Not the usual Notebook but a new genre Netbook is what Samsung NC10-14GW stands apart from the rest. If staying connected 24/7 is what your work demands or matters the most to you then this 10.2inch wide SuperBright© display, anti-glare finished, weighing just 2.8 pounds ( with 6 cell battery ) , powered by Intel Atom processor technology and with amazing 8hours stand alone battery life Samsung NC10-14GW is the right notebook to vouch for.

Taking battery life of a notebook to a new height, NC10 netbook allows you more flexibility to choose your work place anywhere, anytime by letting you remain connected most of the time. Samsung, with an eye on the growing internet users owning notebooks and many others desiring to possess one - came up with this newly launched NC10-14GW Netbooks much ahead in terms of technological upgradations than its predecessors.

This Netbook comes with an 160GB Hard drive allowing you ample of memory space to store whatever you want, right from downloaded movies, music, photos, videos, application softwares and many more without worrying about limited memory notebooks used to come with earlier. It comes with 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor and 1GB RAM, enabling you Fast boot up and corresponding faster access to your stored items. Enhanced in terms of Easy and faster Internet browsing experience and maximum compatibility with all the windows-based application, Samsung NC10-14GW is a long due to the customers who already have a Samsung Notebook.

Regarding the Operating system - It comes with a pre-installed Windows XP Home SP3, but am quite unsure if they provide the same with Windows Vista now.

When compared to few other Laptops in 10-inch netbooks segment comprising  Lenovo Ideapad S10 ( 349$ ) and MSI ( Micro Star International ) Wind ( 400 to 500 $) and Eee PC 1000H ( 649$ ) - Samsung NC10 is a sure shot winner in terms of cost effectiveness with respect to the extra long battery life and well-positioned keyboard it comes along with. Samsung’s netbook keyboard is highly well placed as well as the usual problems of mistyping keys is rarely experienced due to the spacious keyboard they have come up with this time. But, however the offset factor in this case has been the touchpad which is relatively smaller compared to others. Hence, one might have to backtrack more than are used to, here and there.

Having said these, the Netbook segment is certainly for the first time witnessing sea changes in technological upgradations at a very buoyant pace. Well, keep your fingers crossed to see more other brands setting up benchmarks.

Summary

Product Features

• 10.2″ Wide, 1024 x 600 WSVGA , 220 nits
• Intel Atom Processor N270, 1.6 GHz, 533 MHz Front Side Bus, 512 KB Level 2 Cache
• 160 GB, 2.5″ HD, 1 GB DDR2 800 MHz
• Intel® 945GSE shared, 802.11 b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, 10/100 BaseTX LAN
• 6-Cell Lithium Ion, Genuine Microsoft XP® Home with Service Pack 3, 1.3 Mega Pixel webcam, Kensington Key Lock, 1 year standard parts and labor, 2.8 lbs
  

Processor, Memory, and Motherboard

Hardware Platform: PC
Processor: 1.6 GHz Intel Core Solo
System Bus Speed: 533
Number of Processors: 1
RAM: 1000 MB
RAM Type: DDR2 SDRAM

Special Features

Hard Drive

• Size: 160 GB
• Manufacturer: Portable
• Type: Fast Wide SCSI

Cases and Expandability

• Size (LWH): 10.27 inches, 1.19 inches, 7.3 inches
• Weight: 2.8 pounds

Clik here to see all laptop computer reviews

The war of netbooks has escalated to a level high with all the notebook manufacturers looking out on every aspect to deliver an edge over it’s competitors. Micro Star International’s latest MSI Wind U100 has been marketed as a superior hi-tech netbook in the 10-inch segment over Asus Eee PC 901/1000/1000h and scores others. This technological war over delivering the best in the smallest has, however benefitted customers who are obsessed about the performance as well as the size ( read small ) - the most.

MSI Wind U100 features a decent 10-inch LCD screen supporting resolutions of 1024×600, powered by Intel’s latest low-power processor, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, pre-installed with geniune Microsoft’s Windows XP Home edition Operating System and an Ergonomic Big-size keyboard.

Winner of the “Chip Best Performance Award - 2008″ , MSI wind is highly recommended for the people who are always in move. Equipped with 3-cell 11.1v 2200mAh Battery, MSI wind however hasn’t found good score with the battery life. With this aspect ( the battery life ) being the exception, rest is all good with this mini notebook. Competitively priced at $499 with a whooping 80GB memory Hard drive, is $100 cheaper than Asus Eee PC 901. With performance at Par with Asus netbooks, Wind certainly has an edge over the price for people who want something that is affordable and yet worth every penny invested.

Build and Design:

With great Flashy looks, MSI wind is highly appealing to business executives as well as students. The body has a glossy texture for easy and comfortable grip and guarded by soft rounded edges.

Even the Build quality of this new genre netbook is top notch, with plastic seams and bevelled edges. Weighing only 1kg with 3-cell battery or 1.1kg with an optional 6-cell battery, this small sized net book is amazingly portable as well as durable.

