It’s about time. Although wireless carriers have been selling discounted netbooks with built-in mobile broadband for several months, all of them have sported wimpy three-cell batteries. The Gateway LT2016u ($149 after $100 mail-in rebate and a new two year contract agreement), which joins the HP 1151NR as the second netbook in Verizon Wireless’ lineup, is different. That’s because this mini-notebook comes with a six-cell battery, providing longer endurance to match its anytime, anywhere connectivity. The LT2016u also has a stylish design, relatively comfortable keyboard, and zippy 3G performance. The touchpad, however, is too cramped, and many will balk at the potential total $1,440 price tag for data over the life of the two-year contract. Still, if you like the idea of having 3G inside your netbook, the LT2016u is the most compelling package yet.
Design
If the LT2016u looks somewhat familiar, it should. It’s basically the Acer Aspire One D250 with a modified chassis. Not that we don’t like the changes; the glossy Night Sky Black lid, complete with a narrow silver strip emblazoned with the Gateway logo, adds a touch of class to the machine, even if it does pick up fingerprint smudges quickly. On the inside is a shiny black bezel around the 10.1-inch display, which includes a silver-rimmed webcam; the hinges and area around the touchpad get the same slightly blinged-out treatment. The dotted pattern beneath the keyboard is another nice touch.
This netbook isn’t the lightest or thinnest around, but that extended six-cell battery—which juts out the back—is worth the trade-off. The LT2016u measures 10.2 x 7.2 x 1.0, inches and weighs 3.0 pounds. Even with a little extra bulk, you’ll have no problems slipping this mini-notebook inside a backpack or purse.
Keyboard and Touchpad
Like the Acer Aspire One D250, the LT2016u has a keyboard that’s about 89 percent of full size. While not as large as the layout you’ll find on the HP Mini 1151NR from Verizon Wireless (92 percent) or the Toshiba mini NB205 (93 percent), we found the LT2016u’s keyboard easy to type this review on. The keys have a nice bounce to them, and we like that the Shift keys are of a decent size and are located in the proper position.
The touchpad is a different story. Measuring about 2.0 x 1.4 inches, there’s very little surface area for moving the cursor, never mind multitouch gestures. We much prefer the touchpad on the Toshiba mini NB205, which measures a much larger 3.1 x 1.6 inches. We’re also not fans of the single tiny touchpad button; it provided solid tactile feedback, but we prefer two distinct left and right buttons to a bar.
Ports
The LT2016u features the typical array of netbook connections, including an Ethernet jack, VGA, USB port, and headphone and mic jacks on the left side. The right side houses the Kensington lock slot, power jack, two additional USB ports, and a 6-in-1 memory card reader (SD, Memory Stick, xD, MMC, RS-MMC, MS Pro). The front of the system has a switch that activates the 3G connection and Wi-Fi, but ours seemed misaligned, which raises concerns about its long-term durability.
Display, Webcam, and Audio
Like most netbooks, the LT2016u features a 10.1-inch LCD with 1024 x 600-pixel resolution. This glossy panel delivered a bright and colorful picture in our testing, and didn’t kick back too many reflections when working in WordPad or watching Family Guy via Hulu. In fact, when paired with this netbook’s 3G data connection, the LT2016u makes for a fine mobile TV.
We tested the integrated 0.3-megapixel webcam by conducting a Google Talk video call over 3G and then Wi-Fi. The other caller said we looked and sounded clear during our first test, but that there was a bit of stuttering to the stream. The quality improved over Wi-Fi.
Because the speakers on this netbook are located on the underside of the chassis, you’ll get better sound when the system is placed on a desk than when it’s in your lap (which can muffle the audio). When playing Green Day’s “Holiday” on Slacker Radio, the volume wasn’t terribly loud, but it was better than other mini-notebooks we’ve tested. Plus, there was very little distortion at max volume.
