IcyPatriot

I'm seriously considering getting a netbook. I don't have a laptop and I really don't want one ... too big IMO to lug around. I already pay Verizon for unlimited access with my smartphone. I hear I can just plug the netbook into the smartphone for web access. the smartphone is okay ... but kind of small and moving the picture around and expanding and shrinking it is a PITA. Prices are like $250-$300. Battery life is supposed to be longer than the 2.5 hours of a laptop?

I guess if you get an external hard drive you can even play games on them. NVIDEA is supposed to making a chip for them. I'm no computer geek but the word is these netbooks run on Linux ... is that good or bad? Best Buy has some with Windows XP home on them. Okay enough from me ... does anyone have one?

Michael

Well the reason they are so much less expensive and have a longer battery life is because they are very low power computers. There are many factors that give a computer it's speed and the Ghz of the cpu these days are the least of it. Even the cheaper PC laptops you see (You know the ones MS/Best Buy advertises on TV for being under a thousand dollars, or is it $2000?) well they all have Centrino chips which are low powered chips and not as fast as what you would get in a Mac or a higher end PC notebook). Netbooks don't have the high speed memory on the chip called cache for example. Also video RAM is usually shared with the systems RAM and so on. So if you're not into system intensive games or video editing and things like that then you can probably get away with a netbook. I would say it's a good option for someone who just uses MS Office and maybe some web browsing.

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fleabassist1

Yeah, my iPhone

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fleabassist1

No one told that chick her 17" PC has the resolution of a 15" PC - and I think it only has 667ram

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JoeSixPat

I've got the Samsung NC-10. Couldn't be happier. 6 hour battery life and a great keyboard (I do a lot of writing by trade - the biggest problems with Netbooks that I've seen are bad and cramped keyboards.) It comes pre-loaded with Windows XP home.

There's no shortage of real world reviews out there with Laptop magazine doing constant reviews and updates LAPTOP Magazine - Product reviews, tech news, buying guides, and more

A co-worker just recently got some other model that had a crappy keyboard as far as I'm concerned... buttons rather than keys, that didn't have the right "play" for me and a oddly positioned shift key. I've also found that the 12 inch netbooks are actually "too big" for my use... I really like the portablity of the 2 inch smaller ones and 2 lb weight.

The downside of the Samsung is a very very small touchpad - but I've adjusted to using it well enough and for the most part use a bluetooth wireless mouse which is great.

As you noted, no DVD player on these. That's no big thing for me. You can hook your laptop to another computer that has a drive if you need to add software... or just download the software direct via the internet.

Same with movies - anything I watch on a computer I've usually downloaed directly.

You mentioned playing games - if you really think you'll be gaming you might want to rule out a netbook period. I don't think the 1.6 Atom processor these come with would be up to the task.

Netbooks are best for simple web browsing and basic work (with 2 GB of ram I have no problem running mulitple programs at the same time, from the basic Windows office suite along with bulkier programs like photoshop). A netbook is really not for gamers.

But the main issues to consider for me were keyboard layout (is it as big as possible and laid out well?) and battery life (the Samsung has an after market 9 cell battery that gives up to 9 hours of battery life)

Note that for internet access, I too have Verizon unlimited on my phone - and I figured via the bluetooth connection I could use the phone as a modem. Not so fast - Verizon allows you to do this but charges an extra $15 a month... but there is a way around it.. some software that tricks the phone into thinking you're just using IT to browse rather than your netbook.

Have fun making a choice!

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JoeSixPat

By the way - Laptop magazine did a final 4

Netbook Madness Finals Resume: Asus EeePC 1000HE vs. Samsung NC10

The asus eeepc 1000 he won - though I attribute to $50 cheaper price, just slightly faster processor.

this is the one my co-worker got and I'm not a fan of the keyboard or the screen.

The computer itself is glossy and shows fingerprints. The screen is glossy too and reflects a lot of light - and keys are more like buttons and the shift key is oddly placed and very very small.



The Samsung NC-10 has a much better keyboard - 94% of the size of a regular laptop and "real" keys with a real bounceback feel - and the $50 difference in price was no big deal for me since my employer picked up the tab.



The difference in processor speed is negligible. I believe there are some netbooks that use a different 1.2 ghz processor that are actually faster than the Atom 1.6 - but again its somewhat academic for what a netbook should be used for - internet browsing (streaming movies seem fine) and basic computer use.

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IcyPatriot

Thanks ... mostly looking for internet access while I sit and wait for my kid at soccer practices. I use the web a lot in running my business so I figure it will be time saved. I have always hesitated to get a laptop as they are a bit large to lug around and I would rather use a desktop when at my home office.

JoeSixPat

That should do you then... but do some research on some of the tech forums. There should be a "fix" that allows you to use your Smartphone, via bluetooth, as a 3G modem without the additional $15 a month charge.

I've not spent the time on that yet but I know it exists.

For the most part I'm either using it at a wifi location or somewhere where I can plug in or just write without internet access, so I don't have the need for constant internet access quite so much (my smartphone gives me my emails and if I need to tranfer a file to work on it I've got the bluetooth connection from phone to netbook or a microSD chip for my phone and a USB adapter on my keychain... meaning I can pretty easilly transfer files and email them.)

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JoeSixPat

I was just reading about a new 11.6 Macbook Air (which is really just an overpriced netbook) and thought I'd weigh back in on our latest netbook purchase

Even though I know the new "thing" is iPads, it seems that with their 11.6 inch Macbook, even Apple admits there's still a market for netbooks - especially if you need to write/type on it.

When my wife needed a netbook I did a lot of research looking for the best/cheapest model that could also serve as a media center... i.e. it has an HDMI output so we can play streaming or downloaded movies by plugging it into our HDTV.

I settled on an older but far from outdated model - a Gateway/Acer 1410 - specifically the one with the dual core processor. Acer Aspire 1410 review (dual core version)



This 1.2 ghz su2300 Celeron processor sounds underpowered but it's actually the best of both worlds - strong enough to play streaming HD videos with absolutely no glitches, but low powered enough to still give 5-6 hours of battery life (the aftermarket 9 cell battery lifts that to about 8 hours). Windows 7 runs great on it too.

We've all but gotten rid of cable - using Netflix and FastPass for streaming movies and TV series - and yes, even sporting events and every Patriots game if you know where to look - and run some high quality speakers/subwoofer system off of it for music from Pandora and Archive.org's Live Music Archive.

These netbooks actually came out in Nov. 2009 but have held their price well due to the lack of availability of the dual core model (again, a must have in this price range - higher powered single core "Core 2 Solo" netbook processors can't really handle HD) - and the fact that Acer came out with a more expensive model that's the same, it just has a bigger battery and bigger hard drive, and now costs closer to $600.

Of course even those are half the price of the Macbook Airs - but I didn't see the sense of paying $200 more with no rational reason.

I got mine on ebay which, with Bing cashback wound up costing me $350 for a like new model which has quickly become our entertainment center and all purpose portable (3 lbs) computer.

There's some other options out there too - Dell netbooks with HDMI out, Nividia graphics chips and processors that can handle HD, but those were too small for us... we definately like the 11.6 inch screen as it's nicely tailored for HD movies and the keyboard is full size too

FYI - I've also found some cool programs that allow one to use any smartphone with wifi and internet access as a wifi hotspot for computers - the upload/download rate is about 1000 kb/s - which is actually pretty good and fast enough to stream Netflix movies on one's computer from - but mostly it's just a good way to avoid paying a cellphone company for a wireless card/wireless access when your phone can provide it to you for free.

Calciumee

My brother bought his wife the NC-10, and they love it. I even like it, and I am a Mac fan

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