Finally, a netbook I can live with

Netbooks have always been too small and too slow for me, but no longer. Enter the Asus Eee PC 1201N: 1.6 GHz dual-core Atom, 2 GB RAM, ION, 12.1" (1366x768), 250GB HD at 1.45 kg and US$500.

It does not have a built-in optical drive and is a little on the heavy side, but hey, you can't expect everything to be perfect.

Atom is good enough for office apps and surfing net, but it is too slow for playing 720p videos. That's where the ION comes in: dedicated graphics. With it, netbooks can play 1080p videos without a hitch.

(The dual-core Atom N330 is a gimmick, though. It is actually meant for desktop use, so it has less power saving features — the 1201N can last just a little over 3 hours on battery. It is low by netbook standard, but it is good enough for me.)

The 1201N is almost perfect for me. However, it also almost triggered my instant-discard filter: an extra column of keys beside the backspace. I absolutely hated that. When I need to correct mistakes while touch-typing, I naturally use the edge of the notebook to "home".

Something I like about the 1201N: RAM. Unlike many other Atom netbooks, it can use more than 2 GB RAM. This is important as I need 3 GB RAM to run my apps comfortably.

Screen size

Most people feel that 10" is the perfect netbook size. However, I find it too small. 12" is the minimum for me — I'll be hard-pressed to even consider 11.6".

My ideal notebook

To me, a notebook is meant to be carried around, so I have always been willing to trade features/speed for weight. Specs:

• Light: 1.3 kg
• Small, but not too small: 12.1" (1280 x 800)
• Run apps and store files comfortably: 1.6 GHz dual-core CPU, 3 GB RAM, 120 GB HD
• 2.5 hours battery life
• Optional optical drive
• Able to play 720p video
• Backspace/enter by the right edge
• Must look sleek

There is one ultra-portable notebook that meets all my requirements: the HP EliteBook 2530p. Unfortunately, it is also very expensive. The Eee PC 1201N is the first netbook to meet most of them.

(Sidenote: the 1.3 kg 13.3" MSI X340 would have been the first if it had dual-core instead of one [Core2Solo]. Its keyboard was very flimsy and it had short battery life due to its 4-cell battery.)

12" is the battlefield

12" is where netbooks and ultra-portable notebooks will fight over for a while — and I believe netbooks will prevail. This is unfortunate because I want a notebook with a dual-core CULV CPU. No matter how you look at it, an Atom CPU is slow.

Finally, a netbook I can live with