Top Five best-value netbooks money can buy

All the PC you really need

Buying a netbook is a minefield but to help you make a decision here is our choice of  the five best-value netbooks available in the UK today. We've had hundreds pass through our hands in recent months. We've selected the top five on the strict criterion of value for money. 

Netbooks based on Intel's next-generation platform, combining the Atom N450 with low-power Intel NM10 Express chipset, are beginning to appear in the shops and online. The 45nm process will enable Intel to deliver Atomic volume and netbooks built around the platform will go mainstream in the coming months.

In the meantime, these are what we Thinq are the five best-value netbooks you can buy right now.

It’s doubtful if even Asus had an inkling how big a monster it was creating when it launched the first Eee PC, the 700 series on an unsuspecting world back in 2007 on an Intel stage at the Computex show in Taipei.

Since those far off days, every notebook manufacturer worth its salt (and a good many others, too) has either at least one netbook in its product portfolio, or did have one, made a hash of it, and quietly left the arena.

Now, of course, much of the new stock heading for the shelves comes with the cut down Starter version of Windows 7 installed.

So what do you look for in a netbook? Well if buying a notebook is a very personal thing, acquiring a netbook is even more so. The things you should look out for are good keyboards, screens and - first and foremost - battery life.

If your chosen netbook doesn’t come with a six-cell battery but one is offered as an option - take it. Although it will bulk up your purchase, the advantage of longer battery life is more than enough compensation. And take care as there are a few manufacturers who offer multiple SKUs of the same system, so be sure to check the specifications very carefully.

Although some netbook prices are now reaching the £400 mark and beyond, there's never been a better time to buy one as there are so many deals being offered, including 'free' machines with mobile broadband contracts and even cash-back offers. 

1. Acer Aspire One 751
Price £279.97

So, if its got a 10-inch screen and Atom power it’s a netbook right? Well Acer would like to disagree with the first assumption and, to prove the point, the firm produced the Aspire One 751 boasting a large 11.6-inch screen.

It is one of the thinnest netbooks around at just 25mm at the rear, tapering down to the front, but this brings a downside in that the screen is just 8mm thick and does flex a lot.

You need to make sure that the 751 gets well protected if you carry it around in a bag. Our review sample's larger six-cell battery does increase the 751’s footprint, as it sticks out of the back of the system. But, then again, it does give you something to hold onto.

Our sample had the usual glossy piano black finish loved by both manufacturers and fingerprints, but you can also get it in white, red or blue. Although the keyboard is a good size and the keys are comfortable to type on, the keybed itself has a degree of flex to it that you really only notice if you are one of those people who like to hit the keys hard when typing. Below the keyboard sits a small multi-touch touchpad and two equally small mouse buttons.

If you only buy the 751 because of the screen you won’t be disappointed. The LED backlit 1,366 by 768 pixel display has a 16:9 aspect ratio, giving really sharp vivid colours thanks to its glossy screen coating. The coating has a downside however, reacting poorly in extreme light conditions.

The Aspire One 751 is built around the Z520 Atom processor, runs good old XP Home, and has 1GB of RAM as standard.

Our sample came fitted with a 4400mAh six-cell battery so, as you might expect, battery life is very good. We managed to get just over seven hours of power when testing the 751. 

Good: Screen. Design. Battery life
Bad: Screen flex. Small trackpad

Go to page 2 for Asus, Dell, Samsung and Toshiba's  offerings