Netbooks, are they worth it? Or just get a laptop. 1

[Triton101]

Just need your thoughts on Netbooks, what brand is best and or if they are worth getting instead of a laptop.

Price of some of them is higher than a cheap notebook.

my interest is mostly work reasons, (weight being number one) and battery life.

Thanks.

__________________________________________________________
Find a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life. - Confucius

 

[NESWalt]

It really depends on how you are going to use them.

What are you going to do on them?
Do you need real horsepower to run your apps?
Do you need large amounts of RAM?
Do you need to be able to see a lot of data?

Both have their place, just as the iPad does, but it really depends on what you plan to use it for.

 

[Triton101]

Email
Word
Telnet/SSH software
Video/Pic on TV

not sure how well sniffer software would run on it....but that would be a benefit.

I don't plan on using it 4 games.


__________________________________________________________
Find a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life. - Confucius

 

[cdogg]

Here's two articles that dicuss what should be the main factors in a decision between netbook and notebook:

http://www.articlesbase.com/laptops-articles/how-to-choose-between-netbook-vs-laptop-1109372.html

http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch001159.htm

From what you've described so far, however, it seems that most netbooks today would be powerful enough to handle those needs fairly well. The biggest bonus in choosing a netbook is usually weight and battery life.

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Einstein
[tab][navy]For posting policies, click [/navy]here.

 

[Triton101]

Thanks cdogg and NESWalt for the replies.

Appreciated.

__________________________________________________________
Find a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life. - Confucius

 

[biglebowski]

If you're after a netbook because of the size take a look at the IBM X60S. I think it's discontinued but they are still available on ebay. Laptop perfance in a netbook shell

Biglebowskis Razor - with all things being equal if you still can't find the answer have a shave and go down the pub.

 

[Noway2]

I have both a laptop and a netbook and use Ubuntu 10.04 on both of them. The netbook has been able to run and do everything that I have asked of it so far and would be more than capable of doing the things that are mentioned in this thread.

However, it is noticeably slower in its operation. While the difference is noticeable, it isn't to the point where it is annoyingly so; just enough to make you aware of it. This is especially true of number crunching applications.

 

[rclarke250]

The problem that most users have with a netbook is video performance, Especially the intel based ones. The Atom cpu is hampered by single channel memory and no video acceleration above the minimum. The ones based on the Amd Neo are a little better off for watching video. (mp4) As they support dual channel memory, and usually have a better video subsystem. Some systems use an actual video accelerator made by broadcom like this mini from Dell.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/25/dell-mini-10-with-broadcom-crystal-hd-accelerator-review/

But when you go above $400.00 for the unit, you are only saving a little space, and giving up a lot of performance, even over the least of the laptops for roughly the same money.

But you can get a decent lappy with a 12.1 or 13.1 inch screen that has some decent specs.

 

[Sympology]

This make the choice harder, but may be what many are after.

http://www.reghardware.com/2010/10/07/review_netbook_asus_eee_pc_1215n/

Robert Wilensky:
We've all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters will eventually reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare. Now, thanks to the Internet, we know this is not true.

 

[kjv1611]

Yeah, if you can get it for $200, then it may be worth it if you can deal with a tiny screen for your specific needs.

If you want a larger screen and performance, here's a NICE one that I just finished customizing (software) for someone:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Toshiba...late/1006408.p?skuId=1006408&id=1218207311895

It's $720 (about $750 after taxes) and some shipping if you don't get it in store at BestBuy. If you get the same thing with a standard battery direct from Toshiba, it's almost $1,000 (just look the model # up at Toshiba to see that). It's a 14 inch screen. The battery life? advertised up to 10 hours, but real life seems to be between 5 and 6 hours of average to semi-heavy usage, not testing for gaming yet. But that little laptop is SCREAMING fast, thanks to the Core i5 CPU.

It is one NICE laptop. I was secretly wishing it were mine when working on it, and I've got a 15 inch Dell XPS with nVidia graphics (the bad graphics one, but it has worked fine for me so far).

 

[Triton101]

Thanks to all for all the input.
Really appreciate it.

__________________________________________________________
Find a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life. - Confucius

 

[paparazi]

Pro's
Small/lite/discreet/some have incredible battery life (8hrs)
Cheap compared to a laptop, stylish.

Con's
No CDrom so awkward to install software
Keyboards 80 to 90% full size
Mouse pads small
Small screen size but usually nice and sharp
Low performing Atom CPU
Cut down Windows 7 version can be anoying

There is no doubt they are brilliant for certain things, just make sure the positives of how you intend to use it out weigh the negative short comings of the design.

BTW....the biggest reason for having a netbook is BATTERY LIFE! but realize not all netbooks are created equal and some 3cell cheapo versions only go for 3hrs! be sure to choose one with larger battery capacity otherwise you are defeating the object of ownership.
Martin


On wings like angels whispers sweet
my heart it feels a broken beat
Touched soul and hurt lay wounded deep
Brown eyes are lost afar and sleep