Netbook Beater

If netbooks are too fragile for work at your school, think about One2OneMate’s StudentMate mini notebook. Practically indestructible, the StudentMate has a full-size keyboard, 7-inch touch-sensitive color screen and a pair of USB ports. It runs on Linux, comes with a slew of school software and has a full-day battery, so kids can concentrate on learning and ignore the battery icon. The best part is that the company provides a five-year warranty, compared to 1 year of coverage that’s generally provided with a netbook. It costs $300 and can be ordered with a cart for sharing it among classrooms.

Mini with Maxi Strength

The biggest question about notebooks this year for schools has been over whether netbooks are strong enough to take the daily abuse of teachers and students. HP steps in with the first netbook that’s been built to last. The Mini 5101 is just as small and light as the others, but has a rugged magnesium base and anodized aluminum display frame so that it can take a licking and bounce back for more. Based on a 10.1-inch screen, Intel Atom processor and high-performance hard drive, the system starts at $450 but weighs only 2.6 pounds.

New Look Notebook

Who says that a school notebook has to look bland and boring? Dell’s Studio 14z is a lean portable system that can keep up with any assignment school-bound Web surfing and homework. It’s available in Black Chain Link, Midnight Blue, Spring Green, Plum Purple, Ruby Red and Promise Pink (which includes a $5 donation to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure charity), weighs 4.3 pounds and is less than an inch thick at the front.  The system has a 14-inch wide screen, Nvidia GeForce 9400M graphics, a Web cam, a 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and a 500GB hard drive. The Studio 14z starts at $650.

Video Netbook

If you’ve been disappointed with the video quality from the current crop of netbooks, HP has redefined this notebook genre by adding a high-performance video accelerator. The Mini 1100’s 10.1-inch screen can play back high definition video without jagged lines, lost frames or the jerkiness that’s so common among even the best netbooks. Available in three colors and case patterns, the Mini 1100 family is powered by either a 1.6- or 1.7GHz Intel Atom processor and comes with up to a 250GB hard drive. It all weighs less than 3 pounds and is available with either Windows XP (for $329) or HP’s Mobile Internet version of Ubuntu Linux (for $279).

Is Bigger Better?

For all those of you who have thought that netbooks are too small for school use, Lenovo has a bigger, and hopefully, better idea with its upsized IdeaPad S12 netbook. It has a 12-inch screen with LED backlighting, but the system weighs close to 4-pounds and sells for $450, or about what a budget notebook goes for. Like other netbooks, the S12 is powered by an Intel Atom N270 processor, but is closer to a traditional notebook with a full-size keyboard and a 160GB hard drive. Look for a version in at the end of summer that has Nvidia graphics and an HDMI plug to connect it to a large-screen monitor. It will sell for $500.

Learning Netbook

There’s been no shortage of new netbooks over the past year, but Dell has one that’s been designed especially for schools. I think that at $369, the Latitude 2100 will compete strongly with HP’s MiniNote and Acer’s Aspire One for the desks of elementary, middle and high schools. The systems come in five colors and have rubberized surfaces so they are easy to carry and can survive being dropped into a backpack. Based on an Intel Atom processor, 10.1-inch screen and the choice of Windows XP, Vista or Ubuntu Linux, the Latitude 2100 weighs under 3 pounds. The best part is that schools can have their logos printed on the systems.
 

How Low Can They Go?

When it comes to netbooks, the bottom might reach about $200 this fall, and that’s good news for schools looking to buy inexpensive notebooks for students and staff. NorhTec is expected to show a small notebook designed for schools at next month’s Computex show in Taiwan that undercuts similar machines by at least $100. Called the Gecko EduBook, the system is based on an XCore 1GHz processor, 256MB of RAM and an 8.9-inch screen. It won’t be the best equipped notebook around but with Ubuntu Linux it should do well in schools. Because it uses so little electricity, it can run on 8 AA batteries or a rechargeable power-pack. Look for it this summer.

