CTL IL1PC

For mini-notebook shoppers who want XP and a decent amount of storage capacity, the 60GB CTL IL1PC ($449) is an attractive alternative to ASUS’ Eee PC 4G series, whose solid state drives store about as much as a thumb drive. Although this feature is certainly a boon, we were turned off by this system’s subpar performance and small screen, especially given that you can get get a mini-notebook with a much larger display for just a little more money.

Sophisticated Design

Unlike the 2go PC, the first mini-notebook we saw from CTL, the IL1PC is clearly for grown-ups. The glossy black lid has CTL’s logo stamped discreetly, but the lid also picks up fingerprints quickly. Inside, everything from the keyboard to the bezel is matte black, although the lid and sides are trimmed in an attractive matte silver. The 1.6 x 1.2-inch touchpad is tiny (as are the buttons), but we like the pad’s up and down arrows, which you can tap to scroll through Web pages quickly.

The IL1PC’s keyboard is cramped but less rigid than the Eee PC’s. It’s fine for pecking out short messages, but for longer missives we recommend plugging an external keyboard into one of this system’s two USB ports.

At 2.4 pounds, the IL1PC is 0.2 pounds heavier than the 8.9-inch ASUS Eee PC 900, but it still feels light in the hand. At 9.6 x 6.8 x 1.7 inches, it’s slightly chunkier than the 900, too. We also don’t like how the four-cell battery juts out slightly in the back, lending the system a boxier shape.

In addition to the USB and VGA ports, the IL1PC has Ethernet and modem jacks, headphone and mic ports, and a 2-in-1 memory card reader.

Pint-Size Display

The IL1PC has a small 7-inch display at a time when most mini-notebook makers are moving to larger screens. And it’s $50 more expensive than the $399 7-inch ASUS Eee PC 4G XP. The Eee PC 900 ($549) features a 9-inch screen and the MSI Wind NB ($499) sports a 10-inch LCD. Worse, the IL1PC bezel is unnecessarily wide. CTL should take a cue from ASUS and narrow the bezel to maximize screen size while keeping the footprint narrow. At least you can use the VGA port to plug in an external monitor.

Owing to its 800 x 480-pixel resolution, content looked stretched, and we had to scroll horizontally to view some Web pages, but at least they didn’t extend below the screen. Even with the notebook sitting directly in front of us, we found ourselves squinting. The display is plenty bright, but not bright enough to enjoy wide viewing angles. The IL1PC has a 0.3-megapixel webcam embedded above the display, which showed smooth movement but pallid colors. The speakers sounded tinny, but the volume was sufficiently loud.