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Comprehensive list of low-cost ultraportables

Started by Brad Linder · 1 year ago

Over the past six months or so, Asus, Everex, and HP have managed to bring low-cost ultraportable notebooks to market. But dozens of other computer makers have promised to bring out their own mini-notebooks. Some will run Linux, while others will be preloaded with Windows XP or Vista. Some will have flash memory, while others will have hard drives. ... Continue reading »

80 comments

  • Dave Zatz

    1 year ago

    What's the total price and weight of all of these - Still less than a 15" laptop? ;)
    reply
  • sdg

    9 months ago

    i dont know
    reply
  • Meggeler

    1 year ago

    See Ma - I told you these little thingies were gettin' popular. Where does the PDA end and the Laptop start? My eeepc 701 is too large for my pocket, maybe my wife can fit it into her purse! :-)
    reply
  • saab_rider

    1 year ago

    Awesome summery. Finally a post with all the options!

    Still have to wait for over a month for Computex. Damn it!!

    Hopefully more info will leak about the Wind sooner though.

    I don't know about the rest, but I'm not interested in any of the options with VIA processors. It's a shame, the Cloudbook Max really looks nice (and it's the only one to have s-video out!).

    The ones that I'm watching are the Wind and Acer. These are the only two names that could make a decent product. Intel options look awful, and although the Medion sounds interesting, I don't want to end up with a laptop that only 2 people have and with no support.
    reply
  • warder

    1 year ago

    Wow... I had no idea there were so many sub-notebooks out or close to release. Thanks for posting such an in depth summary!
    reply
  • Sid

    1 year ago

    On the stats for each device, please list battery life.
    reply
  • Brad Linder

    1 year ago

    I've listed all the information I have for each device. For some that includes battery life, for others it does not.
    reply
  • kean-jin lim

    1 year ago

    A wonderful summary for low-cost ultraportable notebooks. Thanks for your hard work.
    reply
  • saab_rider

    1 year ago

    Brad, Kudos for the awesome site. I guess you did the right thing by moving from eeesite to Liliputing after all.

    Just a suggestion. This post was/is extremely long. Maybe you can consider having a one paragraph summary for long posts like this, with the details in the "Read" link.

    This way people not interested in a certain post won't need to scroll a lot to reach the next post.

    And where is your mini-note??
    reply
  • Brad Linder

    1 year ago

    Yeah, I would have liked to have done that, but this is one of the disadvantages of using Blogger as a platform. I don't think there's a good way to create a jump in some posts, but not others. If I wind up posting long items like this on a regular basis, I might set the blog up so that every article only shows the first paragraph or two on the first page and then you have to click to read the rest.

    And in more exciting news, according to FedEx, my Mini-Note should be here today!
    reply
  • Migger

    1 year ago

    Zepto will also release an Eee competitor soon...
    reply
  • Brad Linder

    1 year ago

    The Zepto computer will have a 15.4" inch screen, which in my mind means it's not really an Eee competitor. It's just a cheap laptop.
    reply
  • Wilson Azevedo

    1 year ago

    Please, don't forget Proview PC-81001:

    - http://www.proviewbr.com.br/produtos/notebook/8...
    reply
  • Brad Linder

    1 year ago

    Added, thanks!
    reply
  • Wilson Azevedo

    1 year ago

    Try this photo: the hands that hold the PC-81001 are from Proview's president.

