Lenovo IdeaPad S12: solid is the word

Netbooks are still often referred to a mini laptops and the word mini brings with it connotations of flimsiness, breakable even. People who've had a chance to play around with the Lenovo IdeaPad S12, which features a VIA Nano Processor, think it's pretty tough:
"If you are looking for a solid and a strong laptop, this is the right laptop you can opt for. It has a solid battery too. It has solid hinges. Everything is good on it. Even the frame of the laptop is good. So, it is a durable laptop. It is not easy to break it or cause it damage. Besides, there are white laptops which look good, but you will face some problems when it comes to cleaning because white laptops get dirty very quickly. Black laptops, on the other hand, are not that bad when it comes to cleaning since they don't get dirty very easily."-Ultimate Product Reviews.

VIA dominates netbook choice

It's a good thing to see that in a round up of netbooks being trialled by jkOnTheRun's daughter, the majority feature a VIA Nano processor. It seems that the netbooks he recommends usually feature the cool CPU.
"It was good to hear her thoughts on all of the netbooks. She ended her visit convinced that a $400 netbook is all she needs, and she’ll consider that next time she plans to purchase a laptop."

Wrong again: 12.1" it is!

I just finished blogging about how 10 inches is the new netbook norm. Nope!
"I finally got my netbook. In the end I went for the Samsung NC20. This is a ‘larger-screen netbook’ and it has a 12.1″ screen as opposed to the 9″ and 10″ screens more commonly found on netbooks."

The blogger is talking about the Samsung NC20, a netbook design which it seems is seeing no end to its popularity.
"If you want a very portable laptop for a reasonable price I can’t recommend the Samsung NC20 enough."

Remember the Sylvania g?

Before I talk about the VIA netbook in this blog I'm going to go off tangent for a little bit and talk about the blog itself. There are all sorts of reasons to blog and while some lucky and talented few have managed to grow their blogs into profitable websites, this blog network appears to be set up simply to make money. The content therefore isn't really all that focused, they just blog on things and include various links to ads. The netbook chosen for the blog is a case in point. The Sylvania g netbook is based on the VIA NanoBook reference design, which was released back in 2007. It features the older VIA C7-M processor and the now not-so-common 7 inch screen. The only reason why this netbook is featured on this "Blogging for Money Project" is for the possibility of commission on sales.

"Truly built for mobility, a built-in webcam and multimedia card reader are included. The g netbook features gOS that includes Google Apps for Linux, OpenOffice, Skype & more!Get yours and go mobile today! Order now!"

These small netbooks have now lost favor for models with 10+ inch screens and Nano processors. But in all honesty, if you really want mobility of the type that is very light and can fit into a small bag, these older designs are great.

HP 2133 Mini-note still impresses

The HP 2133 Mini-note has been around for a long time now but it's still getting great reviews. Come to think of it, has there been another netbook of the same size been released that is as classy as the 2133? It has a fantastic build quality and it hasn't been surpassed yet. This blogger agrees:

"The look of this thing is amazing. It's is completely aluminium finished, giving it a classy, futuristic look - no tacky plastic to be found here like so many other netbooks. When closed it closes right up like an oyster, almost seamlessly, meaning it looks great open or closed."

Very cool almost cartoon-like netbook

OK, here are some specs we've seen before, pretty standard stuff:

"Framemory netpad MPC1020-01 mini laptop comes with VIA C7-M 1.6GHZ, It’s very portable,. It only weighs 1kg with the 3-cell battery and easy to carry. Wireless supports Broadcom 802.11a/b/g, It’s designed to use a 10.2-inch screen, complete with a 1.3-megapixel webcam and mic. it’s works with 1GB DDRII memory and 120GB HDD."-fyi-online.net

As I said, nothing knocks my socks off there. But take a look at this little netbook!!!

It looks like a toy right? This one's definitely targetted at kids.

More on the Kinpo

More news is out about the Kinpo netbook set to hit the shelves in China very soon. The screen size is 11.6-inch. So is it a netbook or a notebook? I think anything below 12 inches is a netbook.
"Coming to provide users with an alternative to the increasingly popular Intel Atom-based netbooks, the new Kinpo N03 is equipped with one of VIA's latest CPUs, a Nano processor featuring a core speed of 1.2 or 1.3GHz."-Softpedia.