Netbook

[indiana_j]

Hey guys - I'm looking at purchasing a netbook soon.  Can anyone tell me what are the best kinds, what I should look for, etc?  I've been squirreling money away and will soon be able to buy one but I'm not sure which brand I should go for.  Eee or Dell or something else?

Comments

[xianghua.livejournal.com]

I *love* my EEEpc. I have HATED the Dells and HPs that we've had in at work because they've really been difficult to work on and just seem buggy- the dell restore CD that came with the Dell netbook was missing drivers, and the HP just had crappy battery life.

[meallanmouse.livejournal.com]

I adore my EEEpc. :) I've not been able to use any other, mind, btu the EEEpc was awesome on the trip to Orlando, in general for writing and also for running vent for me so that I can free up space on my MAC, these days, while raiding in WoW!

[ceemonster.livejournal.com]

I got this little beauty after Christmas --

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Gateway+-+Netbook+with+Intel%26%23174%3B+Atom%26%23153%3B+Processor+-+Cherry+Red/9556731.p?id=1218123849388&skuId=9556731

250gb harddrive. Long battery life (7.5 hrs). I upgraded the memory on it so it's 2gb instead of a 1gb. Only thing I don't like is the Windows 7 Starter. Also, it's a Gateway so I'm not big on their IT support so I bought the BestBuy coverage and plan to use the Geek Squad if anything goes wrong.

[ferox.livejournal.com]

I also love my EeePC. I have one of the baby versions, and yes, he does get bogged down if I try to do too much, or if I don't let him shut down and have a rest for a long while, but for being curled up on the couch, he rules.

He also handles my photo stuff during gigs really well, which surprised me.

[silensy]

Another vote for the EEE pc. I've had mine about a year. Perfect for travel when I have to carry two computers (it happens more often than you'd think.)

[resplendissante.livejournal.com]

I love my HP Mini, and have had no problems *at all* with the battery life - much the opposite, in fact.

[just-shai.livejournal.com]

I have an AcerOne I adore. Didn't get anything extra, 'cause I'm totally only using it for school and travel. I didn't bother with the solid state disc, got the 120GB instead and have been quite happy. Even almost got WoW to work, but it was being stupid that trip.

[aliciam.livejournal.com]

I've got to recommend the one I just bought - it's a Toshiba NB305 (or 350?). The new Toshiba with the Pinetrail processor, in any case. 9 hour battery life, 1 gig RAM + 250 gig hard drive, gorgeous screen, freaking amazing keyboard...

[redmonster.livejournal.com]

I'll contribute a reserved vote for the Eee PC. It's the only netbook I've ever owned and so far it has done well enough to convince me that laptops should always be itty-bitty.

Its good points:

--tiny, sturdy, inexpensive
--quick to boot up and shut down
--quiet
--Linux version has software for all MSOffice functions
--includes voice recorder
--webcam gets job done for still photos
--3 USB ports
--plays YouTube and other online videos well
--keyboard is just big enough for smallish adult hands
--built-in SD card slot
--photo-editing software included in Linux version
--handy set of games
--plays music files well

Weak points:

--Touchpad is not perfect
--Webcam is terrible for video
--Linux system does not approve of video from my digital camera: the sound playback is a godawful screeching noise
--Websurfing is prone to slowness
--I have already had to send in my machine for service because the touchpad and keyboard malfunctioned in such a way that I could not fix it.
--While the netbook is covered under warranty for a year after purchase, the battery is only covered for six months. I've had mine for about 9 or 10 months now and the battery has already gone kaput.

HOWEVER, with the last part in mind, I can also say that the tech support staff at Asus are very polite and the repair folks fixed up my computer and sent it back to me in jig time. The touchpad irks me sometimes but the machine responds beautifully to a USB mouse.

Also, I apologize if this sounds like a "duh" to you, but it happened to me, so: if you get the Linux version, absolutely DO NOT plug an iPod into it. The music manager will play iTunes songs from a flash drive but will smash the software on the iPod device. It isn't irreparable but it's inconvenient.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_bounce_/]

I've got an MSI wind. It's awesome - only $525 (which, for a netbook in AUSTRALIA, is amazingly cheap and it will be less where you are by a shit-ton) and came with an extra gb of ram for free. Also, it's bright red and wee and tiny with a battery that lasts forever.

The only issue is that the mousetrackpad doesn't switch off when you're typing. I think, though, that the newer ones have built in multi-touch trackpads, which is awesome.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_bounce_/]

(but, no matter which one you get, make sure it has a 6 cell battery, not a 3 cell one. They last longer that way.)

[pleasance.livejournal.com]

I vote for Toshiba - the keyboard and the battery life are excellent.

[starbuck09.livejournal.com]

I love my little Samsung Netbook, you can get it online at Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-NC10-13GB-10-1-Inch-Blue-Netbook/dp/B002JVWCS6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1265289272&sr=8-1

You can get it in different colors too!

It comes with 160 GB Hard drive, Windows XP (Which I love having that back!) and the battery lasts about 6 hours. It's really light and easy to carry around and has no problems with wi-fi.