    - http://www.procurandovagas.org/wp-content/uploa...
    reply
  • bud

    1 year ago

    Funny how these are suppose to be low cost. I just bought a Dell Vostro 1500 15.4" Core2Duo 2GB laptop with a 160gb hdd, 2GB ram, dvd burner, wireless, and 2M built-in camera for $625. including shipping. If the device is not less than say $350., I don't see these mini pcs as a good bargain.
    reply
  • Brad Linder

    1 year ago

    Well, there's two ways to think of low cost. There's the sub-$400 group, which is pretty cheap by any standard. And then there are the $500 to $600 computers, which are cheap by ultraportable/subnotebook standards. There was a time where you had to pay $1500+ to get a laptop that weighed 2 pounds and had a 10 inch or smaller screen. But by putting cheaper components together, these companies have brought those prices way down.
    reply
  • EmaRsk

    1 year ago

    Good work.
    It would be interesting to show also width/length/height in the specs, where available.
    reply
  • BeyondRandom

    1 year ago

    Great little list! I never realized there were so many different ones! thanks!
    reply
  • Baldrick

    1 year ago

    What about the vye?
    reply
  • Brad Linder

    1 year ago

    I wouldn't really consider that to be a low cost computer, since it runs more than $1000.
    reply
  • Jason C

    1 year ago

    Fantastic synopsis of the upcoming portawars!!!
    reply
  • Tom

    1 year ago

    you forgot the fujitsu lifebook u810 I love that thing, wish i had one.
    reply
  • Atticus

    1 year ago

    Besides Cloudbook CE1200V and Sungju TangoX, there're other VIA Nanobooks already in the market. You can see more Nanobooks here.
    reply
  • Brad Linder

    1 year ago

    Nice list! It's amazing to see the price differences in these extraordinarily similar computers.
    reply
  • Anonymous

    1 year ago

    Why is the OLPC XO missing? It started this whole thing, after all.
    reply
  • Charbax

    1 year ago

    The OLPC XO is the best and the cheapest:
    $188, sunlight readable mode that lasts 20h on a battery, WiFi mesh that reaches 3 times further then any other laptops WiFi antennas, Linux software that is optimized for the customized hardware, dustproof, waterproof...

    I think OLPC XO should definately be on this list, there is no reason other vapourware should be on the list and not the OLPC XO which has been distributed to 500 thousand children already. Unlike most other laptops on this list, the OLPC XO is for real.
    reply
  • Brad Linder

    1 year ago

    I primarily wanted to cover consumer-oriented laptops. While the XO was made available to customers in developed nations through the BOGO program, its primary focus is educational markets and schools/governments in developing nations.

    That, plus everybody already knows about the XO. But I might add it to the list later. This page is clearly a work in progress.
    reply
  • rick

    1 year ago

    My 11 year old son wants to buy one of these for himself. I think he and his age group are a big part of the target market. His hands are small enough that the keyboard's not an issue and his paper route doesn't generate *that* much spare cash that he can afford $500+.

    The lower end eeePC is just about the right price point for his budget. However, the main thing he does when on the family computer is work with Scratch - a graphical programming environment from MIT. Unfortunately, Scratch requires a 1024x768 window to show its UI so getting anything with a 800x480 screen just won't due.

    That pretty much limits the selection to the HP. Hopefully, the other guys will up the res just a little at the $300 price point in the near future.
    reply
  • Alex McKenna

    1 year ago

    I bet Palm are kicking themselves now!
    If their Foleo had been just a bit smaller and less dependent on the PDA...
    It might have saved their bacon.
    reply
  • MattCastB

    1 year ago

    What about the Fujitsu U-810??
    reply
  • Brad Linder

    1 year ago

    It's too expensive to be considered a low-cost ultraportable.
    reply
  • LEP

    1 year ago

    You can always get a manbag :)
    reply
  • JT

    1 year ago

    Wow... Sometimes I see these and regret buying my Asus Eee 701 but then i remember I'm in Australia and none of these products are here and half of them won't ever make it here... Though if one with a touch screen/tablet mode comes out before i get to university i'd be much obliged to purchase one... Wonderful summary!
    reply
  • Ryan

    1 year ago

    Are there any that are actually worth using outdoors when it's sunny out?
    reply
  • Dustin McClure

    1 year ago

    Thank you so much for the wonderful list. I am having a terrible time trying to decide with Laptop to buy or wait to buy for that matter....
    reply
  • Sarah

    1 year ago

    Meggeler: That's my guess as to what a lot of these machines are aimed at and being advertised too. Women who want something fairly light, nice looking and handbag (or purse for the Americans) sized. Most of the advertising fluff I've seen for a lot of these units has women using it or womens hands and so on.

