New Atom Powered Gateway Netbook

[ThisIsNot]

Gateway has come out with another new netbook. It pretty much uses the same chassis as their AMD Athlon 64 powered netbook but it features a lower resolution 10" screen, Atom N270 processor, 160GB hard drive, GMA 950, 1GB of RAM, a 3-cell battery (netbooks with 3-cell batteries should be outlawed), 0.3 MP webcam (what is up with Gateway not using 1.3 MP webcams?), and other standard features. It is priced at a low $299. Gateway could of had a real budget netbook had they gone with a 6-cell battery. Instead, they went with a 3-cell which will probably push the netbook to around 2 hours of operation.

There really isn't anything here that sets this netbook apart from others except for the price. Best Buy is also selling their own version of the Asus Eee PC 1005HA. The main differences from the real 1005HA is that it uses a 3-cell battery and doesn't come with bluetooth. They are also pricing it at $299 and that seems like a better buy than this Gateway model.

That is a shame. Gateway made a solid product with their Athlon 64 powered netbook and now they revert back to using the generic Atom N270-GMA 950 combination that everyone and their mother insists on using.

[wafin]

Good find ThisIsNot.

I'm about to go ahead and just get the Gateway, AMD netbook from Best Buy after I make sure they didn't gimp it like they do with other netbooks, (for example, swapping out 6-cell battery for 3-cell or no bluetooth).

Keep the information coming!

[ThisIsNot]

Unlike other netbooks/notebook, Best Buy didn't change the Gateway AMD powered netbook. That is the maximum configuration that it will be available in. The LT20 model (the one with an N270 Atom processor) might be changed since it comes with a 3-cell battery from Best Buy (Gateway's website doesn't mention anything about a 6-cell battery but you never know). Other stores/websites are not currently selling these netbooks. I wouldn't be surprised if Best Buy is the only retailer carrying them. Gateway works with websites such as Buy.com and Amazon.com (along with other stores) but they are pretty tight with Best Buy. I believe that Best Buy was the first store that Gateway opened up to after they decided to shut down their own physical stores and website.

[mjaanbutt]

so for my birthday i am thinking of getting the gateway netbook. but the thing is will it work with my sims games such as:

sims 2 deluxe
IKEA home stuff
kitchen and bath
H&M fashion
Apartment life

also without the sims 2 games downloaded will the sims 3 work?