Windows 7 Starter makes netbooks easier to use because it puts less between you and what you want to do—less waiting, less clicking, less hassle connecting to networks. Windows 7 Starter combines the latest in reliability and responsiveness with the familiarity and compatibility of Windows.

This Acer Netbook comes with all the right hardware in order to run Windows 7.  Check it out

Processor:  It's the latest intel Atom processor running at 1.66 GHz (n280).  In case ya didn't know the Atom processors use about 1/10th the electricity of a normal processor but allowing you to access the net, video chat, im and listen to music all at once (and quickly).

Ram:  1024 megabytes - it's enough to run Windows 7 starter edition smoothly, however you'll probably want to upgrade to 2 GB if your planning on running a lot of applications at once.

Hard Drive: 250 GB is a lot of space for a netbook.  After all, netbooks are mainly used for accessing the internet and chatting which barely use any space at all.  So, 250 is more than you'll ever need if you're planning on just browsing the internet and chatting.  However, if you're going to be copying your iTunes library on the netbook make sure it's less than 150 GB.

Networking:  The Acer AOD250-1146 comes with a hard wired 10/100 ethernet port and support for any wireless signal (B,G and N).  If you're looking to connect to the internet anywhere go then grab a cellular internet card.

Screen:  It's one of my favorite laptop screens...the 10.1 inch CrystalBrite LED Display.  The thing I really love about this screen is that you can actually see it outside on bright days (like when you're traveling in the car).

If you're looking for a great netbook at a great price then the Acer line of netbooks with Windows 7 is a solid choice.

Per Dell ~ this netbook is ideal for those who are on the go and need access to everything on the internet without compromising anything.  So whether you need to get on FaceBook, MySpace, a video chat or Twitter in a hurry the Dell IM10 can do it to ya (err.. for ya).  Of course it has built-in wireless and a wired 10/100 ethernet connection for access to the internet (great for the house, dorm or coffee shop).  If you want to go extremely mobile then pop in a cellular internet card and connect anywhere you have a cell signal (it's the future man )

The IM10 comes with a 92% keyboard which basically means the keyboard is slightly compressed to fit the 10.1 inch screen. It's not that big of a deal, however be prepared to type slower since your fingers will need to get used to the key layout.

As far as processor goes it's got the intel Atom Z520 - a power slipping processor which is capable of run 64-bit hardware and software...can you say wow! I dare you to find another netbook at this price that can run a 64-bit OS...it just doesn't exist!

Dell Inspiron Mini IM10-2863 10.1-Inch Obsidian Black Netbook List Price: $399.99 Used From: $275.00 Average Rating:

Reviews

Bought the IM 10 with TV tuner. The touchpad makes me want to scream. The only time the mouse will follow my fingers (for 5-10 seconds) is if I spit on them. Dell owes a fix and an explanation to consumers. The TV Tuner does a poor job of picking up video signals. Out of 5, 4 were local religious stations. I was surprized by the weight of the battery. Certainly not a laptop to hold in one hand. Still exploring for the pros and hope I have discovered all the cons.

I bought this for my youngest daughter who needed a laptop for High School Debate. What a world huh? Laptops have become an indispensable and back saving tool for getting and storing debate evidence and arguments. Her coach is not thrilled about Netbooks, but my oldest son recently bought one (as it is easier for his daily train commute), and had very high praises, so after looking and thinking about it I decided to get the Dell Mini. What I figured was the big down side was the lack of an optical drive, but I figured well, it has USB ports so I'll just hook up my external DVD writer, and she'll be in business. Unfortunately, Dell in a smart business move but bad consumer relations idea, put no DVD encoder in the unit, and directs you to pay for an encoder. Or, one assumes, if you get the add on DVD unit for the Mini, from Dell (for about $100) one assumes that will take care of that. But here's my deal on that, for the extra money I could have just got her what the coach wanted her to have in the first place. All in all, it has been working all right for her, and the light weight is a big plus. Several software companies, have accommodating downloads just use the license key on the software disk to activate (for example MS Office 2007), and Kapersky even makes an internet security suite specifically for "Ultra-Portables". The Netbook has a very good wireless pick-up, it works at any location in the house, which is more than I can say about some of my other devices that were a lot more expensive. So here's the deal, I'm sold (at least for now) , but not overjoyed (yet).

