Who has a netbook?

[ruth1304]

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

Great. I was trying to decide between the Acer Aspire One and the HP 1000

Think its gonna be the Acer...right now Amazon has this one with free two day shipping for me..........I like the 6 cell battery.............which one do you like, RWood?

http://www.amazon.com/Acer-AOA150-17...=2IWUU5UB27Z2E

I have this one - I don't use it for ebooks because I work at a computer all day and prefer to read on something that's more like a book! But it's great - I prefer it to my main computer although I mostly use it for writing, internet access, calibre etc, fairly simple things!

I've had it over 6 months and never had any problems - I carry it round in my handbag when I need it (although I have a large bag) and the power cable's not too bad - smaller than many laptops I've seen.

[RickyMaveety]

Originally Posted by Jaime_Astorga

Is your purse big enough that a netbook and its power cable will fit there without taking considerable space?

My netbook gets a full 9 hours of battery time. So, I don't feel the need to carry the power cord with me at all times.

[Jaime_Astorga]

Originally Posted by RickyMaveety

My netbook gets a full 9 hours of battery time. So, I don't feel the need to carry the power cord with me at all times.

Well, she said traveling companion, so I assumed she meant a trip long enough for a netbook to run out of power =P

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by Jaime_Astorga

Well, she said traveling companion, so I assumed she meant a trip long enough for a netbook to run out of power =P

For me, traveling is to the mall, 12 miles away. We're kinda homebodies here lately.........

Also, taking the cord is good because if I'm at school volunteering, I can always plug it in and save the battery......

[taosaur]

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

Right. Netbooks are definitely not a replacement for a good laptop........that wasn't my intent.

Depending on your needs, I would say they are. I see frequent posts on the Wind forums that people have parked or sold their Macbooks after loading OSX on the Wind. Unless your work requires serious software for mobile productivity, or you absolutely have to be carrying a home theater at all times, most people are probably better off putting their money into a good desktop and going light and cheap for their mobile needs.

[Jaime_Astorga]

Originally Posted by taosaur

Depending on your needs, I would say they are. I see frequent posts on the Wind forums that people have parked or sold their Macbooks after loading OSX on the Wind. Unless your work requires serious software for mobile productivity, or you absolutely have to be carrying a home theater at all times, most people are probably better off putting their money into a good desktop and going light and cheap for their mobile needs.

I would go even further and say that for the less technologically inclined folks (such as my mother, who got another u100 as her first computer), a netbook is sufficient to meet one's needs. Unless one has something specific in mind they need a desktop or a high end laptop for, I think netbooks are a better deal.

But then again, this is getting into the "how much computer is enough" thread territory.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by HarryT

That's precisely what I use mine for. Travelling, and also browsing the web while lying in bed . Definitely not a substitute for my main computer, but a wonderful "accessory" to have.

Shhh! I don't want to hear it's a wonderful "accessory"... I don't want to be convinced I want one...

[RickyMaveety]

Mine gets used when I have to make a long trip (I prefer taking that through the airport than lugging my laptop), also when I make a short trip into town and know that I'm going to stop for lunch somewhere ... I also take my Kindle along for both types of travel.

I prefer my netbook for browsing and checking email in bed. Also, I like to have it on when I watch TV in bed (for those quick schedule and IMDB references). It's also nice when I get a quick idea I want to jot down so I don't forget it. My netbook boots a lot faster than my laptop (of course, I also don't keep as many programs on it), and so it's not such a big deal to turn it on, write something down or send a quick email, and then close it and go back to sleep, or talking on the phone, or whatever it was I was doing when I got the idea.

I've found my netbook and Evernote has made keeping a lot of information from getting lost (although, I do wish Evernote would institute a folder and subfolder structure).

[taosaur]

Originally Posted by Jaime_Astorga

I would go even further and say that for the less technologically inclined folks (such as my mother, who got another u100 as her first computer), a netbook is sufficient to meet one's needs. Unless one has something specific in mind they need a desktop or a high end laptop for, I think netbooks are a better deal.

