Elonex 10.2″ Webbook Review
Elonex 10.2″ widescreen netbook is one that focuses on the basic needs. Based in Coleshill in Warwickshire, this UK based organisation has been producing a wide range of products and this is one of them. The netbook by Elonex is a simple and a neat one with not many features, but includes only the most essential ones. It has an average appearance and okay features. This netbook claims to be thin, ultra fast and also ultra portable with its light weight. But it lacks some of the features that are found in many of the netbooks that are within its range of price. It is basically inexpensive, but not very good when the user starts counting the features. This is not a very expensive web book in the market and so it is reachable. But is it worth the few pounds? We had these questions too and the results are below.
Design:
Body:
The Elonex 10.2 inch netbook has the tag “Webbook” imprinted on its front side and also on the inside. The netbook comes in two colours, Black and white. Opening it reveals the screen and the keyboard. Majority of the inner part of the body is silver in colour with the exception of the black touchpad. The screen is a neat 10.2 inch with a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels which is acceptable. It is as light as 1.3 Kg (yes, not very light weighted for a mini laptop), with the dimensions of 252 x 183 x 31.8 mm. The display screen has a glossy black finish and so finger print will not be much of a trouble. The overall design of the netbook is such that it is compatible and easy to work. It is thinner than many netbooks in the market and also claims to be ultra fast and ultra portable as said earlier. Ultra portable, may be, but ultra fast is not sure. But then, it has a simple design that does justice to the pounds that has to be given from the user’s wallet.
Keyboard:
The keyboard is a normal QWERTY one and has the keys covering almost the entire base leaving only little space on the edge. The keys are soft and give good and immediate response. But the keys are quite small, especially the keys other than the alphanumeric are very much small that it becomes quite a big task to type. The keyboard is thus similar to that of any netbook except for the size.
Touch Pad:
The touchpad of this Elonex webbook is tiny and is black in colour. There are two buttons at the bottom, the left and the right mouse button and they are silver in colour. This contrast colour arrangement is neat and perfect. But since the size of the touchpad is very small, it does not give laudable performance. On the contrary there have been complaints that the touch pad gets struck up in the middle and gives a poor performance at times. For light users this touch pad is more than enough.
Ports:
There have been no sacrifices in the field of the number of ports. There are 3 USB 2.0 ports which is a very good quantity for a budget netbook. It has almost all the ports. There are also 6 LEDs at the front on the right, to indicate the power, battery, connectivity and the like.
At the front, there are the jacks for headphone and microphone and the SD card reader slot follow them. The SD card slot can read any of the three types of cards, namely, SD, MMC or MS Pro. These ports are located on the left side of the netbook. There is also provision for taking safety measures using the kensington lock that is placed alone at the back side of the netbook. On the left side, there is a fan vent, which is followed by a USB 2.0 port and an ethernet port. The presence of a single USB port on one side makes connection to the flash or any drive easier. On the right hand side, there are two more USB ports, a VGA port and a Power plug.
No Camera, No Bluetooth and No Optical Drive:
Two topics under discussion have been eliminated. The Elonex webbook has neither a camera nor bluetooth connectivity. Absence of web camera in a web book might be disappointing, but since this is a basic model, if you are into only light works you would not have the need for a camera and would therefore not notice the hole in the wall. Absence of Bluetooth is not very bad news since it offers the other modes of connectivity in a satisfying manner (that too only for light users), both wired and wireless connection. The absence of an optical drive would be a great shock for those who are used to watching movies with the CDs or DVDs. This is one big drawback that the users have to get accustomed to.
Microphone and Speaker:
As any other laptop or netbook, the microphone is located above the screen at the top and functions fairly well. The netbook neither functions too well nor has any mistakes in transmitting the audio. The speakers are integrated and they produce an average audio output.
