Help Me Choose A Netbook

poohbear_nc · 03-22-2010, 12:39 PM

OK - it seems I'm getting a refund from the US government from my 2009 tax return. And I want to enter the wonderful world of mobile computing. So I started looking at netbooks and/or very lightweight laptops - and got very overwhelmed/confused. I've looked at the devices MR folk list - and ASUS seems to pop up a lot. But there are a lot of ASUS choices.

I want a lightweight something that I can use as a reader where eInk isn't a good choice (poor lighting conditions) but not burn my eyes out on a glaring screen (I wear glasses). And I'll probably end up using it to spend even more time trapped in MR instead of life, so the keyboard and screen need to be comfy for long usage times. I am comfortable with either Windows or Linux as an OS.

I know you all have opinions, so share some with me.
Please - help me spend my money wisely. Or at least, help me hook up with something I can really have fun with!

grooks · 03-22-2010, 12:53 PM

ASUS is a very good brand and I like some of the choices they offer.

I just purchased an ASUS UL30A-A1. This is a 13.3" screen that is 1" thick and weighs less than 4 lbs. This particular laptop worked for me as I like the larger screen (versus a 10" screen) and the near-full size keyboard. This laptop also has an ultra-low voltage intel dual core processor which gives me more power versus an atom based processor. I also get a very long battery life of between 9-10 hours of normal computing (web browsing/spreadsheets/word processing).

There are a lot of very good priced options out there but the above is just my 2 cents.

lilac_jive · 03-22-2010, 01:01 PM

I have an Acer Aspire one that I love. I got it refurbished from woot.com, who has them a lot. It was about $230 including shipping. If I see another you want me to let you know?

HarryT · 03-22-2010, 01:41 PM

I have a Dell Inspiron 11z, which has an 11.6" screen. It's one "step up" from a netbook size-wise, and the extra inch makes all the difference in the world to the usability of the keyboard. I'd recommend it thoroughly; I've used it intensively for about 4 months now, and love it.

happy_terd · 03-22-2010, 01:43 PM

I am actually thinking about getting a laptop rather than a desktop this time. I will be spending around 2500 bucks for one here in the near future. I need it for school, work, and play.

Good luck on finding a good one pooh.

HarryT · 03-22-2010, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by happy_terd

I am actually thinking about getting a laptop rather than a desktop this time. I will be spending around 2500 bucks for one here in the near future. I need it for school, work, and play.

I used to buy "ultra high-end" stuff, too, but then I realised that there's absolutely no point. If you take one step down performance-wise, the practical impact is negligible (does it really matter if your game runs at 100 frames a second or only 80?) and you can save a fortune. The only thing the extra money buys you is "bragging rights"; personally, I'd rather use the money I've saved to buy something else

.

happy_terd · 03-22-2010, 08:26 PM

The software I need to run is pretty high end.

Catire · 03-23-2010, 02:06 AM

Whats your budget?

Like Harry I own an 11.6inch intel culv laptop they are small and portable as a netbook but offer about twice the performance and the larger screen makes it more comfortable to use.

neilmarr · 03-23-2010, 07:52 AM

When I weighed up netbook advice early last year, I was torn between an Acer 10" and a Samsung 10", so I bought both. I gave the Acer to my old mother in law. They're both fantastic wee machines. For me, I think the Samsung has the slight edge because of its long battery life, but I'd confidently recommend either to a friend. Good luck. Neil

poohbear_nc · 03-23-2010, 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Catire

Whats your budget?

Like Harry I own an 11.6inch intel culv laptop they are small and portable as a netbook but offer about twice the performance and the larger screen makes it more comfortable to use.

I can go up to $1000. So I'm definitely interested in light-weight laptops as well. Thanks for the input.

grooks · 03-23-2010, 11:52 AM

I briefly looked at some of the 11.6" screens as well as some 12.1" screens and really liked the hardware specs and battery life. Coming from a 15.4" laptop I didn't want to go too small and decided on the 13.3" screen.

I agree with Harry and Catire that the upgrade from a 10" screen to a 11.6" screen is a large difference.

HarryT · 03-23-2010, 12:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grooks

I briefly looked at some of the 11.6" screens as well as some 12.1" screens and really liked the hardware specs and battery life. Coming from a 15.4" laptop I didn't want to go too small and decided on the 13.3" screen.

