You may have heard of netbooks (see my previous article on the subject). Well, now there are more…

Asus has released a thinner Eee PC, the s101, which trades a bit of thickness for a chunk of change. It costs about $250 more than an equivalent regular-sized Eee PC, but for those who want the thinnest computer possible on the cheap, this is a good bet. If you want something closer to a regular notebook, Asus also has the N10 series for people looking for a slightly more substantial computer. It’s bigger than an Eee PC, but keeps the 10″ screen and Atom processor. What it expands: hard disk space and graphics capabilities (if you get the more expensive model, you can switch between integrated an nVidia Geforce 9300M graphics). Also, it costs more, more in line with a rasonably spec’d budget 15″ notebook. Due t the large hard drive on the N10, it comes with Windows Vista installed by default.

Averatec, a lesser-known but high-quality notebook manufacturer, has their own netbook, with a hard disk, a webcam and Windows XP Home. You get a memory card reader thrown into the deal as well. The screen size: 10.2 inches. The price: $480, at the moment.

Dell will be releasing the Mini 12, complete with a dual-core processor, hard disk, twelve-inch screen and full-sized keyboard, in November. If it works as well as it looks, I’ll probably buy this one. People may say that this is not a netbook, due to its large screen, to which I respond “Fine, it’s an ultra-cheap ultraportable that’s more powerful than computers three times the cost a year and a half ago”. In my opinion, this is the ultimate “student PC”, for taking notes, writing reports and doing general low-power tasks while staying low on both weight and price. I feel this with such conviction that, had the Mini 12 with its pre-release specs been out in February of this year at its projected price ($600-$700) I’d be using it, instad of my Macbook Air, to write this article.

HP has released a ten-inch (or nine-inch if you want to save $50), plastic-case netbook by the name of Mini 1000 . The computer seems to perform quite well for its intended purpose, and it’s relatively customizeable, similar to the Dell Mini 9. Regardless of configuration, at this point the Mini 1000 comes with Windows XP. The computer is also less expensive than HP’s previous netbook (the MiniNote) was at launch, though now the MiniNote can be had for as little as $300.

Lenovo has also gotten into the game with its Windows-XP-powered IdeaPad S10. As with other Lenovo (fka IBM) products, the S10 is a solid product all-around at a decent price. On the other hand, its battery isn’t very large, and the white plastic design says “TOY” rather than “tool”, something you probably don’t want when you’ve spent $500 on a miniature computer.

Samsung has introduced a 10″ netbook of their own, the NC10. It seems well-heeled spec-wise (including the battery, which is six cells, huge for a netbook), with a price that’s quite competitive. The battery life is a claimed seven hours, which is nice to see in a hard-disk-based netbook. The operating system is…can you guess…that’s right, Windows XP Home.

Sylvania (yes, that Sylvania) has introduced a second netbook, this time based on the Intel Atom processor (like almost every other netbook at this point). It runs a specialized version of Ubuntu (the same underlying operating system used on the lower-end Dell Mini 9 netbooks) via a hard drive (as opposed to flash memory). Its redeeming quality: price; the computer is a mere $350.

It seems that a pattern is emerging for netbooks: flash storage or an 80GB hard disk if you’re cheap, a larger hard disk (or maybe a larger SSD) for more money. For screen size, you get an 8.9″ or 10.2″ display, depending on price (both at 1024×600 resolution). For an operating system, Linux is for the cheaper computers (always customized for netbooks, never the same customization or distribution), Windows XP for the higher-end ones. The processor: an Intel Atom N270 single-core 1.6GHz model. Webcam presence and resolution depends on the computer you’re looking at, but one is usually there. Soon Intel will release a dual-core Atom, and SSDs will grow in capacity and speed for a given price. Screens will get higher-resolution as well, and eventually we’ll see Windows 7 running on these netbooks. In short, you’re looking at a rather homogeneous but exciting new frontier for computing at this juncture, one that’s great in almost every way for students.

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1. The Microsoft XBox 360 has been lowered in price. The hard-drive-less Arcade version is now $199 (less than the Nintendo Wii!), the 60GB “Pro” version is $299 and the 120GB “Elite” edition is $399, the same price as the 80GB Sony PlayStation 3. Microsoft has said publicly that they have no expectation of catching up with the Wii’s sales; they just want to be the second-biggest game console on the market, ahead of the PS3. With these price drops and despite the PlayStation 3 technically being better than the 360 (you can, for one thing, buy your own laptop hard disk and put it in the PS3, something you can’t do with the XBox), Microsoft should reach that goal without too much of a problem.
2. RealNetworks, maker of Crap…er…Rhapsody and the infamous RealPlayer, has come out with a new product: RealDVD. This $30 app looks to do a direct copy of a DVD from optical disk to hard disk, applying its own DRM wrapper on the media in the process. The way RealDVD does this doesn’t violate the Digital Millenium Copyright Act, though movie studios, ever protective of their intellectual property, may still be very miffed about the software. If you’re wondering what the DRM does, it ties the DVD rip to your machine, unless you pay another $20 per license for up to four other computers. Okay, maybe RealDVD is easier to use than the other programs currently available, but there are free ways to get the job done that don’t involve RealNetworks’ historically bloated excuses for software.
3. HP will be intro’ing a version of their Elitebook 6930p that, with an “ultra capacity” twelve-cell battery, an “IllumiLite” LED-backlit display and a brand new Intel solid state disk (SSD, think glorified flash drive), will last 24 hours on a charge. No misprint here, that’s a full, 24-hour day computing marathon without having to plug in. Whether the claim holds up once the computer ships in October is another matter, but if it gets even close to the 24-hour mark, this 14-inch-screen beauty will be my next laptop. I do use Apple products right now but I’m also brand-agnostic; may the best specs win!
4. Sprint is pushing several new phones onto the market in the few weeks. On the high end are HTC smartphones: the HTC Touch Pro (with a keyboard) and the HTC Touch Diamond (without one). Next in line are the Samsung Highnote, a high-end music phone, and the Samsung Rant, basically the Highnote with a slide-out keyboard instead of slide-out music controls. There’s also the LG Lotus, a squarish flip phone that has a full keyboard instead of a standard keypad. Lastly, for the Nextel iDEN network there’s a new Blackberry (a version of the Curve) and a new ruggedized flip phone (the Motorola i576).
5. Speaking of flip phones and Blackberries, RIM’s new Blackberry Pearl Flip 8220 will be out on the market soon for T-Mobile. It looks to be a winner, especially for T-Mobile users.