    I'm waiting for all of these to hit the market before I make my choice though, but the green EEE looks too cute not to have.
    reply
  • guest

    1 year ago

    you missed a Malada design in China market
    reply
  • Adam

    1 year ago

    I'm surprised to find that apple's 3lb. airbook isn't on the list. Sure, it's probably more expensive than any other option on this page, but it will also run any OS - XP, Linux, or OS X - even all three simultaneously, if you want! Furthremore, the solid-state HD option, the battery life blows most of these out of the water. Finally, the keyboard is full-sized - something worth mentioning for those of us who aren't women or under 5'7".
    reply
  • Takamoron

    1 year ago

    Why wasn't the XO from the OLPC project included? I use mine as a UMPC and it is more durable than EVERY single laptop on this list. Given it is not as powerful, it has tons of advantages over all of these including: community support, largest aside from the Eee. (almost) Completely open source. Battery life, component replacement, screen resolution, hackability, etc. The list goes on and I think I overstated my point. All I meant to do was promote the OLPC as a UMPC for people in the states with ideals that they want to simulatneously support.
    reply
  • shadghost

    1 year ago

    More info on the dell laptop: i was talking to a dell rep on the 23 and this i got out of him
    Atom prossor
    802.11g wifi
    8.9 and 10 inch screens
    xp and mabey ubuntu
    ssd hd
    to market in/by july
    over 2mill going to be produced

    and i was able to see a slide with a image on it for a second, it looks sweet
    reply
  • Geoserv

    1 year ago

    Great post, I didn't realize there was so many.
    reply
  • raz

    1 year ago

    We are exporting Alpha-400 Linux based 7inch portable computer prices wholesale USD259, retail 319.
    They come in four colors: Red, White, Blue, Black

    If you want to have further details, please feel free to contact us direct: info@biznest.com.hk
    reply
  • Quiz

    1 year ago

    If you wait about 2 more months to get one of these UP's you'll save yourself a tremendous amount of money due to planned price drop documents that have been scouring all over the net.
    reply
  • My .02

    1 year ago

    1.5ghz CPU, 512mb RAM, 4Gig HDD, 12" screen, built in wireless G card.
    If anyone can make that for $250 I'd buy it.
    Until then I'll pay the $700 for a dual core, 3gig, 320 gig hard drive, 17".
    Sub notebooks aren't worth the money unless they are super cheap.
    Otherwise you're just paying money to look cool.
    You may as well buy a Macbook.
    reply
  • Work Post

    1 year ago

    While I understand why some of the ultra-portables will cost $500 to $600, they would sell a lot more computers if the price was $300 to $400 or less. The magic of the EEE was that it was small and cheap (almost disposable) but it had the power of a conventional laptop. It's been said before but at prices above $500, you're almost better off with a regular laptop.

    Great list, had never heard of many of these brands. Thanks.
    reply
  • scubed

    1 year ago

    Wow, great post summarizing nearly all the options out there. I'm guessing that most of them will migrate to the Atom platform as and when Intel makes it available. And also, as an Indian user, let me tell you that the HCL Mileap is a UMPC tablet. The low-cost version is based on the reference Classmate PC design, but is well-nigh invisible on the market.
    reply
  • penix

    1 year ago

    None of these computers are a very good deal. The only factor that makes them even desirable is their small form factor. The Asus EEE PC would have been a good deal if they had stuck to their $200 price point. At $500, it's just not worth it anymore. The 3 pound dell I just got for $600 beats all of these machines.
    reply
  • Vern

    1 year ago

    Not very comprehensive, no Macbook air, Dell XPS, no Sony vaio. . . .
    reply
  • Sascha

    1 year ago

    @Vern

    Read (the title)
    think (about the title)
    and then finally post that the Macbook Air, the XPS and Vaio are anything but low-cost ;)
    reply
  • afrodream 'n' beaded sadals

