Netbook showdown: The top 10 mini laptops rated

By Derek Chesterfield on 30 October 2009, 12:48pm

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Asus Eee PC S101 £320

With the Eee PC S101, Asus has tried to bridge the gap between netbooks and more upmarket, business laptops. The good news is that the company has largely succeeded. This model's combination of a large keyboard, top-notch screen and beautiful design makes it stand out from the netbook crowd.

Design and usability

The S101 ditches the toy-like styling of previous Eee PCs and instead is decked out in a rather fetching, and more professional-looking, brown colour scheme. It feels much more like one of the company's slick ultra-portables than a traditional netbook. That's an impression that's reinforced by the excellent keyboard, which is only a shade smaller than those found on standard laptops. We're also big fans of the 10.2-inch screen. It's bright, but uses a matte coating that's easier on the eyes than a glossy one when you're working with it for long periods.

Connectivity

On the connectivity front, the S101 features the usual suspects. You get an Ethernet socket, VGA connector and three USB ports for hooking up peripherals like cameras and external hard drives. There's also wireless-n Wi-Fi for connecting the S101 to your router at home or hotspots when you're out, and Bluetooth so you can easily transfer pictures and other files to and from mobile phones.

Performance and battery life

The S101 has the staple netbook innards of a 1.6GHz Atom N270 processor and 1GB of RAM. As you'd expect, its performance is pretty much in line with other netbooks in the Asus stable, such as the 1000HE. It handles day-to-day tasks without any problems and will even comfortably play 720p high-definition videos, although 1080p files are a step too far. When it comes to battery life, the S101's slim, four-cell, 4,900mAh power pack makes it more of a sprinter than a marathon runner. In Battery Eater's Classic test, it managed to keep running for just 3 hours and 23 minutes.

Should I buy it?

It's pricy and its battery life isn't wonderful, but the S101 isn't so much about performance as looks. If you value beautiful design, you'll find it hard to resist.

Read our full Asus Eee PC S101 review