Review of Mini Laptop Computers

Mini laptops are gaining popularity with surprising momentum. They’re the latest craze, with customizable skins and here on HubPages we’ll even mention on with a floral print! Mini laptops are nearly weightless, at least compared to the laptop “relics” of 2007, some weighing in at less than two pounds, and they can fit in a purse or backpack.

The Asus EEE is consistently voted #1 from consumers at Intellireview.com. Expect to pay between $200 and $500, depending on the model. Its best characteristic is its battery time, topping the chart with a massive 9.5 hours of use on one charge. However, it comes with a Linux operating system installed that’s designed to be quick and customizable. If this frightens you a bit, you may want to steer away from the EEE.

The newest MacBook Air comes running in at second place when it comes to thin laptops. Apple’s new model has a thickness (thinness) of only 0.76”. It has a backlit LED glossy screen that measures in at 13.3”, a backlit keypad, and claims a battery life of five hours. And as always, as with all other Apple products, it carries very impressive “innards” and other hardware for its size. But remember, as with any Mac computer, you again may be venturing into a new operating system.

Today, the newest and thinnest mini laptop, coming in at first place and recently introduced by Dell, is the new Adamo. It measures only 0.65” thick, weighs 4 pounds, has a 13.4” LCD display, a backlit keypad, and struts some pretty impressive hardware for its size. But you will pay for the small size. Expect to pay around $2,000 for the standard version. Basically it’s a luxury product.

Another great option is the Sony Vaio line. Many of them are razor-thin, with a carbon fiber body, 11-inch or smaller screen, and a weight of down to 1.7 pounds. How’s that for portable?! Unfortunately the battery life on the Vaios is minimal, running around 1.5 hours, and they don’t really have enough memory to run major applications. But, they are cute! If that matters to you… Not many consumers say wonderful things about the Vaios, but their size is a novelty and you just have to marvel at the technology involved to create gems like the Sony’s Vaio and Dell’s Adamo.

If you really want something on the cute side, you may want to take a look at the Asian-styled red floral printed Vivienne Tam HP mini. It was just released earlier this year and has got quite a feminine style. This is the kind of personalization that we’ve never seen before on a laptop!

An option for a small laptop that’s leaning toward the standard mainstream line is the newest MSI Wind, which comes pre-loaded with Windows XP, a 10-inch LED backlit display, a thickness of 1.3”, and weighs 3 pounds. You’ll find that it has full-sized keys on most of the keypad. Instead of making all the keys smaller, it just condenses the keys on the periphery of the keyboard, leaving the letters and numbers at their full size. Consumers have said that the altered keyboard takes a bit of getting used to, but that it’s also easier than other mini laptops. It also has a card reader and an Ethernet port. The price runs at just over $300.

Today’s mini laptops host a vast amount of features and options. With the capability they have now of using the same operating systems as your desktop computer, a mini laptop owner can expect these small machines to be easy to use and extremely portable.