There are several "netbook" style platforms on the market (some may only be available via discount and/or surplus channels) these days; most of the recent ones are based on a relatively standard x86 architecture with a PC BIOS and plenty of disk space and memory. While some of the original Asus EeePC models had relatively small 4 GB SSD drives, they're still easy to install with something modern like the Ubuntu NetBook Remix (UNR 9.1.0, based on the Karmic Koala release). Hint: this is probably the smoothest and easiest option to install and use for most people.
There are other more constrained x86 platforms, such as the OLPC XO-1 laptop, or the the VIA-based C7 Netbook described here, as well as several non-x86 options based on ARM, PPC, or even MIPS. Many of these latter machines come with some form of Linux pre-installed, however, I've been less than happy with most (if not all) of them (of course, anything the comes with another OS gets nuked immediately). If you want to try installing, or even building, something of your choosing, what are your options?
The following lists the general characteristics of several common "netbook" platforms, at least the ones I've been able to get my hands on, compared to one of the original ultra-light notebook designs, arguably one of the first "netbook" implementations. (not listed is the ASUS EeePC 900A that I also installed the latest 9.1.0 Ubuntu Netbook Remix (UNR) on for my mother-in-law ;)
|
|
Sharp MM10 (mini) laptop |
OLPC XO-1 |
Sylvania g NetBook |
ASUS eeePC (1005HAB) |
XBurst Alpha 400 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Architecture |
x86 (i686) |
x86 (i586) |
x86 (i686) |
x86 (i686) |
MIPS |
|
CPU |
1 GHz TransMeta Crusoe TM5800 |
433 MHz AMD Geode |
1.2 GHz VIA C7 |
1.66 GHz Intel Atom N270 |
400 MHz Ingenic JZ4730 RISC (SoC) |
|
Memory |
256 MB |
256 MB |
1 GB |
1 GB |
128 MB |
|
Chipset |
ALi |
AMD |
VIA |
Intel |
JZ4730 |
|
BIOS / Bootloader |
Phoenix BIOS |
1024KiB SPI-interface flash ROM (OpenFirmWare) |
Phoenix BIOS |
AMI BIOS |
U-Boot 1.1.6
|
|
Installed OS |
Win2K |
Fedora-based Sugar Desktop |
gOS |
WinXP |
Ingenic (Skytone) embedded Linux (2.4.20 kernel)
|
|
Recommended OS |
Retro-OS, 3MX 4.0, or vendor OS
|
||||
|
Storage |
30 GB, 3600 rpm, 1.8" Hard Drive |
1 GB NAND Flash (with 1 GB ro backup) |
30 GB, 3600 rpm, 1.8" Hard Drive |
160 GB, 2.5" SATA Hard Drive |
1 GB NAND Flash |
|
WLAN |
Prism 2.5 802.11b (miniPCI) |
RealTek RTL8187 (USB) |
Atheros AR9285 802.11 b/g/n (PCI-Express) |
Atheros ZD1211B 802.11b/g (USB) |
|
|
Ethernet |
RealTek 8139 10/100 |
None |
RealTek 8139 10/100 |
Atheros AR8132 10/100/1000 (Gigabit) |
JZ4730 10/01/00 |
|
USB |
Two Type-A USB 2.0 |
Three Type-A USB 2.0, up to 1Amp power supplied (total) |
Three Type-A USB 2.0 |
Three Type-A USB 2.0 |
Three Type-A USB 2.0 |
|
Graphics |
Silicon Motion, Inc. SM720 Lynx3DM+
|
AMD Geode Integrated graphics controller |
VIA CX700M2 UniChrome PRO II |
Intel 945GME Integrated graphics controller |
JZ4730 framebuffer device |
|
Display |
10.4" LCD, 1024x768 |
7.5" dual-mode TFT LCD, 1200x900 native |
7" WVGA Display (800x480 native) |
10.1" glossy LCD, 1024x600 |
7" WVGA Display (800x480 native) |
|
Pointer |
Synaptics 2-button touchpad |
ALPS Electric Dual capacitance/resistive touchpad |
Synaptics 2-button ultra-small touchpad (side buttons) |
Synaptics 2-button touchpad |
Synaptics 2-button touchpad (side buttons) |
|
SD/MS Slot |
None |
SD Card slot, 32 GB max |
SD Card slot |
SD Card slot |
SD Card slot, (supports 4 & 8 GB cards) |
|
PCCard Slot |
Type II x 1, CardBus |
None |
None |
None |
None |
|
Camera |
None |
CAFE ASIC, Omnivision OV7670, 640 x 480 at 30 FPS |
Generic uvcvideo interface |
Generic uvcvideo interface |
None |
|
Audio |
Crystal Semiconductor AC'97 compatible |
Analog Devices AD1888 and SSM2302 (AC'97), built-in stereo speakers; built-in microphone, external jacks |
VIA VT1708A Vinyl High-Definition Audio Codec, built-in stereo speakers; built-in microphone, external jacks |
Realtek ALC662 Hi-Definition Audio (HDA) 5.1 CODEC; built-in stereo speakers; built-in microphone, external jacks |
JZ4730 audio, built-in stereo speakers; built-in microphone, external jacks |
|
Battery |
~3 hr. (9 hr secondary battery) |
16.5 Watt-hour 5-cell NiMH, ~3-4 hr. |
36 Wh 4-cell, Lithium-Ion, ~4 hr. |
23 Wh 3-cell Lithium-Polymer, ~4.2 hr. |
2100 mAh Lithium-Ion, ~4 hr. |
|
Power Supply |
DC: 20 Volt, 2.0 Amp laptop power brick. |
DC: 11 to 18 Volt input usable, -32 to +40V input tolerated; power draw limited to 18W. |
DC: 20 Volt, 3.25 Amp laptop power brick. |
DC: 19 Volt, 2.1 Amp laptop power brick. |
DC: 9 Volt, 1.5 Amp small device power brick.
|
|
Other |
Includes charging cradle (can also mount as external hard drive), VGA dongle, and slim USB CD/RW drive. |
Rubberized international keyboard, aggressive power saving mode, B&W outdoor display mode. |
Ultra-low power CPU, 0.84 Vcore @ 1200 MHz; DVI connector |
VGA connector |
SoC hardware supports additional SIMD commands used for the optimization of multimedia codecs such as MPEG4, H264, VC-1, RMVB, etc. |
|
Price range (new) |
$1,500.00 |
$199 with donation |
$179 - $299 |
$229 - $299 |
$129 -$199 |
|
Synonyms |
N/A |
N/A |
Everex Cloudbook |
Many different ASUS models, as well as similar hardware layouts by many other vendors such as Dell, HP, Gateway, etc. |
Bestlink (or Belco) Alpha 400, Razorbook, Trendtac 700 EPC (EPC700), Elonex One T (One T+), Maplin Minibook, Silverstar E-PC, Yinlips Micro PC, HiVision Mininote, JAY-tech Jee-PC 400S, Letux 400, CnM Minibook (CnMBook), Novatech Minibook, Skytone Alpha 400, SurfOne INOS1, UBISurfer Netbook |
last update: 02/11/2010 21:12