Would you actually consider a netbook?
By Ben Robinson on Thursday, February 12th, 2009 at 1:44 PM PST In Ideas and rants
I’ve been reading quite a bit recently in the UK newspapers (typically of a weekend), and I would estimate that on 75% of weekends in the year so far, mention has been made in the paper (or supplemental magazines) of netbooks.
Netbooks are that class of laptops that are typically:
- very small
- 10” or less screen
- No optical drive
- Limited memory, some cases no HDD
- (sometimes) simplified O/S
- Optimised for web browsing, email
- Embedded WiFi, plus 1-2 USB ports
- Battery (mostly) last for a good while
… you know the ones – a number of manufacturers (such as Samsung, ASUS, MSI, etc) have been punting them for some time now. But would you actually buy one? It’s fair enough to assume that you could do some web browsing or email on the device, but they are too large for a pocket – and that means some kind of bag. Which predisposes that it’s not completely casual usage they are designed for…
Some of the lower-end devices are using a GUI-front end on a Linux O/S, others are using Windows XP – but on the devices I have seen, there is an Achilles Heel, which is that the processors are not up to the job – meaning pretty poor performance.
Add to that the fact that most public WiFi is paid-for, and you remove the casual “whip it out” and check your email / the Web style of usage that probably vendors would have us believe is what you need one for – at least which the promo pics suggest…
So I’m throwing it out there – readers, do you have a netbook? If you do, is it Linux/WinXP/other? What do you use it for? Are you happy with it? I’d love to know if anyone actually uses these things!
I have the original Asus EeePc 4g running XP at teh moment. I have also run customzesons of Ubuntu as well.
I really like it this little guy. I wish I would have waited longer for the nicer models that are available now. I use mine around the house a lot. It really shines when traveling (not for business, don’t tell me excel crashes it, that’s not what I use it for). Its great to watch movies on the plane, surf (better than my ipod touch), or email. I also like using it to Skype back home to my kids while I am away.
Using Joikuspot on my s60 phone eliminates the need for public wifi. I will point out that the smaller keyboard, as well as the smaller footprint in general, combined with my large man hands makes typing on a desktop tougher. Typing on my lap is very difficult
If I could get the WiFi card on my Eee PC to talk to JoikuSpot on my Nokia *and* get the activation SMS from Ovi Sync I would happily give up my (relatively) cumbersome MacBook.
But I’ve had no luck with either
Yes, I bought one for my daughter and it’s just what she needs. MSI Wind U100 with 120 gig hard drive. It’s small, portable, carries all of her songs, pictures, and files. It connects to wi-fi effortlessly and it looks good. She uses the monitor, mouse, and keyboard from her old PC when she’s in her room. It’s a really great solution for people on the move that don’t run hi-end apps.
My wife and I want one for under the coffee table. Great for looking things up while we’re watching TV.
I am awaiting models in Aus that come with inbuilt 3G cards. I have this in my larger 13″laptop and the convenience is excellent. Once most netbooks have inbuilt available 3g will make them twice as appealing to me. (P.S I have an original eeepc that I don’t use due to lack of 3g
feels kinda laggy when opening too many applications. i still like the x61. lasting battery and very portable.
I purchased a samsung nc10 with xp back in November and I must say I absolutely love it. These things are not to be “franchise players” on an nba team, they’re more like role players only doing certain things well.
I actually used to have two full size laptops, a 15 inch compaq and a 17 inch hp. I was using the 15 incher as my “portable” laptop because I was hesitant about getting a netbook. Eventually I got fed up with the 5lb weight and poor hour and a half to two hour runtime I was getting out of the compaq.About that time I’d heard of the nc10 and it’s impressive battery life.I was so taken by the battery life that I had to pull the trigger and since then I haven’t looked back.
