Pros:
The 10" screen is brilliant LED, much brighter and richer in color than any of the other netbooks we compared.
Features a slightly faster Intel Atom N280 processor at 1.66 GHz, rather than the Atom N270 (1.6 GHz) found in most other current netbooks.
The keyboard is chiclet style (space between the keys, ala MacBook), making typing much easier. I notice only a slight difference when using this keyboard and the one on my MacBook Pro.
Multi-touch trackpad. This aspect of the trackpad is useful, but not as responsive as offerings from Apple. Two fingers up or down will scroll accordingly, and moving fingers apart or closer will zoom in and out. The touch controls are do not feel as refined as on the MacBooks.
Surprisingly good performance. Boot time is quick, and programs are responsive. Even iTunes, that bloated beast of a jukebox, runs almost as good as on the MacBook Pro. Shocking.
Easy access to RAM and hard disk bay.
Cons:
WIndows XP. I know a lot of people swear by Microsoft's last gen OS, but it feels clunky, outdated, and ugly compared to Vista (and especially when compared to Windows 7).
1 GB of ram is not quite enough for using several applications at once. We upgraded the RAM to 2 GB for about $29.00.
Lack of optical drive. This is common to all netbooks, however, and can't be held against this particular model.
Small trackpad. Despite having multi touch capabilities, there's no getting around the fact that the trackpad is tiny. Tap to click is too sensitive by default and I found myself accidentally clicking everything in sight until I got the feel for it.
Wrap:
A great, highly portable machine for under $399. Great for web, music, some light photo editing (though screen size is a major limitation here), and casual gaming. I recommend using a bluetooth mouse, due to trackpad size constraints.
1 comment:
You do great reviews!!
Jenna Bolerjack
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