 

Second Generation Netbook

Keep an eye out for Lenovo’s new IdeaPad S10-2, one of the first of a second generation of netbooks. An upgrade to the S-10 model, the new system is a little thinner, lighter, yet has the same 10-inch screen. The big changes are the addition of an extra USB slot, a larger keyboard. At $350 for a system that uses an Atom processor, has 1GB of RAM and a 160GB hard drive, it’ll be tough to beat. It should be available in a couple of weeks.

 

Twist and Shout

Whether they’re netbooks, budget notebooks or basic school systems like OLPC XO or Intel’s Classmate, these systems all have one thing in common: they’re not all that exciting to a 10 year old kid raised on GameBoys and PlayStations. Enter PeeWee’s 3-pound Pivot notebook, which on top of being spill resistant and rugged, has a screen that swivels and folds flat like a tablet so kids can type on its keyboard or draw on its display. At $600 it’s a bit pricey, particularly in light of its Intel Atom processor, 8.9-inch screen, 1GB of RAM and 60GB hard drive. It does have a good assortment of ports, WiFi and a screw-on handle so kids can carry it to and from school. In addition to Microsoft XP Home, the system comes with Works as well as programs for creating art, handwriting recognition and an e-book reader.

 

Small Wonder

Luckily for schools in search of inexpensive notebooks for students and staff, the appearance of the netbook has arrived on the scene none to soon. Small, light and – above all – priced several hundred dollars less than even budget systems, netbooks have meant that schools that couldn’t afford computers can now get a system for every student and teacher.

While every week seems to bring out a new design, my favorite netbook at the moment is the Acer Aspire One AOD-150. At $350, it’s a bargain that combines an adequate 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor with 1GB of system memory, a 160GB hard drive and a sharp 10.1-inch wide-screen display. In other words, it should be plenty to satisfy a teacher’s need to create curriculum and tabulate student results. At the same time, it’s more than enough to open the digital world to students.

The good news is that instead of being a bulky and heavy budget computer with disappointing battery life, the D-150 is among the smallest and lightest in its class. The whole thing weighs just 2.3-pounds with the base three-cell battery or 2.9-pounds with the six-cell extended capacity power-pack. It has dimensions of a pad of paper that’s between 1.3- and 1.5-inches thick and easily fits into a kid’s backpack or book bag. On the downside, the system’s extended battery sticks out of the back.

While most adults will find the keys and touchpad to be a little skimpy, they’re perfect for most kids, particularly elementary and middle schoolers. Around its perimeter, the D-150 has a good assortment of ports, including 3 USB, external monitor and audio. Add to that a flash card reader that works with the most recent modules and you have a system that can work with all facets of digital curriculum from creating podcasts or presentations to playing online educational games and doing Web research.

It’s got wired and wireless LAN connections built-in for Web access at home, at libraries and at school plus two things that few other netbooks include. On top of a Web cam, the D-150 has Bluetooth so that it can host a video learning event and works with a wireless keyboard, mouse or headphone.

What’s missing? Well, there isn’t an optical drive for creating and playing CDs and DVDs. I don’t think many schools will miss that, and it’s one fewer thing to break.

The system’s performance won’t set any records but it provides an excellent balance between power and battery life. It rates a 214 on Passmark’s Performance 6.1 benchmark, making it one of the most powerful netbooks available, but also can run on its extended battery pack for more than 5:30. That means that the D-150 is a full school day computer, so kids and teachers can leave the AC adapter at home; expect about 3 hours on the standard battery.

Available in four colors, the D-150 comes with matching battery, a soft case and lots of software, including Microsoft Works, which should be fine for most school projects. The D-150 comes with a 1 year warranty and Acer has a video that describes the unit.

Overall, the Acer Aspire D-150 goes to the head of the class with an inexpensive yet well-made and powerful netbook. And, that’s exactly what schools are looking for these days.

A
Acer Aspire One AOD-150
$350

     + Excellent price 
     + Top battery life
     + Good performance
     + Web cam, Bluetooth and WiFi

     - Battery sticks out
     - Small keys
     - No optical drive