The nc10 is small and lightweight, it weighs under three pounds with the battery in. I love it because I can take it just about anywhere with me… doctors office, work, cafe and so on. It’s the perfect little buddy to have when just lounging around the house watching tv. I mostly use it for surfing the net of course, but also music and amazon unbox on it for movies and tv shows.
Now that’s not to say that it doesn’t have any minuses. The track pad is small and takes some time getting used to. The screen is only 10 inches, but when surfing the web you can use full screen which really helps. Most net books also have VGA out so you can hook up to an external monitor for more viewing space.
I think net books even with their weaknesses are worth it. They really can make you more productive or unproductive depending on how you’re feeling
! What I really love about it is that you can charge it up, throw it under the car seat for your day trip, and pull it out when you need it without worrying about power. If you are on the fence about getting one… get one! I think the experience and versatility that they can provide have more upside than down. If you don’t like it you can always sell it, gift it, or return it, but you’ve gotta try one!
I have a Linux based EEE PC, and love it. I bought it because I wanted something that I could use for off-road navigation, camping, backpacking etc.
Key to this is
1. a small form factor – yes you need a bag, but you don’t need a laptop bag – I can throw it in a suitcase of clothes, in my glovebox, or anywhere without having to worry about it. Small size = less flex in chassis and screen, so its overall more rugged.
2. SSD – this is another key differentiator for a netbook. Again, I can toss it around without too much fear of a breakage as it has no moving parts. If it does break, then it doesn’t matter because..
3. Cost – gotta be cheap. Don’t want to have to fret over breaking it as I do with an expensive laptop. This feature-creep going on that stems from loading them up with XP and expecting them to run all your regular desktop apps is corrupting the original intent of the netbook.
4. Low power – so that it doesn’t need a fan, and is low on the juice. I want to be able to charge it from a car lighter socket and use it by the campfire, a power-hungry CPU would only compromise one or more of its other design goals (1-3).
In a nutshell, I think that as soon as you put XP on it and start treating it like a little baby laptop, you’re missing the point. Keep it cheap, keep it small, keep it light, and keep it SSD. Don’t think of it as a small version of what you run on your desktop or laptop, and you won’t be disappointed.
If I don’t run XP, then what do I do with it?
I loaded mine up with GPSdrive and a set of topographic maps so I can use it as a backup GPS navigation system for bush driving (with a small USB GPS mouse).
I have a 3G mobile broadband card so I can check the surf reports when I’m camping or up the coast.
I slotted a 16GB SDHC card in the side and loaded it up with my music collection, and I run it through my car stereo for a music jukebox when I’m camping.
I also use it as additional storage to download photos off my camera when I’m travelling (i just delete music if I need space, and sync the music back when i get home)
I have OpenOffice, a browser etc, and also run a small LAMP stack for tapping out documents, or tinkering with some programming when I’m away.
Yes! I live in an area almost 99% covered with broadband wireless 3G. If not 3G then GPRS. Netbook Eee PC 1000H Linux Xandros replaced with a Laptop optimized Ubuntu 8.10. Wifi works out of box. Wired works out of box. Huawei 3G USB modem works out of box. 10 inch with solid state hard drive just like NASA. (Does NASA know technology?)
Smaller keyboard takes a little getting used to. Just like the jump from Windows to Linux takes a little getting used to. (Joke, I’ve been using Linux for years.) No big deal now typing faster that 50 words per minute.
Just a note: I don’t even like laptops. For the last 10 years I would only buy IBM and immediatly replace Windows with Linux. If the manufactures had offered smaller laptops with Linux pre-installed I would have purchased 2 or 3 in that period of time. Oh well their loss.
We have been considering one for a week or so and are getting one for my girlfriend after the weekend. It was the small form factor that actually convinced us to take the plunge (so to speak:-) She likes the looks, I like the specs (lenovo s10) that’s about it.
Would I consider buying a netbook, too? Well, why would I NOT consider getting one, I ask
Maybe next month…
Yes! I have a Dell Mini 9 and I love it!