Review: 4 'large' netbooks -- are they better or just bigger?

Netbooks have been the small wonders of the mobile world. But are the latest models getting too big to deserve the name?

When the first round of netbooks arrived on the scene in late 2007/early 2008, they were a breed apart. They featured small cases, tiny screens, a minimalist approach to hardware and, above all, small price tags that were easy to swallow. And they became very popular -- so much so that netbooks accounted for one in five notebooks sold in the first half of 2009, according to John Jacobs, director of notebook market research at DisplaySearch.

But now, the newest models are outgrowing the original netbook concept, he says. "The latest netbooks stretch the definition, with bigger cases and larger screens," Jacobs explains. For example, the original Asus Eee PC 701 that started the netbook craze in 2007 came with a 7-in. screen, weighed a little over 2 lb. and sold for $400.

Today, most netbooks fall under Microsoft's definition of what a netbook is (and what therefore qualifies for its Windows 7 Starter build). They have screens that are 10.2 in. or smaller, 1GB of memory or less, and 250GB of hard drive storage.

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When the first round of netbooks arrived on the scene in late 2007/early 2008, they were a breed apart. They featured small cases, tiny screens, a minimalist approach to hardware and, above all, small price tags that were easy to swallow. And they became very popular -- so much so that netbooks accounted for one in five notebooks sold in the first half of 2009, according to John Jacobs, director of notebook market research at DisplaySearch.

But now, the newest models are outgrowing the original netbook concept, he says. "The latest netbooks stretch the definition, with bigger cases and larger screens," Jacobs explains. For example, the original Asus Eee PC 701 that started the netbook craze in 2007 came with a 7-in. screen, weighed a little over 2 lb. and sold for $400.

Today, most netbooks fall under Microsoft's definition of what a netbook is (and what therefore qualifies for its Windows 7 Starter build). They have screens that are 10.2 in. or smaller, 1GB of memory or less, and 250GB of hard drive storage.

However, there are now devices out there that claim to fall under the netbook umbrella but boast 11-, 12- and even 13-in. screens, weigh upwards of 4 lb. and cost as much as $900.

To see how this evolving genre fits into the mobile landscape, I examined four of the latest and biggest netbooks: the Acer Aspire One 751h, the Lenovo IdeaPad S12, the MSI X340 and the Samsung NC20. The devices in this quartet weigh between 2.8 and 3.4 lb. and cost between $380 and $900; their screen sizes range from 11.6 to 13.3 in.

I've given each a thorough going-over that includes testing their performance potential, battery life and ability to perform typical mobile tasks. I also took each on an overnight road trip where I used it to stay on top of e-mail, write, play online videos, tune in Internet radio stations and give PowerPoint shows.

The larger size does have its advantages. These full-figured netbooks don't feel as cramped as their predecessors. Some have impressive battery life, surprisingly comfortable keyboards and advanced touch pads, while others have specialty connections for accessories.

But there's a price to pay for those who don't want to carry an extra ounce of gear in terms of size, weight and cost. In fact, Dell recently announced that it plans to retire its Mini 12 netbook because "10-inch displays are the sweet spot for netbooks." So the question is: Is Dell right? Are the larger netbooks too much of a good thing?

How we tested

To see how these four netbooks match up against one another, I started by measuring and weighing each, counting how many ports each has and looking into the features that each offers.

I then tested their performance and endurance. I started by timing how long it took to start up each system before I installed any extra software onto its hard drive. Then I ran the Passmark's PerformanceTest Version 7.0, which exercises all the major components and provides an overall score that indicates the netbook's performance potential. Finally, I timed how long it took to open a 2.2MB PowerPoint presentation from a SanDisk Cruzer flash memory key.

I also checked out each machine's Wi-Fi by connecting it to a Linksys WRT54G wireless router and loading an Internet radio station. Then I slowly walked away until the netbook lost its signal, which I recorded as its range.

After making sure the battery was fully charged, I installed and opened Passmark's BatteryMon, which monitors the battery discharge rate, and ran the battery down by playing an Internet radio station with the system's audio level set to three quarters.

