What is the big deal about Netbooks?

[Peño]

My sister wants one for Christmas to replace the 3 year old 15.4" widescreen Acer laptop she inherited as a "hand-me-down" from me. Fair enough, it's suffered from wear'n'tear and the spacebar is broken but other than that it's fine. She's insisting on "One of those small laptops that are cheap and I can fit in my bag to take to uni". But I'm really not sold on them.

First of all, lack of optical drive. She's only just discovered using the DVD drive to watch movies (LOL) so it's not so much a big deal. The bigger problem would be getting Microsoft Office 2007 on it from a DVD. She's been brought up to use Microsoft Office and I don't think she will like Open Office or whatever other suites these netbooks come bundled with. Also printer drivers which are also on a DVD (assuming the O/S hasn't already got built-in drivers).

Secondly, the O/S. Okay sure it's not that big a deal and anything that is more simple is a pro (as she'll only be using it for work and Internet). But having had no experience of Linux/Ubuntu myself, I'd be stepping into a dark room by purchasing a non-Windows Netbook. Anything I should be wary of? She especially makes use of iTunes, Winamp etc. and with regards to the Internet Facebook (and digicam software), YouTube etc.

Finally the battery life isn't too great but I guess a couple hours should suffice until she can find a power source.

Blu-Ray, HD screen etc. don't matter but budget (<£500) does. So can anyone convince me that I should buy a Netbook instead of a Laptop?

 

[DavidB]

First of all, lack of optical drive. She's only just discovered using the DVD drive to watch movies (LOL) so it's not so much a big deal. The bigger problem would be getting Microsoft Office 2007 on it from a DVD. She's been brought up to use Microsoft Office and I don't think she will like Open Office or whatever other suites these netbooks come bundled with. Also printer drivers which are also on a DVD (assuming the O/S hasn't already got built-in drivers).

Theres lots of ways around this. Firstly you can link up your netbook to a computer with a shared cd drive and just use it straight through that, easy as. Alternatively you can just get a external CD/DVD drive, there cheap and easy to use.
Other than that you can just rip images of dvd's/cd's and store them on a flash stick/external harddrive.

Secondly, the O/S. Okay sure it's not that big a deal and anything that is more simple is a pro (as she'll only be using it for work and Internet). But having had no experience of Linux/Ubuntu myself, I'd be stepping into a dark room by purchasing a non-Windows Netbook. Anything I should be wary of? She especially makes use of iTunes, Winamp etc. and with regards to the Internet Facebook (and digicam software), YouTube etc.

You realise that the O/S can be whatever you want it to be? They come with linux, xp,and some even vista. Linux isn't an issue if you choose that route, pretty much everything will still work straight out the box.

Finally the battery life isn't too great but I guess a couple hours should suffice until she can find a power source.

Really? Mine has about 7 hours average battery life, i don't know many computers that can top that.

The reasons i got a netbook for me is, its light,capable and has a good battery life.
Mines a samsung NC10 (~£300), and has actually been so good i use it significantly more than my main computer. Infact i'm typing on it right now.

 

[happy_2008]

Does this mean that you can purchase a linux version and wipe it over with XP saving a potential £80 or whatever the difference was??? I was interested in buying one of these for my gf and wasnt sure if i could re-format a linux version as its cheaper with windows xp

 

[MeatLoaf]

Does this mean that you can purchase a linux version and wipe it over with XP saving a potential £80 or whatever the difference was??? I was interested in buying one of these for my gf and wasnt sure if i could re-format a linux version as its cheaper with windows xp

Remember is about £70 to buy XP

 

[Peño]

Hmm, just had a look at the Samsung NC10 and the specs are superb! Bluetooth and integrated 1.3Mpx webcam are bonuses!

Just one thing.. is the 10.2" screen decent enough to work in? I've never used a screen smaller than 15.4" and I just fear that Word and Excel will be horrible to work on in such a small space!

 

[radderfire]

That Samsung NC10 does look good.

I have the Acer Aspire One with Win XP. No optical drive is a problem that can be solved fairly cheaply with an external drive.

I bought it for portability when out and about and it is great. Screen size is fine for browsing but for extended use and work I would want something larger - but you can hook these netbooks up to an external display and keyboard too, so it's not really an issue either.

Battery life on my Acer One has been a bit disappointing - they're only small devices so I don't know what the problem is ...

If she wants something portable a netbook is the way to go.

Rgds

 

[TheVoice]

Hmm, just had a look at the Samsung NC10 and the specs are superb! Bluetooth and integrated 1.3Mpx webcam are bonuses!

Just one thing.. is the 10.2" screen decent enough to work in? I've never used a screen smaller than 15.4" and I just fear that Word and Excel will be horrible to work on in such a small space!

The average 13-15" notebook display is 1280x800; the Samsung NC10 is 1024x600, so it'll be a bit of a difference. For the sort of usage a netbook is intended for, it's probably plenty, but if it's going to be her main computer, it could be a bit too small.

There are a few decent 13" notebooks around such as the Dell XPS M1330, which would offer her more portability than she has with a 15" without sacrificing display resolution or performance.