These netbooks are great. performance is perfect for everyday computing... web browsing, word processing, simple spreadsheets. i use it every day around the house to look up recipes, check my facebook page, google whatever comes to mind without running upstairs to the big desktop. The keyboard is a great size. the touchpad takes a bit to get used to, but i have never used one like this before. Afrer a day, its no problem. i would definitely recommend this product.

Don't buy a Dell unless you want to talk to an Indian customer service call center where all they are trained to do is say is: "No! No! No!", they are rude and talk over you, and finally disconnect the call. Don't buy Dell! I will never make that mistake again. This company will not survive- sell the stock if you have any!

10.1" netbooks with only 1024x600 resolution, instead of the standard 1024x768 resolution, do not have enough resolution to display many of the dialog boxes that you will encounter. You wont be able to move some of them around to display the accept or decline buttons, for example. This has a way of getting on your nerves.

Now, enough of my rambling, lets talk about some of the HP Mini 110 Stats.

Processor:  Ok, as I mentioned earlier the HP Mini 110 has the 270 version of the Atom processor.  At the time of this writing the 280 is out, but a bit expensive.  You'll be able to save a lot without sacrificing performance if you pick the 270.  Atom processors deliver performance but use about 1/10th the electrical power that a CORE 2 Duo would consume.  Hence, this Netbook has a very long battery life (as do all netbooks with the Atom processor).

RAM: The HP Mini 110 comes with 1 GB of RAM, however it's not upgradable to 2 GB (like other Netbooks).  That's slightly disappointing, especially if you're going to be using this Netbook for more that browsing the web and working on documents.  On the flip-side if you're going to just use this Netbook to browse the internet and Skype then 1 GB is plenty.

Screen: This Mini comes with a very bright, NON reflective (no glare) 10.1 inch screen.  Some people do love those shiny screens until they take them out in the light!  You won't have to worry about that with this Mini.  The screen is also engineered to use as little electricity as possible.

HP Mini 110-1030NR 10.1-Inch Black Netbook - 6.75 Hours of Battery Life List Price: $452.00 Sale Price: $769.99 Used From: $298.00 Average Rating:

Reviews

Be very careful in ordering this product. I have an HP desktop and have never had issues with it. This laptop was ordered as a Christmas present for my son to use in his high school class. It was fine from Dec. 25th until mid February. By this time, the 30 day Amazon return policy was over. The starboard had burned out in it. I spent DAYS on the phone with HP technical support, since the laptop is covered by a one-year warranty. Each time I called (about 6 all total, and the laptop still has not been fixed), I spent at least an hour on the phone. Every agent I spoke with gave me a different story, including that the HP service center in my area could not take care of this problem, since the laptop is considered a consumer product. They would not let their own service agent order the part to fix it. Now I am waiting for a box to send the laptop to HP for repair. I have very real concerns that I may never see it again. If I had this to do over again, I would have gone into a store to purchase it. Warranty is much longer there--usually 90 days.

The shipping was fast and the product was as described. I would buy again and recommend this seller.

I received the hp mini 110-1022 as a gift for Christmas, it had been initially purchased in July. In January, the keyboard quit working and after 1.5 hours on the phone with a service technician it was determined to need a system recovery. So they mailed me the disk (after trying to force the external drive down my throat). I bought the external CD drive at a third location, attempted to use the disk to recover the software, only to find it didn't work, the "hardware" needs repair, and they would be glad to send me a box for shipping back for the low cost of about $20. For a BRAND NEW NETBOOK that was rendered UNSUABLE by a faulty keyboard. According th hp tech support, it really isn't a shipping fee, it's "insurance and priority to get it repaired". The fact that it is under warranty (and did I mention BROKEN?!?) should be enough to warrant me receiving these services. This computer is BRAND NEW, and DOESN'T WORK. Why should I pay MORE to have the BROKEN computer fixed? So my options are to suck it up, give hp MORE of my hard earned money, or to use it as a cute little doorstop? Seriously? Can they refund me the money I spent on the external drive that I wasn't going to buy except that I needed it to "fix" the computer? Can they refund me the monry I spent upgrading the crappy factory battery? Needless to say that this is not the computer I would have bought for myself, for many reasons: price, battery life highest among them. Now I can add the "shipping, er priority repair/insurance" charges. Thanks for nothing hp.