Acer Aspire One 751h

While some netbooks are too small, with cramped keyboards and screens, and others are too big and heavy for easy travel, Acer's Aspire One 751h is just right. This Goldilocks of a netbook squeezes a lot of computer into a very mobile case.

At 2.8 lb. with its three-cell battery and measuring 1.0 by 11.0 by 8.5 in., the Aspire is the smallest in this group and is only slightly bigger than early netbooks. The model I looked at came with the six-cell high-capacity battery; as a result, it weighs 3 lb. and goes up to 3.6 lb. when you include its AC adapter. It easily slips into and out of a briefcase and leaves plenty of room for a drink on an airline tray table.

For the fashion-conscious among us, the Aspire is available in blue, black, white and red, and it comes equipped with 1GB of RAM and a 160GB hard drive.

Its 1.3-GHz Intel Atom Z520 processor is the slowest of the bunch, and its 11.6-in. display, while bigger than the 10-in. displays that were until recently considered the largest allowable for a netbook, is the smallest of this gang of four large netbooks. However, it offers 1366-by-768 resolution, the same as the MSI X340. It also has the brightest screen among the group.

While the Samsung NC20 and MSI X340 have keyboards that are too small or too mushy, the Aspire's 19.4mm flat keys are as good as or better than those on larger notebooks. Plus, its touch pad recognizes two-finger gestures for flipping pages and zooming. Above the screen is a webcam that worked better in low light situations than the others reviewed here.

It includes three USB ports, an external display port, and wired and Wi-Fi networking, as well as jacks for a microphone and headphone. There's a flash card reader, but the system lacks Bluetooth and an ExpressCard slot.

While it was the fastest of the four to boot up and opened my PowerPoint presentation in 18.1 seconds, the Aspire scored only a 162.2 on the Passmark PerformanceTest 7.0 benchmark. That's about half the performance potential of the MSI. In on-the-road use, it never froze or lagged, and for typical mobile tasks it had just enough power.

With the 5,200 milliamp-hour (mAh) six-cell battery pack, the 751h powered the system for 6 hours and 20 minutes on a charge, three times longer than the MSI, making it the longest-lasting netbook of the group; you can probably expect about 3.5 hours out of the three-cell battery. The Samsung NC20 came closest with its test result of 5 hours and 7 minutes, but only when its adjustable performance was on its slowest setting. The Aspire's 802.11b/g Wi-Fi had a range of 110 feet, just short of the MSI's 120 feet (which was the farthest range of the group).

The Aspire includes Windows XP Home, Microsoft Works, Acer's Carbonite online backup, a trial version of McAfee Security Center (with 60 days of updates) and a bunch of games. Its two-year warranty is halfway between Samsung's and Lenovo's one year of coverage and the three years of coverage that come with the MSI.

At $380, the Aspire has a price tag that matches its svelte size and weight and undercuts the others by at least $100; it costs less than half as much as the MSI X340. If the essence of a netbook is a machine that is inexpensive, small, light and capable enough to be a constant companion, then the Acer Aspire One 751h is a small wonder.

Lenovo IdeaPad S12

Lenovo's IdeaPad S12 is the heavyweight of his netbook foursome. Weighing in at 3.4 lb., it's several ounces heavier than the Samsung NC20, and at 1.1 by 11.7 by 9.0 in., it's half an inch wider. Compared with the Acer Aspire One, the IdeaPad is positively huge. Add the system's AC adapter, and you've got a 4.1 lb. package.

Like the Samsung NC20, the IdeaPad S12 is built around a 12.1-in. screen that shows 1280-by-800 resolution graphics. It packs Intel's one-two netbook punch of a 1.6-GHz Atom processor and Intel GM945 graphics accelerator. Lenovo sells a version with Via's Chrome HC3 graphics engine and the Via Nano processor (the same used on the Samsung NC20) for $50 less and plans to have an IdeaPad with Nvidia's Ion combination of an Atom processor and an Nvidia graphics chip that should raise its performance potential.