 

[tripitaka]

This:

One of those small laptops that are cheap and I can fit in my bag

 

[Deleted member 66701]

Well, I have an Asus 901 (1.6gh atom, 8.9" screen, 12gb ssd, 2g ram (upgraded), 16gb SDHC) so I'll answer your questions from that viewpoint.

First of all, lack of optical drive.

Use disk images and install it from a flash drive. Watch the movies in a portable (e.g. DivX) format. You could plug in an external CD/DVD reader but I don't bother. Drivers from a DVD? Just copy them to your pen drive.

Secondly, the O/S.

You can put different OS's on them (even Vista if you're a masochist).

Finally the battery life isn't too great but I guess a couple hours should suffice until she can find a power source.

Eh? I'm getting about 7 hours out of mine with the factory 6600mAh battery.

Blu-Ray, HD screen etc. don't matter but budget (<£500) does. So can anyone convince me that I should buy a Netbook instead of a Laptop?

If you want Blu-Ray, big screen then obviously a netbook is not appropriate.

I use mine as my primary means of tuning and datalogging for my Westfield -the small size means it can mount on the dashboard. huge battery life means it should last a good weekends worth of track/drag strip work. It's quite cheap, so if I drop it I'm not going to cry (that much).

From the following:-

One of those small laptops that are cheap and I can fit in my bag

In that case, a notebook is really your only option. Just workaround things that are required to make them so small and cheap.

 

[triggerthat]

I've been using the NC10 for a week now and although it is great for checking mail and browsing the internet, I'd hate to use for work purposes.

 

[LabR@t]

lenovo s10 , i got one last week and its Lovely

 

[Kainz]

First of all, lack of optical drive. She's only just discovered using the DVD drive to watch movies (LOL) so it's not so much a big deal. The bigger problem would be getting Microsoft Office 2007 on it from a DVD. She's been brought up to use Microsoft Office and I don't think she will like Open Office or whatever other suites these netbooks come bundled with. Also printer drivers which are also on a DVD (assuming the O/S hasn't already got built-in drivers).

A netbook wouldn't be one if it had a big fat bloated internal drive. That is what external dvd-rom drives are for. Aside from that get a big fat USB stick and transfer/install files/programs via that. I use a 16GB Corsair Voyager and it works a treat. Using a netbook to watch dvd's is a tad pointless imo, maybe the occasional film yes but long term use it is just a waste on such a small screen. I sometimes watch xvids over wifi and it handles them fine with Zoom Player or KMPlayer but it isn't something I want to regularly do.

Secondly, the O/S. Okay sure it's not that big a deal and anything that is more simple is a pro (as she'll only be using it for work and Internet). But having had no experience of Linux/Ubuntu myself, I'd be stepping into a dark room by purchasing a non-Windows Netbook. Anything I should be wary of?

Asus Eeepc's come with a choice of XP/Linux. Samsung NC10's come with XP and with 2GB of ram can even manage Vista bloat, although I wouldn't recommend it. Linux on a netbook is a good move. The OS might be new to most but it is surprisingly easy to adapt to.

Finally the battery life isn't too great but I guess a couple hours should suffice until she can find a power source.

The NC10 manages 8hrs with little effort. Hell mine has hit 9hrs. I consider that stupidly long given that my XPS 1530 manages 6hrs tops.

Blu-Ray, HD screen etc. don't matter but budget (<£500) does. So can anyone convince me that I should buy a Netbook instead of a Laptop?

If you want something light, powerful, and portable then a netbook is just that. I reviewed my NC10 here.

The link below might be a good read for you.
http://www.economist.com/science/tq/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12673233

 

[DavidB]

Hmm, just had a look at the Samsung NC10 and the specs are superb! Bluetooth and integrated 1.3Mpx webcam are bonuses!

Just one thing.. is the 10.2" screen decent enough to work in? I've never used a screen smaller than 15.4" and I just fear that Word and Excel will be horrible to work on in such a small space!

The screen size worried me at first too, but its very useable. 99% of webpages are displayed fine, with the exception generally being high res picture viewing.

As a bonus aspect, when i now go back to my 20" screen, i have a whole new appreciation for its size! (although i often link up my nc10 to the screen anyway).

 

[fishfishfish]

They've moved on quite a bit over the past year. I had an original Asus Eee, which had a rather poor 7" screen with a very low resolution. The 8.9" and 10" ones are much better resolutions and have better keyboards, although I personally find them a bit uncomfortable for typing on. Though they're fine for casual browsing, watching movies etc.

I've just got a Dell XPS M1330 (13" screen) as I wanted something I could get more use out of. That said, it is still relatively chunky and heavy compared to netbooks. The Dell Mini 12 looks a good compromise if a standard laptop is too big but a netbook is too small.

 

[ThatJoe]

Was looking at some today and speaking to some friends on MSN that may of had experience with them.. One mentioned his friend's netbook had trouble watching movies.. ie lag etc. Is this the case?

I've just been looking at a 1.6Ghz Atom 1GB Ram 80GB HDD, This would be fine right? I mean i really plan to use it for, Word, net browsing and watching some movies and other apps. Just like the size of them and the ability to just carry them around with ease.