Samsung X125
The X125's rather nice exterior holds within it parts that ought to make for a decent notebook: reasonable software bundle, plenty of hard drive space, integrated graphics that are above the norm, and even Bluetooth 3.0. If the trackpad is a little on the small side, at least the calculator-style keyboard is good to use. The battery life isn't amazing, but it is above average. No, the problem here is that Samsung has chosen to fit a single-core processor, which means the machine puts in a sub-netbook performance that really nags when you start running more than one app at once. It only has a 32-bit OS, and doesn't come as cheap as other one-core laptops here.
Reg Rating 70
Price £450
More Info Samsung
Toshiba Satellite T110
Toshiba's 11-incher is one of the glossiest, smartest looking and slimmest laptops here, but like a number of its rivals it comes equipped with a single-core processor. That, plus the Intel graphics, don't make for a performance machine, leaving it as little more than a netbook with a bigger, higher res display. The quid pro quo is a strong battery life, a 64-bit OS and Toshiba's extensive array of bundled utilities. But with a more advanced model, the T210, just launched - and yes, one was requested from Toshiba - it's hard to recommend the T110 unless you can pick it up at a discount.
Reg Rating 60
Price £399
More Info Toshiba
11.6in sub-notebooks
COMMENTS
Nostalgia
Anyone else miss the old 12" 4:3 sized machines. Especially the old 12" G4 Powerbook. Not everything has to be wide screen, for web browsing and general work I'd rather have the relative screen hight.
believe it or not...
...the entire world doesn't revolve around Apple. Mac.
Thinkpads all the way.
I'd rather splash out £200 on an IBM X61s off ebay, pretty much the same spec and I can spend any left over cash on a decent SSD and more RAM. Honestly, you only need to use a proper Thinkpad (not the e100 jobby) once to be converted.
11 inch
Thank you for this. I have been looking forward to an article on 11 inch machines. They seem to be quite out of fashion. I have contended for a while now that 11inch is an ideal compromise between portability and functionality. I have started at 15 inch, went down to 14, then to 11, then to 10. I had to go back to 11 inch, as the resolution on 10 inch makes so many things a pain, or completely unusable.
In respect to processor, personally I prefer a fairly slow single or dual core part, balanced by the longest possible battery life. I have been using full time a Philips Freevents 11NB5000 (a Twinhead F11Y in reality) 11 inch sub-laptop for 3.5 years - and it has been an excellent work companion. However, I need quite often the optical drive - and the Packard Bell seems to be the only choice with one at 11" in the entire market.
I know they have been out of production for years - but a word of respect for the Sony TT/TZ/TX lines of yonder. All 11 inch machines, amazing build quality, some of them 9 hours of battery at the time, optical drive integrated (some of them BluRay writer!), even optional integrated 3G. Expensive but what a feat of engineering. Long gone now, I'm afraid. Those were the days. Sigh.