The body construction of the Wind has been achieved by using a special Instert Mold Roller ( IMR ) technology which ensures protection of the notebook from fading and the impacts through continuous fingerprints exposures. MSI Wind comes with a large chassis and hence it easily rooms a large ergonomically designed keyboard, lessening the strain to the fingers and the chances of typing wrong keys. However a major offset has been its relatively small sized trackpad, which is a clear tradeoff for the spacious keyboard.

The one thing that people will certainly miss in this net book is the scrolling strip which is quite a normal feature in most of the notebooks.

Display:

Wind incorporates a LED backlit matte textured 10inch LCD screen of 1024 x 600 pixel resolutions to enhance the web browsing experience. The display section also embeds an LED power-saving backlit technology, reducing the power consumption to minimum without affecting the bright and colorful display of the contents.

Ports, Networking and add-ons:

With respect to wireless connectivity, Wind is average rated. It comes with 802.11b/g/n wireless all region internet connection and bluetooth transmission interface so as to enable you complete mobility for your works. A 4 in 1 Card reader ( for SD, MMC, MS & MS Pro ) brings in complete entertainment interface in this mini screen, further helping you to easily download and access digital files in your hard drive. Additional 3 USB ports is also available for connecting a wide range of external peripherals.

System Performance:

Powered by Intel Atom processor and coupled with Windows XP, the Wind’s performance is at par with any other full-sized notebooks. Since the netbooks are specifically meant and designed for working on lesser intensive applications which predominantly excludes heavy gaming or fast photo editing - the Winds is categorically unfit for heavy applications. However basic programs such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, word, excel and other similar applications works as fine as in any other promsing laptops. The 1.6GHz Atom processor also includes a power optimized front side bus of 533 MHz for Data transfer on various mobile applications and a 512 KB L2 cache memory.

Hard Drive:

Wind comes with a 160GB HDD ( 5400 rpm ), giving you enough freedom and room to store whatever you feel like for your travels or day to day works.

Missing Features of MSI Wind U100:

DVD/CD Drive - absence of an integrated optical drive. One will have to use the USB ports available to connect the external DVD/CD drivers.

Asus Eee PC 901 and Hybrid Engine in this category allow you to overclock the processors to boost the power of the system. But this feature is absent in the MSI wind provided with only a simple “Eco feature” that hovers between battery power saver mode at 800MHz and normal mode of 1600MHz.

There is also no integrated 3G or WiMax capability - the features that you get in Acer Aspire One ( another netbook ). So, the major restriction here owing to this absent feature is that - you just can’t go online anywhere. So, the mobility in context to MSI Wind can be redefined to one when you you’re at home or at some hotspot or you are connected to a third-party USB dongle.

Summary

Product Features

• Intel Atom 1.6 GHz Processor 512 KB L2 Cache, 533 MHz Bus speed 6 Cell Battery 1.3 MP Web Camera Includes protective bag

• Built-in 10/100 Ethernet LAN Card / Built-in 802.11b/g/n WLAN Card / Bluetooth Supported

• Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition

• 160 GB SATA Hard Drive, 1GB DDR2 667MHz RAM, 2 GB Max

• 4-in-1 SD/MMC/MS/MSpro Card Reader, 3 USB 2.0 Ports, 1 Mic-In Port, 1 Headphone Port, 2 Internal Speakers, SoundBlaster-compatible Audio

Cases and Expandability

• Weight:8 pounds

Clik here to see all laptop computer reviews

Acer aspire one 8.9

Introducing a highly intuitive interfaced laptop for people always in move, Acer with its recently launched “Acer Aspire One” Laptop tags this as to be the world’s smallest and yet the best in its class. Powered by Intel Atom processor composing the world’s smallest transistors and highly engineered for low power consumption and a robust performance is something that Acer’s website claims it to be.

Measuring 249X170X29mm in size and Weighing much lesser than 1 kilo, Acer Aspire One 8.9-inch Mini Laptop is an Ideal choice for people who wants something that is fast, light, intuitive, easy to use, easy to carry and yet the smallest.

This version of Aspire One comes in range of custom colours like Seashell White, Sapphire Blue, Coral Pink and Golden Brown making this little pack of highly integrated laptop, a mix of beauty and the beast. The sleek Acer One comes with a standard pack of 3 cell battery, giving you a stand-alone battery life of more than 3 hours. All isn’t over here with the battery life - With an optional 6 cell battery pack you can in fact increase the battery life to 7 hours.

“Small yet Fast - for faster people” type laptop comes with a pre-installed Microsoft Windows XP Home operating systems, which boots up amazingly quick in roughly 10-15 seconds, and launches applications in about the same time. It also automatically detects the Internet connection ( if any ) and lets you enjoy a good internet experience while on the road. The Acer Aspire One Laptop has an integrated 54g wireless LAN ( Acer InviLink ) that’s compatible with 802.11b and 802.11g networks and offers Acer’s Signal Up technology for enhanced antenna efficiency.