I purcased tis notebook as a replacement to te 2133. Te screen was a bit too small for mey visual acuity and te moter board went in about nine monts or so after I purcased it. Tis time te 110-1030NR ad dissapointed me in tat te kepyboard started ivine trouble about five monts after buyin it. te g and h keys ave stopped workin as well as te backspace button. I am very dissapointed because I am currently doin an online deree and ave to travel a lot so I need to ave an ultra portable option.

I absolutely love this netbook! Very compact and easy to travel with, but has a nearly full size keyboard. Screen has very good resolution. I downloaded iTunes and can watch movies, podcasts, listen to music, etc. I did purchase an external DVD/CDRW drive ($39.00) so that I could watch DVD's and install previously purchased software, as the netbook does not have an internal drive. Love the 3 2.O USB ports. I especially like the external WI-FI on/off switch for air travel.

Here are a few specs:

• The processor is the Intel 1.6 GHz Atom N280 processor.  Not only is this CPU really quick, it uses a lot less electricity to perform calculations thus allowing us to achieve a 9 hour battery life!  Sweetness.  You can have this Netbook on all day without being plugged in.
• For those of you with "fat fingers" this Netbook comes with a full size keyboard!  No compressed keys here guys.
• 160 GB hard drive with some pretty cool technology for those of us that drop stuff by accident...and impact sensor!  The impact sensor on the hard drive detects motion & speed.  If the physical speed of the netbook is too fast (as in a drop from the table for example) it will automatically put the hard drive in a safe state.
• 1 GB of ram for Windows XP is perfect.  With this amount of RAM you'll be able to load multiple websites, work on documents, listen to music or chat...all at the same time!  You can also upgrade the ram to 2 GB should you need more.
• Many people buy netbooks for Skype.   With this Toshiba netbook you'll be able to video chat via skype or any other instant messenger service.
• It has 3 USB ports, so you'll be able to attach up to 3 additional devices (like a phone or an ipod).  The great thing about these USB ports is that you can charge your attached devices even when the netbook is turned off or sleeping!
• Your choice of network connections are here.  The Toshiba Mini NB205-N210 has built-in support for Wireless (B and G signals) and 10/100 ethernet connections.
• You won't have to connect your camera just to look at those picture on the memory stick because the NB205-N210 has slots for memory cards (SD, SDHC and MMC).
• Listen to audio privately with the built-in headphone jack.  The NB205-N210 also has a microphone jack in case you want to add an external mic.
• The Toshiba Mini NB205-N210 comes loaded with Windows XP home.  The Windows XP OS is very light on Netbook hardware, which allows you to do the things you want to do quickly.

Toshiba Mini NB205-N210 (NB200 series) 10.1-Inch Black Netbook - 9 Hour Battery Life List Price: $349.99 Sale Price: $419.00 Used From: $1,010.00 Average Rating:

Reviews

I purchased the NB 205 two months ago. For the first several weeks all was well but then freeze ups began occurring. There was no pattern but the netbook has to be manually shut down and restarted quite often. I had added AVG and their scan showed no viral infections. I called Toshiba and twice their low level techs could do nothing...not even strip the computer to factory conditions. A higher level tech was supposed to call and several days later they did call but I was not there and now must get back in line. Fred Meyer will not take it back so right now I am stuck with a very undependable machine.

I was surprised with the finish of the product as well as the time battery duration. I've done a lot of research, and this netbook is probably ranking on the top five.

