Gateway introduced the Gateway LT3100 netbook, the company’s first with a productivity-boosting high-definition 11.6-inch display. Complementing the new display are features that equip customers to do more with their netbook, including wireless connectivity and an AMD Athlon Processor.

Gateway LT3100 netbook
Savvy mobile customers who are always on the move can stay in touch and connected using the new Gateway LT3100 netbook. Compact and easy to use, it is an ideal netbook for customers who want a reliable Wi-Fi 802.11b/g wireless connection to the Internet to stay up-to-date on emails, post updates on social networks and enjoy online entertainment. Students and small business customers can use it for conducting online research, reviewing materials for class and communicating with colleagues.

Gateway netbook features
Customers can do more with their new Gateway LT3100 netbook. The Netbook’s Ultrabright high-definition widescreen display is a large 11.6 inches, providing increased screen real estate to view Internet sites as well as multiple applications and windows. As a result, customers can avoid extensive vertical and horizontal scrolling and can more easily move between windows for a better overall experience. The display on the new Gateway netbook is LED-backlit and features an entertainment-enhancing 16:9 ratio and 1366 x 768 (WXGA) pixel resolution, so pictures and photos on it are incredibly clear and crisp. Plus, the larger display size made room for a full-size keyboard, so even typing is easier.

Gateway LT3103u Specs:

AMD Athlon 64 Single-Core L110 (1.20 GHz, 512KB L2 cache, 800 MHz FSB)
11.6-inch WXGA screen (1364×768 pixel resolution)
2048MB DDR2 SDRAM
Integrated ATI Radeon X1270 Graphics
250GB SATA 5400RPM Hard Drive
Multi-in-1 Digital Media Card Reader
802.11b/g Wi-Fi
Integrated Web Camera
Two Built-in Stereo Speakers
Three USB 2.0 Ports
6-cell Li-ion Battery
11.26W x 7.99D x 1.03H inches
NightSky Black
Microsoft Windows Vista Basic with Service Pack 1

Suggested Retail Price: $399.99 (Php 18,000 to 20,000)

Gateway LT3100 mini notebook
The Gateway LT3100 netbook delivers a heightened level of performance and usability thanks to its AMD Athlon 64 L110 Single-Core processor and ATI Radeon X1270 Graphics for enhanced performance when browsing internet websites, downloading music, moving through applications and handling multiple tasks. Ready for customers who want to take their digital media and files with them, the Gateway LT3100 netbooks will feature up to 2GB of DDR2 memory and up to a 250GB internal hard drive. Available with a 6-cell battery, the Gateway netbooks provide battery life of up to five hours.

Gateway Netbook webcam
Customers can capture moments on the go in video with the integrated webcam. With it, consumers have an easy way to document their adventures in video, record video emails and enhance communication with “face-to-face” video-conferencing. It captures smooth video and high-quality images even in low-light conditions. Plus, the built-in digital microphone conveys excellent voice quality, keeping background noise levels low and minimizing echoes. Consumers will enjoy audio with the Dolby Headphones and two built-in stereo speakers.

Multi-Gesture Touchpad
The Gateway LT3100 netbook further enhances productivity with its Multi-Gesture Touchpad. Unique movements on the touchpad let users intuitively move through Internet sites and digital media. For example, customers can make an inward or outward pinching motion to naturally zoom in and out on photos. Customers can move two fingers horizontally to flip through photos, web pages and PDF documents. Also, customers can swirl their fingers in a circular motion to scroll through web pages, long lists of files and music playlists.

Gateway netbook design
The sophisticated design of the new Gateway LT3100 notebook gives it a fashionable look and feel. The glossy chassis is punctuated with a subtle yet defining Gateway engraved logo and modern silver trim and is available in both NightSky Black and Cherry Red. Sleek and comfortable to hold and use with an incredibly portable form factor, the LT3100 has a starting weight of 3.14 pounds. The Gateway LT3100 netbook measures only about an inch thick, so it neatly fits in a backpack or purse.

Looks like Acer was the first one to let out a 12-inch netbook in the market with the 11.6? Acer Aspire AO751. After using one for a couple of weeks, I got to the bottom of things. Check out our full review after the jump.