    1 year ago

    they are all awesome. I guess no i just can't wait to put my hand on some of these products, especially the Linux operating ones
    reply
  • hokewilcox

    1 year ago

    I have two questions!
    I know their were other UMPC before but I see the OLPC's XO computer kind of being the beginning of this low cost market. Second question is would you call this new class of low cost computers UMPC or is their a better name...I love Liliputers though! I have read somewhere that the XO might be available to consumers soon in the US..
    reply
  • Akuba

    1 year ago

    Great job!
    I actually don't see GeCube product :
    http://technews.lt/index.php?id=Kas&Id=1229
    reply
  • Window Curry

    1 year ago

    I own a dell e520 vista, it has nerver worked longer than three days since I have had it. My system started out costing me aprox 1k. I have been paying $60.00 per mo. since 05/07/06 my current balance is today some how $1,796.00. No one at Dell has ever been able to help me, they have replaced the PC twelve times! When I ordered the system I did not know how to use a PC and to this day I still do not. Dell now sends info to me to get me to buy a lap top. How can I trust them? Can anyone help me?
    reply
  • well

    1 year ago

    a comparison list, please
    reply
  • ilago

    1 year ago

    You might like to add this one from Astone. Just called the Astone 7" UMPC and made in the Philipines. It's available now in Australia. I'm not sure about elsewhere other than the Philipines. It's a little over $500, more with Windows and less with Ubuntu. Details here: http://www.auspcmarket.com.au/index.php?redir=h...

    I have an EEEPC 701 4G, so I won't be buying another for a while. You've done a great job of getting them all in one place.
    reply
  • Kiran Jonnalagadda

    1 year ago

    The HCL MiLeap Y is a rebranded Kohjinsha laptop. I got to play with one at a local store in Bangalore and made a comparison chart with the ASUS Eee PC 701 here: http://jace.seacrow.com/archive/2008/03/23/asus...

    I picked an Eee PC 701 4G Black.
    reply
  • dj

    1 year ago

    But what do you do with them? They seem small for development, especially Windows, and expensive for an email client. Just wondering...
    reply
  • shoeson

    1 year ago

    I brought a nanobook type ((belinea S book) which has been great. its a pity that the worst nanobook clone (the everex cloudbook) is the best known. The belinea was more expensive but is much more usable and has a touchscreen and runs XP.
    Still i am kind of amazed that so many new ones are coming out which have such low specs 256 or 512 ram.
    reply
  • el

    1 year ago

    You should probably also point out the the 3K Longitude 400 and Jisus both have MIPS-compatible processors. You can not run Windows apps on them. And no Flash, Skype, or codec packs in Linux either.
    reply
  • Mike

    1 year ago

    Hi Brad,
    Thanks a lot for this very useful list (and site).
    I've added to 'recommended resources' that we maintain for people in international development agencies on a somewhat related topic, http://www.infodev.org/devices-list.
    -Mike
    ps I try to contact you through this site with more info but the the contact function kept bombing out.
    reply
  • robotbrain

    1 year ago

    Unsurprisingly, the eee is on sale in Taiwan. I spotted it on Tuesday in Taipei.
    reply
  • Sicarius6

    1 year ago

    Finally a nice overview of these rabit like breeding devices. BTW the Medion Akoya Mini is a rebranded MSI Wind.
    reply
  • adamx20

    1 year ago

    It is confirmed that the Dell 500 is not the low cost mini laptop they are producing. What we do know is they will probably use the Atom chip, it will offer Windows or Linux OS's, and it will be manufactured by Compal from Taiwan.

    The Dell 500 is a full sized laptop for developing countries.
    reply
  • jr

    1 year ago

    The 500 is basically a replacement for the Vostro 1000, which currently sells for $400. The Vostro 1000 uses an AMD processor and chipset, but since AMD can't seem to produce decent Linux drivers, they're going with Intel.

