Cheap Netbooks

Budget netbooks from Toshiba and Asus are top picks

If you're interested in picking up a netbook as cheaply as possible, the Toshiba mini NB505 (*Est. $270) is a promising choice. It includes a 1.66 GHz Intel Atom N455 processor, 1 GB of RAM, 250 GB of hard-drive space, and a 10.1-inch, 1024 x 600-pixel display. It's a little chunky, at 1.4 inches thick and weighing 2.9 pounds. Five color choices are available.

Laptop Magazine gives the NB505 4 out of 5 stars, calling it "one of the best bargain notebooks yet." They like its battery life, stylish finish and Windows 7 performance. PC World notes that it's a slow, typical performer, but says it's more attractive than the average netbook, has long battery life, and includes a better-than-average keyboard. TechReviewSource.com gives the NB505 a rating of 4 out of 5 stars on the strengths of its stylish design, comfortable keyboard, powerful speakers and better-than-average battery life, but TechReviewSource.com downgrades it for touchpad issues and sluggish performance.

Wired writes that the NB505's performance is abysmal, but it is still a "surprisingly good netbook choice." Pros include the price, battery life and large touchpad, while cons are the slow-responding, flat keyboard, which the reviewer finds is prone to errors. Hundreds of reviewers on Amazon.com give the NB505 pretty strong feedback. Most say that it is up to the tasks of basic surfing and word processing, as long as you don't expect too much from it, a sentiment that was echoed by the users posting at Toshibadirect.com.

The Asus Eee PC 1015PX-MU17 (*Est. $280) is another strong consideration for budget buyers. The lone professional review we found of the Asus netbook gave it high marks for the class. Amazon.com users who review it leave mixed comments, though the majority seem pleased. It has a 10.1-inch display  and a lightweight 2.8-pound design, and it is not overly expensive. The dual- core 1.66 GHz Intel Atom N570 processor offers good performance for a netbook. The other specs for this configuration of the Asus 1015PX, including 1 GB of RAM, a 250 GB hard drive and built-in Bluetooth support, are in line with other dual-core-powered netbooks. The 1015PX is available in several colors, including blue, white and black.

The Asus Eee PC 1015PX comes with integrated Intel GMA 3150 graphics, so it is no multimedia machine. While the Atom processor makes general performance good, users say that with only 1 GB of RAM, nothing more than the lightest of multitasking is possible. Several Amazon.com users say they find that speed and performance improve if you remove the Windows 7 operating system that comes included and install the more lightweight Ubuntu Linux, instead.

While Asus claims a 10-hour battery life, users say it is actually much shorter, around six or seven hours. A professional critic says that the charge is sub-par compared to other notebooks. The anti-reflective display earns praise for its lack of glare and wide viewing angles, and the colorful matte case resists fingerprints. We saw a few complaints that say the touchpad is very sensitive, although others say you get used to it quickly. Overall, the consensus is that the Asus Eee PC 1015PX delivers adequate performance for a low price, but users should be aware of the limitations before they buy it.

Another line of low-priced Asus netbooks, the Eee PC 1001PX (*Est. $250 and up) , receives similar evaluations and comes in several different configurations with differing amounts of memory and hard drive space.

Gateway's LT series of netbooks also bears mentioning. Gateway offers different models to  different retail partners; Best Buy offers the Gateway LT2802U (*Est. $230) and Gateway LT2811U (*Est. $240) , Walmart offers the Gateway LT2804U (*Est. $280) and Office Depot offers the Gateway LT2805U (*Est. $250) . Despite the differing prices and model numbers, all offer the same 10.1-inch display, Intel GMA 3150 graphics, 1 GB of RAM and a 250 GB hard drive. Best Buy's models feature a single-core Intel Atom N455 processor, while the others contain a dual-core Intel Atom N570 CPU.

While all of the Gateway models receive a large number of positive reviews at their respective retailer's websites, the only professional review we could find was of the Best Buy exclusive Gateway LT2802U. The expert says that with a 2.5 lb. weight and 9-plus hours of battery life, the netbook is definitely portable, but the small wrist rest area could bother frequent typists. More than 80 users review the LT2802U at BestBuy.com, and a full 85 percent say they would recommend the product to a friend. Some users complain that the netbook is slow and doesn't handle multitasking well, but most say that the LT2802U is plenty fast when performing lightweight tasks like web surfing and document editing. Like with the Asus Eee PC 1015PX, several users report that ditching the pre-installed Windows 7 Starter Edition and installing Ubuntu Linux results in greatly enhanced speed and performance.