I love this netbook. It is exactly what I was looking for. It runs great. The small size is easy to get used to. It's got a long battery life of course.

I guess mini computor explains it. It lacks volume in sound and needs to have more memory added. But it is good to travel with to hold pictures and to see what they look like.

Mines actually shipped with Windows XP installed instead of Windows 7 Starter, which is what I preferred anyways. Did not need to upgrade the RAM to 2GB because I use XP and ran mostly firefox, microsoft office, itunes, videos, etc. If you're going to game, use photoshop, install windows 7 ultimate or other heavy apps then upgrade to 2GB RAM. Battery life on this netbook is ridiculously long. Definitely survives for up to 9 hours. I'm in class/on campus from 11-7 or 8 most days and I don't need to bring the charger ever. But the charger is also very light and small so it's not a burden to carry around. I really enjoy the chiclet keyboard - i dont hit the wrong key as much. Took about a week to get used to the keyboard (fullsized which is rare on a netbook), but now I can type faster on this keyboard than my normal laptop (dell xps). I can pretty much write down word for word what someone says (great for taking notes) with few typos, which I can't do on my dell keyboard without hitting the wrong key. Only negative is the audio speaker, which is on the bottom of teh laptop and basically nonexistent. But if you plug in speakers/headset it works fine. All in all this is a really good netbook. I would say better than asus. I've had it for about 2 months and haven't had any problems. Oh also the design is very cute (way cuter than asus's pink one). I've gotten many many compliments on the look :)

Here are a few more specs on the Acer Aspire One (in plain english )

• The Aspire One comes equipped with one of the best processors on the netbook market:  The 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270.  This processor is quick and barely produces any heat.  That's important, because you don't want to have a hot netbook on your lap or heat emitting from your keyboard (which is really annoying when you're trying to type a lot).
• It's got plenty of RAM: 1 GB (1000 megabytes) for the operating system.  You'll have no problem opening multiple websites at the same time while working on documents and chatting (for example).
• Connect to almost any wireless network!  The Aspire One can connect to B and G wireless signals (which are the most common).  The is no support for N wireless on this particular model (Acer Aspire One AOD150-1920), however all N routers usually send out a mixed-mode signal which includes B, G and N (the Aspire One just needs a B or a G wireless signal).
• Got Music or Pictures?  The Aspire One comes loaded with a large 160 GB hard drive, so you'll be able load a lot music (about 20,000 songs!) or photos on this Netbook.
• The Aspire One comes with a rock-solid operating system:  Windows XP Service Pack 3.
• One of the lightest netbooks out there!  Just 3 pounds!

Acer Aspire One AOD150-1920 10.1-Inch Ruby Red Netbook - 6.5 Hour Battery Life List Price: $319.99 Sale Price: $384.99 Used From: $249.00 Average Rating:

Reviews

Acer netbook support is horrible. I already sent it to be repaired once for overheating issues with the A/C charger and netbook itself. They want me to pay to have it wrapped in 3-5" of bubble wrap, though they would generously pay the shipping. It seems I got a lemon and they refuse to give me a replacement or refund. I am not happy. I'm out of luck because everything worked fine for 2 months, bypassing the Circuit City return window. I have only had netbook for 4 months (3 weeks of which it was being serviced the first time). I'm still well under warranty, but that doesn't matter to Acer. I will never be buying from Acer again.

I have baught a new Acer one AOD150-1920 Netbook, It comes with pre installed Windows XP. Problem is internet speed. In my Wifi network when I check the download speed for my HP Laptop using site [...] I get 1.30MB/sec. but at the same time for Acer One NetBook download speed is just .12 MB/sec. When I tried by connecting to net using LAN wire still its the same.I have cleaned up the registry.Stopped all unwanted services in back ground. turned off the Power saver mode. Still its same. I can see this difference while downloading any file from internet at the same time in both of my laptops. Can anyone tellsme how much maximum download speed then can achieve with this notebook. I am planning to return this notebook as I am not getting the speed of more then 200KBPS when at the same time oter machine can donload at 1.3 MBPS

