Netbook Recommendations?

[Spot's Meow]

I am thinking about getting a netbook and I want some advice.

I wasn't sure if this belonged here or in Science and Technology so feel free to move it if it's not in the right place.

I already know that I want a netbook rather than a regular laptop. Basically I am looking for suggestions or feedback from you guys about what brand to get. No one around me has a netbook so I really have no experience whatsoever in seeing what is good and what isn't.

I care most about battery life and price. What is the difference between a 3-cell and a 6-cell battery? I saw one 6-cell that said it lasted about 4.5 hours and then another netbook with a 6-cell, for not much more cost, that said it would last over 7 hours! That's quite a discrepancy, so I'm cautious about buying anything without asking for some advice from you helpful people first!

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I would wait until Apple releases its tablet. Word is that it's coming out next month. Even if you're not into Apple gear that much, I'd wait and take a look at this thing. I know I will...

 

[Amaris]

Battery life is dependent upon utilization of the system itself. Each company has a different way of measuring battery life. A six cell battery will definitely last longer, but it weighs a good bit more. A 3 cell will accomplish most of what you need. My netbook has a 3 cell battery.

I own an Acer Aspire One netbook. It has 160 GB hard drive, a 1.6Ghz Atom processor, 1 GB RAM, 3 USB ports, a networking connection, a VGA output, headphone jack, mic input jack, built in microphone, built in webcam, built in wireless network adapter, 10.1" screen, I have dropped it three times without any damage, I use it to play games, surf the web, remaster music, edit video, and write my stories. The battery life averages about 4 hours if using it for basic stuff (writing, playing solitaire, listening to an mp3, graphics editing), 3 hours if you do all those at the same time.

When I bought mine (about 8 months ago), I paid $238 for it at Walmart. I think the same model is still available for a little more, or you can get it online for less. Amazon has my model for $279:

http://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-A...?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1261703565&sr=8-10

I hope that helps.

J.

 

[Jadzia]

Firstly, netbooks don't perform as well as laptops, so only consider this if you intend to run only lightweight software.

While I don't know much about netbooks per se, I am interested in getting an atom based desktop, for a project I have planned for next year. Netbooks use much the same technology.

What I have read is that power use (and therefore battery life) is most dependent on the graphics/chipset more than anything else. And it seems that nvidia have developed one of the most energy efficient chipsets, which they call the Ion.

In combination with a large capacity battery *, the Ion chipset should offer the longest battery life, in theory. I can't advise much more that this.


* Battery capacity is measured in mWh (milli-watt-hours). Look for this more than number of cells.

 

[Trippy]

Battery life is dependent upon utilization of the system itself. Each company has a different way of measuring battery life. A six cell battery will definitely last longer, but it weighs a good bit more. A 3 cell will accomplish most of what you need. My netbook has a 3 cell battery.

I own an Acer Aspire One netbook. It has 160 GB hard drive, a 1.6Ghz Atom processor, 1 GB RAM, 3 USB ports, a networking connection, a VGA output, headphone jack, mic input jack, built in microphone, built in webcam, built in wireless network adapter, 10.1" screen, I have dropped it three times without any damage, I use it to play games, surf the web, remaster music, edit video, and write my stories. The battery life averages about 4 hours if using it for basic stuff (writing, playing solitaire, listening to an mp3, graphics editing), 3 hours if you do all those at the same time.

When I bought mine (about 8 months ago), I paid $238 for it at Walmart. I think the same model is still available for a little more, or you can get it online for less. Amazon has my model for $279:

http://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-A...?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1261703565&sr=8-10

I hope that helps.

J.

This.

I have the same one and it suits my needs perfectly. I have a laptop that has all the other accoutrements that I don't need in a netbook. In fact, I bought one for my son for Christmas too! It zooms along swimmingly for all internet based sites, and that's all he would use it for anyway. Thus the name 'netbook'.

 

[Sakrysta]

I also have an Acer Aspire that I adore! While battery life is something to consider, I would suggest considering as well the added weight that the 6-cell will give you. My netbook is 2.5 pounds, which sounds really light until you lug it around everywhere in your purse - which is what I do because it is SO awesome to have a computer with me everywhere. The power cord is MUCH lighter than the batteries would be.

I would only worry about laptop vs. netbook if you're planning to use it heavily for work or something. I use mine for surfing, watching Hulu, playing simple games, and the occasional word processing, all of which it handles fine. I tend to get about 3 hours of battery at a sitting, though I don't tax it too often. Usually I just plug 'er in and settle down for a while.

A lot of people ask me about the keyboard, and I found it very easy to adjust to. I wouldn't want to type a term paper on it, or have it as my main machine, but for a runabout, sit-on-the-couch-and-surf machine, it is full of awesome goodness.

 

[Mr. B]

I don't understand the appeal of netbooks personally when I can go on ebay and buy a similarly sized and much more powerful real laptop used on ebay for comparable money.

 

[Sakrysta]

For me it's the size & weight issue. I haven't found a 2.5 lb laptop yet that I can fit in my purse.

Also, I am not tech savvy enough to confidently purchase a used machine. If something was wrong with it, I'd be out of luck, or have to return it, which is a pain.

I don't NEED a laptop. At least not right now. The netbook was a $200 indulgence that has earned its keep 10 times over. *hugs her netbook to her heart*

 

[Amaris]

This.