Interface:
The Elonex 10.2 inch widescreen webbook runs either on Linux’s Ubuntu or Windows XP. It basically comes with the Linux pre installed. Windows is the most compatible and it responds pretty well to the users’ request. Also, the user can upgrade to the windows 2000 if they so desire. There have been so many negatives about the Ubuntu, though it is faster, and it seems like many users are not finding it much user friendly. The market of the Elonex netbook has gone down mainly because of its OS since it lacks the “user-friendly” feature. But for simple applications and simple works, any OS would be okay. Games can be played comfortably in this model and though the screen is only 10.2” there is adequate standard.
Connectivity:
None of the laptops or netbooks these days comes without an internet connection and it has become the “Must-have” features instead of being optional. So to contribute internet connection in the wireless mode, Elonex uses the Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g and this is good for sending emails or for light browsing. As usual, wired connection is available and the RJ45 plug can be used for that. The speed is about 100 mbps which is nominal. A surprising feature for the users is the compatibility for 3G! So the users can make use of the features of the 3rd Generation, though the USB Dongle should be bought separately making use of this 3G and it naturally requires few extra pounds.
Memory:
Budget netbooks do not have much to offer on the memory and this particular one could afford only 512 MB (only half GB) of memory. The hard drive capacity is only 80GB. But this is sufficient for having all the favorite songs or videos of the user. The processor is only a 1.6GHz VIA Nano C-7M which is not very popular.
Battery:
The Elonex 10.2” netbook comes with a 3 cell Li-polymer battery. The energy consumption is 30WHr.The presence of only 3 cells obviously means that there would be a down in the sustenance. The battery performance is only average. It could be stable only for 2.5 hours on average and might probably extend to 3 hours under very light conditions. This two and half hours is a good one for a budget netbook though it can not be compared to many products out in the market that offer higher battery life (it has to be said though, at a higher cost!).
Performance:
With few limitations, there should not be many expectations. If you agree to this point, then you would not be complaining to the dealer from whom you bought this product. It does a good job only under mild conditions. The audio and video performances are not up to the mark. The speed of the processor is not excellent.
Warranty:
Elonex provides the users of the 10.2″ widescreen netbook with a warranty for 1 year.
Verdict:
As said earlier, light conditions would make the working smooth. Once the user tries to impose more loads for the memory, the user would find the device getting tougher to work. This netbook would suffice the students and people who do not use it much, but it definitely has no role in an office where the work load would be more. This budget netbook lacks some vital features. In this competitive world, when a number of products are being produced everyday, the demand varies from time to time and so if you are a contented person looking out for a simple machine that can maintain your accounts, have a record of your works and also help you listen to songs with audible clarity when you are in a tensed or relaxed mood, then this could be your choice. Mark the words, this could be your choice and not “would” be.
Elonex 10.2″ Webbook Netbook – Technical Specification Table
| Manufacturer | Elonex |
| Model Name | Elonex Netbook |
| Dimensions: (W x D x H) | 252 x 183 x 31 mm |
| Weight | 1.3 Kg |
| Type | Netbook |
| Display | |
| Screen Size | 10.2 inch |
| Screen Type | LED backlit widescreen |
| Screen Resolution | 1024 x 600 |
| Aspect ratio | 16:9 |
| Internal Components | |
| Processor | 1.6 GHz VIA Nano C-7M |
| RAM | 512 MB DDR2 (Extendable up to 1 GB) |
| Hard drive | 80GB |
| Keypad | Very small but good response |
| Touchpad | Yes with Multi touch facilities |
| Multimedia | |
| Graphics | Integrated UniChrome Pro II Graphics and video processor |
| Speakers | Built-in stereo speakers |
| Communication Setup | |
| Wireless support | WLAN 802.11 BG |
| Memory card slot | 3-in-1 SD card reader |
| Connectivity | 3 USB 2.0 ports, Audio line in, Audio line out, 1 VGA video output |
| Other Detail | |
| Warranty | 1 Year complete warranty |
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