Advent Milano

We’re going to have to wait until next year for netbooks with specifications that are appreciably different from those that have been available for the last two years — that’s when Intel is scheduled to launch its new Pine Trail netbook platform, with dual-core Atom processors and all manner of other improvements.

If you can’t wait that long — or are looking for a cheap ultraportable in time for Xmas, then there are still options available and this new netbook from Advent (sold through branches of PC World — you can’t buy online) looks like it might prove a popular stocking filler.

Although it does nothing to advance the idea of what constitutes a netbook, the Advent Milano does have one very important thing going for it — the price. At just £230, it’s one of the cheapest 10” netbooks available at the moment.

Since it is just one of many very similar Atom-powered netbooks, there really isn’t that much else to say about the Advent Milano, but we will give it the once-over to allay any fears that the cut-price means cut corners.

The Milano’s build quality is easily on a par with other more expensive netbooks and, if anything, it’s a bit better looking than many models. The glossy black lid is decorated with a pattern of fine concentric circles and this repeated on the plastic that surrounds the keyboard, only in silver. At 1.2kg, the Milano weighs much the same as every other 10” netbook and it’s pretty much the same size, too.

The 10.1” screen sits on two stiff, wobble-free hinges and while it sticks with the usual 1024 x 600 resolution, it displays a crisp, bright image and the matte finish means that you don’t have to worry about reflections under bright lights. If we have one complaint, it’s that the hinges don’t let the screen fold back far enough to get the best viewing angle when sitting upright with the Milano on your lap, but the display is still perfectly clear in this position.

Although a 10” netbook chassis leaves ample room for a good size keyboard, not all manufacturers choose to capitalise on it — just take a look at the Lenovo IdeaPad S10-2 for an idea of how not to do it. Advent, thankfully, hasn’t skimped in this regard and the Milano’s keyboard extends right to the very edges of the case (making it exactly 10” wide). The keys are all a good size and have plenty travel, with only a handful of punctuation keys suffering from the shrink ray — the Return and Backspace keys are both oversized, though.

We’re less taken with the trackpad — it’s large and works well enough, but its glossy finish leads to the usual sticky issues we’ve seen on other laptops. A minor point, to be sure, but no less annoying when you’re trying to move the mouse pointer around when your fingertip is a little sweaty.

The Advent Milano has the usual set of netbook ports and the same internal specification as just about every other netbook we’ve reviewed — Intel Atom N270 processor, 1Gb RAM and 160Gb hard drive. That means performance is pretty much the same as every other netbook we’ve reviewed too — not a complaint, just something to note.

Unfortunately, with some manufacturers now sticking bigger batteries in their netbooks to set them apart from the competition, Advent has stuck with a weedy 2200mAh unit for the Milano. This gave BatteryEater Pro Classic and Reader times of one hour 51 minutes and three hours 22 minutes, respectively — hardly terrible, but we haven’t seen netbook battery life this short since those early models from 2008.

So, at £230, the Advent Milano is very good value, but it can be beaten. Amazon is currently offering the Samsung N130 for £229 with a £20 cashback deal until 4 December 2009.

We haven’t reviewed the Samsung N130, but it’s from the same new range as the excellent N140 and while its specification is identical to the Milano’s, it does have a longer battery life — up to six hours, it’s reckoned. The only difference is that the model offered by Amazon runs Windows XP, while the Milano ships with Windows 7 Starter.