Slowly but surely, the battle for netbook domination seems to centered around battery life and “sexiness”. Samsung is waging the battery-life battle in a fairly impressive manner as they announce the Samsung NC310 netbook which boasts an 11 hour battery life! Now, that’s something to pay serious attention to but of course we will have to wait for reviewers of netbooks to confirm if it’s true or a bunch of marketing cow dung.

What’s the deal with the Samsung NC310?

A pretty cute design if you ask me (it reminds me of the previous generation of the black MacBook), Intel® ATOM™ Processor N270 (1.60GHz, 533MHz, 512KB), Microsoft Windows® XP® Home (SP3), LCD: 1GB (DDR2 / 1GB x 1) , 10.1″ WSVGA (1024 x 600) SuperBright Gloss LED backlit, HDD: 160GB (5400 rpm) and more. Read all about it at: Samsung NC310 Claims 11 Hour Battery Life

Just like you have crossovers in motor vehicles, there are now crossovers in the notebook world. Such crossovers are a mix of laptops and netbooks which is basically a netbook with a laptop size or a laptop with netbook features. 

Samsung NC20 is such a notebook/netbook and features Via’s nano processor which allows it to run for six hours.

Read more: Samsung’s VIA-based NC20 netbook official

- Super cheap netbooks by Elonex will be sold in popular UK stores

- Asus introduced the Eee 131 that features a 512GB drive and Windows 7

- The forthcoming Sony netbook seems to be the most anticipated computer after Apple’s failure to excite us at Macworld

- Android powered netbooks will surely be showcased

More details to be added as they come in…

See: Samsung NC20 12.1-inch netbook expected February 2009

TheAgent06, a DJ, comments: “Just got mine in… it’s running my Dj sofware better than the Acer Aspire One and its not even upgraded to 2 Gig RAM yet. The video streaming load seems faster too even under poor WiFi connection.”

“Shop online, surf the web and chat on IM with ease. Weighing only 2.8lbs. the SAMSUNG NC10 netbook gives you the freedom to do that and more wherever you are. You’ll accomplish everything with 1GB of RAM and enjoy images filled with bold, vibrant colors on an LCD screen with 1024×600 resolution. The NC10 netbook is an affordable mobile solution ideal for all your online needs.”, according to Samsung’s official sales pitch.

“Our first look at the MSI Wind U120 has us excited for what MSI is promising in the final production unit. Until recently the MSI Wind was our favoriate netbook, but then the Samsung NC10 arrived on the scene with a stronger battery life and an even sleeker chassis. Will the Wind U120 rival our current category favorite?” asks Laptop Mag in Hands-On With the MSI Wind U120. 

Earlier on today, we showed pics of the MSI Wind U120 netbook that were snapped by Engadget China.

“According to Toshiba, the netbook is targeted at schoolchildren, senior citizens, and mobile workers who “do not require the processor power or range of functions of a full-sized laptop”.”

Are netbooks getting the attention of all computer makers or what?

Although I am pretty happy for the shopper about all these new netbooks surfacing, I fear that ultimately, too much choice will become confusing because these mini-laptops seem to have no difference except for the brand name. (What is the Best Netbook Brand? Acer, Asus, Dell, Lenovo, HP, MSI, Samsung?)

Oh well, the fact that the netbook retailers will end up waging a price war to sell them is only good for the consumer right?

Thanks for Trusted Reviews for the photo. You should check out more pics and their thorough review of of the Toshiba Satellite NB100.

Now that you know what you need in a netbook computer (Read: How to Pick and Shop for The Best Netbook), it’s time to figure out what brand and model to pick from. Even though netbooks are pretty new, there is already quite a selection and that can get a little bit confusing.

In this article, I will try to answer the tough question of which is the best netbook notebook computer. I have to add before I go on that this is my view and not a universal perspective. You may want to consult with other guides for their take on the topic and thus be a better informed smart shopper.

Moving on…

So far, the serious players in the netbook business seem to be Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, MSI, Samsung and Apple (if you we say that the MacBook Air is a netbook). There are a few more of course and new players do show up everyday but at this time of writing, the above mentioned are the ones that you should consider as serious contenders in your shopping spree. 

