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Advent 4489 review

Our Rating :
Price when reviewed : £210
inc VAT

Specifications

8.9 in 1,024×600 display, 1.1kg, 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270, 512MB RAM, 80GB disk, Windows XP Home Edition

http://www.pcworld.co.uk

Advent’s 4489 netbook is a rebranded MSI Wind, but with an 8.9in, rather than a 10in, glossy display.

It has the same 1,024×600-pixel resolution as the Wind, so there’s still plenty of desktop space for reading web pages and editing Word documents, although text is a little more cramped on this smaller screen.

Like most of the other netbooks we’ve seen, the 4489 has a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processor. It has only 512MB of RAM, which is at least half the amount of memory as every other netbook here. As a result, its performance suffered compared to the competition, and we noticed that it even stuttered when playing standard-definition iPlayer and DivX videos. Switching between several open programs can also feel sluggish. Fortunately, a maximum of 2GB memory can be fitted to boost performance, and we recommend upgrading to at least 1GB.

Lasting two hours and 20 minutes in our light-usage battery test, the 4489 is suitable only for short trips. While this is what we’d expect from a netbook at this price, it’s a shame considering that its low 1.1kg weight otherwise makes it the perfect travelling companion. For longer battery life you can use higher-capacity batteries; a six-cell battery costs around £37 including VAT and a nine-cell battery around £44 including VAT.

The 80GB hard disk is large enough for storing plenty of office documents, but even a modest collection of music and videos will fill it rapidly. The keyboard and the touchpad are the same size as those on other Wind-based netbooks. The keys are large enough for comfortable touch typing, although a few of the punctuation keys are smaller than the others. The touchpad and its buttons are small, but the pad itself is accurate.

Advent’s 4489 is the cheapest netbook here at just over £200, so it’s appealing if you’re on a tight budget and want a second computer for basic tasks around the home. However, its relatively poor performance and short battery life detract from it and MSI’s Wind U100 is a better buy for most people.

Basic Specifications

Rating ***
Processor Intel Atom N270
Processor clock speed 1.6GHz
Memory 512MB
Memory slots 2
Memory slots free 1
Maximum memory 2GB
Size 44x263x187mm
Weight 1.1kg
Sound Realtek High Definition Audio
Pointing device touchpad
Power consumption standby 1W
Power consumption idle 12W
Power consumption active 17W

Display

Viewable size 8.9 in
Native resolution 1,024×600
Graphics Processor Intel GMA 950
Graphics/video ports VGA
Graphics Memory 128MB

Storage

Total storage capacity 80GB
Optical drive model none
Optical drive type N/A

Ports and Expansion

USB ports 3
Wired network ports 1x 10/100
Wireless networking support 802.11b/g
PC Card slots none
Modem No
Supported memory cards SDHC, MMC, Memory Stick Pro/Duo
Other ports none

Miscellaneous

Carrying case No
Operating system Windows XP Home Edition
Operating system restore option restore partition
Software included Microsoft Works 9
Optional extras none

Buying Information

Warranty one year customer carry-in
Price £210
Details www.advent.co.uk
Supplier http://www.pcworld.co.uk

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