An Intel Atom Z520 @ 1.33GHz, 2GB DDR2 RAM, 250GB HDD, Intel GMA 500, Bluetooth, WiFi 802.11b/g. Pretty nice specs IMO. The only biggest concern here is the seemingly underpowered CPU. While 1.33GHz isn’t really that slow, you will still feel that the pre-installed Windows Vista OS is dragging it.

The large 11.6? screen is a big plus for the AO751 with a large 1366×768 pixel resolution only the Sony Vaio P can beat. Despite the size, it did not sacrifice the weight and dimensions to separate itself from the regular 12-incher notebooks — still under 1 inch thin and weighs just about 2.75lbs (pretty thin and lightweight for its size actually). Biggest advantage here is the almost 100% full chiclet-style keyboard.

Obviously, the CPU has the lowest subscore (1.9) among all other components of the netbook. SuperPi 2M took about 4m 56s. As a point of reference, an N270 1.66GHz takes 3m 45s on SuperPi 2M and has a subscore of 2.2 on Windows Performance Index. It would have been nice if a 1.6GHz Z530 was in here or maybe even a 1.66GHz N280 but the latter would have needed an exhaust fan.

Technical Specifications
Model                     Aspire One AO-751-BB
Processor                Intel Atom Z520 processor
(1.33 GHz, 512 KB L2 cache, 533 MHz FSB)
Chipset                   Mobile Intel® US15W Express Chipset
Memory                   2GB DDR2
Display Screen        11.6″ HD 1366 x 768 (WXGA) TFT CystalBrite LCD
Video Type              Intel Graphics Media Acceleator
Storage                    250GB HDD SATA
Operating System    Windows Vista Home Basic
Applications            Acer eRecovery Software, Adobe Reader, McAfee Internet Security Suite
(60 day trial) , Microsoft Works, Microsoft Office Home and
Student 2007 (trial)
Network Interface    Built-in 10/100 Ethernet, Bluetooth
Wireless LAN           Acer Invilink 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi certified
Audio                       Stereo speaker
Built-in                    Microphone
Card Reader             Multi card reader: SD,MMC,MS,MS-Pro,xD,Smart Media,MS-Duo,MS-Pro Duo
WebCam                  Built-in Acer CrystalEye Webcam
Battery                     6 Cells: 5200 mAh, 7.5hrs*
* Actual battery life will depend on actual operations and other settings.
Weight                     1.33kg
Dimensions             284 (W) x 198 (D) x 25.4 (H) mm (11.18 x 7.79 x 1) inches
Speakers                  Stereo Speakers, 16-bit Stereo with Intel® High def
Colors                      Sapphire Blue, Ruby Red,
I/O Ports                  3 USB 2.0 / 1 microphone in / 1 headphone/line-out /
1 external VGA monitor / 1 RJ-45 / 1 AC power

As for the GPU, Acer used an Intel GMA500 which turns out to be better than the GMA945 for Windows Aero (2.9 vs. 2.0). The screen is glossy which makes the display bright and crisp (similar to the AOD150). What I found somewhat buggy is that the screen turns black when launching apps (outside the app window) and doesn’t refresh back to normal display immediately.

Battery life is impressive, just like its earlier siblings (6-cell 5200mAh), and ranges between 5.5 to 6.5 hours depending on the brightness level of the screen. I haven’t been able to squeeze it anywhere near the promised 8 hours but the 6.5 hours on regular use (with WiFi) is already a good number.

I’m still a bit disappointed that the 3G SIM card slot isn’t there (the label says it’s WAN-ready only so I don’t know what it means). That would have made the retail price of Php27,500 a great bargain.

Just a fair warning — since the Acer Aspire One AO751 runs Windows Vista Home out of the box, you will most definitely experience a laggy performance. I somewhat avoided that by upgrading to Windows 7 RC (Windows XP should also do the trick). What this model gives you that no other 10-inch netbooks out there cannot give is the larger screen and higher resolution (1366×768pixels). That and the full-sized keyboard.