I own a number of computers (and have owned and purchased a number of computers in the past--I built one, once upon a time--so I have a pretty good amount of experience with technology. This little guy was my first foray into the realm of netbooks. I have a few friends who have notbooks. They chose others like an Asus or MSI. Though I had an Acer a decade ago--probably longer--and at the time wasn't that impressed, I decided to give this a go as the most solid brand of the ones I was looking at. HP's netbooks were out of the running due to the odd 578 pixel height they were big on at the time. Functionally, a lot of these are going to be the same. A netbook is a netbook is a netbook. They will all have trouble with streaming high resolution stuff from the internet at times. They will all fail at running anything truly complicated. They are all built with essentially the same stuff. If you look at it, 90% of everything is running a 1.6ghz atom. They generally have 1 gig of ram and will accept a 2 gig (do this). They come with a multi-card reader and have 3 USB ports. In this way, you will not find any surprises with the Acer Aspire one. You want to get something that is well built, reliable, and has great battery life. If you were to judge a netbook by these criteria, there is nothing really to be asked for that the Aspire One does not deliver. It has, hands down, the best battery life of any laptop computer I have ever owned or seen. I actually operated one almost continuously on a flight from London to Chicago. This will say '8.5' hours of battery life. This is a little off. If you're doing much on the internet, you'll probably call that like 5-6 hours, but if you're on a plane where that doesn't matter, you can turn off the wifi and it will cap out over 10. Even with its rather large battery, this weighs in a little over 3 lbs. Its light as a feather. Its constructed mostly with a plastic shell. In spite of this, it actually is very attractive and it feels remarkably solid. If you're an idiot like I am, on occasion, and manage to shatter part of your keyboard by dropping something surprisingly heavy on it, you'll actually get the opportunity to see that this is built much like a modern car. The metal is on the inside, and its pretty well organized, tough, solid, and quiet. It does not run very hot. It actually took me a few months to realize there was even a fan in there. Yes, my unit still works in spite of my poor actions. I was actually very sad when I damaged it, but I replaced the keyboard, and now it works very well, still, a testament to its solid construction. Finally, this runs XP like it was made for it (that is XP for the One). I have heard that Windows 7 is also a good fit for netbooks, though I have not yet tried that myself. In closing, I was very much 'out' of the whole Acer brand for a long time, but this One is definitely put me back in the 'in' camp again. This is a very impressive little computer.

