A cheap hybrid laptop that might just convert you
Everyone knows netbooks are dead. Truth be told, they were never really alive, making them even less enticing than your average zombie (and just as likely to start falling apart halfway through a video). But somehow the idea of a £200 portable PC keeps getting resurrected.
Like the Acer Aspire Switch, the Satellite Click Mini combines a tablet-style screen section with detachable keyboard, letting you it as a laptop or something more like Microsoft’s Surface Pro 3. Available in white or gold, it comes with Windows 8.1, upgradable free to Windows 10.
The 8.9in touchscreen is bigger than an iPad mini but smaller than a full-size iPad, making the Click Mini more compact than any laptop. With 1920x1200 pixels, though, it’s much sharper than you’d expect, so the amount of room for apps is limited only by how good your eyesight is. You can adjust how big things appear using Windows’ settings.
The keyboard only works when physically attached. It clicks into place easily, but the hinge doesn’t recline much more than 90 degrees, so if you use it on your lap you’ll find yourself ducking down to see the screen. The keys aren’t quite full size, and the number keys are one place to the right of where they usually are (thwarting accurate typing). Because the touchpad isn’t hugely responsive, you may resort to swiping the screen, which makes the whole thing tip backwards.
The keyboard’s battery charges when it’s attached and the tablet section is charging via its microUSB port. The main battery lasted just over nine hours.
Like the Acer Aspire Switch 10E, the Click Mini uses Intel’s Atom Z3735F processor. It’s a bottom-of-the-range chip that, combined with just 2GB of memory, means you won’t want to attempt anything too ambitious. In general use, though, it doesn’t feel horribly slow, though the case does get quite warm around the top-left corner of the screen.
The Click Mini is less powerful than most Windows PCs, but does more than a Chromebook, and the decent screen makes it more of a pleasure to use, even if the keyboard lets it down. Overall, we’ll put down our axe and give it the benefit of the doubt.
SPECIFICATIONS
1.33GHz Intel Atom Z3735 quad-core processor • 2GB memory • 32GB SSD • 8.9in 1920x1200-pixel touchscreen • 5-megapixel rear camera • 2-megapixel webcam • 1x USB 2.0 • SD card slot • MicroSD card slot • 802.11n Wi-Fi • Windows 8.1 • 20x235x171mm (HxWxD) • 978g • Two-year warranty
VERDICT
As a low-cost portable, the Click Mini is appealing.