GOTY 2010 - Netbooks

Yesterday, we gave you our choices for the best Laptop this year and today is the turn of the Netbooks. Ever since their inception in 2007, Netbooks have become smaller, lighter and faster in the few years of their existence. Netbooks offer more portability than their laptop counterparts, but at the cost of performance.

Netbooks are perfect for those who need a lightweight, portable device and have basic computing needs. Since Netbooks don’t have very powerful hardware, they are priced a lot lower than laptops and give those on a budget a wide variety of choices.

So below are our pick for the best Netbooks to hit the market this year.

Best Performer: Acer Aspire One AO532h

You are WINRAR!

The Acer Aspire One AO532h is powered by a Intel Atom N450 processor, which clocks in a 1.6GHz and has a 1GB of DDR3 RAM. It managed to impress in both synthetic tests like SiSandra as well as real world tests which included video encoding and file compression. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi N, gigabit Ethernet and Bluetooth as well as three USB, One VGA and two audio jacks.

Add in a 160 Hard Drive and built-in broadband functionality and it’s a great buy for those who want great looks coupled with great performance.

More from News & Analysis

What is the US HIRE Bill and why is India’s $250-billion IT sector worried? Is the internet dead? What's this theory that OpenAI's Sam Altman says might be true?

Price: 19,499

First Runner Up: Samsung N150

It ain’t all show and no go

The Samsung N150 missed the top spot by a very small margin. But don’t let it deter you. The N150 is a quite a stunner in terms of looks, the entire body is pearl white in color and has very distinct shimmer which gives it sporty look.

In terms of performance, it was neck and neck with the Acer. The only downside to this great laptop is the lack of Bluetooth and the size and spacing of the keys, which could have been better.
Price: