What do you think of your netbook?

[tewic]

Hey everyone

I?m about to buy a netbook, but after long research and reading reviews/forum threads I haven?t gotten any closer a final decision.

That?s why I?d like to know what YOU think about YOUR netbook, simply what netbook you have and what makes it good or bad, e.g. is there a couple of keys that are misplaces or does it have a surprisingly good monitor, etc.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Bateluer]

I had an Asus 904HA, typical specs for a netbook. I never had a problem with it, other than it was difficult to type on such a small screen and it was slower than molasses in January. I ended up selling it a few months back. Several 'super-netbook' models exist now though, offering much better performance, such as the Gateway LT3114.

 

[meester]

I have an HP Mini 1000. Spec is 10.2" 1024x600 (or thereabouts), 60GB 4200rpm hd, 1GB RAM, Windows XP , VGA webcam, 1.6GHz Atom CPU, weight 1 kg. The battery life is not so great, under 3 hours wireless browsing, which could definitely do with improvement, but it's prettier than the market leading Samsung NC10 netbook, which has a 6-cell battery (double the life), but consequently weighs 300 grams more.

What's to say?

It's great for travel use, we took one around Mexico for two weeks, it's so compact compared even to my Sony SZ2VP 13.3" carbon fibre laptop which cost 6 times more.

Performance is absolutely fine for VOIP, web browsing, etc.

Screen resolution is a little lacking in the vertical pixels.

I wish I had more battery life. I could buy a bigger battery, but it's not that big a deal.

The Samsung N110 is I think the best on the market now in this class, though you'll save $$$ by buying the NC10

If you're not buying it as a second laptop, you might be better with a 12" netbook, though Intel apparently aren't keen for you to buy them. The Samsung NC20 is the leader here - you'll get more useable resolution - 1280x800, though they are 50% heavier than the lightest 10% netbooks (like mine).

Avoid the 8.9" ultra-cheapos.

 

[Zap]

MSI Wind (original 6 cell model)

PRO
Great screen and backlight
Keyboard relatively easy to type on
Great battery life

CON
Lousy touchpad
Fn key on keyboard is where CTRL key should be
A bit bulky due to battery design

Originally posted by: Bateluer
Several 'super-netbook' models exist now though, offering much better performance, such as the Gateway LT3114.

At this rate I can replace BOTH my netbook and regular notebook with something like this. I haven't seen this Gateway model, but I've looked at the Acer Timeline and like it.

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: tewic
That?s why I?d like to know what YOU think about YOUR netbook, simply what netbook you have and what makes it good or bad, e.g. is there a couple of keys that are misplaces or does it have a surprisingly good monitor, etc.

I've bought an Asus 1000HD Eee PC about a month ago at an outrageous discount - $249 @ Target (B&M) - so you can't beat the price!

Since then, I've used this thing 99% of the time. Basically, it's replaced my desktop machines and lappy.

I'm a Linux user and running the full desktop version of Linux Mint 7 on it (dual-booted with XP SP3).

XP is a snore. It didn't require any tweaking - just the routine 2 days of updating and de-crufting. It just sits there in the background - I don't use XP - makes me want to wretch.

Linux Mint 7 is (ahem) Glorious, but required about a week of scaling and optimization to make it shine on a 10" Netbook. Also, I had to disable the native wifi drivers and install Madwifi to get rid of the display flickering that was taking place during network activity. Every version of Linux I tried had this same flickering problem, but the Madwifi drivers cured it 100%.

Here's a snappy of my optimized Linux install...

http://vindsl.com/images/Mint-7-EeePC.png (Vin's Mint 7 install, scaled and optimized for 10" Eee PC netbook)

Anyway, I'm tickled pink with my netty!

Come on in, the water's fine...

 

[cparker]

I have a Samsung nc10. It's a winner. We love it. No problems. Fast, a great screen, keyboard that's exceptional. What's not to like? Oh, and the battery life is forever! (well, maybe 7-8 hours or so on a charge.) And trivial to upgrade ram from 1 to 2 gb. Just be sure to get a pozidriv screwdriver (5 bucks from Amazon) should you want do go that route.

