While the Mini 1103 is simply an evolution of HP’s long line of netbooks, the low starting price shows how competitive the netbook makers have become due to sales lost to the iPad. Netbook OEMs have no choice but to lower prices to keep sales up; HP has foregone the metal casing of the more expensive Mini 5103, in favor of a plastic case much cheaper to produce.

The Mini 1103 is a solid netbook for those with a driving need for maximum portability in a notebook. It has good hardware specifications and will be solid performer at a very reasonable cost.

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Dell Inspiron Mini 10

Sprint continues to promote its growing 4G network through the offer of two Dell notebooks that have integrated 3G and 4G connectivity. The notebooks include the 10-inch Inspiron Mini 10 Netbook and the 11.6-inch Inspiron 11z Notebook. The Mini 10 is available free ($100 mail-in rebate) to customers signing a new 2-year mobile broadband contract, while the 11z is $149.99 (same rebate) with contract.

There are two data plans available for the notebooks, including a 3G/4G plan that offers unlimited 4G and 3G with a 5 GB data cap for $59.99 monthly. This plan is similar to the existing plan for Sprint’s Overdrive wireless modem. Those not wanting 4G data speeds, or those not in an area that has coverage, can opt for a 3G-only plan with a 500 MB data cap for $39.99 per month.

Dell Inspiron 11z

Notebooks with integrated 4G are nothing new, but the dual 3G/4G connectivity bundled in these two notebooks ensures customers can make the fastest connection available in any location. The data connection will automatically tap into the faster Sprint 4G (WiMAX) network where coverage is available, or connect to the 3G (EVDO) network if 4G isn’t detected. The Sprint 3G network has much wider coverage than the 4G network, as the latter has only been rolled out in 55 cities in the U. S.

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The tablet segment was kick-started by the successful launch of the iPad , and will continue to grow as companies bring models based on the Android platform to market. While notebooks will remain the computers purchased by most, the tablet will begin to rival the netbook/smartbook according to these numbers. The rapid rise of the tablet will be a hot topic at our Mobilize conference later this month.

These numbers don’t address the rise of the smartphone as mobile computers, and recent figures from IDC have a whopping 270 million phones shipping this year. It’s not unreasonable to believe that today’s high-powered smartphones can impact the sales of mobile computers, particularly the netbook/smartbook segment. The mobile computer, no matter its form, has won the war with the lowly desktop.

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This video shows the Mini 5103 is more than a netbook thanks to the dual-core processor. The performance is good, and the video playback enabled by the Broadcom Crystal HD Video Accelerator is smooth and higher quality than is possible with the previous generation Atom processor alone.

The battery life of the Mini 5103 is over seven hours with the extended battery demonstrated in the video, and the high resolution (1366×768) touch display make this one of the most powerful 10-inch netbooks. The total package is less than 3 pounds, making this a portable workhorse that can tacke any job for the mobile professional.

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Lower PC sales may also partly be a result of the iPad and the coming glut of Android tablets, as netbook inventor ASUS has already warned investors. High sales of the iPad have resulted in lower PC sales, and as Android tablets are poised to appear on the market in great numbers, the impact should be even greater. These tablets use less DRAM than conventional PCs, instead using Flash RAM for the primary memory.

Samsung is one of the largest suppliers of DRAM globally. Kwon Oh-hyun, head of Samsung’s chip business, gave the warning at a conference in Taipei. He did not indicate a long-term slowdown was expected, but did state the glut is a result of the expectation of lackluster end-of-year holiday PC sales.

Sales of servers had a strong second quarter according to Intel, and Samsung is no doubt hoping that segment continues to perform well through the end of the year to minimize the affect on the DRAM market.

Image credit: Samsung

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The Mini 5103 wasn’t changed significantly from the 5102, which we reviewed earlier this year, and which has been a successful product for HP. The primary upgrade in the 5103 will appeal to those feeling the Atom processor lacks performance, as HP is including the Atom N455 dual-core processor as standard equipment. There’s a definite improvement in performance of the new processor, but it’s still an Atom-based netbook and won’t set any speed records.

