What's the best netbook? for Questionland Seattle

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What's the best netbook?

I'm going to purchase a netbook for taking notes at school and easy portability, since my main laptop is large and heavy. I would like to spend around $300, and get something that's lightweight and reasonable to type on. I've used the keyboard on the old Acer Aspire One model, and could type well on that, but I'm wondering how their newer models differ and haven't been able to locate too much info online. I'm considering these two:

http://www.amazon.com/Acer-AO532h-2730-10-1-Inch-Garnet-Netbook/dp/B0030LQ438/ref=dp_return_2?ie=UTF8&n=541966&s=pc

http://www.amazon.com/Acer-AOD250-1962-10-1-Inch-Pink-Netbook/dp/tech-data/B002EEAGH2/ref=de_a_smtd

Looks like the one is lighter but the other has longer battery life - are there other important differences I should know about?

My current laptop is a Lenovo Thinkpad, which I love, so I'm also considering their cheap netbook - anyone know if it's any good/typeable?

Sara asked in Science & Technology over 2 years ago | Report

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I like Asus laptops quite a bit. I'm quite happy with my 1005HA. I don't have problems with the keyboard, but I prefer a USB or bluetooth mouse to the touchpad. Stay away from the models without easily removable batteries. (like the 1008HA)

Jim Broadus answered in Science & Technology over 2 years ago | Report

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I've had the Asus 1005HA for a few months and can't recommend it enough. I've been getting about 8 hours per charge out of it (Amazon advertises 10.5 hours). Ultimately, specs-wise all netbooks are pretty much the same though and the biggest differences you'll see are in battery life. Unless I'm mistaken, all 10-inch netbooks have a 92% keyboard, so it'll take some getting used to typing on.

One thing to consider regardless of which netbook you decide to get, is that 1GB of RAM is standard and in my opinion is insufficient for all but simple word processing and light internet browsing. You may want to consider upgrading to 2GB (this was really easy to do myself on the 1005HA and only cost me another $20 for the RAM). Note that you don't want to get a Dell if you plan to do this, as they solder the RAM to the motherboard to prevent users from upgrading it themselves (so they can sell you their overpriced upgrade at the time of purchase).

T answered in Science & Technology over 2 years ago | Report

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Make sure you try typing, at least a few pages, on whatever you settle on before buying anything. Keyboard quality is pretty variable, and some people (like me) don't get used to the size difference.

Nathaniel Irons answered in Science & Technology over 2 years ago | Report

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Geni

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I cling fervently to my 5-year old Dell Latitude X1, to the point that I bought another one off eBay to use when this one is no more. It's a widescreen 12.1 inch display, 1.25GB RAM, smaller HD (but I don't store anything on my local drive anyway), and about 2.2 pounds. The extended-life battery adds maybe half a pound and I get nearly 6 hours out of it. It has a connector for an external combo d-bay that can take CD/DVD drives of various types. And you can pick them up for $150 to $200 in good working order (they cost $2500 when they first came out).

I still have yet to see any of the Atom-processor netbooks whose performance equals the Pentium-M in this little guy. This has been my workhorse laptop for the last 5 years, and still has plenty of life left in it. It has gone EVERYWHERE with me.

The Latitude X1 is basically a Samsung - a Q30, I think - and with the substitution of a solid-state drive, would be damned near bulletproof, and still smaller than an issue of Rolling Stone. If I had to buy a netbook, I'd probably lean toward the Samsungs, just because this thing has been so trouble-free for me.

Geni answered in Science & Technology over 2 years ago | Report

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Asus EeePC 1005PE
http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/21/asus-eee-pc-1005pe-review/

8hrs measured battery and a new generation combined CPU/GPU

I have a 1000he and use a 3g card to tether. My next netbook will have built-in 3g because I use it so much.

Karl Pauls answered in Science & Technology over 2 years ago | Report

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We opted for the Aspire One and have found it a good supplement to lugging around our macbooks wherever we go. It's not super powerful, so we can't do a lot of complex things on it, but my wife has been able to use it for some of her work tasks if she needs to telecommute.

Make sure you get one with the 6-cell battery, not the 3-cell (unless you're only planning on using it for an hour at a time before needing to recharge).