Friends of mine have high end MSI Wind and Asus models and seem to love theirs equally. But I'll stick with my NC10. What a well constructed, tight little piece of art. Flawless as far as I can tell and very fast considering the lil' Atom processor.

 

[Babbles]

I have the same Asus eee 1000HD that VinDSL above has.

So far I love it - the only major downside is that the right shift key is horribly placed, but it looks like it is only done on this particular eee 1000 model. It's real nice to use to sit on the couch and surf the internet; small, light, and doesn't generate much heat. The screen is decent and the OS (Windows XP Pro, upgraded from the XP Home that came with it) seems snappy and it runs MS Office 2007 without a problem. I got mine to use for a MBA program I am starting in a couple of weeks and as such I haven't really used it yet for the purpose for which it was bought. Give me a few months and I will likely have a better opinion.

In summary I totally love having the netbook. Keep in mind that it should be a supplement to whatever computer you currently have and probably shouldn't be your only computer (my opinion at least).

 

[WaitingForNehalem]

Anyone here try Moblin, it's a linux distro created by Intel that requires SSSE3.

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: WaitingForNehalem
Anyone here try Moblin[...]

This isn't a flame, so don't take it the wrong way...

I try to avoid 'sissy' OSs! An exception would be Puppy Linux on vintage iron, e.g. doorstops.

Personally, I *think* that's why Netbooks have suffered a slow uptake - these goofy looking OSs.

Netbooks are perfectly capable of running on a full desktop environment - your eyes willing.

I don't see any reason to (effectively) turn them into an oversized PDA or glorified cell phone.

 

[Tom]

I have a refurb Dell Mini 10v bought for $200 through their outlet store. Amazing machine for the money.
nice keyboard and screen, 120g hard drive, very light with smaller battery, less than 3 pounds. Fast enough to play Guild Wars.

 

[roguerower]

My mom has a Dell Mini 10v and absolutely loves it. And this is someone who usually wants to throw computers out of a window

 

[Rottie]

No comment until I get Dell mini in two weeks

 

[piasabird]

Dell is selling a new 11z that uses a completely different mobile processor that is more like a 1.2g PIII with 1M cache. It is a 64 bit capable single core processor. It is around 1.7 to 2.1 times faster than the Volt. Suppose to handle audio and video better. I think it is 45nm silicone. Interesting to see Intel go back to a single core processor. Would be nice to see some real life experience with it. My money is still on a real life 15" laptop. Dell also had a 14 inch model with DDR3. You might get more jump with better processor than DDR3 RAM to get a better cache size on the processor. Of course that just eats more power.

They put Vista on this baby?

1 inch thick, 3 lbs, $399.00
Intel® Celeron? 723 (1.2GHz/800MHz FSB/1MB cache)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition SP1 Specifications - Operating System
11.6" High Definition WLED Display (1366x768)
2GB,DDR2,800MHZ,1 DIMM
Intel® GS45 Integrated Graphics Specifications - Video Card

 

[taltamir]

Originally posted by: VinDSL

Originally posted by: WaitingForNehalem
Anyone here try Moblin[...]

This isn't a flame, so don't take it the wrong way...

I try to avoid 'sissy' OSs! An exception would be Puppy Linux on vintage iron, e.g. doorstops.

Personally, I *think* that's why Netbooks have suffered a slow uptake - these goofy looking OSs.

Netbooks are perfectly capable of running on a full desktop environment - your eyes willing.

I don't see any reason to (effectively) turn them into an oversized PDA or glorified cell phone.

you win!
I agree with your assesment. It can run a real os, so why wouldn't you?

 

[Rottie]

I see very few people have a Dell netbook and I am going to order Dell mini 10v I know it is not a great netbook but the price is good anyway

 

[DesiPower]

i work Thinkpad T500 kicks a$$

 

[clipperfixer]

I love my Dell mini 9, for one thing. I use it to run automotive diagnostic software on the fly. I can drive the car and have the thing in my lap, which I can't do with my 17 laptop. Other than that it is pretty useless. Even when I travel for work I take my Gateway FX. I would rather lug something around that I can actually see. The netbooks are great if you limited space and don't need them for much. If you actully need to type on them, I would skip them. The keyboard is small and some of the keys are placed funny. If I needed something light for travel and needed to work on it I think I would look at 12 inch laptops.