CLASH OF THE 10-INCH TITANS
Words Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Netbooks with 10-inch screens arguably offer the best functionality in terms of size, portability, and battery life. A 10-inch screen is ideal for surfing the Web, working on documents, blogging, and managing email on the go.

The important thing to remember when buying a netbook is whether it is something you can work on for an extended amount of time. Is the keyboard usable? Do your eyes get strained from looking at t he screen? How does the trackpad work for you? These are all critical questions that can only be answered by testing and spending time on a netbook beforehand.

Thankfully, the current batch of 10-inch minis offers a lot of features that will appeal to a range of users. Let's see what they have to offer.

1. Acer Aspire One 532H

Price: P23,900

An update of the Aspire One D250, the 532h netbook comes with the next-generation processor for netbooks that consumes less power and gives you the freedom to be away from the mains for up to 10 hours. Styling has also gotten better, the display is clearer, and the features are more competitive. We're liking the new Acer.

The Aspire One 532h weighs in at under three pounds and is a slimmer netbook than we are used to seeing (it's a hair of an inch thick at 0.9 inches). Running Windows 7 and powered by a 1.66GHz Atom N450 processor backed by 1GB of RAM, the 532h can run all your disc-based and Internet applications smoothly. You also get a 250GB hard drive, which is preferable to the dinky 8GB or 16GB solid state drives (SSDs) that are being offered on some netbooks.

The 532h comes with a 6-cell battery, a multi-touch touchpad, and a chiclet-style keyboard that is now 93% of a full-sized one (compared to the 89% of the D250).

2. Asus EeePC 1008HA

Price: P23,900

Asus has redefined the netbook market and consistently evolved its Eee PC line-from the toy-like 7-inch models it produced three years ago to larger, more powerful, and functional netbooks with big-time features and all-day battery life.

The Eee PC 1008HA is the only sealed-battery clamshell netbook in the 10-inch form factor, taking its styling cues from Apple's MacBook Air. Powered by a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 processor with 1GB of upgradable RAM, the 1008HA runs Windows XP smoothly, and will likely do a good job with Windows 7 should you choose to upgrade the operating system. Asus has also made sure that this netbook is well-connected, equipping it with 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth V2.1-premium features normally found in more expensive laptops.

The trackpad sports the multi-touch gesture input feature for pinching and whatnot. It's also unusual in that it sits flush with the unit's wrist rest, yet remains intuitive and accurate thanks to a grid of small protruding studs.

Aside from the capacious 160GB hard drive, the Eee PC 1008HA comes with 10GB of online storage. All in all the 1008HA is an excellent all-around netbook especially with its great trackpad and slimline design.

3. Dell Inspiron Mini 10V

Price: P21,999

Dell's Inspiron Mini netbook line became extremely popular among modders and Mac users. They were able to install Mac OS X Leopard into this hackable machine, making it the closest thing to a Mac netbook.

The Inspiron Mini 10V is a great little netbook in its own right. Its keyboard is 92% the size of a traditional laptop keyboard, which takes the pain away from typing for prolonged periods. The insides of the Mini 10 are pretty standard netbook specs. You get a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 processor, 1GB of RAM (upgradable to 2GB if you are willing to unscrew the bottom case and replace the RAM yourself ), a 160GB hard drive, and a 3-cell battery.

In our tests, the Dell Mini 10 works very well with Windows XP and Ubuntu. Another thing we like is that the Mini 10 can be tailor-fitted to your needs since Dell allows for a lot of built-to-order options on the Mini 10 such as a GPS receiver, mobile broadband connector as well as extended-life batteries.

4. HP Mini 110

Price: P22,950

HP's Mini 110 is an update of the earlier HP Mini 1000, which was popular for its stellar keyboard, sharp looks, and solid construction.

HP's attention to design seems to be as stringent as its focus on technology. The Mini 110 is offered in bright colors and bold designs; the solid black models are the most corporate-looking netbooks by far.

The Mini 110 offers an Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz processor, 160GB hard drive, and 1GB of RAM. There's also a full-size VGA port for connecting to a larger monitor and louder speakers for multimedia-inclined users.

Unfortunately, the oddly placed touchpad buttons still persist in this model upgrade, which is unfortunate because it seems that HP isn't listening to its users who have bemoaned the odd buttons on the left and right of the trackpad.

5. Sony Vaio W

Price: P24,999/P27,999

While the Sony VAIO P and VAIO X are subnotebooks running on Atom processors, they aren't marketed or priced as netbooks. Sony's current official netbook line is the VAIO W, which weighs in at 2.6 pounds with the included battery that lasts up to 2.5 hours.

You get Wi-Fi n when most others get Wi-Fi b or g and the build-quality and looks are topnotch. You also get Windows 7 out of the box, which is great because you can be sure that all the drivers work.

The VAIO W (VPCW115XG) comes with a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280, 1GB of RAM, and 160GB hard drive (the VPCW125AG comes with 2GB RAM and a hefty 250GB hard drive). The updated VAIO W is an eco-friendly netbook featuring a plastic chassis made from 23% recycled CDs. If money is no object and you like the Sony aesthetic, the VAIO W series won't disappoint. The company has been making outstanding mini-notebooks for years and their expertise p ays off.

6. Toshiba NB200

Price: P26,900

Toshiba is another Japanese titan making a big splash in the 10-inch netbook space with the NB200. Like Sony, Toshiba's not new to the sub-notebook game-its Libretto line goes way back to the mid-'90s so the company knows a thing or two about putting big features in small packages.

For the NB200, Toshiba has moved away from the rigid and austere styling and gone a bit wild with the colors. Satin Brown, Satin White, Indigo, Silky Pink, and Cosmic Black are the palette of colors set to appeal to a wider audience.

The NB200 comes with the usual 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 processor; 1GB of memory, and 160GB HDD. You also get an option to run Windows 7 or Windows XP. Windows 7 is the better option but you will need to bump up the RAM to 2GB to make the most out of it.

The NB200 also comes with a 3-cell battery that should be good for three hours on average. It also comes with a well-spaced, chiclet-style keyboard and a USB port that lets users charge USB devices while the NB200 is in sleep mode.

The Verdict

Those looking to get a new 10-inch netbook have a lot of choices, but in the end it all boils down to what can do the job best and for the longest time. Processor and hard drive specs are pretty standard across the line and while all these netbooks will runWindows XP SP3 reliably, we're more inclined to go with the models that ship with Windows 7 straightaway.

The Sony VAIO W (VPCW125AG model) would have been the runaway favorite with its optional extended battery, 2GB RAM, large hard drive, and the fact that it runs Windows 7 natively, but its tag price is substantially higher than the competition.

Models from Dell and HP have solid feature sets but are more rehashed versions of their predecessors than anything. While there's not much to complain about the Toshiba NB200, its premium price could deter prospective buyers with a much lower budget.

In the end, it looks like the company that started this netbook craze still remains king in the 10-inch category with its EeePC 1000HA. It offers superior all-around value in terms of features and style. The unique scalloped shape, Wi-Fi n capability, and the built-in 6-hour battery will matter to power users and road warriors while the dual-array microphone plus the 1.3-megapixel camera make it exceptional for video chats. Coming in a strong second is the Aspire One 532h with its new power-efficient Atom processor. The EeePC 1008HA and Aspire One 532h clearly define what a netbook should be and are clearly ahead of the pack.