You may have heard about Dell launching your new best friend late last week: the Mini 9. It’s the latest in a stream of “netbooks”, small, cheap laptops whose main purpose is to tap into the cloud” wherever and whenever you want. They’re small, light and cheap, well-suited to note-taking duties on-campus though unfit for much above that. One of these little buys won’t be your main computer, but it could certainly be a nice accessory.

So let’s compare the ones available now. All come either with their own flavor of Linux or with Windows XP (except for the HP MiniNote, which can be had… slowly… with Vista).

1. The Asus Eee PC is probably the most well-known example of the netbook phenomenon. It has been available for the longest, starting with a seven-inch screen and a low-powered Celeron processor and working up to a 10-inch-screen model with both solid state and magnetic storage options. They’re the most widely available of any netbook, and with the new Intel Atom processor (which most other netbooks have) can last long enough on a charge to get through even the longest of school days. On the other hand, the higher-powered Eee PCs are more expensive, costing as much as $600, and the keyboard on the Eee PC is small enough that, on a 9-inch model I tried, it was impossible to touch-type. The Eee PC started off with Asus’ own version of Xandro Linux but has increasingly turned to Windows as the operating system of choice. Reviews can be found here.
2. Sylvania, Everex and a few others have slapped the gOS operating system on a reference design from Via called the Nanobook. With a seven-inch screen, a hard disk drive and a tiny touchpad, it’s best to avoid these systems, despite their very low price, which can run around $300. If you don’t believe me, check this review.
3. The HP MiniNote was HP’s answer to the Eee PC shortly after the Eee came out. The computer uses a Via processor and has a hard disk powered option. Its features mirror a standard laptop with a low-power processor more than they do a netbook, as does the price: the computer ranges from $500 to $800, a big premium over other models of similar size. However thee slow processor holds this computer, which can run either SuSe Linux or Windows Vista Business, behind when it comes to regular laptops, and the price premium may be just too much to deal with. For more information, here are a few reviews.
4. The MSI Wind was heralded as the amazing next-generation netbook, and was the first one to include an Intel Atom processor, though the Asus Eee PC quickly followed suit. It has many of the regular-laptop-class features of the HP MiniNote, but has a 10″ screen and costs around $500. It comes with Windows XP, but Vista seems to run as well or better, something that can’t be said of most netbooks. On the other hand, battery life isn’t good and it’s hard to find the Wind to buy it. For more info, here’s a review of the Wind.
5. Acer’s Aspire One is cheaper than any other Intel Atom-based netbook out there. It also has a few unique features, like dual SD card slots: one for quick card reading, the other to augment main storage for the system. It runs Linpus Linux Lite (say it three times fast) or Windows XP, and can be had with either a solid state disk or a hard drive. As a warning, the lowest-end $330 model only comes with a 3-cell battery, so battery life won’t be more than a few hours, especially if you want to, say, watch video on the unit. There is, however, a model with a 6-cell battery; it’s just more expensive. Here are some reviews of the unit.
6. The Dell Inspiron Mini 9, with its mid-mounted function keys (but no F11 and F12) is the latest entrant into the Netbook market. It gets a good bit over three hours on a charge doing relatively heavy work, so its four-cell battery should hold out longer in lighter-use situations. The operating system, other than Windows XP, is a Dell-customized version of Ubuntu Linux, a more mainstream variant than the other manufacturers use, one that Dell has used with other, larger, computers before. The computer ranges in price from $350 to $500, depending on features added, and is the easiest to upgrade of all the netbooks. One more thing: you can get the lowest-end model for just $100 with purchase of a higher-end Dell laptop at the moment, though by the time you read this the promotion may have changed. The keyboard is small, and options on the system don’t get very high-end, but the Mini 9 seems to be a very promising entrant into the field. For a review, go here.

That’s it for the current lineup of netbooks. Expect Gateway to come out with one shortly, and Apple to sit on their hands for awhile. Then again, tomorrow Apple intros some new products, I’m told maybe something in this vein (bigger than the iPod touch) will surface….