MSI Wind U123 and ASUS 1000HE Show Netbook Evolution
by Wesley Fink on July 17, 2009 12:02 AM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
Battery Capacity Testing
One of the charms of the netbook format is the promise that the little computers can provide very long battery life by using less powerful processors that consume extremely low power compared to current top-performing CPUs. Netbooks have quickly developed a reputation for sipping power and truly providing the ability to power a flight-long session or a work session for a full 8-hour workday. This has been helped along by manufacturers who have been beefing up battery capacity in more recent netbooks and claiming increasingly longer battery life in their specifications.
Of course you didn't come to AnandTech to see a list of manufacturer's claims, you came here for real world test results. Like notebooks, the battery life claims in netbook specs really don't provide the kind of information most buyers are looking for. Why specify battery life with the netbook wireless LAN turned off as most manufacturers do? The most visited websites use flash imaging, so why test with just non-flash websites to inflate battery life numbers? Do you really care about how the battery lasts with very long idle periods? We believe most want to know how long a battery charge lasts when a netbook is used as most people use them. Therefore the AnandTech battery life test is conducted with a wireless internet connection constantly on, viewing pages that contain some flash images among the text.
In AnandTech notebook battery testing the screen brightness is calibrated so that is equal on each tested notebook. The netbook is a particular challenge in this regard, since the highest current netbook screen resolution is 1024x600. We have several versions of standardized brightness calibration software, but the lowest resolution supported by any package is 1024x768. Since it makes little sense to test battery life with an external display we addressed this issue by setting an ASUS 1000HA to the middle of its brightness adjustment scale. Other displays were visually matched to the mid-level brightness of the ASUS 1000HA screen.
All hibernation and power management schemes were disabled on the netbook, and a wireless connection was established from the netbook under test while the battery charger was still attached. We connect to a script at anandtech.com that cycles among a group of standard anandtech.com pages that contain text, charts, graphs, and flash elements. The pages are continuously cycled at a fixed interval. The charger is then disconnected and a stop watch started. The test is run until the netbook shuts off due to low battery power. This is the same Battery Test run in our recent MacBook Pro article.
Results are reported in hours and minutes and provide a comparison of battery performance under common usage at the most demanding conditions. Please keep in mind that the AnandTech battery life results represent a realistic usage scenario. If you use an Ethernet connection and rarely use wireless your battery life will be slightly longer. If you surf the web with long intervals of inactivity, your battery life will again be longer. If you disable flash, battery life will also improve.
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Ruark - Friday, July 17, 2009 - link
I have an MSI notebook with buttons that seem to be much like those of the Wind.Many buttons (keyboard and touchpad) have to be pressed beyond the "click" in order for the press to register.
strikeback03 - Friday, July 17, 2009 - link
When I saw this article I was hoping for a comparison to some of the low-end larger-screened notebooks available. I have been seeing Newegg deals on 14 and 15 inch notebooks for $350-400, I'd expect these to provide 3-4 times the performance of the tested netbooks but it would be a nice point of reference for those who are looking for a cheap system that doesn't need to be as portable. If you are buying for your 6th grader to do their homework, size and weight are less important than if you are flying cross-country.Also, i wouldn't say BluRay playback and gaming are the only areas unsuited for netbooks. After all, a netbook with Ion would be able play BluRay files (off a hard drive at least), but nothing short of a much after processor is going to make tasks like photo editing or video transcoding tolerable on a netbook.
KeypoX - Sunday, July 19, 2009 - link
I dont see the difference between 3 pounds and 6 pounds... Netbooks are cute but have no more functionality than a cell phone.I have seen people in school with them, they generally disappear and have a 15" laptop very soon.
jeff486 - Friday, July 17, 2009 - link
Just some general comments as I agree with the above post. This article did not really answer the question about whether or not a Netbook can replace a low end Notebook you can pickup on clearance at places like newegg or tigerdirect. I am just looking for an inexpensive second system to toss in the bag when I travel and maybe something the kids can use while I am at home. The size of these would be perfect as the company I work for has our notebooks so locked down that even windows media player is no longer active. I will be lugging two systems around so weight and size is very important.I want to know how well it handles office applications, can it play movies/tv shows I transcoded for travel and how well does the wireless connection work. If I want to watch a TV show on Hulu does it offer decent enough playback quality via the wired or wireless connection. I watch most of my TV shows this way when traveling. How is battery playback when watching movies as those four hour flights showing the same movie over and over get boring.
Someone already mentioned this but do the webcams work and is skype video supported as I like to see my kids after getting back to the hotel room. How is the audio quality with a pair of headphones attached? I do not game so that is not important but it would be nice to know if Peggle or Disney Toon Town or other kids games play on it. At home I could probably trust a couple of seven year olds with the machine.
Most of the articles around here answer my questions and it is why I like visiting the website but this article left me with more questions than it answered.
AstroGuardian - Sunday, July 19, 2009 - link
So, the webcams work as intended with descent perfs. I tested a MSI U100 6 month back and webcam was great. The audio is also with standard quality and there is nothing to cry about. Most of 2D games will work on it. Even Counter Strike 1.6 works flawless with 800x600.bgold2005 - Friday, July 17, 2009 - link
The image seems to show the 1000HE with an illuminated keyboard, yet no text in the article refers to this. I like this feature; shouldn't it have been at least briefly touched upon/ added to the comparisons?After all, netbooks are ultra-portable and mat be in some very shady, or porrly-lit, locales.
(although it did lead me to a merry search involving stick-on keys, glow-paint, etc). Apparently this will be a feature in upcoming Asus models (unclear whether just notebooks or also netbooks)
JackPack - Friday, July 17, 2009 - link
The keys on the 1000HE do not illuminate or glow.Bolas - Friday, July 17, 2009 - link
I assume this is a typo?"The N280 is essentially the same CPU as the N280"
You could have a much more thorough article if you didn't stop with just the N280 comparison... Why not compare all the CPU's to themselves?
The Core-i7 is essentially the same CPU as the Core-i7.
The Pentium 4 is essentially the same CPU as the Pentium 4.
The Phenom II is essentially the same CPU as the Phenom II.
*grin*
Bolas - Friday, July 17, 2009 - link
I assume this is a typo?"The N280 is essentially the same CPU as the N280"
You could have a much more thorough article if you didn't stop with just the N280 comparison... Why not compare all the CPU's to themselves?
The Core-i7 is essentially the same CPU as the Core-i7.
The Pentium 4 is essentially the same CPU as the Pentium 4.
The Phenom II is essentially the same CPU as the Phenom II.
*grin*
Wesley Fink - Friday, July 17, 2009 - link
Typo corrected. Thanks for letting us know.