I have the same one and it suits my needs perfectly. I have a laptop that has all the other accoutrements that I don't need in a netbook. In fact, I bought one for my son for Christmas too! It zooms along swimmingly for all internet based sites, and that's all he would use it for anyway. Thus the name 'netbook'.

What's nice is that in the wake of my desktop computer monitor's failure, I have had to fall back on my netbook (on it right now!). It has handily taken over the heavy usage of my primary PC without a hitch. It has performed flawlessly. The only thing I miss is an optical drive, but for now, this is working most handily. I showed this in another thread, but here's the current setup:

(Although I can't wait to get my desktop back up to speed again)

I don't understand the appeal of netbooks personally when I can go on ebay and buy a similarly sized and much more powerful real laptop used on ebay for comparable money.

The portability. You would be surprised what a few inches and pounds makes as a difference. My netbook can do almost everything my desktop PC can, and it's so small I can put it in a folder, I can carry it around like one of my many books and the weight is hardly noticeable. It doesn't overheat. I have now ran it 6 days straight and it has not overheated once. It's whisper quiet, you can't even hear it, and for $238, I guarantee you can't build a laptop with what my netbook has in it without you having to do something to it.

For me it's the size & weight issue. I haven't found a 2.5 lb laptop yet that I can fit in my purse.

Also, I am not tech savvy enough to confidently purchase a used machine. If something was wrong with it, I'd be out of luck, or have to return it, which is a pain.

I don't NEED a laptop. At least not right now. The netbook was a $200 indulgence that has earned its keep 10 times over. *hugs her netbook to her heart*

As someone who is tech savvy, nothing beats hooking up a diagnostic cable to someone's PC and running through data on the tiny little netbook you happened to have been carrying, and no one noticed you had it.

J.

 

[Starbreaker]

I don't understand the appeal of netbooks personally when I can go on ebay and buy a similarly sized and much more powerful real laptop used on ebay for comparable money.

I really enjoy being able to carry my around everywhere. It's also more comfortable to actually put on my lap.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

I have an ASUS EeePC 900. Really, I don't think you can go wrong with ASUS or Acer netbooks.

I have a coworker who bought a Samsung one, and she really seems to like it. She went with that because it has a bigger screen and keyboard than most of the ASUS and Acer models.

Do consider the size of the keyboard, though. If you have large fingers you do not want a smaller keyboard. It might be worth going for a slightly bigger netbook to get a 95-100% keyboard, if you are concerned about that. I have narrow and long fingers so I can work a netbook keyboard easily.

 

[Sakrysta]

^Yeah, definitely worth it to try out the keyboard a bit if you have the chance. I have small hands, so I have no problem, other than missing a few of the standard keys that show up on a full size keyboard. I solved that by installing KeyTweak and reassigning a couple unused function keys. I use my netbook so often now that I find myself reaching for F9 & F10 on my other machines for Home & End.

 

[Spot's Meow]

I plan on using my netbook mostly for playing games online and making Word documents. I have a laptop right now but it is getting to the point where it would be more cost effective to buy a netbook than to maintain this 6 year old thing. We have a very nice desktop that I would use for anything intensive and my boyfriend just got a new laptop for Christmas if I really needed one for something. So basically, a netbook seems like the perfect solution for me.

I'm not so worried about the size, I'm a petite person myself. I remember when I first saw a "mini laptop" at school a few years ago, and I thought it was just the cutest thing I'd ever seen!

The suggestions so far have been very useful.

 

[Marc]

head over to any number of tech sites and have a look at some of the reviews. www.anandtech.com is the one I regularly read and they've got a review up on the latest Asus unit.

http://www.anandtech.com/mobile/showdoc.aspx?i=3699

Intel has recently released a new version of the Atom Processor and it's now being combined with the Nvidia ION chipset and it's making a great improvement to the performance.

So while you'll pay a bit more for the these units the performance is a big leap forward.

Be warned however that the screens are still at the low end of the quality scale.

 

[Sakrysta]

I'd also suggest following The Cheapskate on CNET. He posts netbook deals on a fairly regular basis, which is how I found out about and purchased mine.

 

[Amaris]

^ I just stumbled upon my particular deal. I had the money, needed a netbook for classes, and when I asked the guy why the system was $40 less than it's shelfmates, he said people were wanting the white ones, while the red and blue ones (blue was the only one left on the shelf) weren't as popular. Therefore, blue it was, and a deal it was, too.

J.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

I'm always amused by the notion of people buying a computer based on what color it is. I mean, seriously, somebody would pay $40 more for a specific color? People are stupid.

 

[Sakrysta]

More likely the store lowered the price to try to move the ones that weren't selling as well.

 

[UssGlenn]

I'm posting this from my Lenovo S10e. I love this machine. I've got a 6 cell battery on it. Gives me around 6 hours of performance. I use this machine much more than my desktop. I'm ever running an older version of Photoshop on this thing (Photoshop 7).

 

[Amaris]

I'm always amused by the notion of people buying a computer based on what color it is. I mean, seriously, somebody would pay $40 more for a specific color? People are stupid.

More likely the store lowered the price to try to move the ones that weren't selling as well.

Quiet, the both of you. My good deals depend on the fleeting idea of fashionable and cool!


J.