New Gateway LT32 Netbooks

Gateway is launching their latest netbook today. The LT32 is a little larger than the competition with an 11.6” display, but it promises improved performance from an AMD Athlon II Neo processor with ATI graphics.

The netbook is fitted with an 11.6” LED-backlit display with a resolution of 1366x768. Performance comes from an AMD Athlon Neo II K125 with a single core running at 1.7GHz. This is supported by ATI Radeon HD 4225 graphics using 384MB of the 2GB DDR3 system RAM. This is one of the new netbooks using AMD's Nile platform, which promises improved performance and better battery life compared to the older Congo platform.

Storage comes in the form of a 250GB HDD. Connectivity includes wireless 802.11b/g/n and wired Gigabit Ethernet along with 3xUSB 2.0, HDMI, and VGA ports. It also features an integrated multi-format card reader. The netbook features a full-size keyboard, multi-gesture touchpad, integrated webcam, and digital microphone in a chassis that is less than an inch thick and weighs in at 2.76Lbs. Battery life is rated at 5.5 hours from the standard 6-cell battery.

Like most of Gateway’s new notebooks, the LT32 netbook also features a shortcut key to access popular social networking sites like Facebook, YouTube, and Flickr at the touch of a button. The Gateway LT32 will be available from $449.99. This makes it $20 more than the almost identical Acer Aspire One AO721. The high price also moves it even closer to the mainstream segment so it's difficult to recommend on value for money. What you're getting is better than Atom performance with HD video capability with reduced battery life. If that's what you're after, the LT32 should deliver.