Also we had some minor issues with the wifi when we first got the computer, but they seem to have mostly ironed themselves out, but be aware of that.

j_lee answered in Science & Technology over 2 years ago | Report

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If you're in the mood to spend a little extra dough, I recommend the Toshiba NB205-325. It's $400.

Positives: marathon battery life (>7 hrs on single charge), nice cutout-style keyboard, gigantic touchpad, big hard drive, built-in wireless-N.

Not-so-positives: Windows 7 is cool, but runs slowly on 1GB RAM, which could use an upgrade. Big battery is a little heavier. High gloss screen can be a little tough to view in bright light.

(I've had a Lenovo T43 for years - its been a champ and I've loved having it, but its i-won't-charge-anymore battery keeps it forevermore chained to my desk, hence the need for a new computer.)

Tacomacoma answered in Science & Technology over 2 years ago | Report

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I got an MSI Wind U123 a few weeks ago after using my brother's netbook over the holidays because I enjoyed the feel of MSI's keyboards. The model I got includes a 6 cell battery which runs for about five hours a charge, but maybe I should've waited a few weeks, because it looks like you can pick up the MSI 110 with a nine cell battery for 300 bucks.

B Strand answered in Science & Technology over 2 years ago | Report

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i had an acer with the 3-cell battery, and agree that the battery life is pretty bad. 2 hours, max. i was happy with everything else about it, though, so if you know you can deal with the keyboard you'd probably be happy with the 6-cell.

now i use a samsung, which i love even better. you might be interested in the lifehacker post about netbooks:
http://lifehacker.com/5273096/five-best-netbooks

Valkyrie answered in Science & Technology over 2 years ago | Report

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I'm a fan of the Dells. In fact, they're the only Dells I like. The Asuses are nice but have janky track pads. The track pad on the Dell Mini 10v is the best. And it can run OSX! That's your best bet.

Matt Hickey answered in Science & Technology over 2 years ago | Report

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Christin Clatterbuck

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I got an HP Mini 1000 and couldn't be more fond of it. I opted for it for two reasons.

1: It has far-and-away the best keyboard of any netbook I tried (I have fat fingers and wrote a NaNoWriMo on it--if that's not testimony to a good netbook keyboard, I don't know what is). It's nearly a full-sized-keys keyboard (97%, if I remember correctly) and the layout of non-alphabet keys is comparable to or better than any other netbook design I've seen.

2: They sell some of them with either 8 or 16 gb solid-state hard drives, which has been a boon--the only moving parts in the entire laptop are the fan and the keyboard keys, so you don't have to treat it fragilely. Mine's been knocked off the bed, tossed into airport screening bins and then shoved back into overstuffed backpacks, even been dropped onto a linoleum floor hard enough to knock the battery pack out, and (knock on wood) it hasn't suffered a bit.

The weight is also good--it weighs next to nothing. It boots quickly--maybe twenty seconds from fully-off, 10-15 from hibernate, nearly instantaneous from standby. The only gripe I'd have is that the battery life isn't that great--two or three hours if you've got the screen brightness at normal and are using wifi. Then again, that might be par for the course, especially since I've had it for more than a year now, and the battery life *does* dramatically improve if you turn off the wifi or lower the brightness.

I'm not sure if you'd be able to find one for $300; on Amazon, the current models are going for more than what I paid for mine a year ago, which was around $300, if I recall correctly.

Good luck, and I hope this helps!

Christin Clatterbuck answered in Science & Technology over 2 years ago | Report

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This HP netbook is great. I just got one for Christmas. I'd say the best features in comparison to the others are the longer battery life (6-cell as j lee referenced) and large keys for ease of typing. It streams videos really well too.

http://www.amazon.com/Mini-110-1030NR-10-1-Inch-Black-Netbook/dp/B002BH4N12/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1263330230&sr=8-2

Spike answered in Science & Technology over 2 years ago | Report

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I got a Dell Inspiron 1011 Netbook - 1GB SDRAM plus a 160 GB hard drive, Windows XP, 10.1 inch screen, quite a few bells and whistles for $300 (includes tax). I originally opted for the larger battery and really didn't like it - big bulge out of the back and bottom - so I sent that one back and got the standard battery. It is small and light and I love it. Good sized keyboard, too. I recommend it.

Jaymz answered in Science & Technology over 2 years ago | Report

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