This is a tentative scorecard for sub-notebook devices. It is not a very structured or systematic approach, but tries to compare some of the devices I’m interested in in an objective way.
Right now, my interest is mostly academic, but if I were to get one of these I would look for, in roughly the following order:
- The ability to run Mac OS X or Windows XP (Linux is likely to be too much of a hassle where it regards support for what I need – which includes decent power management, corporate connectivity, suspend/resume, etc.)
- The ability to run Citrix and deliver presentations using a standard VGA port (for which I’d use the PowerPoint viewer)
- Support for a HSUPA modem like the E172 or E220.
- Minimal solid-state storage (USB or SD is enough for me)
- A decent screen and keyboard
As such, the characteristics summarized below are the ones I find interesting.
| Characteristics | Mini-Note | Eee PC 901 | VIA nanobook | Acer Aspire One | MacBook Air |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price1 | $4995 | Eur.4004 | $600 | Eur.300 | Eur.1700 |
| Wi-Fi | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Bluetooth | Y | Y | Y | N | Y |
| Ethernet | Y | Y | Y | Y | N |
| Physical screen size | 8.9” | 8.9” | 7” | 8.9” | 13.3” |
| Resolution | 1280×768 | 1024×600 | 800×4003 | 1024×600 | 1280×800 |
| Runs Citrix | Sure | Sure | Sure | Maybe | Sure |
| Portuguese keyboard | ? | Y6 | N | Y | Y |
| USB Ports | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| Audio Ports | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Camera | Opt. | Y | N | Y | Y |
| ExpressCard | Y | N | N | N | N |
| Standard VGA Port | Y | Y | DVI | Y | Micro-DVI |
| RAM | 512MB5 | 1GB | 1GB | 512MB | 2GB |
| Storage | 4GB5 | up to 20GB Flash | up to 30GB | 8GB | up to 80GB |
| Battery Life2 (h) | 2–4 | 3 | 4+ | 2–3 | 5 |
| Weight (g) | 1270 | 990 | 850 | 995 | 1360 |
| Dimensions (mm) | 255×165x27 | 225×165x35 | 230×171x29.4 | 249×170x29 | 325×227x194 |
Resources:
| Date | Link | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 12th | WannabEees: Eee PC vs Elonex One vs OLPC vs EasyNote XS vs MSI Wind and more | A comparison between several “mini” laptops |
—
1 Estimated. ↩
2 Stated. Believe what you will. ↩
3 With touch panel. ↩
4 Approximate. ↩
5 Base configuration with 512MB RAM and SuSE Linux;↩
6 Rather cramped layout, though. ↩