It's Netbook time!

dukederek

So everyone seems to have stopped talking about Netbooks. Anyway, due to the screen falling off my current laptop, I've decided that a new laptop is necessary and I've decided to go netbook (due to not really needing a full laptop and quite fancying a small and pretty thing)

Anyway, I'm bowled over by the similarity in specs between pretty much all the manufacturers but I'm wondering if anyone's got anything to contribute as to the overall quality of the more recent of the crop?

I'm quite liking the look of the Aspire One 522 but I don't know when that's likely to hit the UK. Are the HP laptops still the only one with metal cases? I plan on carrying this round a fair bit so something a bit sturdy would be a serious bonus.

Elimination

Honestly when shopping around, i found netbooks to be really expensive for how weak they are and ended up getting a good laptop. I also took issue with their small keyboards, they cramp up my fingers quickly. These are all things that must be considered, netbooks just aren't right for some people. Cost to value you pay for the small size, they aren't expensive but they dont carry the value of a decent laptop at all.

Esh

Asus make some really excellent Netbooks. Unless you have gorilla hands, you won't cramp up using them.

ceres

I have a Samsung NC10 and I love it. It's a couple years old now, but I have to say that having a netbook is really nice for school, and back when I played it could even run WoW at low settings.

I've definitely dropped it a few times, and it gets carried around with me everywhere, so it's a sturdy little thing.

badpoet

I'd get a smaller screen laptop in lieu of a netbook. You get a lot more for your $$ performance wise, and the screen isn't nearly as annoying.

Is a 14" laptop bigger and heavier? Absolutely. Can it do everything you need it to do and have a much more readable screen? Absolutely.

dukederek

Yeah, pretty sure I'm going to be fine with a 90-something% keyboard and I really want something small, Ideally I'd like something that'll fit in my man bag with a bunch of papers/notebooks(analog) so 10" is pretty much my limit there.

big l

I have an Aspire One. It was cheap and compact and it gets the job done. The keyboard is not very good though. It is small and took some getting used to, and I've owned for a year and keys are already getting sticky, or not getting recognized if I press too lightly. It is super small and light though, and while I haven't dropped it itself or anything really bad, I've had it in a soft case in my backpack which I have thrown around and there hasn't been damage. I am definitely glad I have an extra monitor/keyboard/mouse setup I can plug it into for when I want more desktop like functionality - this kind of solves any complaints about the keyboard and small screen. Lots of people say it doesn't have enough RAM and you need to buy more but I bought an extra gig when I bought the netbook and I haven't bothered to install the RAM yet because I haven't needed it. If you want to be rocking some intense software your needs may be different, though. I am glad I bought it but I can imagine how it could be better.

Edit: Battery lasts around 11 hours too.

dukederek

I'm looking at the AAO 553 and D225, their range of specs seem to overlap quite heavily but the D225s seem cheaper. This makes me suspicious. Anyone have any insight?

Marty81

If there's one thing I find nice about netbooks, actually, it's the similarity in specs from manufacturer to manufacturer. Because if you want to know how well something runs, you can just google "does ____ work on a netbook?" without futzing about with model/processor/ram specs. This is starting to become less true with dual-core netbooks and netbooks with real video cards starting to become popular, but most people talking about netbooks are still talking about a pretty standard configuration of 1.6-1.7ghz atom processor, 1gb ram, integrated graphics.

Differences in price from similarly spec'd models usually have to do with differences in OS, physical shell design (metal/plastic?), keyboard, mousepad, screen brightness, or battery capacity (this one is particularly important).

Gaslight

I like my 12.1" Acer Aspire One a lot. It's big enough that I can actually type/see and has a bit of oomph to actually gets things done, unlike most of the 10" Atom-powered offerings, but it's still quite compact enough to sling around.

tapeslinger

I have been using an Asus EEEpc for over a year now and I love it because it is small and has the best keyboard of any of the netbooks I have seen (I type 65+wpm on this thing!) Mine has decent battery life; it really does take 3-7 hours to wear down the battery depending on how much stuff I have open.

You didn't specify what you're using it for, but I will say that mine definitely is not the speediest machine ever made, but it can handle GIMP and most of my Steam games.

(I am sure it would cry for mercy if I loaded any of the Source games though, even my old gaming-optimized Toshiba ground to a 20 fpm halt in the average game of TF2.)

This is a good machine for:
*writing work/school papers on-the-go
*light gaming
*reading on the internet
*maek poast on forums

the widest dimension on my EEEpc is exactly 10 inches.

I know a lot of people who are not wild about them and I will say that servicing them is a bitch. and, if you do fry it, it's fried and the best you can do is trade it in for a new one since the hd is built into the mobo and relies on it to power up/operate? (if I recall correctly.)

Get an external drive and do backups. Do this with any netbook or laptop you end up getting. There ought to be a law against using notebook computers without doing this. I say this as a person who has lost "everything" 3 or 4 times now as a result of stupid mistakes and lack of even rudimentary backup plans. Never again!

Lachrymite

My wife really loves her Asus Eee PC too, pretty much second everything in tapeslinger's post. She doesn't use it for anything more than schoolwork, IMing, forums, social networking type stuff really, but it's great for taking to class and writing papers on. She's had it for about nine months now. I really need to bother her to start backing it up more, though.

Casually Hardcore

I'm rocking a Toshiba n350 that I gotten for 2 hundred and some bucks (thanks to a sale).

I love the little thing.

I haves no problem dealing with spreadsheets with thousands of data points.

Keyboard is comfortable enough to type up 20 pages reports.

