Advent 4489 review

Advent’s 4489 netbook is a rebranded MSI Wind, but with an 8.9in, rather than a 10in, glossy display.

It has the same 1,024×600-pixel resolution as the Wind, so there’s still plenty of desktop space for reading web pages and editing Word documents, although text is a little more cramped on this smaller screen.

Like most of the other netbooks we’ve seen, the 4489 has a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processor. It has only 512MB of RAM, which is at least half the amount of memory as every other netbook here. As a result, its performance suffered compared to the competition, and we noticed that it even stuttered when playing standard-definition iPlayer and DivX videos. Switching between several open programs can also feel sluggish. Fortunately, a maximum of 2GB memory can be fitted to boost performance, and we recommend upgrading to at least 1GB.

Lasting two hours and 20 minutes in our light-usage battery test, the 4489 is suitable only for short trips. While this is what we’d expect from a netbook at this price, it’s a shame considering that its low 1.1kg weight otherwise makes it the perfect travelling companion. For longer battery life you can use higher-capacity batteries; a six-cell battery costs around £37 including VAT and a nine-cell battery around £44 including VAT.

The 80GB hard disk is large enough for storing plenty of office documents, but even a modest collection of music and videos will fill it rapidly. The keyboard and the touchpad are the same size as those on other Wind-based netbooks. The keys are large enough for comfortable touch typing, although a few of the punctuation keys are smaller than the others. The touchpad and its buttons are small, but the pad itself is accurate.

Advent’s 4489 is the cheapest netbook here at just over £200, so it’s appealing if you’re on a tight budget and want a second computer for basic tasks around the home. However, its relatively poor performance and short battery life detract from it and MSI’s Wind U100 is a better buy for most people.