Advent 4211 review

Having been introduced to the MSI Wind, you could be forgiven for doing a double-take when you meet the Advent 4211.

Place them side by side, and you'd be hard pressed to spot the difference. The case is the same shape, the keyboard has the same pleasing action, and there's the same single-button trackpad. Even the power button has the same star-shaped indicator that lights up in electric blue when you turn it on.

That's because the Advent 4211 is basically a Wind in different clothing. And what's interesting is that it's cheaper, at only £280. We're not sure how they've managed this, but it's a fantastic deal, and the reduction in price makes the difference between a more portable alternative to low-end laptops and an out-and-out bargain.

You get the same excellent specification as with the MSI, including the recently launched Intel Atom processor, with two cores each running at an impressive 1.6GHz. A score of 52% in our 2D (general) benchmarks won't trouble proper laptops, but it's enough to run basic programs and surf the web without any trouble, which is the whole point of a netbook. The Atom processor is partnered with a decent 1GB of RAM - enough to run the supplied Windows XP without problems - and, as with the MSI, a 80GB hard disk.

Once again, wireless connectivity is built in, but only supports 802.11b and g WiFi, so although you can connect to the latest Draft-n routers (which are backward compatible), you won't get the benefit of their faster speeds and improved range. Three USB ports, divided between the left and right sides of the machine, are ready for your favourite peripherals, and there's also a memory card reader, an Ethernet port for wired networking, a VGA socket for connecting an external monitor, and headphone and microphone jacks.

Same difference

Naturally, since it shares the same chassis, the Advent benefits from the same brilliant design as the Wind. The 10 inch screen and slightly larger dimensions may push against the barrier that divides netbooks from general purpose laptops, but it still weighs in at just over a kilo, and is quite small enough to drop into a bag or briefcase rather than needing its own.

The screen itself is bright and capable for web browsing and office applications, and the move to 10 inches (which looks like being followed by other netbooks) gives you a lot more room than the 7 inch size of the original Eee PC, though no more pixels than 9 inch rivals.

The keyboard, again identical to the Wind's, is comfortable and easy to use: the tapered edges and slightly larger key size contribute to a far better experience than the Elonex, which had us forever going back and correcting mistakes. The Function key is still in the bottom left corner, which takes some getting used to, but the larger spacebar, Enter key and Backspace button make the most of what little space is available.

As with the Wind, the choice of a smaller battery somewhat scuppers the Advent's portable credentials. In our light use test, the 4211 lasted just under two and a half hours, dropping to just over an hour and a half when playing a DVD - so you can't even finish your movie on the plane.

Despite this, there's no denying that both the Advent and the Wind are superb netbooks. There's enough power from the Atom processor to handle basic work and web applications with ease, and the intelligent design throughout means you'll quickly forget this is a tiny laptop with a mere 10 inches of screen. As an alternative to the Eee 901, the Wind would be the obvious model to go for - but at £50 less, the identical Advent has to be our recommendation at the moment.

Author: Mike Jennings