Ugliest Netbook?

The ugliest netbook award probably - no definitely - goes to the 8.9" NEC LaVie Light

http://chinese.engadget.com/2008/10/20/ ... -hands-on/

NEC soldiered on though, upgraded the screen to 10.1 inches and added pink, white and baby blue models.

http://www.necdirect.jp/note/catalog/light/

check out the extended photos here:

http://121ware.com/navigate/products/pc ... index.html

a full review comparing the new model with the Eee PC 1000H-X here:

http://ascii.jp/elem/000/000/208/208938/

a short review with some photos

http://plusd.itmedia.co.jp/pcuser/artic ... ws048.html

this one actually shows the guts of it, looks pretty easy to pop the bottom off and access the hard drive and memory for upgrades:

http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2009 ... jyo011.htm



I post this because although I own a AAO myself, I decided to buy the LaVie Light for work. Wanted a 10 inch screen, didn't care much for the new Aspire One, and - I admit it - kinda dig the crazy DS Lite / retro brick styling of this netbook.

 

That black netbook actually looks pretty cool. And I bet it isn't much of a fingerprint magnet either.
Looks just like my dream computer from when I was five. What are the specs on that thing?

 

I think it's quite alright too. At least it has the merit to be different, if it wasn't so much bigger than the AA1, had a smaller screen frame and was 25% cheaper than the other 10" netbooks, I'd have it...

 

It's a netbook. You need to ask?!

Pretty much the same as the 160GB aspire one 8.9", but with a bigger screen.

250(W)×176.5(D)×31.3-36.5(H)mm 1.16kg
N270, 1GB, 160GB 5400rpm HDD, 1.3 MP camera. XP SP3.

The main issues are the 576 pixel vertical resolution and wimpy 3-cell battery. In practice though the former is only 4 percent short of 600 is unlikely to make any difference, and the latter is anyway no worse than the 3-cell AAO.

The bezel is only 13mm wide, pretty good for for a netbook.

One unique feature is the "always on" USB port that supplies 5V even when the notebook is powered off so it can power an MP3 player.

Also the finish appears to be similar to the dull matt colors found in the DSi. As you say, almost impossible to leave a fingerprint on.

Keyboard appears to be nearly identical to the one in the AAO.

In the review I posted comparing it against the Eee PC 1000H-X, the NEC was rated ahead on keyboard, screen (brightness, readability) and size/weight and ergonomics generally. Eee PC won in performance (marginally), having wifi n, and absolutely crushed the NEC on battery life.

The sticker price on the LaVie Light 59800 yen, or 612 USD. Before you choke on your breakfast two things: netbooks are more expensive in Japan than in the US, and the LaVie Light can be bought at retail for 49800 yen with 10000 yen in-store credit which brings it down to about $400. For a 10" netbook and assuming the construction is above average as the reviews say that's quite fair in the Japanese market.

 

So they had all the models on display at http://www.BicCamera.com this weekend. As you can see my daughter was pretty interested in the pink one.



Hands on report:

Pink and blue are both better left to young girls, which is a pity because they both look great. I was hoping that there was some possibility for the blue one for adult males, but baby that powder blue color is a no-go.

While white looks nice when open, as a plain white brick it's not so hot with the lid closed. That means adults are basically stuck with black and forced to decide whether they can live with the white keys and the very strange look that brings to the whole thing.

The 8.9" model, pictured above at left, is a dog, just forget about it. The 10.1" screen though is a different story. 1024x576 sounds like an odd resolution, but it happens to work out to exactly 1.777 or 16:9. Nice. The extra-wide look works really well.

The case finish by the way is power coat, same as the DSi, really nice feel to it, but unfortunately the case top is actually painted metal with a glossy texture and black at least is a superb fingerprint magnet. I would have preferred the power coat finish throughout, style it 100% after the DSi and be done with it.

Here's the important thing: these things are beautifully built and feel really nice in your hands. Even the side trackpad buttons. The AAo buttons are horrible things, NEC shows how its supposed to be done: light, shallow stroke, quiet, large and responsive. Keyboard is the same as the AAO, which is top-tier anyway. Everything else though, pretty much, is better. Totally rigid, with a nice absence of any bulges and the bare minimum of grills and vents. Nicely proportioned. Just the right size. Can't emphasize enough how right these feel in your hands, after they look so wrong in the photos.

 

So I got me my LaVie Light:

[attachment=0:272isllq]DSC_0338s.jpg[/attachment:272isllq]

It's exactly the same size as the 8.9" aspire one, but, due to the brick style, looks much larger.

LAN and power connections are on right side. That's actually kinda annoying. Other differences: no 3G option or SIM card slot, no wifi switch, indicator lights clustered on the front.

 

So basically the poor man's AAO? XD

 

With the critical exception of the 10" 9:16 screen, I guess so! It's not going to set the world on fire, that's for sure.

It's nicely built though, and easy to mod. Once the bottom panel is removed you have easy access to the hard drive and memory slot. Machine screws and metal threaded holes, and no nead to pry off the rubber feet. I upgraded to a 7200rpm HDD and 2GB RAM and the job took less than 10 minutes.

 

I think I might want to get one.
Actually I think my next PC will b e a desktop that has a quad core cpu.
But that's pretty cool.
Actually at that price I'd rather get a PS3. I dunno. >.<
Money's too expensive.

 

Dude! That's not sober.

Looks like the model is already being phased out, as it's mostly out of stock in Bic Camera and Yodobashi. Easy come easy go.

 

I just wanted to close this thread by confirming that yep, the Lavie Light was discontinued on April 1st. RIP. We barely knew ya! Model was announced Jan 13th I think, saw the light of day in stores for less than 10 weeks before being yanked.

Interesting to me that it was not replaced, NEC deciding to bow out of the netbook segment completely. I imagine it sold in double digits and they lost buckets on money on the project, and the designers at NEC are off crying in a closet somewhere.

 

So yesterday I replaced the HDD with a Samsung 64GB SLC SSD.

That thing rocks. ATTO says it gets 85MB/s writes and 99MB/s reads, while the 4KB transfers are above 25MB/s! Performance that kicks the 8GB SSD in my Aspire One silly, but then the drive costs as much as that netbook.

The reason it's worth it is I use this mainly for presentations, and loading office 7 and powerpoint files near instantaneously is a big plus, as is being able do a shutdown-reboot cycle in well under a minute. The reliability and durability, and lower power consumption are all factors, too. Battery life isn't much different however, perhaps gained 10-20 minutes, perhaps not. You'd have to do a fairly precise benchmark test to tell for sure.

The SSDs greatest strength is it doesn't choke up like an HDD when you throw multiple tasks at it. So as long as there are no CPU or GPU intensive jobs, the netbook feels more responsive and more powerful than my (HDD) desktops. Which is way cool. Launch Firefox, blink its there. Its more obvious though on the heavier software where 6-7s load times on a 7200rpm HDD are down to 2-3s.

Once you do more scratch the surface of the Intel graphics, through, you quickly realize the limitations ... stutter stutter stutter... oh right, this isn't my HD 4670 powered desktop, drat... but overall its a pretty hot netbook.