The 11.6 and 13.3" models were pretty much the same price at the time I bought mine (November). I went for the 11.6" from the viewpoint of portability, but I upgraded the CPU, memory, and hard disk to the highest spec that Dell offered (dual core 1.6 (?) GHz CPU, 4GB RAM, 500GB hard disk) since I was after a machine I could do "serious" software development on. It's worked out very well indeed.

Catire · 03-29-2010, 11:02 AM

[thread-necromancy]

[/thread-necromancy]

If you want something portable yet comfortable to use go for something between 11.6 and 13.3 inches, for better performance than an atom but better battery life than a regular laptop processor look for the su2300, su4100 and su7300 processors. Most of these ulv laptops/netbooks/thin-and-light-laptops we (harry, grooks and me) talked about are about the same hardware wise the only changes you see are build quality, larger capacity(battery, drives and memory) and extras (bluetooth, chiclet keyboard...etc).

bbusybookworm · 04-06-2010, 09:59 AM

Hmm, if your looking for a Portable machine, but want a good keyboard and decent specs check out the new Lenovo Thinkpad's that have just come out.

The new Thinkpad X100e has a 11.6" display, starts at 3 Pounds, and has overall decent specs. Best of all the Price starts at $549 new, so you actually get a very nice ultra portable with a great keyboard machine with for a third of the price you would have paid a year ago.

Another option of you want a 13.3" screen then Look at the new Thinkpad Edge Series which has even better specs and a similar keyboard with prices from $579.

The nice thing with these new models is that you get Lenovo's new styling which while subdued still looks elegant and is well built.

If you want a smaller package with a rotating screen to make it easier to use as a Reader then check out the Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3t Tablet which is Lenovo's Flagship netbook with a rotating touch screen. While Not very cheap at List $549 (Can be found a little cheaper elsewhere) its a very nice compact netbook which has the added benefit of having a rotating touch screen so you can fold they keyboard out of the way when you don't need it.

Sweetpea · 04-06-2010, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbusybookworm

If you want a smaller package with a rotating screen to make it easier to use as a Reader then check out the Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3t Tablet which is Lenovo's Flagship netbook with a rotating touch screen. While Not very cheap at List $549 (Can be found a little cheaper elsewhere) its a very nice compact netbook which has the added benefit of having a rotating touch screen so you can fold they keyboard out of the way when you don't need it.

I'd go for a rotating screen if I'd buy a netbook. After seeing one during the CeBIT, I decided it's absolutely worth the trouble finding one.

03-22-2010, 12:39 PM	#1
poohbear_nc Bah! Humbug! Posts: 64,228 Karma: 135242149 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Durham, NC Device: Every Kindle Ever Made & To Be Made!	Help Me Choose A Netbook OK - it seems I'm getting a refund from the US government from my 2009 tax return. And I want to enter the wonderful world of mobile computing. So I started looking at netbooks and/or very lightweight laptops - and got very overwhelmed/confused. I've looked at the devices MR folk list - and ASUS seems to pop up a lot. But there are a lot of ASUS choices. I want a lightweight something that I can use as a reader where eInk isn't a good choice (poor lighting conditions) but not burn my eyes out on a glaring screen (I wear glasses). And I'll probably end up using it to spend even more time trapped in MR instead of life, so the keyboard and screen need to be comfy for long usage times. I am comfortable with either Windows or Linux as an OS. I know you all have opinions, so share some with me. Please - help me spend my money wisely. Or at least, help me hook up with something I can really have fun with!

03-23-2010, 02:06 AM	#8
Catire Lord of the Universe Posts: 670 Karma: 737849 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Maturin , Venezuela Device: Sony Reader PRS-505 / PSP	Whats your budget? Like Harry I own an 11.6inch intel culv laptop they are small and portable as a netbook but offer about twice the performance and the larger screen makes it more comfortable to use. Last edited by Catire; 03-23-2010 at 02:09 AM. Reason: bah

03-29-2010, 11:02 AM	#13
Catire Lord of the Universe Posts: 670 Karma: 737849 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Maturin , Venezuela Device: Sony Reader PRS-505 / PSP	[thread-necromancy] [/thread-necromancy] If you want something portable yet comfortable to use go for something between 11.6 and 13.3 inches, for better performance than an atom but better battery life than a regular laptop processor look for the su2300, su4100 and su7300 processors. Most of these ulv laptops/netbooks/thin-and-light-laptops we (harry, grooks and me) talked about are about the same hardware wise the only changes you see are build quality, larger capacity(battery, drives and memory) and extras (bluetooth, chiclet keyboard...etc). SU7300 SU4100 Su2300(Newegg only had one)

