- Intel Atom N450 1.66GHz processor
- 1GB DDR2 memory
- 250GB hard drive
- Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3150 graphics
- 10/100Mbps Ethernet, wireless LAN 802.11b/g/n, 3.75G HSUPA PCI Express Mini Card
- Windows 7 Starter
Better known for its networking products, Singapore-based IT vendor Prolink is eyeing a slice of the crowded netbook market with the Glee UW2.
The 1.1-kg portable PC with a 10.1-inch glossy display distinguishes itself from rivals with an integrated mobile broadband modem which is uncommon among netbooks.
Prolink‘s expertise in networking is evident in the way the Glee UW2 is configured for instant access to the Net.
In a matter of minutes, I was surfing with 3G cellular network, after slotting a data SIM card into the netbook’s High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA) modem.
Other connectivity options include wired and wireless LAN. There is no built-in Bluetooth radio, which means you cannot use a Bluetooth mouse or transfer pictures from a cellphone over the air.
Physically, the Glee UW2 resembles the Hewlett-Packard Mini 1000, with its mouse buttons similarly placed on the left and right sides of the track pad. Those new to this layout may take a while to get comfortable.
There are some nice ergonomic touches. For instance, the six-cell battery doubles up as a stand which props up the netbook, making typing comfortable.
I also like the keyboard but found the tiny comma and full-stop buttons a pain to use. I often mistook one for the other, leading to frequent punctuation errors.
The performance of the netbook was up to mark when it comes to daily computing tasks such as Web browsing, word processing and casual Flash games.
It scored 1,364 points in the PCMark05 test, an above-average score that surpasses the 1,250 points attained by the Samsung N220, which has similar hardware specs.
Like many netbooks, the Glee UW2 is no high-definition (HD) video champ. I found the video jerky when playing clips from YouTube. You are better off watching standard definition clips.
However, the screen is bright and sharp and will make your holiday pictures look good.
The Glee UW2 runs on Windows 7 Starter edition and comes with Microsoft Office Starter 2010, a stripped-down version of the full-fledged Office suite.
The netbook lasts about six hours with a single charge on a six-cell battery, so you should be able to take the netbook out for the day without taking its power adapter along.