A little over a year ago the Asus “eeePC” opened up a dazzling market for small Notebook computers. Other manufacturers were quick to join in on the action and made their new offerings available within months.

These new computers were popularly dubbed Netbooks. Barring a legal win over the ownership of the word as a trademark of Psion, most ordinary people see the word NetBook to describe these small laptop-like machines.

Few might even know of Psion, a British company which has manufactured successful small computing devices in the past.

I’m curious about the latest eeePC offering in comparison to its leading competitors.

I’m choosing to look at the “Acer Aspire One” – similar and also with a 10 inch screen.

This article will be a condensed meta-review of other reviews.

Having read through many other reviews, forums and user comments across the Internet it seems to me that the Aspire One is the eeePC’s closest competition on most fronts and seems to get the same high star ratings.

There are other competitors out there but this one seems the closest rival and most likely to make real nerds and casual PC users happy.

It seems Windows XP has become the dominant standard operating system (OS) for NetBooks, and both of these machines are more than capable.

It’s still possible to use Linux of course (which originally, and still, ships with some eeePC versions) without a hitch.

From my own experience, this is my personal choice but it seems people mostly go for Win XP when offered.

I would be very nervous to compete in this market if I were any of the other manufacturers/marketers of NetBooks.

These two models seem to have a lot of rave reviews and are indeed a hard act to follow.

Many have tried to match up so far but often reviews lambaste some aspect of the would-be competitor that seems to ruin its chances early.

It’s telling that the two names I seem to hear and see in relation to the Netbook market are still eeePC and Acer Aspire One.

The main difference I am noticing lately is that people are saying that the eeePC has better battery life, a more usable keyboard (placement and size and sensation), is faster and looks nicer.

Though this is objective comparison, it seems to be the main things eeePC users say.

Here’s what Acer One users are saying in general:

The hard drive is fast and the touch pad has improved and it’s often less expensive to buy.

I have personally noticed that it’s common to see the Acer with a higher recommended retail price (RRP) selling for less than the eeePC.

Perhaps that says something about the difficulty of offing the eee from the throne.

Basic specifications shared by both machines:

CPU: eeePC has the faster of the machines I looked at with a 1.66-GHz Intel Atom N280 while the Acer One has a similar 1.6-GHz Intel Atom N270.

RAM: both run up to 2 gigabytes.

Hard Drives: Both have 160Gb drives with a 5,400 RPM spin-rate.

Internet: Both have Ethernet and wireless.

Note: specifications may change from these without notice – eeePC for instance does have other models on offer with different specs and Acer may introduce changes as it brings the new 10inch to market.

So why do I think the eeePC *might* be worth the extra money if you can’t find one on sale for less than the Acer? Just a few reasons off the bat without too much ado:

The Acer in this comparison does not have Bluetooth which may effect road-warrior users and does not have a Mobile Broadband card support.

You can buy and use Broadband cards for eeePC which can be used in its 4 in one card reader slot but you’d need a USB Broadband stick for the Asus only. This is fine for most and I haven’t reliably found anything supporting arguments for or against either types of mobile offerings.

Some people just prefer USB sticks for mobile broadband whilst others prefer to use a card for aesthetic reasons alone – the only thing sticking out is the aerial instead of a big thumb sized USB stick.

There are many valid personal reasons for preferring one over the other, however, if you are likely to use mobile broadband – and face it this is a major pull for these small machines – buying the eeePC would not limit your choice to just USB. Imagine your phone company offering a cheap card buy you can’t use it – they may offer a USB version but at an increased price etc.

So after today’s exploration, while still neck and neck, I feel the eeePC is still in front on both a subjective and objective basis but that competition is really mounting.

Perhaps the next thing to come in this market segment is something all together new and surprising which is why it’s such an interesting space. Congratulations are due to all the manufacturers trying so hard and here’s good luck to those who push the boundaries.

One thing is certain, consumers are wanting these units to remain inexpensive. I’ve noted a few attempts by NetBook manufacturers to push prices too high and therefore too close to other notebooks in the wider market.. I don’t think this is the point of the NetBook. They run off the shelves and out of the shops in droves when the price point is low.

By increasing prices these risk becoming a forgotten tech curiosity of the early 2000′s and ominously allow smaller devices to rise into that gap – IMO. Eg: Looking at new mobile devices, we can see a trend for more keyboard-centric handsets with bigger screens.

No doubt NetBooks have defined their place in computing history yet to remain relevant into the future, they face a squeeze from above and below their size and price points.

Best source found today:

LaptopMag.com: Reviews of the eeePC and Asus Aspire One from Feb 9 2009

http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/asus-eee-pc-1000he.aspx?page=1

http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/acer-aspire-one-10-inch.aspx?page=1