Netbook Scoop

Everything You Need To Know About Netbooks

Falling Netbook Prices – 4/13/09

Posted by Tom Greer on April 13, 2009 in Asus Netbooks, Falling Prices, Sylvania Netbooks

Here is today’s list of netbooks and nettops where today’s price is $5.00 or more below yesterday’s.

We wrote about the Black version of the Asus Eee Top 15.6″ 160GB XP last Saturday when the price fell to $532.95. Now an Amazon.com Merchant has cut their price to $522.00.

Asus Eee Top 15.6" 160GB XP
Asus Eee Top 15.615.6" Touchscreen (1366x768), 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 1 GB, 160 GB Hard Drive, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Comes in:
  • Black (ETP1602-BK-X0045) - from $499.99
  • White (ETP1602-WT-X0044) - from $583.95
More Info

Here is another product with a history of price cuts. We reported falling prices on the Black model of the Sylvania G Netbook Magni Elite 160G X6P on April 6th and April 11th. This morning Amazon.com trimmed their price again, this time to $291.80.

Sylvania G Netbook Magni Elite 160G XP
Sylvania G Netbook Magni Elite 160G XP10.2" Display (1024x600), 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 1.0 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, 6-Cell Battery, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Comes in:
  • Black (gnet31201XS) - from $349.99
  • Pink (GNET31201X6P)
  • White (GNET31201X6F) - from $349.99
More Info

The Sweet Pea version of the Asus Eee PC 901 12G XP saw its lowest price drop from $289.99 to $279.99 with Amazon.com lowering their price.

Asus Eee PC 901 12G XP
Asus Eee PC 901 12G XP8.9" Display (1024x600), 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 1.0 GB DDR2-533/677 RAM, 12 GB Solid-State Storage, 6-Cell Battery, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Comes in:
  • Fine Ebony (EEEPC901-BK002X) - from $625.95
  • Pearl White (EEEPC901-W003X) - from $479.00
  • Sakura Red (EEEPC901-RP007X)
  • Sweet Pea - from $287.95
More Info

OnSale.com trimmed the price of the Asus Eee PC 1000 40G Linux in Pearl White to move its lowest price from $389.99 to $384.99.

Asus Eee PC 1000 40G Linux
Asus Eee PC 1000 40G Linux10" Display (1024x600), 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 1.0 GB DDR2-533/677 RAM, 40 GB Solid-State Storage, 4-Cell Battery, Xandros Linux
Comes in:
  • Fine Ebony (EEEPC1000-BK003) - from $412.95
  • Pearl White (EEEPC1000-W004) - from $413.95
More Info

As always, please remember that the widgets shown above are dynamic and the prices will automatically be updated to show the latest prices.

Netbook Buyers Guide – Work In Progress

Posted by Tom Greer on August 22, 2008 in Acer Netbooks, Asus Netbooks, Site-related

You’ll see a new menu item on our masthead.  It’s titled “Netbook Buyers Guide.” Right now, we’ve only completed work on the Acer Aspire One (Linux and Windows versions) and the Asus Eee PC 1000 and 1000H.  We’ll be adding several more every day.

The Netbook Buyers Guide is designed to give potential buyers all the information that they need to make a buying decision.

We’ve scoured the Internet and collected boatloads of information for each product.  Here is what you will find:

Features

For each netbook, we provide a quick list of its key features.  Since there are so many choices, we also note what it is that makes this netbook unique.

Specifications

You will find a complete set of specs for each netbook.  Prior to official introduction, these specs may be based on unofficial information.  However, once the manufacturer has published official specifications, we use these as our source.

Reviews

For most netbooks, there are dozens of reviews published on the Web.  You can spend hours Googling and still end up confused.  We plow through all of these for you and present only the best.  We usually group the reviews into three categories:

  • Best Quick Reviews
  • Best In-Depth Reviews
  • Reviews Comparing Other Netbooks

Videos

We find that video reviews are extremely helpful in selecting a netbook to purchase.  They show you the device in detail as they describe the features, often explaining why they like or dislike the way the feature has been implemented.  You simply cannot do this in a written review.  We group video reviews are follows:

  • Best Unboxing Video
  • Best Video Reviews (Quick and In-Depth)
  • Videos Comparing Other Netbooks
  • Special Topic Videos

Compare Prices

Once you’ve selected a netbook and you want to know who has the best price, we’ve got you covered.  For most netbooks, you’ll find more prices from 10 or more online retailers.  Plus we will tell you whether they are in stock or not.

Summary

We think we’ve got everything that you need.  But if there is something else you’d like to see, please click on the “Contact Us” button on the menu bar.

Netbook Operating System Interest

Posted by Tom Greer on August 8, 2008 in Acer Netbooks, Asus Netbooks, MSI Netbooks, Netbook Market

In my last article, I reviewed recent activity by product on our Netbook Price Comparison Guide.  While I was preparing the article, I noticed another interesting trend.  The level of interest in netbooks with Linux was much higher than I expected.

Here is a quick rundown:

  • Aspire One: 67% Linux – 33% Windows
  • Eee PC 1000:  30% Linux – 70% Windows (1000H)
  • Eee PC 2G Surf: 100% Linux (just seeing if you’re paying attention) 8^)
  • Eee PC 901: 50% Linux – 50% Windows
  • MSI Wind: 29% Linux – 71% Windows

I’m surprised by the level of interest in netbooks configured with Linux.

I’m not sure what to make of this except to keep watching.  If you have some insight, please comment below.

Eee PC vs. MSI Wind vs. Aspire One

Posted by Tom Greer on August 8, 2008 in Acer Netbooks, Asus Netbooks, Dell Netbooks, Fujitsu Netbooks, MSI Netbooks, Netbook Market

I have no direct line on sales figures for any of the netbook manufacturers or retailers, so I don’t know what is really selling.  But I do see the traffic patterns to my site, which gives me a good indication of the level of interest in various products.

I’ve been perplexed by the MSI Wind.  There is almost no stock anywhere.  Are sales exceeding MSI’s expectations by such a large amount that they simply can’t manufacture enough?  Or is MSI simply having supply chain problems in obtaining components?

I called around and found a few places that had MSI Winds in stock and posted the info.  I thought that people would read my article and scarf them up.  That article received a very light response.

By contrast, since I unveiled our Netbook Price Comparison Guide a few days ago, The biggest item of interest has been the Aspire One.  Second place goes to the Eee PC 1000H.  In third place is the Eee PC 2G Surf.  The Eee PC 1000 and 901 are fourth and fifth.  Finally, in sixth place, we get to the MSI Wind.

Read the rest »

Which Eee PC Should I Buy?

Posted by Tom Greer on July 29, 2008 in Asus Netbooks

Intro

If you are contemplating purchasing a netbook, you must at least consider an Eee PC. After all, the Eee PC is the product that took the market by surprise and started the netbook craze.

Before you can make any decision, you need to understand the Eee PC product family. In that case, this article is for you.

Asus has recently announced so many new versions of the Eee PC that it has become almost impossible to recall the specific features of each model. Sometimes you just need a place to quickly recall some information about one of the Eee PC models. Then this is also for you.

Before we start, in order to understand the various models and assess their value, we need to know the price. For that reason, I have looked up the best price for each model and displayed it here. It provides a nice point of reference. But these prices will be out of date the moment I publish this article. I am not going to make any attempt to keep this current.

[Update (8/6/08): I have implemented a "Netbook Price Comparison Guide". Here is a sample.]

[Update (8/28/08): You may wish to also read our article "Which Netbook Is Right for Me?" ]

Read the rest »

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