Best Netbooks

Toshiba outclasses other brands

The Toshiba mini NB205-N310 (*Est. $400) simply blows away all other netbooks in review after review. Its nine-hour battery lasts longer than any other netbook, and testers say its full-size keyboard and spacious touchpad put the whole crowd of cramped netbooks to shame.

"In creating its first netbook for the U.S., Toshiba has learned from the mistakes and successes of its rivals, and one-upped them all," says Laptop Magazine.

Most netbooks' six-cell batteries squeeze out less than six hours of juice. But in a battery-drain test at Laptop Magazine, the Toshiba delivers nearly nine-and-a-half hours of continuous Wi-Fi web surfing and it endures for nearly 10 hours in PC World's test.

PC World and Laptop Magazine say that the Toshiba's touchpad is the best ever on a netbook, with comfortable left-and-right mouse buttons. Critics are also very impressed with the keyboard on the Toshiba mini NB205-N310; they say its cutout-style keys with spaces in between are similar to a MacBook's keyboard.

The Toshiba mini NB205-N310 comes in a brown matte finish that spurns fingerprints. It's also available in frost white as the Toshiba mini NB205-N311 (*Est. $400), blue as the NB205-N312 (*Est. $400) and pink as the NB205-N312 (*Est. $400). Laptop calls the design "stunning," but CNET criticizes the bulky battery that protrudes from the back. Testers appreciate the USB port (in addition to two regular USB ports), which can charge devices such as smartphones even when the netbook is turned off. But they universally hate the speakers, which they find even weaker than most netbooks'. Toshiba also offers the slightly cheaper Toshiba mini NB205-N210 (*Est. $340), which has flatter keys, no Bluetooth and comes only in black. Performance should be identical, however.

Best budget netbook: Acer Aspire One D250

If you are looking to spend a little bit less, the Acer Aspire One D250 (*Est. $295 and up) gets some good recommendations. Acer offers this 10.1-inch netbook in a host of versions that differ mainly in color (white, blue, black or red), battery (six- or three-cell) and warranty (one or two years); otherwise all are essentially the same.

The Acer Aspire One D250 is also nearly identical to the Acer Aspire One D150 (*Est. $295 and up), which preceded it to market by just a few months The D150 remains current, though availability is beginning to dwindle. The only difference is that the Acer Aspire One D250 is slightly smaller and lighter.

Inside, you'll find all of the same components: an Intel Atom N270 processor, 1 GB of RAM, a 160 GB hard drive, media card reader, webcam, microphone, VGA port, three USB ports, Ethernet port and Wi-Fi (b/g). Bluetooth -- found on some pricier netbooks -- is missing. As that lineup of features closely mirrors what's found in typical netbooks, it's not surprising that critics say that the Acer Aspire One D250 performs about as well as the average netbook when it comes to actual computing. But reviews say it lags a bit on ergonomics and battery life.

At 89 percent of standard, the Aspire One's keyboard feels cramped compared to most other 10.1-inch netbooks, testers say. CNET's review does say the keyboard "is large enough for comfortable typing." Reviewers are unimpressed with the tiny touchpad and the rocker switch that replaces the traditional right and left mouse buttons. The 1,024-by-600 pixel screen, however, is good, with CNET calling it "bright and clear."

The cheapest, under-$300 Acer Aspire One D250 comes with a three-cell battery, which runs for two to three hours in expert tests. Most netbooks run on a six-cell battery, which works for about six hours between charges, adds a few ounces to the weight and pumps the cost of the Acer Aspire One D250 up to $320.

HP Mini 5101: Rugged, advanced netbook for business travelers

Experts recommend HP Mini netbooks for business travelers, thanks to their rugged bodies and advanced, customizable features -- and the HP Mini 5101 (*Est. $425) is no exception.

The Mini 5101 costs more than other netbooks, but reviewers say it delivers more, too. First, it's tougher: Its aluminum and magnesium-alloy case gets a coat of soft-touch rubber paint and motion sensors help protect the hard drive from falls. "Road warriors looking for a netbook that can withstand being jostled around would do well to consider the HP Mini 5101," Laptop Magazine says, naming it an Editors' Choice.

The Mini 5101 also outperforms other netbooks in tests, including wireless speed tests. Its Wireless-N radio "delivered extraordinary throughput" as far as 50 feet away from a wireless access point in Laptop Magazine's tests, and it nearly doubles the average netbook's throughput at close range.

It feels good to use, too, testers say. The 95 percent-size keyboard is slightly smaller than the one on the Toshiba NB205-N310, but it, too, has cutout-style keys, which makes typing easier. The speakers sound good for a netbook, and even the built-in webcam has more megapixels than others'. If these pluses aren't good enough, HP offers plenty of upgrades. You can order a Mini 5101 with 2 GB of memory, a hard drive up to 320 GB, a 128 GB solid-state drive, built-in wireless broadband and even a high-def screen.

