Netbook Advice

[grandestang]

I'm looking to purchase a netbook in the $3-400 range. I just need something fast and simple that I can browse with on my couch in my apartment and that I can also store some music files on. Not looking for massive memory to store tons of movies or videos.

Before anyone suggests an Ipad- I'm not sure that is what I'm looking for. I like having a keyboard and to me Ipads are just giant Iphones. A mini-laptop seems much more appealing to me (cheaper too).

Whenver I need a "real" computer I use my work laptop. Just looking for something easy to surf / play music on while lounging around.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! :beer:

Paul

 

[600RRgoal]

I have an Acer Aspire One with the original 8.9" screen as my one and only laptop. It's been great. I used it all through college (have MS Office 07 installed) and even made PowerPoint presentations. It's much quicker to load programs and files than a HP netbook I once used.

I believe the new Aspires have the 10.1" screen and Windows 7.

 

[JasonSnake]

Stay away from Sony's. Crappy build quality

 

[SoCalHarley]

Check this one out.... Tablet and Netbook in one for $400

ASUS Introduces the Eee Pad Transformer

 

[grandestang]

Thanks for the tips so far. Any other suggestions?

 

[UnorthodoxCreat]

I have an eeePC from Newegg. The screen is a bit small for doing much "work" on but otherwise its great. I mainly use it for email, surfing the web and travel in bed. Its lightweight, small, fast, pretty good size storage and it's survived a drop down 3 stairs onto concrete with nothing more than a scratch. Well worth the $300 or so I spent.

 

[E. Green Cobra]

I have a Toshiba NB205, had it for the last year or so. Good battery life, haven't had any problems. I'm happy, purchased through Amazon.

 

[u n v kenny]

www.newegg.com

Always treated me well. Good luck on your purchase.

 

[Phantom_LS2]

I love the shit out of my acer aspire. It's got a 10" screen and is the perfect size for tooling around on the net and watching the occasional movie on netflix. It was right at $300 when I got it a year ago.

 

[65fastback2+2]

Check this one out.... Tablet and Netbook in one for $400

ASUS Introduces the Eee Pad Transformer

best suggestion so far

netbooks are mostly worthless. theyre just for people thinking saving a buck or 2 is smarter.

i mean, for most netbook pricing, you can get a real decent laptop...like: HP - Pavilion Laptop / AMD Turion™ II Processor / 14" Display / 4GB Memory / 320GB Hard Drive - Pewter - g4-1016dx

 

[wjk]

I'd stay away from netbooks. They're cheap, slow, and just as hard to type on as tablets. I would personally just buy a cheap laptop or a tablet.

 

[busta]

best suggestion so far

netbooks are mostly worthless. theyre just for people thinking saving a buck or 2 is smarter.

i mean, for most netbook pricing, you can get a real decent laptop...like: HP - Pavilion Laptop / AMD Turion™ II Processor / 14" Display / 4GB Memory / 320GB Hard Drive - Pewter - g4-1016dx

I disagree. I own a 10" Acer eee PC 1005PE. Not only do I get upwards of 10 hours of battery life, but it runs Windows 7 superbly, I have a full MS Office suite on it for school, and plenty of movies and music downloaded to it to keep me entertained for hours. Oh yeah, and it was $280. Did I mention that it's only a 10" with a 10 hour battery?

There are reasons as to why someone might want a netbook over a laptop, even if you do get the obviously superior hardware with a laptop.

 

[CobraBob]

I have to agree with Busta that netbooks are not worthless. They do provide a niche for those who want a smaller, lighter portable computer with optimum battery life, even if it has reduced overall performance and doesn't have a built-in DVD drive. They do a very nice job overall.

That said, there are good reasons why a notebook might be preferred over a netbook. Some need a larger screen, a built-in DVD drive and a faster processor. Notebook prices start close to what netbooks cost, so what you spend depends on your configuration. You have to choose which type best meets your needs and expectations. JMO.

I bought an Asus Seashell 1215-N netbook early last year ($479. at the time) because I wanted something small and portable, mainly for browsing the Internet. It had a 12.1" screen which was a plus, and it was rated the best performing netbook. And just to be sure it would handle Windows 7 Home Edition I added more memory. While I liked the small size and light weight, it was just too slow compared to my desktop. In addition, I had to buy an external DVD player to load programs from DVD, so that was an added expense. I kept it for about 2 months and then sold it on eBay and decided to go with a Dell Studio XPS-16. Yeh, it was more expensive, but it's more powerful, has more memory and storage, and has a 15.6" screen. The only downside is reduced battery life which I've been able to live with. Overall, for me personally, a 15" notebook just works best. I definitely like the 15.6" screen. So for me personally, the notebook works best. For someone else, a netbook works best.

 

[busta]

I should mention that I also have a laptop. But for general internet use, homework, and listening to music, my netbook is used more frequently. Whether I'm in our out of the house it weighs next to nothing so I can use it anywhere. It's also pretty nice to tether my iPhone with

 

[grandestang]

Thanks for the replies.

Interesting advice on just going with a cheaper laptop. I didn't realize you could get a decent laptop for under $400.

The thing is, I know I can get a good quality netbook for under $400 but will a sub-$400 laptop just be a POS?

Like I said... I have a good work laptop that I use for most things that take actual processing power. What I really need is just something to surf / mess around on. Is a netbook really a bad choice for this purpose?

Paul

 

[Blown 89]

I stayed away from netbooks because they were too small and underpowered.

Have you tried looking at a CULV laptop? They're netbook sized laptops with faster processors and higher res screens. I have an Acer Timeline that I picked up for $375. It gets 7 hours battery life, runs 64-bit Windows 7, can play HD video (I've only played 720p video but I hear it does 1080p fine), has a larger multi-touch keypad (I hated that about netbooks), plays some video games, and has a full sized keyboard. Unlike a lot of 10" netbooks the 11.6" screen is usable and it fits inside a 10" netbook sleeve. They'll do functions that will bring netbooks to their knees which means it's more or less replaced my desktop. I was even able to do high level Photoshop and Illustrator tasks on my last business trip. The model I have is an Acer 1410 with a dual core processor. It's outdated and probably not for sale but read up on it and you'll get an idea of what CULV laptops can do. Trust me, you'll be glad you went with one over a netbook. They have all of the advantages of a netbook with none of the drawbacks.

Acer Aspire 1410 review (dual core version)

 

[ff500]

best suggestion so far

netbooks are mostly worthless. theyre just for people thinking saving a buck or 2 is smarter.

i mean, for most netbook pricing, you can get a real decent laptop...like: HP - Pavilion Laptop / AMD Turion™ II Processor / 14" Display / 4GB Memory / 320GB Hard Drive - Pewter - g4-1016dx

I just bought this laptop this morning, paid $349 at Best Buy. My Dell XPS crashed and I needed something simple to run my quickbooks and to browse the internet. I've only had it for a few hours but I feel its well worth the $349.

 

[Red94SVT]

I have a Samsung N310 with a 2 gig memory upgrade, had it for about a year and it still gets 8-9 hours out of the battery, i use it all the time for web-surfing and it works great when traveling. It has a 250gig HD, 3 USB ports and a SD card reader i got it for just under $400 including the extra memory

 

[CPViolation]

Best advise, don't buy a netbook.
Sales are way down and soon will be going the way of dinosaurs.
Jeff

 

[grandestang]

Best advise, don't buy a netbook.
Sales are way down and soon will be going the way of dinosaurs.
Jeff

Then what is your suggestion for my intended purposes stated above at or under $400??

Paul