Viewsonic VNB102 Netbook Review
Viewsonic VNB102 Netbook Review – 3.25/7
Someone needs to get onto the boys at Viewsonic and let them know they’re living about 2 years behind the rest of all of us. How else can you explain the release of a netbook that features all of the generics that we were first accustomed to when netbooks launched. And that too, at a time when the Intel Pineview is making its entry with almost every decent netbook manufacturer out there. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of netbooks featuring a 10.1 inch screen, the N270 Atom processor, 1 GB of RAM , yada yada yada out there, but Viewsonic has actually gone and released this new (and yet old) model less than a month before the baselines specifications of netbooks are going to be overhauled.
Viewsonic VNB102 Netbook Review – Top Features
This is the first netbook for which we have actually not been able to find ANY features that would even remotely differentiate it, or prop it up in any way. We feel embarassed for Viewsonic.
Viewsonic VNB102 Netbook Review – Drawbacks and things to keep in mind
- Outdated specifications – As mentioned before, nothing new at all.
- Bad Keyboard – The board is small and misplaces keys. Not a very good typing experience.
- Underpar performance – We tested out a bunch of softwares and the netbook wasn’t very impressive at handling what we threw at it.
- Bad price point – OK, so they made an average netbook but it must be available at a decent price right? Wrong! Viewsonic has gone ahead and priced this at $399 and its available on amazon for $367. There are so many better-looking, better performing, and more souped out netbook models out there at least 10% cheaper than it.
Viewsonic VNB102 Netbook Review – Ratings
- Price and Value for money – 0 Star. This one garners no points at all. How could it, when there’s no reason at all to buy an overpriced, under-specced netbook.
- Speed and Performance – 0.5 Star. With the Intel Atom N270 processor and 1GB of RAM, this netbook is a definite underperformer. It was below average when it came to tasks compared to similarly equipped netbooks.
- Screen – 0.75 Star – Viewsonic is a maker of LCD screens originally and they’ve managed to get something right at least.
- Keyboard, Touchpad, Useability- 0.5 Star. The VNB102 suffers from poor keyboard design. The trackpad is decent however.
- Portability and Battery life – 0.5 Star. The 6-cell battery lasts less than 5 hours, which is about an hour less than the average netbook battery length. The netbooks weighs in at 2.7lbs which is decent.
- Looks and Design – 0.5 Star. – This isn’t a bad looking netbook, but it reminds us sorely of the Lenovo and Dell netbooks of yore.
- Connectivity and Extensibility – 0.5 Star. The VNB102 has 3 USB ports, a 3-in-1 card slot, VGA out and an Ethernet out. Very average.
This gives the Viewsonic VNB102 a rating of 3.25 out of 7.
Viewsonic VNB102 Netbook Review – Our Recommendation
There is absolutely no reason to buy the VNB102. It may have worked as a base spec netbook offered at about $250 but its way off that price. The VNB102 is available on amazon for $366.99
Viewsonic VNB102 Netbook Review – Technical Specifications
- OS: Windows 7 Starter
- CPU: Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz processor
- RAM: 1GB DDR2 RAM
- Storage Space: 160GB SATA HDD (5400rpm)
- Screen: 10.1 inch 1024 x 600 LCD display
- Connectivity: VGA output, Ethernet, Headphone & microphone slot, 3-in-1 card reader, 3 USB ports, 802.11b/g WLAN
- Battery: 6 cell Li-Ion battery
- Weight: 2.7 lbs
Filed under: Netbook