The outstanding keyboard is still the stellar attraction on the 5103. HP smartly has the keyboard taking up the entire width of the small netbook, which yields a keyboard size that’s 95 percent of a full-sized model. The typing experience is outstanding, as the chiclet keys have good tactile feedback and allow fast input.

The trackpad on the 5103 could use improvement; there are three things I don’t like about the implementation. It’s very small, which isn’t surprising given the small size of the netbook. It lacks multitouch, which has become the norm for notebooks, and the lack of two-finger scrolling is inconvenient. There’s a scroll area on the right of the trackpad, but it’s no substitute for multitouch. The surface of the trackpad is a glossy material that actually provides mild resistance to finger sliding on the surface, making it harder to use as a result.

The optional high-resolution 10.1-inch display (1366×768) is pushing the limit for what can comfortably be viewed on such a small screen. It’s better than the standard resolution option (1024×600), so manually increasing the size of displayed objects is a small price to pay for the added functionality. The two-finger multitouch option works as expected, but I don’t find it adds much value to a netbook. I occasionally use it to close a window or hit the login icon, but that’s about all; it’s not very comfortable to reach out to a laptop screen to touch things.

HP claims a battery life of 10 hours with the 6-cell battery, but my real-world testing yields closer to 7.5 hours. That’s a decent battery life given the small size of the 6-cell, which adds very little bulk to the small package. There’s a standard 4-cell battery that HP also supplied for the evaluation, and while it adds no bulk at all, the reduced battery life would push me to the larger 6-cell. The batteries have an LED indicator that indicates the charge level at the touch of a button.

The performance of the Mini 5103 has been good for an Atom-based netbook, no doubt due to the dual-core processor. While not as fast as other notebooks with a “real” processor, I have no complaints with the performance of this model. The combination of a highly portable form, long battery life and decent performance make this a winning solution for the mobile professional.

The Mini 5103 handles video playback better than any Atom-based netbook I’ve tried. Full-screen and HD video played fine on both YouTube and Hulu. The full-screen video looked outstanding on the 10-inch screen, and this would come in handy on business trips for watching movies.

The 5103 has all of the standard ports for using peripherals, including 3 USB 2.0 (one is eSATA compatible), VGA out, audio in, audio out, RJ-45 and a Kensington lock slot. There’s a wireless switch for turning Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n) and Bluetooth (2.1) on and off easily, and two buttons between the keyboard and screen that will fire up HP’s QuickWeb and QuickLook utilities: Linux-based programs to start the 5103 into a web-only or an Outlook-only environment without booting full Windows.

It takes too long to boot up Windows, so HP has produced a new DayStarter utility that allows users to check calendar events and device battery status while the boot is in progress. If you can’t speed up the process, at least make the time spent more useful.

The HP Mini 5103 isn’t the cheapest netbook, with a starting price of $399, but it’s one of the best I’ve tried. It will give most mobile professionals good bang for the buck, and the dual-core Atom processor breathes new life into the tired netbook genre.

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Our buddy Sascha Pallenberg of Netbook News was at Computex and got some good hands-on time with this Intel netbook. He captured it on video that shows how thin and mobile this netbook is. Sascha was so impressed with it that he named it his “best of Computex” winner, and that was after five days at the show. I sure hope we see this come to market.

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Intel has seen this coming since the netbook took hold of consumer’s wallets. The company downplayed the importance of netbooks, but the cheap devices just wouldn’t go away. So Intel started concentrating on making processors that could run these mobile computers better than the original Atom, which it’s just announced at Computex.

Intel unveiled new dual-core Atom processors based on the Pine Trail chipsets to take the netbook into the next generation. These processors will up the performance on the lowly netbook, while maintaining good battery life. A new processor family for tablets was also announced — the Oak Trail chipset, which is designed for devices such as slates with a more mobile usage. Oak Trail will see a 50 percent reduction in power consumption, according to Intel, while allowing the handling of high-resolution video. Intel is not ignoring the super-thin notebook form, the smartbook, as it also unveiled the Canoe Lake family.