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03-22-2010, 12:53 PM	#2
grooks Wizard Posts: 1,326 Karma: 30250 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Fort Myers, FL Device: Pocketbook Era, Kobo Forma	ASUS is a very good brand and I like some of the choices they offer. I just purchased an ASUS UL30A-A1. This is a 13.3" screen that is 1" thick and weighs less than 4 lbs. This particular laptop worked for me as I like the larger screen (versus a 10" screen) and the near-full size keyboard. This laptop also has an ultra-low voltage intel dual core processor which gives me more power versus an atom based processor. I also get a very long battery life of between 9-10 hours of normal computing (web browsing/spreadsheets/word processing). There are a lot of very good priced options out there but the above is just my 2 cents.

03-22-2010, 01:01 PM	#3
lilac_jive Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,870 Karma: 27376 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Pennsylvania Device: PRS-505	I have an Acer Aspire one that I love. I got it refurbished from woot.com, who has them a lot. It was about $230 including shipping. If I see another you want me to let you know?

03-22-2010, 01:41 PM	#4
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,560 Karma: 93980341 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	I have a Dell Inspiron 11z, which has an 11.6" screen. It's one "step up" from a netbook size-wise, and the extra inch makes all the difference in the world to the usability of the keyboard. I'd recommend it thoroughly; I've used it intensively for about 4 months now, and love it.

03-22-2010, 01:43 PM	#5
happy_terd Banned Posts: 13,045 Karma: 10105011 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Finally made it to Walmart. Device: PRS 420	I am actually thinking about getting a laptop rather than a desktop this time. I will be spending around 2500 bucks for one here in the near future. I need it for school, work, and play. Good luck on finding a good one pooh.

03-22-2010, 08:26 PM	#7
happy_terd Banned Posts: 13,045 Karma: 10105011 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Finally made it to Walmart. Device: PRS 420	The software I need to run is pretty high end.

03-23-2010, 07:52 AM	#9
neilmarr neilmarr Posts: 7,215 Karma: 6000059 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Monaco-Menton, France Device: sony	When I weighed up netbook advice early last year, I was torn between an Acer 10" and a Samsung 10", so I bought both. I gave the Acer to my old mother in law. They're both fantastic wee machines. For me, I think the Samsung has the slight edge because of its long battery life, but I'd confidently recommend either to a friend. Good luck. Neil

03-23-2010, 11:52 AM	#11
grooks Wizard Posts: 1,326 Karma: 30250 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Fort Myers, FL Device: Pocketbook Era, Kobo Forma	I briefly looked at some of the 11.6" screens as well as some 12.1" screens and really liked the hardware specs and battery life. Coming from a 15.4" laptop I didn't want to go too small and decided on the 13.3" screen. I agree with Harry and Catire that the upgrade from a 10" screen to a 11.6" screen is a large difference.

04-06-2010, 09:59 AM	#14
bbusybookworm Tech Junkie Posts: 1,027 Karma: 10080 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Earth Device: iPad, MotoXStyle, OnePlusOne	Hmm, if your looking for a Portable machine, but want a good keyboard and decent specs check out the new Lenovo Thinkpad's that have just come out. The new Thinkpad X100e has a 11.6" display, starts at 3 Pounds, and has overall decent specs. Best of all the Price starts at $549 new, so you actually get a very nice ultra portable with a great keyboard machine with for a third of the price you would have paid a year ago. Another option of you want a 13.3" screen then Look at the new Thinkpad Edge Series which has even better specs and a similar keyboard with prices from $579. The nice thing with these new models is that you get Lenovo's new styling which while subdued still looks elegant and is well built. If you want a smaller package with a rotating screen to make it easier to use as a Reader then check out the Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3t Tablet which is Lenovo's Flagship netbook with a rotating touch screen. While Not very cheap at List $549 (Can be found a little cheaper elsewhere) its a very nice compact netbook which has the added benefit of having a rotating touch screen so you can fold they keyboard out of the way when you don't need it.