The cheapest HP Mini 5101 is the FM955UT (*Est. $400) and it includes a three-cell battery that HP says will last four and a half hours between charges. Reviewers don't test this one. Instead, they test -- and recommend -- the HP Mini 5101 FM978UT (*Est. $425), which has a more standard, six-cell battery that lasts between seven and eight hours in tests. Add more features, and the cost climbs into regular laptop territory: A 2 GB memory, Windows Vista version was selling for $545 at Amazon.com when we checked, as well as a 320 GB hard drive version for $620.

Its advanced features "make the 5101 the most compelling netbook for business users," PCMag.com's Cisco Cheng concludes. But the average user could save some money and get even better battery life from the top-rated Toshiba mini NB205-N310, Cheng says.

Runner-up netbooks

The top-rated Toshiba mini NB205's longer-lasting battery, roomier keyboard and touchpad, and trendier design give it the edge over the critics' former favorite netbook, the Asus Eee PC 1000HE (*Est. $370). Otherwise, the two are very much alike.

Both offer all of the usual netbook specs, with the latest Intel Atom N280 processor. The Asus Eee PC 1000HE does include Wireless-N compatibility -- unlike the Toshiba, which uses the older Wireless-G -- but reviews say that's only important if you plan to run the netbook at home with a Wireless-N router. Wireless-N routers are all backwards-compatible with Wireless-G, but experts say the effort required can slow down the whole network. However, most public Wi-Fi hotspots still use Wireless-G, and testers say they don't have any problems with the Toshiba's Wi-Fi performance at any rate.

The Asus' six-cell battery also sits nicely flush with the case, instead of bulging in the back like the Toshiba's. But the Toshiba's battery lasts nine hours -- two hours longer than the Asus Eee PC 1000HE's in tests -- and testers say the Toshiba's full-size keyboard and touchpad make it more pleasant to use than the Asus, which has a 92 percent-size keyboard.

The Asus Eee PC 1000HE has been available for quite some time. Though still being offered, it is being supplanted by newer versions. For example, the Asus Eee PC 1005HA (*Est. $275 to $355) is identical to the Asus Eee PC 1000HE, except the 1005HA sports Asus' slightly slimmer-and-lighter seashell case and offers three different battery options, starting with a three-cell, four-hour battery. Its top-of-the-line version lasts 30 minutes longer than the 1000HE in CNET's battery-drain test, and that site grants the Eee PC 1005HA its Editors' Choice award.

Samsung offers a few netbooks that draw favorable feedback. The Samsung N110 (*Est. $340) is the successor to the very popular Samsung NC10. Laptop Magazine likes its updated touchpad and longer battery life -- better than the top-rated budget model, the comparably equipped Acer Aspire One -- but other reviewers agree with CNET that the N110 is "fairly generic" and costs too much for what you get. The Samsung N120 (*Est. $370) adds a full-size keyboard and better speakers.

The Samsung NC20 (*Est. $500) raises this question: When does a netbook stop being a netbook? With its 12.1-inch screen and full-sized keyboard, the NC20 blurs the distinctions between netbooks and full-size laptops. However, CNET says it performs like a netbook, struggling "as all netbooks do" when asked to multitask or stream video. Its Via Nano processor performs about as well as the Intel Atom processors most netbooks use, but its big screen drains the battery quickly -- in as little as four hours in professional tests.

The Dell Mini 10v (*Est. $300 and up) gets some nods for being cheap, but even testers who like it find its touchpad awkward (the mouse buttons are merely touch-sensitive areas on the pad), and the cheapest version comes with only a three-cell battery. A six-cell battery adds $35 to the price, but Matthew Dillon at Notebooks.com says it's worth it; he regularly uses one with his Mini 10v and gets six hours out of a charge. The pricier Dell Mini 10 (*Est. $200) includes an HDMI port instead of the usual VGA connector, but reviewers find the VGA version more useful. Wired and Laptop Magazine report that video via HDMI is choppy.

The Dell Latitude 2100 (*Est. $350 and up) is "aggressively targeting the K-8 education market," PC World says, with its easy-to-clean touch screen, optional antimicrobial keyboard and a chunky, rubberized case that comes in crayon colors. A flashing light on the lid alerts teachers when kids sneak onto the Internet during class. It gets good reviews for kid-friendliness -- a Wired tester ground a peanut M&M into the lid and was impressed to be able to wipe it right off -- but PC World criticizes its "horrid" speakers and 80 GB hard drive, which is half the size of cheaper netbooks'.