These new processors aimed at netbooks and tablets have one advantage over the Qualcomm alternatives: the ability to run Windows 7. Intel is quick to point that advantage out to everyone who will listen, but also makes it clear that Oak Trail will also run MeeGo and operating systems from Google. Android is going to factor greatly in the burgeoning tablet market, and Intel wants to play in that arena.

Intel’s creation of the Moblin OS now begins to make sense for the company’s future plans. Moblin is a Linux-based operating system designed from the ground up to run on netbooks. It was unable to knock Windows off the netbook, so Intel joined forces with Nokia and Maemo to launch the MeeGo platform. MeeGo is built to work on netbooks, tablets and smartphones, and is designed from the to handle touch operation. This makes it competitive with Google’s Android platform, and Intel is sure to optimize Oak Trail to handle MeeGo.

Computer giant Acer is joining Intel’s battle with Qualcomm as it announced its line of netbooks and upcoming tablets will all run MeeGo. It’s embracing Intel’s new processors and the mobile OS to bring to market, and as soon as this year. This is a big win for Intel in its quest to retain dominance in the mobile computing segment.

No question the big loser in this unfolding mobile computing segment is Microsoft. Windows 7 is not designed to handle tablets with touch control, and there is nothing on the horizon from Redmond to remedy that. Microsoft has failed to take the Tablet PC mainstream in the past due to its shortcomings in this area, and that’s not going to change anytime soon. The expected rapid rise of Android in the tablet space, coupled with Intel’s forging of its own mobile platform, leaves Microsoft hanging out to dry.

Image credit: Engadget

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Brad’s only physical problem with MeeGo was getting it downloaded, the installation was without event and he seems pleased with the results. There is an app store cleverly dubbed the MeeGo Garage, but it is a garage that is currently pretty bare with little content available. MeeGo is using the Chrome browser and in the video response is good and browsing is nice. I like the MeeGo “zones” that make working with running programs very easy to do. The whole running experience is optimized for small screens with good mouse controls. If you try MeeGo, let us know in the comments how it is working for you.

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I have used a lot of netbooks, and have always liked the devices. You can’t get more mobility in a fully configured notebook form than on a netbook. They are light, have great battery life and will do just about anything you want to do on a notebook. All of this capability is cheap, with some netbooks going for as little as $200. There are more capable models like my favorite HP Mini 5102, but those generally cost quite a bit more. Like all electronic devices, the more you pack in one the more it costs.

Netbooks have the Atom processor in common for the most part, a good processor for the genre. They also tend to have low resolution displays (1024×600) which keeps things cheap. This combination is fine for getting work done, but it’s getting long in the tooth for me. I find myself getting frustrated at the lag that is common on netbooks, and I want to see more on the screen at once than those displays show me.

Sure there are many netbooks with higher resolution options, but that generally drives the cost up. I also find the Atom processor lags get worse when the netbook is driving more pixels on the screen. I’m not the only one who gets frustrated at waiting for something to happen on a netbook, I have observed others complaining at the wait for an action to execute.

My disappointment at the performance of the netbook is driven by using low cost notebooks that are becoming more commonly available. These notebooks are only slightly bigger than the 10-inch netbooks, yet pack a “real” processor and higher resolution display into the case. The difference in battery life provided by these “tweener” notebooks and netbooks is getting smaller in my experience, too. Throw in the fact that you can often find these notebooks at reasonable prices ($500 or less), and the purchase decision gets even tougher.

I do think the netbook is here to stay, they are always going to be cheap enough that consumers will pick them up, lag or no. I am hoping that the technology is going to advance to address my concerns, and we’ll see some cool netbooks coming along that makes things better. I’m hoping that Kevin Tofel will come back from the Netbook Summit with some great information about new netbook technology that is coming to speed these babies up.

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