UK Netbook Review

The Liberty Tab Android tablet isn’t the only new mobile device heading to Europe under the Packard Bell brand soon. The folks at Notebook Italia got word that the new Packard Bell Dot S netbook is due out soon.

Packard Bell is owned by Acer, so it comes as no surprise that the new Packard Bell Dot SE, appears to be awfully similar to the recently launched Acer Aspire One D255. Netbook News.de spotted the listing for the new Packard Bell Dot SE.CH/001 at Alltron. Just like the Aspire One D55, it has a 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display and a 1.5GHz Intel Atom N550 dual core CPU. There’s also 1GB of DDR2 memory, a 250GB hard drive, and Windows 7 Starter Edition. The 6 cell battery is said to be good for up to 7.5 hours of run time, and the netbook weighs about 2.8 pounds.

Recognize thePackard Bell Dot S4? Well, if you do, it’s because this new10 inch netbook is basically a dressed up Acer Aspire One D260. It’s possible because Acer owns the Packard Bell (and Gateway). So, what are the differences? Well,Notebook Italia got the netbook and noticed an interesting pixelized floral patern on the lid, a chiclet-style keyboard, and, well….that’s about it.

Packard Bell introduced the dot m/u netbook today. Packard Bell touts that is the “first netbook with the performance of a notebook,” The netbook is just over three pounds with an 11.6-inch screen and definitely has some hardware not usually seen in netbooks. Powering the Dot M/U is an unspecified Intel CULV processor, up to 4GB of RAM, a max 500GB hard drive, a multitouch trackpad, a 5-in1 memory card reader. It runs Windows 7 Home Premium and will be priced at £399. At that price point the Packard Bell looks pretty attractive, but we’ll wait to see it in person before we make a final judgment.

The UK version of the Gateway LT3100 (LT3103u), the Packard Bell DOT MA netbook is currently on sale, and shipping from Tesco Direct for £349.00. In case you’re wondering why the different names – both Gateway and Packard Bell are owned by Acer. that was released a month back in the US. Both companies are owned by Acer in case you were wondering.