To make matters interesting, some of these netbook brands have one or more models that have their own distinct features. For instance, current market darling Asus offers, four models as I write this. How do they differ? They differ in CPUs, display sizes, storage types and sizes and of course prices. I will talk more about this in a bit but keep this in mind. (See: The Best Netbook Guides You Will Ever Read)

So what is the best netbook brand?

Are you familiar with the term OEM short for Original equipment manufacturer? In layman’s terms it means that basically there’s one major computer manufacturer located somewhere in Asia who makes the netbook and different brands will take that netbook and tweak the exterior to fit their existing brands.

Basically, it’s the same computer but it’s just that it looks different. It’s really like a policeman who wears a uniform when he’s at work but when he goes to the swimming pool to relax with his wife and children puts on a swimming costume. This man may be wearing different uniforms but he still is the same under the “hood”.

My point? Netbooks are more or less the same. I understand that techies and purists are going to be on my case about this but consider this: 

The MSI Wind PC which is considered to be one of the best netbook on the block. According to Wikipedia, It turns out that there are 18 known original equipment manufacturer versions of the Wind:

-Advent 4211 in the UK.

-Medion Akoya Mini in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, The Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, France, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Poland and Australia (as of 23rd October 2008) (the Medion Akoya Mini is a slightly different containing a different wireless card, no Bluetooth (Aust. model features mini Bluetooth dongle), and 0.3MP camera).

-MyBook M11 ‘Freedom’ in Denmark, however, unlike the other OEM versions, the MyBook M11 does not have a logo on its case.

-Mouse Computer LuvBook U100 in Japan.

-Mivvy M310 in the Czech Republic.[7] but with 2GB of RAM and a 120GB HDD.

-Tsunami Moover T10 in Portugal (XP version only)

-NTT Corrino 101I and Aristo Pico i300 in Poland

-RoverBook Neo U100 in Russia with 120GB or 160GB HDD

-Axioo Pico in Indonesia with 160GB HDD but not include Bluetooth

-Multirama HT Xpress Book in Greece with 160GB HDD

-Positivo Mobo White in Brazil, with 4 models: 1000, 1050, 1070 and 1090. All sport Intel Atom Processors and range from 512 MB RAM / 80 GB HDD (Mobo White 1000) to 1 GB RAM and 160 GB HDD (Mobo White 1090).

-The Proline U100 in South Africa. 

Wikipedia goes on to say that “all OEM versions are offered in different colors to the original MSI Wind, apart from the Tsunami Moover (white only) and the Mobo White”.

Pictured above are the Proline U100 and the Medion Akoya Mini. Can you spot any visual difference?

So now suppose that you went into a store that sold netbooks and by a weird coincidence sold all the above brands under one roof. Yes, they would be priced differently according to the different specifications such as hard drive storage size or the strength of the brand.

Essentially though, you would be buying the same netbook! How about that?

I am not saying that the same manufacturer makes ALL netbooks. But I will say that in a matter of quality, they’re pretty much the same which leads me to conclude that you should not really pay attention to the brands but more to the specifications and the price to make sure that you buy the netbook that is right for you.

As long as you stick to the brands mentioned earlier (Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, MSI, Samsung and Apple), you should be good.

Now the trick is to find the best netbook model. What makes each model different to its sibling under the same brand family is the different specifications. For instance, the major difference between the Asus Eee PC 701 and the Asus Eee PC 1000 is the display size (7” versus 10”). You could also add the processors (Celeron versus Atom) and so on.

That would mean that the best Asus netbook for you would be the Asus Eee PC 1000 if you would rather have a 10” large display than a rather small 7”. But you may also see that the difference in prices is something major and that you do not want to spend an extra $300 for a screen display difference because after all, you can live with the 7”.

So what is the best netbook notebook computer? It’s the one that suits all your needs and that has the price that you like. If you’re still undecided, you can just go with the best sellers. For that, you can head over to your fave retailer and ask her or him which model people seem to like the most and go with the choice of the majority. 

After all, if everyone is buying a certain unit, it must be the best netbook otherwise it would be gathering dust!