But then again, this is getting into the "how much computer is enough" thread territory.

True, it would probably have met my mom's needs better than my old P4 Dell I gave her. You can always accessorize with a nice monitor and wireless keyboard/mouse for home use. I could see it being a little limited for media, though, both in terms of HDD space and audio/video output.

[jgray]

I have an Asus 1000HE. I replaced an aging full-sized Toshiba laptop. I specifically went for the Asus 1000HE for several reasons. First was the long battery life. Acer sells a similar unit with similar specs, but its battery sticks out like an ugly growth. The 1000HE battery is more streamlined.

The "chicklet" flat keys are actually a good compromise between closer spacing and typeability (I'm a touch typist and am picky about keyboards). I wouldn't have the earlier Asus netbooks, because they screwed up and moved the right shift key too far right.

Although not as large as a full-sized laptop, the screen is perfectly adequate for most uses (web surfing, word processing, etc). Using FBReader, it makes a fine ebook reader, although not as portable as I could wish.

The final point that makes netbooks so popular is the price. You get a lot of hardware for $400 or less. You can't touch a new laptop for that.

One last point. If you intend to use a netbook mainly for reading, you may want to consider one of the smaller netbooks with a 7 inch screen. The overall size and weight is much less than the units with a 10 inch screen. The downside is the shorter battery life, however. This is assuming that you get an Intel compatible netbook. If you get an ARM netbook, the battery life will be better. The ARM units are usually less expensive, also.

[jgray]

Originally Posted by taosaur

True, it would probably have met my mom's needs better than my old P4 Dell I gave her. You can always accessorize with a nice monitor and wireless keyboard/mouse for home use. I could see it being a little limited for media, though, both in terms of HDD space and audio/video output.

I don't know about that. You can't play HD video without issues, but standard video plays just fine. My netbook came with a 160GB hard drive. You can fit quite a bit of video on that.

For my home PC and its video collection, I have 1.5TB drives, but that is another story

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Jaime_Astorga

I would go even further and say that for the less technologically inclined folks (such as my mother, who got another u100 as her first computer), a netbook is sufficient to meet one's needs. Unless one has something specific in mind they need a desktop or a high end laptop for, I think netbooks are a better deal.

But then again, this is getting into the "how much computer is enough" thread territory.

The only thing which might be a factor there is the small keyboard on netbooks. My Dell is fine for occasional use, but I wouldn't like to type on such a tiny keyboard "full time".

[ruth1304]

On my desk I can link mine up to a screen, keyboard mouse etc, and it operates much as the box on a desktop computer would.

To be fair I like the keyboard on my Acer Aspire One, but I have small hands and spent a long time finding a netbook with a keyboard that suited me

It's great for almost everything I need to do, but I don't ask it to do very much as my demands are mainly for writing, internet and office documents. I don't do much with graphics etc and I don't use it for video - although the screen is a perfect size for watching TV over the internet eg BBC iplayer.

[Jaime_Astorga]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The only thing which might be a factor there is the small keyboard on netbooks. My Dell is fine for occasional use, but I wouldn't like to type on such a tiny keyboard "full time".

Indeed, I did find most netbook keyboards I tried despicably unsuited to good typing, as described above. But since I choose my particular model based on the fact that it felt like a full-size keyboard, I can only conclude it isn't impossible to make a good keyboard of small size.

[taosaur]

Originally Posted by Jaime_Astorga

Indeed, I did find most netbook keyboards I tried despicably unsuited to good typing, as described above. But since I choose my particular model based on the fact that it felt like a full-size keyboard, I can only conclude it isn't impossible to make a good keyboard of small size.

Agreed--the Wind keyboard is not a full-size, and I would estimate it slows me down by maybe 10-15% vs. my ergonomic wireless board, but that's not bad. I would say it's more ergonomic than the generic rectangle that shipped with my last desktop. From what I've heard, the latest EeePCs have about the same quality of keyboard.

If you did want to use it as your main machine for papers and such, I would just invest in a nice USB keyboard + mouse.