Netbooks
 

Anyone here have a netbook? We're thinking of getting one just for checking the internet and documents. Does anyone have any recommendations? Is 9 inches ridiculously small (that's what she said)?

We've got a Dell discount, and they have one for $300, but this Acer here Amazon.com: Acer Aspire One AOA110-1588 8.9-Inch Netbook - Sapphire Blue: Electronics is a tiny bit cheaper after the discount, and looks to have better specs, but I'm not sure about the brand -- I love my current Dell, and I don't know much about Acer, although it looks like it has good reviews everywhere I look online.

Thanks in advance!

I have an eee PC and I love it. It's a 10 inch screen. I don't think I would want to go any smaller than that, but that's a personal choice. I think Best Buy stocks several netbooks so you could go there and use them and see what kind of screen size you like.

Thanks! I hadn't looked at that one, but it looks like a good deal as well. Here are some more questions:

Do you notice that any web sites don't work as well (or at all) on it?
Does the small keyboard give you any problems?
How's the battery life?
How would I install my Microsoft Office CD on it?

We have several different netbooks here at work and I love them for exactly what you plan to use it for...email, surfing, and the occasional Office document, especially when I'm at home, sitting in front of the TV.

With that said, you do have to get used to the screen size and the keyboard size.

As for your other questions...

-Have never had issues with websites not working...there will be more scrolling, of course.
-Keyboard takes some getting used to.
-Battery life depends on the unit...the ones I've used have been accpetable (2 hours or so depending on what I'm doing)
-Screw MS...download OpenOffice or use Google Apps...but if you must use Office, you'll have to get a USB CD/DVD drive.

Nice! Which netbooks do you have, and which do you like more/less?

I bought this exact model for my kids ('cuz the little punks were always on my laptop to watch YouTube videos). It is a fantastic machine. I've got it running Office 2007 so my 14 y.o. could take it to school for projects and stuff. It runs Office 2007 better than my "superior" Vista machine. And it literally boots up in under 15 seconds. Crazy.

Anyway, I was talking to my boss about how cool it was, and he asked me to bring it to work so he could see it. Now he wants to replace all of our desktops with netbooks and USB-based docking stations. He was that impressed with its performance.

The HP 2133 is my favorite.

hxxp://h40059.www4.hp.com/hp2133/

We have a couple of eee PCs and I have no problem with them, but the HP is beefier (likely much more expensive, too...not sure what we paid for any of them). The other model/brand we have escapes me right now but I'd rank it third amongst the bunch. I know it isn't a Dell or Acer, though.

Like flounder suggested, going to Best Buy is probably a good idea just to get a feel for how small they are...because it is an adjustment. Costco usually has a few on display, too.

My daughter has the Asus one and she loves it - from what I can tell they all do what it says on the box, to be honest none appear to set the world alight but they're good for email and net surfing which is obviously their intent ..

I've got an Aspire One, its great for email, web stuff, and as a portable video player. I've tried putting some games on it but the non-standard resolution makes many virtually unplayable. Fun little machine though.

Yeah, some websites are obviously designed for a larger screen height (I run it at 1024x600). It's annoying to have to scroll sometimes, but not a major annoyance.

The only thing that bugged me about the keyboard was that the right shift key is smaller and right next to the up arrow key. I kept pressing the up arrow all the time. I fixed it by prying the keys off and swapping them, then remapping the keys in windows. I wouldn't want to type up a 100 page paper on one, but for normal typing it does fine.

I get about 6 hours on a battery charge with all the power saving stuff turned on. I have the 6 cell battery instead of the 3 cell which helps.

CDs are kind of a pain. You have to make an .iso file and transfer it to the netbook. Then there is a program called Virtual Clonedrive that will mount the iso like it's a cd drive. If you're going to use a lot of CDs on a regular basis (like games that require the CD be in the drive to play) I would make sure to get a big hard drive.

My wife seems to like her MSI Wind. The battery life does seem to be kind of weak, however. I'd look closely to make sure you're getting one with XP before you buy it. Sometimes they don't state very plainly that the netbook is Ubuntu.

I just ordered an Asus EEE 1000HE - looks really nice, great battery life, and well reviewed - I think it will be great to have while traveling.

Are you guys getting ones with solid state hard drives or the regular type. Although I guess 16 gig is probably big enough. The one we got has a traditional 120 gig drive.

The one I got has a traditional 160 gig drive.

I haven't got one yet, but I was thinking that if I do, I have pretty much no size requirements. I've got an external hard drive and some flash drives laying around, and I wouldn't have games on it, so a large HD doesn't seem necessary.

bump

I never got around to getting a netbook last year, but I'm starting to look again, this time as a gift. I'm basically looking for the cheapest thing I can find, as long as it runs Windows, and is new (not refurbished). Anyone know of any good deals?

Not much help but gizmodo has a post everyday with the current "deals of the day." Here was todays. Wouldn't be a bad idea to keep your eyes on it.


hxxp://gizmodo.com/5461283/gadget-deals-of-the-day

I think someone has a daughter that could tell you the disappointment of getting a netbook. ;)

Beat me to it. :)

I'm pretty sure ACER makes the best netbooks out there, at least IMO. I've used em and they are hella awesome.

So I'm in the market for a new netbook, how is the new Dell Mini 10v?

I have only purchased a desktop from Dell in the past and it's been just fine, I was wondering if their netbooks were considered inferior. I am looking for something very cheap but not so cheap that there is no value in it.

The particular netbook I ran across is running brand new for $250 and I just wanted to know if it was a good value.


• Intel Atom Processor N280 (1.66GHz/667MHz FSB/512K cache)
• 1GB DDR2 SDRAM, 1 DIMM
• 10.1" Widescreen Display (1024x600)
• Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 950
• 160GB, 2.5inch, 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
• Dell Wireless 1397 802.11g Half Mini Card
• Integrated 1.3M Pixel Webcam
• 24WHr Lithium-Ion Battery (3-cell)
• Genuine Windows XP Home Edition SP3
• Dell Image restore for Factory Recovery
• Resource CD w/ Diagnostics and Drivers
• 3x USB high speed 2.0 ports
• Integrated network connector 10/100 Mbps LAN
• Kensington lock (on back of system)
• Audio jacks (1 headphone, 1 microphone)
• VGA connector
• 3-in-1 Flash Memory Reader: Secure Digital (SD/SDHC) Memory Card, Multi-Media Card (MMC), Memory Stick (MS/MS Pro)
• 1 Year Limited Warranty
• 24x7 technical support

Dimensions & Weight

Height: 25.5mm (1.0 inches) – 32.8mm (1.3inches)
Width: 268mm (10.5 inches)
Depth: 197mm (7.8 inches)
Weight: 1.25kg (2.7 lbs) with 3 Cell battery


Thoughts?

Dola ---

I am using the netbook mainly for internet'ing and writing.