As long as you know what to expect, this netbook is perfect. I wanted a light, no-fuss laptop that would run for hours and hours without charging, run a few games, browse the internet, check my e-mail, and maybe take some notes in class and write some papers. This machine does exactly that. First off, it's light. If you've never held a netbook before, it weighs about as much as a small hardcover textbook. I can hold it comfortably with one hand and I don't have to really exert myself at all. It has a phenomenally long battery life: if I turn down the brightness on the display and turn of the wi-fi (like when I'm writing a paper, playing a game, etc) I can easily squeeze 5 or 6 hours out of it. Even though the Aspire One's battery juts out from the chassis -- unlike other netbooks, such as the EEE, whose 6-cell battery is flush with the case -- it's not bulky enough to ever become an issue. Despite the fact that it's running an Intel Atom and has a very underpowered onboard Intel graphics chipset, I can still play plenty of older games on it with no problem. For example, I am running Diablo II and Morrowind (using CD-images mounted to a virtual drive) with no difficulty. Morrowind is about the most powerful game that this machine can run, and even then it's only at about 20-25 fps. But still, it's more than enough to make the game playable. I also grabbed all the old X-Com games off of Steam, and they run well, too, as does Heroes of Might and Magic III. A game I was really hoping would run better, Torchlight, is intermittently playable. I tried to load Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War, and while it is technically playable at minimum settings, I think it just has too many things going on at once to allow for any decent performance. I should note, however, that I took the time to drop a 2GB stick of RAM in my machine, and it's a fairly cheap investment for substantial benefits. At the time, I got a deal from Amazon for the netbook, a neoprene sleeve, and the RAM stick for about $350, so it was a no-brainer. If you see a deal like that, it's just about as good as it can get. The wi-fi connectivity is top-notch. It works just as well as my desktop in that regard, and I have had no problems connecting to various wi-fi hotspots around town. The browsing is fast, and with a fast browser like Opera 10.5 or Chrome there's basically no delay in surfing at all. As an "office" or "student" computer, I have mine running the Open Office suite and while it takes marginally longer to load than it does on my desktop, the difference is barely noticeable. Other programs load with minimal fuss, and again, while there is a small performance hit compared to a high-end laptop or a mid-range desktop like mine, as long as you aren't trying to do too much it works fine. I can keep multiple PDF files open simultaneously along with word processing software without suffering too much. I also used Wubi to dual-boot into Xubuntu in a virtual environment, and it works fantastically -- but then again, most Linux distros work great on most computers. Ergonomically, the computer is very pleasing. I have relatively large hands, and with just a little bit of adjustment I can use the keyboard better than I can on many other "full-sized" laptops. The touchpad was a little frustrating at first, but after I adjusted some of the settings and disabled some of the autoscroll options, I found it to be pretty good. For games, though, I still prefer a cheap optical mouse with a retractable cord. I have had no major problems with any part of this computer, mechanically or otherwise. Unlike most new computers, it's not saturated with bloatware, so I didn't even have to do my customary reformat/reinstall out-of-the-box. I have dropped the machine a few times without incident, and while it's not as bad as the glossier machines it is noticeable (especially on the screen) when fingers have been touching it. I haven't really used the webcam or microphone, but I did test the webcam and I'm sure that it would be more than sufficient for almost any of my conceivable purposes. All in all, this machine is exactly what I wanted when I thought about getting a netbook. It's lean and just powerful enough for my purposes, but not so powerful that it drains the batteries overmuch. It's small and compact, but just big enough to use comfortably. I could scarcely imagine a machine better suiting my intended purposes.

I love my tech toys -and over the years I've had my share- but the Aspire One netbook is far and away my favorite of all of them. Purchased 11 months ago, I found it was as quick in windows as any pc I ever had. The touchpad, the keyboard, the lcd screen (GREAT for full-screen netflix watching) are all top-notch. And the battery life? Amazing with the 5800 MaH 6-cell. The big battery actually balances the computer in such a way that it makes it very stable when opened on practically any surface. I have found other netbooks, including the popular Asus EEE, to be not nearly as well-balanced. Upgrading to 2 MB memory was easy enough. I know I'm not the only one who uses my netbook from sunup to sundown and couldn't live without the amazing little appliance any more. A few weeks ago the screen froze and then wouldn't reboot back into windows without using safe mode. The outsourced phone support was helpful and competent and I was back up and running (albeit with a clean reinstall) in a very short time. Then last week it didn't go into standby after closing it up and was blazing hot and wouldn't turn on the next morning. One call to support and ten minutes later and I was packing up the netbook for a return under warranty. Hopefully the repair will go without a hitch and I'll be back up and running. So far I have been pleased with Acer support. My previous laptop purchase was a bargain-basement Acer and it was a poorly built and designed product. The Acer Aspire One netbook couldn't be more opposite. Without question my next netbook purchase will be an Acer.

Check out the 1005HA specs:

