Digital solutions for your business tech edge n Owner Tested War Story p. 00
00
9.65”
Pocket
I’m the founder and CEO of Zong, a com-
pany that processes payments for people who
buy, say, virtual goods in online games or con-
Books
tent on social networks such as Facebook. We
work with more than 300 companies, so my
job requires extensive travel. That’s why I was
excited to test the latest generation of tiny,
Netbooks are models of cheap laptops known as netbooks.
portability. But can you stare Although they’ve only been available for a
Photograph by Name
at those little screens all day? couple of years, netbooks are taking the PC
world by storm. Shipments are expected to
n By David Marcus double in 2009, according to research firm
PALO ALTO IDC. Most of us need few bells and whistles
Marketing p.
4.72”
SONY VAIO P
weighing only 1.4
pounds
in our laptops, it turns out—just a machine
that does the basics well and connects to the
Internet for most of its applications. In years
to come, we can expect to see cellular car-
riers sell netbooks the way they already do
in Europe—with embedded 3G service and
two-year contracts—probably for $100 or
less.
Above all, netbooks are small: Most are
no more than 10 inches long. That is great
for some users but can lead to ergonomic dif-
ficulties for others. Also, they are designed to
work with stripped-down operating systems
june 2009  FSB  00
TECH EDGE n Owner Tested

HP MINI 2140 $449 ASUS EEE PC SONY VAIO P $899.99

1000HE $399

such as Linux, so loading Windows Vista on The only design flaw of this netbook is the rience quite strenuous after a few minutes. I
one can be pretty painful, if not impossible. I location of the trackpad buttons, which were wouldn’t write this review on it.
carried three new netbooks with me for a few placed on the side of the pad instead of at the The Sony VAIO P ($899.99) made me say
days and worked a decent amount of time on bottom. It takes a while to get used to clicking “Wow!” the moment I unboxed it. The design
each of them. that way, but I guess you need to make some is really gorgeous: The glossy aluminum fin-
First I tried the HP Mini 2140 ($449). design tradeoffs in a 10-inch laptop. ish definitely makes it a fashion statement.
Its aluminum casing looks and feels solid, The second netbook I tested was the Asus The Sony is also the smallest and lightest of
which is a huge plus. Netbooks are likely to Eee PC 1000HE ($399). Asus launched the the three. In terms of luminosity and color
be carried around all the time, so you want first true netbook in 2007, and this latest contrast, the screen is simply amazing.
to be sure they are at least as sturdy as your model is very much focused on battery life. Thanks to its 1600 x 768 resolution, you can
cell phone. The Mini features Intel’s efficient The Eee lasts longer than any laptop I’ve fit a lot more stuff on this 8-inch screen than
new Atom N270 processor, which helped it ever seen. In battery-saving mode, it can go you can on most 12-inch laptops.
achieve a battery life of 7 hours. The proces- for up to 9.5 hours without a power outlet The downside? You need really good eyes
sor clocks in at 1.60 GHz—not enough to run in sight. This is a remarkable achievement, to use this baby because the fonts are very,
Photoshop and other applications that eat a which makes the Eee the netbook of choice very small. You can always increase font
lot of processing power but not too shabby for for long-haul frequent-fliers. I loved the and icon size, of course, but that defeats the
loading Web pages or online video. peace of mind, knowing I could rely on this purpose of a high-resolution display—to get
The Mini weighs 2.5 pounds and is an inch netbook for a full day’s work—and not having more stuff on your screen. After a full day’s
thick. HP engineers have managed to to carry a charger with me. It changes work on the VAIO P, my eyes felt strained
cram a 10.1-inch screen into a your behavior. You start thinking and I concluded that the device might actu-
10.3-inch machine. The screen about your laptop like your cell ally be too small.
imes
is bright and very usable in all testing t phone: Charge it at night, use All three netbooks have Wi-Fi built in,
gadget s are
lighting conditions. The Mini Tell us what rough the it wirelessly by day. but only the Sony packs a Verizon 3G EVDO
th
2140 provided a maximum helping you m a il The downside is the Eee’s module, which allows you to connect at
: fsb_
resolution of 1024 x 576, which recession at com. thickness and weight—it’s a broadband speeds almost anywhere in the
@ timein c.
is enough for most applications, half inch thicker and a pound U.S.—a great perk. The Sony was running
but HP also offers a 1366 x 768 heaver than the Mini. That may Vista, though, which made it much slower
version of the same model for $479. I not seem to be a great difference, but than the other two machines, on which Win-
would definitely pay the extra $30 to expand I felt it made the device ugly. Like the Mini, dows XP had been installed. Nevertheless,
my screen real estate. the Eee features the new Intel Atom pro- it’s a nice, light e-mailing and communica-
I found the Mini’s keyboard, which is 92% cessor, but you can also opt for the slightly tion device.
of the size of a traditional laptop keyboard, faster N280 processor (1.66 GHz) for the
eminently usable. The hard drive packs an same price. Bottom Line: Screen resolution trumps
ample 160 GB and an accelerometer to help The screen, although very usable, was less everything for me, so I would go for the HP
prevent data loss—if it detects that the note- vibrant than the Mini’s. A 1024 x 600 reso- Mini. The Sony VAIO P would definitely fit
book is falling, the drive puts itself in a special lution may be enough for most people, but I well in a woman’s designer purse, and that
safety mode. HP claims this feature reduces thought more pixels might come in handy. might be the company’s target demographic.
Photograph by Name

the risk of data loss by more than 50%. It’s As for the keyboard, Asus claims that it too is I wouldn’t be able to use it on a daily basis. If
definitely something to consider with net- 92% of the size of a typical laptop keyboard, style is not your main concern and you want
books, as you will probably drop them as but there must be a difference in the way the a versatile all-day companion, I recommend
often as your cell phone. keys are laid out, as I found the typing expe- the Asus Eee PC 1000HE. *

00  FSB  june 2009