With a memory capacity of 160 GB and 1GB of installed RAM, there is enough room to run multiple applications while you are travelling. Highly ultra portable, enhanced performance, ease in access to internet with 802.11b/g Wi-Fi features - you can work, you can listen to songs, and literally feel no weight. At least, that’s how Acer intends to market this amazing little gizmo.

8.9 inch screen has a WSVGA resolution and can support 262K color depth. Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950, one of the latest in the market powers the Video support requirements.

However, not everything good on Earth can be packed in a small little thing. Same goes true with the disadvantages of being small for the Acer Aspire One Laptop, which doesn’t feature any integrated optical drive owing to its small size. However, 3 USB ports available let you connect an external CD/DVD read/write drives to the laptop.

Summary

Product Features

• 1.6GHz Atom N270
• 1GB DDR2 SDRAM
• 1.3 Megapixel camera, SDHC and multi-format media readers
• 802.11b/g, Ethernet, three USB 2.0, VGA, and 3.5mm audio out
• One free mini PCI slot for WWAN, 160GB hard drive (2.2 pounds)

Processor, Memory, and Motherboard

• Hardware Platform: PC
• Processor: 1.6 GHz Intel Core Solo
• System Bus Speed: 533
• Number of Processors: 1
• RAM: 1000 MB
• RAM Type: DDR2 SDRAM

Hard Drive

• Size: 160 GB
• Manufacturer: Portable
• Type: Serial ATA

Ports and Connectivity

• Modem: None

Cases and Expandability

• Size (LWH): 6.7 inches, 9.8 inches, 1.14 inches
• Weight: 2.2 pounds

Power

• Rated Charge (normal use): 5.5 hours

Clik here to see all laptop computer reviews

Taking aesthetic designs of laptops into new frontiers has always been Apple’s first point of distinction among various laptop providers. And With new Mac Air Book in the market, it has befittingly come as a surprise to all the Apple’s fans across the world.

The Strength:

Thinnest, lightest and yet the strongest is what describes the best of the new Mac Air Book. “Whether to or not to - take your laptop with you” - the usual dilemma is a thing of bygone days with the ultra slim Mac Air Book weighing just about 3.0-3.4 pounds and 0.76 inch thick. Mac Air Book has been deemed as revolutionary by the standard of designs that people with lots of extra cash would like to add yet another eye-candy laptop to their collection. It comes along with an Aluminium chassis which is much more fingerprint resistant than the usual standard Macbooks. Apart from it the aluminium body lends the Air book a very sturdy and robust construction much in line with the kind of games Apple engineers likes to play with any of their products.

The 13.3 inch display, fitted with a built-in iSight camera, mic and an LED-backlit display has certainly taken the innovations in laptops to a new level. The LED-backlit display is controlled by the ambient light sensor which automatically adjusts the screen brightness in response to the light in the room. The apple trackpad has also got quite a facelifts.The new Air book’s trackpad measures 5 inches diagonally making it comparatively larger than any of the Mac book’s trackpads and has features that lets you use three fingers rather than the usual two fingers.

This multi-touch gestures enables the user to go forward and back within their Web browser history, and just like zoom-in and zoom-out features in the iPhone, one can do the same with Mac Air Book.

The Weakness:

Not everything is a ‘wow’ with the new Mac Air Book. Like any great designs that come in with its own shortcomings - the Air book too has a list of its own tradeoffs. Apple probably wanted to deliver a laptop that does all the works any normal laptop would have delivered with the prime distinction being its design and a little bit accelerated performance. However, heavy gamers, web programmers, using heavy applications has different thing to say on this. So, goes on with the complaints from people who are most of the time in travel. The lack of user replaceable batteries is one of the biggest offset with the Air book. You will have to shell out minimum of $129 for a new MBA Air book battery replacement but by returning the machine to the Apple.

Making the end user battery installation a viable option is something people are looking forward to. Other shortcomings identified are WiFi with very limited connectivity much slower than other Macbooks; standard hard drive of 80GB with the base $1,799 model and additional option of 64GB SSD hard drive at very expensive price. The option of hard drive upgradation from normal 80GB to a lower capacity 64GB but SSD hard-drives, all at $999 might find only few takers.

The single USB jack slot is yet another big limiting factor for people who frequently prefer to use more than one USB device simultaneously. However, everything is not so black here. The only other internal hardware option is a CPU uptick, to upgrade from 1.6GHz to 1.8GHz - but for $300. Like anything beautiful things in world that costs a little bit more - the $1,799 Mac Air Book suddenly becomes a $3,098 laptop with all the upgrades it can ask for.

Summary:

The design is revolutionary, aesthetically appealing and targeted to only a segmented niche of laptop users willing to shell out extra bucks for something that’s scarce. But, certainly scoring low with people who wouldn’t like to pay for something that doesn’t deliver much beyond a pleasant experience just to the eyes.

Clik here to see all laptop computer reviews