The weight pays off in one way: The IdeaPad is the only system of the bunch that has an ExpressCard slot for adding accessories such as a 3G data card. The rest of the configuration includes 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive and plenty of ports for connecting the IdeaPad to accessories and the world. Along with a flash card reader and microphone and headphone jacks, the IdeaPad has a connector for an external monitor, an Ethernet adapter and three USB slots. The IdeaPad lacks Bluetooth.

With 18.9mm keys, the IdeaPad is comfortable to type on, although I preferred the larger keys on the Acer Aspire One. The system has dedicated buttons for volume up, down and mute, as well as tiny speakers up front. Above the screen is a webcam.

The IdeaPad delivers a nice balance of performance and battery life, although its screen was not as bright as the Aspire One's. It achieved a 237.4 on the Passmark PerformanceTest 7.0 benchmark, loaded my test PowerPoint presentation in 18.9 seconds and ran for 4 hours and 46 minutes on its six-cell 4,700 mAh battery pack, putting it in the middle of this group. Its 802.11b/g Wi-Fi connection had a range of only 95 feet, quite a bit short of the best.

In addition to Windows XP Home, the IdeaPad includes a program for sticky notes and a copy of Norton Internet Security with 60 days of updates.

The stand-out application is Device VM's Splashtop quick-start Linux software that brings up a choice of seven apps in about 10 seconds. It's great for making a Skype phone call or for quickie Web research, but to get to Windows and its apps you need to reboot the machine.

The IdeaPad lists for $500 and comes with a one-year warranty, second-best compared with either the MSI or Aspire.

At over 4 lb. with its AC adapter, the IdeaPad is ultimately too big for grab-and-go mobility. Don't get me wrong -- it has positive features, but the IdeaPad is just too big and bulky to be an effective netbook.

MSI X340

Despite shoehorning a great configuration into the thinnest and lightest case, the MSI X340 misses the netbook mark. The problem is not weight, because the case weighs just 2.9 lb. (only a few ounces heavier than the Aspire One); adding the AC adapter brings it to only 3.7 lb. It's also the thinnest of the group, with a 0.9-in. profile.

However, the MSI measures 12.9 by 8.8 in., making it nearly two inches longer than the Aspire. Forget about having room for a drink on your airline tray table -- it can overwhelm the entire table. Plus, for its $900 price, you could purchase two or three smaller netbooks. In other words, this is more of a competitor for Apple's MacBook Air or Lenovo's ThinkPad X200.

I like the shiny, jet-black sparkle finish on the case, but the skin picks up fingerprints faster than an episode of Law and Order, and the entire case flexes so much that it doesn't inspire confidence as to its longevity.

Inside, the MSI excels with premium components like its 1.4-GHz Intel Core2 Solo processor, 2GB of RAM (twice that of the others), a 320GB hard drive and a 13.3-in. screen (the largest of the bunch). It's also the only machine in the group that has a lit logo on the back of the display lid (increasing its similarity to the Air). However, if you don't have long fingernails, it can be hard to get your fingers between the lid and the base to pry it open.

As far as ports go, of the four netbooks, the MSI has the only HDMI connector for linking the system to a large-screen monitor or TV. However, it comes with only two USB ports, which are so close together that I found I couldn't use my 3G data card in one slot and a flash drive in the other. There are also connectors for wired networking and an external monitor, as well as jacks for a microphone and a headphone. It comes with Bluetooth and a flash card reader but lacks the ExpressCard slot of Lenovo's IdeaPad.

The MSI excels when it comes to Wi-Fi networking, with the ability to work with 802.11b/g/n. It also has the greatest reach, with a wireless range of 120 feet, 10 feet longer than Acer's Aspire.

Its keyboard has 19mm keys, but I found them to be mushy and so sensitive to the touch that I was making more mistakes with it than with any other keyboard in memory. Like the others, the system has a webcam above the display.

With the best configuration of the group, it's no surprise that the MSI earned top-performance honors -- with a 314.8 on the Passmark benchmark and the fastest time to get my presentation going -- but it was one of the slowest to start up. In addition, its three-cell 2,150 mAh battery lasted a disappointing 1 hour 57 minutes. That's less than one-third that of the Aspire One.