• Intel Atom N280 Processor 1.66GHz - Currently, this is one of the best intel processors for the netbooks.  It's pretty quick, doesn't draw a lot of power and outputs little heat.
• 1GB DDR2 RAM - This is plenty of RAM for Windows XP (which is what comes loaded on this netbook) and it's DDR2 which is about twice as fast as DDR.
• 160GB SATA Hard Drive (5400 RPM) - That's a massive hard drive for a netbook!  Since most people will just use this netbook for getting on the internet this hard drive is way more than enough.
• Windows XP Home Operating System - Windows XP is a good, solid OS that's very light on system resources.  It's a perfect fit for this netbook.
• 10.1-inch WSVGA 1024x600 LCD Display
• WLAN: 802.11b/g/n (draft 2.4GHz n) - The wireless card in 1005HA will allow you to connect to any wireless network that uses a B, G or N signal.
• Bluetooth 2.1 - connect your 1005HA to an array of bluetooth devices (such as a cell phone or wireless headset)...very handy.
• Webcam - The 1005HA has a built-in 1.3 mega-pixel webcam and a built-in microphone, perfect for Skype!
• The magic F9 Key! - Should you need to restore the Asus 1005HA netbook back to it's original factory settings (a.k.a reinstalling the OS) you can just tap the F9 key 3 times at boot to begin the restore process.

ASUS Eee PC 1005HA-PU1X-BK 10.1-Inch Black Netbook - 10.5 Hour Battery Life List Price: $389.99 Sale Price: Too low to display Used From: $299.00 Average Rating:

Reviews

Asus 1005HA-PU1X The Asus Eee PC Seashell design is very slick. I bought the 1005HA-PU1X based on its styling and features. The 1005HA-PU1X is one of the few netbooks to offer: Bluetooth, 2.0MP webcam, WiFi b/g/n, and easily upgradeable RAM in an affordable package with 10+ hours of battery life. However, there are some major drawbacks to buying an Asus. The first thing I usually do with a new PC purchase is format the HD and do a clean install of an OS. In this instance, I installed Windows 7 32-bit Professional (full version) and do not regret this decision for many reasons. I also maxed out the RAM to 2GB, even though Windows 7 only uses about 500MB, up to 1GB when lots of apps are running. Windows 7 makes the netbook perform so much better than with XP or Vista. My Dell Mini 9 has XP and it boots slower and runs slower than the 1005HA with W7! The Mini 9 has a N270 processor with 2GB RAM while the 1005HA has a marginally faster N280 processor and 2GB RAM. The BIOS upgrade procedure is very cumbersome unless you use the Windows-based Asus update. I did not figure this out until I dug around the internet to find a solution. AFUDOS is a horrible piece of software. None of the Asus BIOS update programs allow downgrading for BIOS flashes, so make sure you really want to upgrade. The compact charger than came with the 1005HA gets extremely/excessively hot during recharging. It also makes an audible hum. There were some complaints about earlier chargers, but the problems have been supposedly fixed with the Delta-manufactured chargers. The blue LED is bright enough to be distracting at night. I couldn't sleep with it lit so I flipped it upside down. The charging system on the 1005HA is very funky. With all of my Dell laptops, you can yank the power cord between 95%-100% and be able to charge it again upon replugging. The 1005HA does NOT charge unless you drop it below 95%. It is not software/OS dependent - I verified this behavior using Windows XP, 7, and even Ubuntu 9.10! As long as you drop it below 95%, it will charge it up to 100%. However if you pull it before it drops below 95%, it will give you the dreaded "Plugged in, not charging" message. The battery will also self-discharge at 100%, so even if you keep it plugged in, it will allow it to slowly drop below 95%. That said, I've gotten up to 14 hours of battery life with this netbook. I typically get 9-10 hours on one charge. It's awesome to bring this netbook into a classroom where there is a HUGE pile of AC adapters/extension cords/power strips running around the floor to power HP, Dell, and Mac laptops while I pull out the 1005HA without any power cords. I take Saturday classes so I can run my netbook for the full Saturday without ever charging it. Windows 7 has superior power management options over XP, so you can tweak a bunch of settings to conserve power. I use my Bluetooth mouse and WiFi connection in class, so it wasn't like I babied it. I hear the N450-based Atom processors can get up to 14 hours advertised, so considering I have gotten up to 14 hours with my N280, it's all good. The LED backlit LCD screen is very dark. There are 15 brightness settings, but even at full brightness it wasn't nearly as bright as the LED backlit LCD screens on my Dell Mini 9, Dell Studio 1537, or Dell Inspiron 1545. The viewing angle on the 1005HA is also extremely narrow. You have to sit in front of it to see anything clearly. However, the image quality is very crisp for such a small screen and low resolution. The built-in speakers are absolutely rubbish. It actually hurts my ears to listen to my favorite songs. The best way to describe the audio quality is to imagine hooking up a pair of headphones and turning up the volume. There's an excessively scratchy and tincan-like quality. The SD/SDHC slot was extremely tight. It took off the label from my Kingston SDHC card and scratched the heck out of the blank plastic SDHC chip that comes with the 1005HA. The cards will NOT eject properly either. Upon closer examination, I found the internal shield/sleeve wasn't made properly. My Dell Mini 9, Studio, and Inspirons all have very free moving SDHC slots. The keyboard feels very flimsy. The keyboard flexes when you type, and the Esc key was actually tilted on mine. It sat lower in one corner, suggesting another manufacturing defect. I decided to replace it under warranty, and to evaluate Asus's warranty process against Dell. I had to email tech support to get the phone number. I called and a very rude lady tried to get me to send my entire netbook back to replace the keyboard. I asked for just the keyboard and she emailed me a form that required my credit card ahead of time. I also had to pay return shipping out of pocket! With Dell, I can use the Live Chat and ask for a new keyboard which they will ship out next day for no charge. They will also give me a return label for no charge return shipping. Asus's customer service is pretty poor compared to Dell. The overall quality of the 1005HA isn't as good as Dell's Mini either. I only bought the 1005HA because I wasn't able to build a Mini 10 the way I wanted (BT w/ WiFi N w/ 2.0MP webcam). The Ethernet port location is awkward. I've almost accidentally connected USB devices to that port, and it might have shorted out a few connections had I done so. It might because of how many laptops I have that have USB ports in that sport (right hand corner near monitor hinge). The 1005HA comes with a charger and a small neoprene sleeve. The sleeve is a little tight to use, but works well as basic storage for the 1005HA. I recommend a more secure netbook case/bag though. Pros: Inexpensive, lightweight, and compact. With Windows 7, it becomes a very powerful netbook that runs a lot of office apps very smoothly. Cons: Asus quality is mediocre at best, customer service sucks compared to Dell. I'd rather have bought a Mini 10 but the 1005HA had all of the features I wanted. Overall: 4/5 stars.

