Pine Trail Showdown: What’s the Best 10-inch Netbook?
January 25th, 2010 by Mark Spoonauer, LAPTOP Editor in Chief And The Winner Is…
If you’re in the market for a netbook there are more compelling options than ever. And in this competition three models stood above the rest: the ASUS Eee PC 1005PE-P, HP Mini 5102, and Toshiba mini NB305.
Taking three rounds, the ASUS offers the longest battery life, best all-around performance, and a very good software bundle. The Toshiba mini NB305, an Editors’ Choice pick, is an even better option because of its stellar keyboard and best-in-class touchpad, despite the fact it doesn’t last as long on a charge. We also really like its textured lid design.
If you don’t mind spending a little bit more, the HP Mini 5102 is the Pine Trail netbook to own. This machine has a durable all-metal design, a comfortable keyboard, and lasts over 10 hours on a charge. Sure, HP targets this system towards business users, but anyone can appreciate a spill-resistant keyboard and software that can protect your data.
| Round | Winner |
| Design | Toshiba mini NB305 |
| Keyboard | Toshiba mini NB305 / HP Mini 5102 |
| Touchpad | Toshiba mini NB305 |
| Heat | HP Mini 5102 / MSI Wind U135 |
| Display | MSI Wind U135 |
| Overall Performance | ASUS Eee PC 1005PE-P |
| Graphics Performance | Dell Inspiron Mini 10 |
| Battery Life | ASUS Eee PC 1005PE-P |
| Software | HP Mini 5102 / ASUS Eee PC 1005PE-P |
| Warranty & Support | Toshiba mini NB305 |
| Value and Options | Acer Aspire One 532h |
| Overall Winner | HP Mini 5102 |
- Intro, Design, & Keyboard
- Touchpad, Heat & Display
- Overall Performance, Graphics Performance & Battery Life
- Software, Warranty, Support, Value & Configurations
- And The Winner Is…
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January 26th, 2010 at 10:08 am
The Toshiba is the best quality netbook… in fact toshiba is always good quality notebooks. Although am not a netbook person am considering getting one of the Toshiba for light web uses.
January 26th, 2010 at 6:11 pm
Nice review! You forgot an important metric however: wireless performance. I doubt there will be a netbook sold that doesn’t use wireless and the difference in performance (pick two distances) can be disturbingly high. Allow me to suggest you add this to all your portable reviews.
January 26th, 2010 at 6:37 pm
Where is Sony Vaio W21, Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3, HP Mini 210 and MSI U160?
January 27th, 2010 at 7:20 pm
Patrick, we test wireless on every notebook but didn’t include that in this particular piece because the wireless scores were pretty close on each system. If wireless range is really important, definitely check out the full reviews.
January 28th, 2010 at 2:54 am
Have been following the new Pine Trail netbooks, and while I too find the HP mini 5102 to be a great looking laptop that melds performance with battery life, I believe you have to take into consideration that when the laptop was released as pre-configured, and still now as cto models the price I found for the configuration you had for your review was around $650. It is pretty disappointing to see HP bring a product to CES 2010, claim it is going to release at a said price to get early conversations started about the product and then release the product $200-$300 more than the price given at CES.
February 6th, 2010 at 4:21 am
Great article!
It was helpful because I’m currently looking for a new netbook with Atom N450 and six cell battery. Actually I own an Asus EeePC 701 and after reading this comparison I think Toshiba Mini NB305 is perfect for me. Also I own a 15″ Toshiba laptop since 2005 and it still functions perfectly, so I trust in this brand.
Best regards.
February 10th, 2010 at 9:38 am
Great Review, but I think you should also add the Gateway LT series netbook with the Pine trail processor. It is the best looking netbook I’ve ever seen, and it performs amazingly. Also cost around $350.
March 4th, 2010 at 12:35 am
Quick pricing question: You note here as you did in your earlier HP review that the preconfigured 5102 is available with the 6-cell battery for $424. Is that a price you got from HP directly? I’ve been researching that same configuration and have been told that battery option is much more expensive. Thanks for any info you can share!
March 19th, 2010 at 3:33 pm
I just bought the Dell mini that comes with the digital TV tuner and all the other features that is mentioned on this website for 325 bucks including taxes. The HP mini is also available for the same price with a bigger hdd i.e. 250gb vs 160gb in dell. But i went for the dell because of the TV tuner and plan to use an external storage if i need more than 160 gb for a netbook.
July 12th, 2010 at 6:29 pm
The new Dell Mini 10 is currently on sale for 299.00 with 250 GB hard drive and a 6-cell battery. All things considered, I think this is a more practical purchase.