Netbook Choices

[CrazyLazy]

So I'm thinking of getting a netbook and I am looking for the wonderful advice of AT. Here is basically what I want from it.

$400-$500 price range
Browse the web with multiple tabs open/watch videos/download stuff/basic text editing
Isn't slow as hell doing the above things
No gaming at all
Screen/Keyboard aren't tiny, I have big hands and bad eyesight
Have a Linux option that doesn't force me to pay for XP/Vista
Probably SSD unless you guys can give me a good reason why I shouldn't. I don't need a huge amount of space to store anything on this computer
Durable and able to be carried around a lot
Obviously the cheaper the better

I have looked around at various machines online, but I really would love the opinion of a knowledgeable human being.

 

[mpilchfamily]

If size is an issue then you may want a nice laptop not a netbook. The netbook screens are only 7". Pluss the keyboard is a bit small for large hands.

 

[CrazyLazy]

7 inches is probably a tad small as you said. I just don't know if I need the rest of what a normal laptop brings.

 

[chedrz]

Most netbooks now have about a 9"-10" screen. I've heard lots of good things about the Acer Aspire One, and they're generally pretty cheap (~$350-$400 w/Linux and a 16GB SSD) on Newegg. The netbook with the best keyboard is probably the HP Mini 1000, but for now, it only ships with XP. The Dell Inspiron Mini 9 is supposed to be pretty good, keyboard-wise, and you can get up to a 16GB or 32GB SSD with Linux. That will probably be more expensive, though, as the Linux version with a 4GB SSD starts at about $350. Then there's the MSI Wind, which is also supposed to have a great keyboard, but only has a 3-cell battery. Personally, I ordered an Inspiron Mini 9 on Black Friday with a 16GB SSD and XP, and got it for about $400. Of course, that was Black Friday, so they're a bit more expensive now.

You're best bet is just to look around for a while and look at multiple reviews to see what's going to fit you. As just about all netbooks ship with the Atom processor, you're not going to find any with a great deal of processing power; instead, they'll have just enough to get by with. You can also look at this thread:
Netbooks

Hopefully you'll get some more responses from others with netbooks. I haven't received mine yet, so I'll let you know after I get mine.

 

[ofacto]

I got an MSI Wind from ebay with a 6 cell battery, 10 inch LED screen, 160GB HD, webcam, bluetooth and wireless N for less than $300 after Microsoft Live Cashback. I had an orginal ASUS eee with a 7 inch screen, which I thought was too cramped, the 10 inch screen on the Wind is the perfect size and very usuable for even doing photo editing and word processing.

SSD are nice, but you have to be careful because some netbook manufacturers actually use 2 SSDs in their netbooks, one fast and small (4gb) for the OS and one slow and large (16gb) for storage. Asus actually does this with some models of their eee line. Why exactly do you require an SSD? The hard drive on the wind isn't too loud or hot and its actually nice to have all that extra space for storing movies and music on the MSI Wind. With the 6 cell battery, I get about 5 hours of use.

 

[paulsiu]

Go out to a store and try them out. The thing is that you have to be able to live with the smaller screen and keyboard.

From my point of view the 7" is just too small to type on and thought 800x600 is too small. The other laptop typically spot a 1024x600, which is generally OK. I find that I could type on the Dell mini, but cannot stand where the quote keys have move to. The Asus, Lenevo, and Samsung has a reduced right shift key, which I don't like either since I keep hitting the up arrow. The Acer, HP, and MSI were OK.

I also want very long battery life. The Acer, Asus, and MSI come with the larger battery, which should be enough for my purpose.

The HP's were just too expensive. The Acer were fine but had to be taken apart to upgrade. This is why I am edging toward a MSI wind.

Keep in mind that MSI wind may not be for you, but I am just thinking out loud to help you figure out what you are looking for.

 

[Caecus Veritas]

Best Buy just dropped the price on the HP Mini 1030NR to $399 from $449. I just bought it over the weekend and I can't complain. Keyboard feels good and 10" is small but not too small. 16g SSD is adequate enough for installing key applications. Only draw back I can find at this time is the battery life (3-cell). their linux version won't be out until January but you can easily install linux (albeit with some... complications).

EDIT: oh and since it's at best buy, you can always run out to the store to check out the feel for yourself.

 

[dud]

Originally posted by: paulsiu
Go out to a store and try them out. The thing is that you have to be able to live with the smaller screen and keyboard.

From my point of view the 7" is just too small to type on and thought 800x600 is too small. The other laptop typically spot a 1024x600, which is generally OK. I find that I could type on the Dell mini, but cannot stand where the quote keys have move to. The Asus, Lenevo, and Samsung has a reduced right shift key, which I don't like either since I keep hitting the up arrow. The Acer, HP, and MSI were OK.

I also want very long battery life. The Acer, Asus, and MSI come with the larger battery, which should be enough for my purpose.

The HP's were just too expensive. The Acer were fine but had to be taken apart to upgrade. This is why I am edging toward a MSI wind.

Keep in mind that MSI wind may not be for you, but I am just thinking out loud to help you figure out what you are looking for.

Agreed. I was going to buy a 900-series Asus. I almost pulled the trigger but decided to go to BB to check it out. Boy was I surprised. The 900 series is way too small for my big hands (you need to use a pencil to type on those keys). To me it's just a toy.

I noticed the netbook next to it (an Asus 1000Ha), played around with it and ended up buying one off Ebay for about $290. I just got it today and (for the most part) am quite impressed.