Owned it for 4 weeks. AC adapter quit suddenly, overnight. Now battery is completely discharged and the netbook is dead. spoke to ASUS and they said they will be sending the new one in 5 - 7 business days. The trouble is, I have to send te faulty one on my expense, back to them. The "warranty" covers "one way shipping only". The netbook is nothing really to be excited about - it does it's job, is a little on the slower side. The only pro is that it is very light and easy to carry around. the shiny surface is very prone to fingerprint marks being left all over it. nothing to take away from Amazon though, as usual. Good packaging and prompt delivery.

I don't normally write product reviews, but I do read them almost every time I make an online purchase, so I figure it's only fair that I let everyone know when I have a bad experience. My power supply went out after about 4 months of use. I was first informed by Asus that the PS only has a 6 month warranty on it, which is BS! I jumped through the ridiculous hoops that they require, like faxing credit card documents and after several phone calls to check on it, they either cannot tell me the status of the replacement and tell me to call back later or give me some other lame excuse why i don't have my replacement power supply yet. I give up; I just bought a 3rd party power supply from Amazon for $25. It has a lifetime warranty. Asus, you win for now! But I hope that this and all the other negative reviews here cost you a bunch of sales. Done with that crap... If I could go back, I'd heed all the warnings about this problem and buy a different brand.

The thing broke the first week I had it. Worse yet, they actually made me pay the shipping to return it. When I protested they said it was non-negotiable. Needless to say I was annoyed. Asus needs to work on their customer service. Oh yea, and it would be nice if the computer lasted longer than a week too.

It is an awesome netbook I recommend it to anyone who needs to use it for school, to check the email messages, do simple tasks, taking notes. I am actually using it right now. Happy Shopping. [...] to see the features on the netbook.