It's feather-like light, so my back isn't killing me for carrying it for extended period of times (even with the power brick). This thing weighs less then the bag I use to carry it.

and I'm getting 8 hour long battery life out of it.

tapeslinger

Lachrymite wrote: »

My wife really loves her Asus Eee PC too, pretty much second everything in tapeslinger's post. She doesn't use it for anything more than schoolwork, IMing, forums, social networking type stuff really, but it's great for taking to class and writing papers on. She's had it for about nine months now. I really need to bother her to start backing it up more, though.

gift the gift of geek love: a backup drive on newegg is cheaper than grief and makes a fantastic present.

firewaterword

I love my Acer Aspire 1410. Bigger than a netbook, smaller than a laptop. Also it doesn't come with that gimped version of windows 7, which is neat. Cost me about $400 a year or so ago. Great purchase really.

George Fornby Grill

Get the HP DM1Z

Full-size keyboard
currently has free upgrades to 3 gigs of RAM and a 320 Gb HDD

Comes with a full version of Windows 7, not that limited one they usually throw on netbooks.


Only thing you have to do is use the internal recovery tool when you get it to reinstall windows, it's easier than uninstalling the crapware that HP puts on it.

I love mine :V

bobmyknob

George Fornby Grill wrote: »

Get the HP DM1Z

Full-size keyboard
currently has free upgrades to 3 gigs of RAM and a 320 Gb HDD

Comes with a full version of Windows 7, not that limited one they usually throw on netbooks.


Only thing you have to do is use the internal recovery tool when you get it to reinstall windows, it's easier than uninstalling the crapware that HP puts on it.

I love mine :V

This. Almost as fast as a normal laptop, has a bit of gaming ability and a higher resolution screen. It's a bit more expensive at a bit over $400, but definitely worth it over a netbook. I don't have one, but it's definitely a desired purchase and I've played with a few already.

Bryse Eayo

So, OP, since you never mentioned money once, I'm surprised no one has told you that the macbook air 11 inch is pretty much perfect for what you need.

Little and pretty? Check.
Pretty rocking screen, guts and keyboard? Yep.
Sturdy? the thing is solid aluminum.

The downside is that you have to spent 1200(US) to get one with more HDD space then an iPod.

ahava

I love my Toshiba nb205

Just got mom and Asus EEEpc.

My Toshiba is holding up pretty well. Especially considering the amount of tea that my father has accidentally spilled on it.

I ahve some problems with a sticking spacebar and 'c' key but nothing that can't be adjusted for.

JohnDoe

Bryse Eayo wrote: »

So, OP, since you never mentioned money once, I'm surprised no one has told you that the macbook air 11 inch is pretty much perfect for what you need.

Little and pretty? Check.
Pretty rocking screen, guts and keyboard? Yep.
Sturdy? the thing is solid aluminum.

The downside is that you have to spent 1200(US) to get one with more HDD space then an iPod.

Just because someone doesn't mention money doesn't mean they want to spend 4 times as much money of the typical recommendation.

Blake T

Airs also have pretty sturdy processors in them as well and can actually run reasonably intensive processes.

I have an eePC 1005PE, I like it, but you need to realise you are dealing with a smaller keyboard and screen size and all you realistically will be doing is surfing the internet and doing low grade processors.

Saying that I have giant hands and have no problems using the smaller keyboard or switching between the small and the larger sized keyboards.

dukederek

JohnDoe wrote: »

Bryse Eayo wrote: »

So, OP, since you never mentioned money once, I'm surprised no one has told you that the macbook air 11 inch is pretty much perfect for what you need.

Little and pretty? Check.
Pretty rocking screen, guts and keyboard? Yep.
Sturdy? the thing is solid aluminum.

The downside is that you have to spent 1200(US) to get one with more HDD space then an iPod.

Just because someone doesn't mention money doesn't mean they want to spend 4 times as much money of the typical recommendation.

yeah, jesus, my bad for not mentioning price I suppose but yeah, way way out of my price range.

Regarding usage, I have a laptop, I have a desktop, I have an HTPC. So I'm not expecting to use this for super power anything. I just want to carry it around and use it in coffee shops/public transport. In a pinch I can still use my laptop it's just it's kept together with electrical tape, foam and a piece of metal bolted to the old hinge.

Oh, I'm also based in the UK so some of these suggestions don't exist here yet. I'm pretty sure I'm going to wait a few weeks for the Aspire One 522 to hit here and go for that

MyDcmbr

I love my 11" Macbook Air and it was only $1000...

>.>

<.<

What? It's true, granted it's more full on laptop price + netbook size, but it really is a great purchase and it should retain it's value quite well.

Icemopper

AspireOne here. I love it, and my wife loves it, and it does everything we need really well. Typing isn't too hard, and we've gotten used to the keyboard. It also runs some games like Plants Vs. Zombies really well.

So that's where my vote goes.

DusT_HounD

More EEEpc love here- i have a 901 that i got a couple years back.

Since that time, it's all i ever use at home for computing stuff (which in my case is writing papers (i'm a postdoctoral academic, so don't let it be said that it can't be used for 'serious work'), net, GIMP, itunes etc. I don't do much gaming on it, but when i do, it's things like old RPGs and such, or shmups like Genetos or Crimzon Clover, which run pretty well.

Smaller keyboard means that those with shovelhands need not apply, but i'm led to believe that there exist netbooks with fullsize keyboards. At work, i use a normal desktop, and never have problems with using the different-sized board.

Numi

I'm quite fond of the asus 1215n I picked up a while back, it trades in battery life for more power and since it is one of the larger netbooks it doesn't feel cramped like some of the smaller models do.