovo S10, with the Atom N270 processor. The newer model, with the Atom N280 has just been released in the market,

For emails and presentation, it does its job decently. Chose this netbook instead of other models due to the wow factor. Performance wise, I would say all is about the same.

[LMei]

Check this Dell Latitude out. I've seen it. Real slim and light and runs on Intel Duo Core Processor instead of the Atoml so it's more powerful.

[fRaNkY]

I have a LEnovo S10 too Just bought it.

Thinking of selling my asus EEEpc.

[Laughingman]

If you have extra budget you can try vaio...i seen a vaio with quad core processor,3GB RAM...but i forgot the model....Very nice.Small,light and power.

[mlkok]

Quad Cores are rare on notebooks. All Vaios run Dual Cores or single cores. Sony is conservative.
You might be able get Quad Cores from AlienWare or Asus.

[blueginger]

What about the HP Mini 1000 or Acer Aspire One??

Anyone own any of these models??

I am looking for one too

[Laughingman]

Actually i also own a asus eee pc910....i think its quite good also.

[CS Chua]

I am in the market for a mini notebook. Main factors for me are battery and weight. I am giving the XPS to wifey. What is the latest about mini notebook?

[kwchang]

Mini's running on the Atom processor is OK if you just browse the Internet, read mail and maybe do a bit of Office work.

However, do check out alternatives. There are now intermediates between mini notebooks and full notebooks. These intermediates use the ultra-low power Intel Centrino chips.

Initially, Acer came out with their Timelines. These were single core chips (marked as SU) or Pentium chips ... imagine them to be like the old desktops with Pentium chips? Some of the Acers are without the DVD drives. I think Acer Timelines weigh in just under 2Kg

Then almost immediately, ASUS came up with duo core ultra-low power chips. These are slower versions of the Core 2 Duo but they give better performances than the SU chips and certainly much better than the Atom processor of netbooks. I am currently contemplating the ASUS UL80Vt which comes with a double layer DVD drive, 14" glossy screen, normal sized chiclet keyboard and battery life rated to run 12-hours on a single charge but I guess it is still impressive working on it unplugged for 8 hours. No netbook can do that! By the way, the ASUS has 2 graphic cards in them, one to use less power but an additional NVIDEA card with discrete 512 MB DDR3 RAM to help with graphic intensive applications. Weighs 2.2 Kg without the normal-sized charger

I am hoping for better intermediate machines now that Acer and ASUS had already opened the floodgate to better long battery-life notebooks.

[mlkok]

The current batch of Atoms N270 and N280 will be replaced starting Jan 2010 with the N450, which incidentally will be integrated with the X3100 graphics chipset instead of the existing GMA950. This will means a huge boost to all-round performance.

But if you need a machine soon, do check out the new 11.6" machines using the CULV chips. The SU4100, SU7300 and SU9400 are all dual cores which has much better performance than the Atoms but still able to give almost equivalent battery life. Forget about the single core as their performance are disgustingly slow. Current offerings of 11.6" are: Acer 1810T(SU4100) for 1899, Dell 11z(SU4100) for 2199, Fujitsu P3011(SU4100) for 2899, Toshiba T130(SU4100) for 2599.

[kwchang]

...The SU4100, SU7300 and SU9400 are all dual cores which has much better performance than the Atoms but still able to give almost equivalent battery life. Forget about the single core as their performance are disgustingly slow. Current offerings of 11.6" are: Acer 1810T(SU4100) for 1899, Dell 11z(SU4100) for 2199, Fujitsu P3011(SU4100) for 2899, Toshiba T130(SU4100) for 2599.

You missed out the ASUS UL series that I mentioned above which uses the SU7300.

If those 4-digit numbers you tagged to each model are the prices in RM, then the ASUS UL series costs around RM3,000 - abit pricey but if you want a machine rated for 12-hours' battery life, then it is something to consider altho' I doubt it can last for the full 12hours.

[CS Chua]

The current batch of Atoms N270 and N280 will be replaced starting Jan 2010 with the N450, which incidentally will be integrated with the X3100 graphics chipset instead of the existing GMA950. This will means a huge boost to all-round performance.

But if you need a machine soon, do check out the new 11.6" machines using the CULV chips. The SU4100, SU7300 and SU9400 are all dual cores which has much better performance than the Atoms but still able to give almost equivalent battery life. Forget about the single core as their performance are disgustingly slow. Current offerings of 11.6" are: Acer 1810T(SU4100) for 1899, Dell 11z(SU4100) for 2199, Fujitsu P3011(SU4100) for 2899, Toshiba T130(SU4100) for 2599.

Wow, lots of information from you and kwchang. All I want is long battery life, around one kilo weight and around RM1500.00. Performance is not important as this is mainly for email, document and ppt presentation. If there is an upgrade next month, I can wait. Thanks.

[Fabe18]

Am using the Lenovo S10-2... Battery can last at least 4 hours of internet and movies. IIRC, its battery has more cells compared to others...