On top of Vista Home Premium, the MSI comes with Norton Internet Security (with 60 days of updates) and Microsoft Works. Its three-year warranty is the longest of the group. The system also comes with a nice optical mouse with a retractable cord.

But these extras don't come close to justifying its $900 price tag. All told, the MSI is an interesting hybrid design but is too big and expensive to be a good netbook.

Samsung NC20

Samsung's NC20 is a capable machine that delivers a 12.1-in. screen and lets you adjust performance and battery life to suit your needs. However, its screen doesn't match that of the competition, and it has a travel weight of 4 lb.

The NC20 weighs 3.3 lb.; its AC adapter adds another half pound. It's quite a bit bigger and heavier than the Aspire but 5 oz. lighter than the IdeaPad and a couple ounces heavier than MSI, which has a larger screen.

The system's black case measures 1.1 by 11.4 by 8.4 in., which doesn't leave much room for a drink on a tray table. It has chrome accents and comes with a soft case.

Its 12.1-in. screen matches the IdeaPad on size and resolution, but instead of equipping the netbook with an Intel processor and graphics, Samsung gave the NC20 a 1.3-GHz Via Nano chip and a Via Chrome HC3 graphics engine, which proved to be as powerful at moving pixels around as Intel's graphics engines on the other three systems. On the downside, the NC20's display was the least bright of the bunch.

A nice feature is that you can adjust system performance based on the work at hand. This allowed me to tune the machine for maximum battery life on a long plane ride, but made it faster for work when battery life wasn't as critical.

The system includes the usual group of ports, including three USB ports, an Ethernet adapter, an external monitor port, and microphone and headphone jacks. Like all but the IdeaPad, it does without an ExpressCard slot, but the NC20 has Bluetooth as well as excellent white-on-black markings so you know where each port is. The system has 802.11b/g Wi-Fi and a webcam above the screen.

With 18.4mm keys, the NC20's keyboard is stable, predictable and comfortable, although its half-size spacebar was a continual headache for me. It should be the international favorite, with a euro currency key -- something the others lack.

Because the NC20 comes with an application for adjusting its performance, its speed is a little hard to pin down. With the system set to High Performance, it scored a 311.1 on Passmark's PerformanceTest 7.0 benchmark, about equivalent to the MSI.

The six-cell battery ran for 4 hours and 29 minutes on a charge, just shy of the IdeaPad's numbers. In Silent mode, performance dropped to 179.9 while battery life rose to 5 hours and 7 minutes, or roughly what the Aspire One can do. The NC20 has a Wi-Fi range of only 85 feet, half the MSI's range.

The software that's included with the NC20 comes up short next to any of the other large netbooks. It does include Windows XP Home, McAfee's Security Center with two months of updates, and Samsung's backup program, but not much more. The one-year warranty is adequate but second-best compared with the Aspire's two years and the MSI's three years of coverage.

I really like the NC20's adjustable performance and looks, but it's so heavy that it drifts too far from what a netbook is into the realm of the overweight.

Conclusion

What is and is not a netbook is a matter of personal taste and mobile needs. For me, the IdeaPad and NC20 are too heavy, while the MSI is too expensive and big. That leaves Acer's Aspire One as the only netbook that hits all the hot buttons and stays within my budget.

The only one of the four to stay close to its netbook roots, the Aspire squeezes an 11.6-in. screen into a compact 2.8-lb. package that's only marginally bigger and heavier than earlier Aspire One netbooks. With more than six hours of battery life at its disposal, it's the long-distance runner of the netbook world and can power a digital life for a full day of travel, work or fun. While it lacks Bluetooth and an ExpressCard slot and may not be the best performer, it has the best price of the group.

In essence, it's the only system of this group that is so small and light that it's a no-brainer to take with me wherever I go. In comparison, all the others are oversized and overpriced. They may be portable, but they don't live up to my idea of a netbook.

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