 

[CrazyLazy]

Thanks for the thoughts guys. Right now I am leaning towards the Asus 1000Ha or Samsung NC10. Can owners who can comment on the quality of either? Unfornately neither have a Linux option but I guess I'll just have to deal.

I was tempted by the MSI wind, but as far as I can tell the u120 doesn't offer a 6 cell battery which is a deal breaker.

 

[IlllI]

from everything i've read, the Samsung NC10 has the best keyboard to date and also good battery life

 

[videopho]

Originally posted by: clandren
from everything i've read, the Samsung NC10 has the best keyboard to date and also good battery life

2nd.
I'm thinking of getting one myself too.

Samsung NC10

 

[Gigantopithecus]

Originally posted by: videopho

Originally posted by: clandren
from everything i've read, the Samsung NC10 has the best keyboard to date and also good battery life

2nd.
I'm thinking of getting one myself too.

Samsung NC10

I got mine last week. I found the original EEEPC unusable due to its keyboard. I had the 6 cell Wind before the NC-10 & the Wind went to Craigslist the day after I got my NC-10. The only things about the NC-10 that conflict with the OP's wishlist is that it comes with XP standard & it has a 160gb hdd instead of a small ssd. I actually wanted a regular hdd so I could swap in a 500gb drive (I like having my mp3 collection with me). The HP netbook folks mentioned above (that Best Buy carries) had two deal breakers for me: weak 3 cell battery & glossy fingerprint magnet cover.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: Gigantopithecus
I had the 6 cell Wind before the NC-10 & the Wind went to Craigslist the day after I got my NC-10.

What do you like about the NC-10 that made you get it when you already had the Wind? I'm curious because I already have a Wind, and was not aware of the Samsung until a few weeks ago (is it new?). I'm actually fairly happy with the Wind.

 

[CrazyLazy]

For those interested I actually ended up going with the 6 cell u100 MSI Wind. Thanks again for the input.

 

[BeauJangles]

Congrats on the purchase. My dad just bought me an AspireOne for my birthday and Christmas. I gotta say, it's pretty awesome and the 6 cell battery gives it an unbelievable amount of longevity.

 

[cparker]

Our white NC10 just arrived today. Haven't had a chance to do anything with it but open it and check out the keyboard which is very nice. Chose it because of all the reviews I've read on it. It also helped that we had these soon to expire Amazon coupons.

 

[gordita]

I think one of the most imp. features for me would be multi touch trackpad.
It's a given that these netbooks will mostly be used for wed surfing/emailing/facebook/anandtech forums.

and we know that 1024x600 is not going to cut it and u will constantly be scrolling up, down, left and right.
so, what netbooks come with atleast 10" screen? multi touch trackpad, 6-cell battery, 802.11 b/n, vga out, webcam and maybe BT?

 

[SickBeast]

Originally posted by: gordita
I think one of the most imp. features for me would be multi touch trackpad.
It's a given that these netbooks will mostly be used for wed surfing/emailing/facebook/anandtech forums.

and we know that 1024x600 is not going to cut it and u will constantly be scrolling up, down, left and right.
so, what netbooks come with atleast 10" screen? multi touch trackpad, 6-cell battery, 802.11 b/n, vga out, webcam and maybe BT?

The Samsung NC-10 and the 10" MSI Wind will do this, along with the 10" eeePC AFAIK (so long as you get the 6-cell Wind and eeePC).

Of the 3, I like the Samsung NC-10. That said, the Wind can be found for less than $300 recently (3-cell version) plus you can put MacOS on the thing.

I personally believe that the netbooks will get significantly better over the next few months. AMD is making a netbook CPU, plus there is the new dual core Atom that has yet to be used. A new chipset for the Atom will also make a huge difference when it comes to battery life.

Right now, the 14" laptops I have seen for $400 are a much better deal than the netbooks, unless you absolutely need something that small and light.

 

[Ika]

Originally posted by: SickBeast

Originally posted by: gordita
I think one of the most imp. features for me would be multi touch trackpad.
It's a given that these netbooks will mostly be used for wed surfing/emailing/facebook/anandtech forums.

and we know that 1024x600 is not going to cut it and u will constantly be scrolling up, down, left and right.
so, what netbooks come with atleast 10" screen? multi touch trackpad, 6-cell battery, 802.11 b/n, vga out, webcam and maybe BT?

The Samsung NC-10 and the 10" MSI Wind will do this, along with the 10" eeePC AFAIK (so long as you get the 6-cell Wind and eeePC).

Of the 3, I like the Samsung NC-10. That said, the Wind can be found for less than $300 recently (3-cell version) plus you can put MacOS on the thing.

I personally believe that the netbooks will get significantly better over the next few months. AMD is making a netbook CPU, plus there is the new dual core Atom that has yet to be used. A new chipset for the Atom will also make a huge difference when it comes to battery life.

Right now, the 14" laptops I have seen for $400 are a much better deal than the netbooks, unless you absolutely need something that small and light.

Only the original MSI Winds have multitouch touchpads (Synaptic). Sometime a few months ago they switched over to cheaper Sentilic touchpads that don't have multitouch support... with a little DIY work, it's possible to mod a Synaptic back into place, but it takes a little elbow grease and DIY skill.

As for new netbooks, it seems most of the popular netbook companies are gearing up for CES - I know for a fact that MSI has a flurry of new netbooks coming up; I doubt Asus and Acer would let MSI release new netbooks without competition.

 

[IlllI]

http://blog.laptopmag.com/msi-...us-and-u300-in-january