    It's more of a competitor to the Everex VA1500V than the Eee PC - cheap but not small.
    reply
  • Ninave

    1 year ago

    You left out one crucial thing about ultraportables: size. So here are the sizes on comps able to display 1024-resolution. Do add them to appropriate places.

    PC-81001 260(W) x 180(D) x 33(H) mm
    Asus Eee PC 900 225(W) x 170(D) x 20-34(H) mm
    HP2133 255(W) x 165(D) x 33(H) mm
    ECS G10IL 259(W) x 180(D) x 29(H) (mm)
    CloudBook MAX 239(W) x 175(H) x 28(H) (mm)
    MSI Wind 260(W) x 180(H) x 19-32(H) mm
    Medion Akoya Mini 260(W) x 180(H) x 19-32(H) mm (as above)
    reply
  • Jason Hawkins

    1 year ago

    The 3K Razorbook 400 actually comes with 4GB of flash memory and is available for $399.00. The initial release was incorrect at 1GB of stated storage. I just wanted to clarify the cost of this unit. $399.00 with storage at 4GB. Thanks and happy computing.
    reply
  • Mariogamefan

    1 year ago

    Why no mention of the Fujitsu Lifebook U810?
    http://store.shopfujitsu.com/fpc/Ecommerce/buil...
    reply
  • cb

    1 year ago

    At $1000+, the U810 hardly qualifies as "low-cost".
    reply
  • anonymous

    1 year ago

    Where's the one that uses the 1280 x 768 seven-inch screen that the Toshiba Libretto U-100 series had? That was the only seven-inch screen with a truly usable resolution. So - where is it?
    reply
  • azor

    1 year ago

    Have someone mentioned this one?

    Bestlink: Alpha 400

    http://www.bestlinkeshop.com/index.php?cat1=&la...

    I think it is cheaper than Eee...
    reply
  • MHG

    1 year ago

    I think the yet to be fully announced Acer Sub 300$ notebook, The ACi Ultra Mini and the elonex one currently appear to be the most promising of the lot concidering the price vs features factor.
    reply
  • cb

    1 year ago

    What I'd like to see are some performance benchmarks... specifically, how these compare to my old Fujitsu Lifebook P-2120.
    reply
  • caiocgo

    1 year ago

    Hi!
    Have you heard of this one? I guess it's made in Brazil... But I'm not sure.

    http://www.positivoinformatica.com.br/site/mobo...
    reply
  • Zach

    1 year ago

    Suggestion: Wibrain B1
    http://www.wibrain.com
    Although it has something of a different form factor (more like a Gameboy Advanced), it fits nicely in with the cheapest model (the B1LE) being 500$
    Ubuntu and Windows XP are available.
    reply
  • Steve Holton

    1 year ago

    Does the Everun or Vega qualify for this list?
    http://www.raondigital.com/fnt_english/ev01.asp

    or is this for clamshell format only?
    reply
  • Brad Linder

    1 year ago

    Yeah, this list is for laptops... or subnotebooks... or netbooks... or
    whatever you want to call them. UMPC Portal has a great rundown of ultra
    mobile PCs:

    http://www.umpcportal.com/products/
    reply
  • GordonJohnson

    11 months ago

    it would be nice to have a table that includes some standard measure of speed, cost, and battery life. I tried one at a local store, and it took forever to bring up a blank spreadsheet. Here are some examples I what I have in mind. How long to load a spreadsheet with 1000 cells filled, how long to load a three page document, how long to start up, shutdown, start a web browser, load a standard page (you pick) like your home page, something more than google, display a mail message from hotmail (or some other popular email site). Cost is the easy one, list and range found in stores or on the internet.
    reply
  • Mina

    10 months ago

    Could you post, for each of these, if they have bigger font options and accessibility options? I'd like one I can easily make the font bigger on. I do a lot of reading, study, and internetting.
    reply
  • Jeff

    7 months ago

    This is an amazing collection of notebooks
    reply

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