I love when small companies challenge the big players, just like Netbook Navigator did with its Nav 9 slate type tablet which houses a small netbook inside an already known form factor. What I don’t like is when they put price tags way higher than the competition. Unfortunately this is what Netbook Navigator did with Nav 9, which sells for 799$ to 1399$ with all upgrades in place.

    There are over 25 possible combination but the asking price is way too much, even if you get the illusion you’ll configure yourself Nav 9 starting at 599$ for the base unit then get Windows 7 Home Premium for 100$, add 2 GB RAM for 75$ and a car charger for 25$. Want 3G? That’s another 100$ and an extended 4 hour battery comes at 50$. And remember that the base unit comes with a 16 GB SSD drive. The 128 GB option adds another cool 500$ and can’t be combined with the extended battery.

    Nav 9 from all angles

    Nav 9 from all angles

    Now let’s see what Netbook Navigator Nav 9 has to offer for that kind of money. As I’ve said it’s a netbook based slate so we have an Intel Atom CPU running at 1.6 GHz, 2 GB RAM, an 8.9 inch 1024  x 600 pixels multi touch display, puny integrated graphics Intel GMA 950, SSD drives from 16 GB to 128 GB, WiFi, Bluetooth and optional 3G, weights 2 pounds and lasts up to 2.5 hours with the default 3-cell battery.

    Nav 9 comparison chart

    Nav 9 comparison chart

    Netbook Navigator even made a chart comparing Nav 9 features to iPad and Archos 9 Tablet. No need to say that according to them it comes up at the first place, but price is not compared at all, nor size and weight, which is not favorable to Netbook Navigator Nav 9. My take is that despite its clear disadvantages I would like to own one, especially the fully fledged model, but not for 1399$ for sure.