ASUS & HP Ion-Based Netbook Reviews - Big Screen Edition

• HotHardware: Asus Ion-Powered Eee PC 1201N Review:
  
  

  "We were impressed with this unit's ability to handle our more advanced benchmarks, thanks to its Ion GPU, and this is the first netbook we've tested that could actually play older 3D titles respectably. You won't get Crysis running on here, but older titles can be played back nicely if you tone the details down and lower the resolution. It played back 720p and 1080p content without stuttering, and the dual-core CPU allowed enough headroom to multitask while videos were playing. The 6-cell battery lasted just under 3.5 hours in our "real world" test simulation, which is definitely respectable given the dual-core CPU, larger screen, Ion GPU and 5 hour estimate from Asus under ideal conditions."

  
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• HotHardware: HP Mini 311 Ion-Based Netbook Review:
  
  

  "If you can get past its somewhat aged processor, most everything offered here is really refined. The keyboard is amazingly solid, the screen is beautiful and larger-than-average for a netbook, and 2GB of RAM certainly helps out. Windows 7 also makes a positive difference here, but the 5400RPM HDD won't break any records. Replacing that with an SSD would certainly help cover up the low-end 1.6GHz Atom CPU but would also add to total solution cost significantly, obviously. HP's Mini 311 is stylish, solid and classy with top-notch fit and finish, but it's one of the most expensive netbooks on the market at around $530 (street). With CES just around the bend, we can't really recommend sinking that much money on a CPU that was shipping in netbooks over a year ago, unless you simply can't afford to wait and see what happens in early 2010. That said, with the enormous success of Dell's Mini 10v this holiday shopping season, this is a welcomed alternative from HP that packs a bit more punch for the multimedia-driven end user."

  
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