Netbooks

[Brimmel]

Anyone have a netbook? If so, do you like it? What are the things that annoy you the most about it? I'm thinking about getting the Asus 1005HA, but I'm wondering if it's worth the price of $320.

I have a nice laptop I use for gaming/watching movies, but it's huge and bulky and I hate dragging it around. Also it's starting to get banged up. gonk
I want to use the netbook for word processing, browsing the internet, taking to class, etc. so I won't have to take the big one everywhere. I'm not expecting to be able to do anything fancy on it, but I still want it to be worthwhile. I like to hear other people's opinions before I buy stuff like this, so...tell me your experiences with netbooks, everyone!

[The Last Rydian]

Imagine it's a windows 2000 computer with a small monitor, and just happens to be a laptop.

That's about the power of it.

[Dim-randir]

I have an asus netbook that i use for talking on AIM before going to bed and browsing the internet. I do a bit of typing on it as well. The one i have is pretty slow but i blame this mostly on the fact that i bought it refurbished but they didn't actually reformat the hardrive and the person that had it before me royally screwed it up. It is running a bit faster than the first time i had it but still loads things slow initially. I found that typing on it feels pretty nice it didnt take much to get used to at all so thats a plus. Asus is a good company though so if you are gonna get a netbook why not pick Asus right :p

[- Forby -]

I was like you a few months ago, I can give you some advice on the topic. A Netbook is a great idea, only if you have a job that has you use it. Netbooks take about 3 minutes to load up a basic page (im not kidding), and they do not have a diskdrive, so you have to get an external on. If you are taking notes in school, or using it in a public place (because it is easier to carry) it depends on your personality (simple solution, a DSI or a Iphone). If you are a frequent travler, or you have to make some personal notes on the go, its great. I use mine for AIM and checking my emails when im on a trip. I prefer using a notebook and fountain pen (call me old fashioned) in class so i don't know if its more effective for note taking

Hope this helped >.<

[kinnoto]

Well with laptops its you sacrifice one thing for another.
Power for portability and Vise verse.
You also stated that you would be doing some word processing.
I find the keyboards on Netbooks to be small and uncomfortable to type on for long periods of time. Due to the size of the keys as well as placement.

There is an alternative to this. A class of laptops called ultra portables. They are mostly less than an inch in thickness and have a full size keyboard. And better specs than any netbook. They are a little more expensive but HP has good prices on its ultra portable lines.

-Good luck in your Notebook quest! 8U

[Arthora]

Ok, for netbooks you have a few options. I personally went with a ASUS Eee pc 1000he. Great price tag and good features, however if you purchase this model you will want to go ahead and put in 2gb of ram right away. The 1gb will suffice, but its always nice to add a little speed. And the same goes for any netbook. just spend the extra 30-40 bucks on more ram.

Now as a rule of thumb for most netbook brands. Netbooks come in three fashions, normally, the 9in. (8.9 in to be exact) are normally the slower of the bunch. they work, but the screens are normally a little to small. But the 10in. (10.1 in to be exact) are your best value per dollar. They have the top of the line components that come standard from each company and have a screen that I have come to love, and have gotten fairly used to. But the 11in. these are exactly the same component wise as the 10in, but have another inch on the screen, and normally cost you an extra $50-$100.

When i was researching netbooks last May when i purchased mine, the 1000he was the best reviewed all around and people had many good things to say about it. I like mine, and was glad that I purchased this one. The screen takes a little getting used to, but It works for me now, and when I go back to my desktop i'm always like, "Woah! Its huge!" the keyboard is also like 92% the size of a generic keyboard, which I had no trouble adapting to. And the battery life is great, an advertised 9.5, but in reality while not on power-save, and surfing the internet over wifi is like 5-6 hours. Which by the way is still great. They make an extended capacity battery, but I have no experience on that front, I always just bring the power cord with me. And the icing on the cake, ASUS is no newbie to the netbook scene and has incorporated many features and software that help you optimize your netbook.

Now the power is not as good as a desktop, or a laptop, but it is still up there, just make sure you get a model with a intel atom N280 or better or it will be a little sluggish. The N270 seems to be the netbook favorite so make sure you read some specs and do a little shopping around for price and reviews before you purchase one, whatever the brand may be. Hope I was of some help, PM me if you have any more in-depth questions, and i'll try to answer them as best I can.

Edit: Oh, and I typed that all in a matter of a min. on my netbook, so proof that typing, for me at least, gives no trouble.

Edit Edit: Sorry missed the ending of your post, the 1000ha is the step down from the 1000he, the main differences are the ha is a little slower but not by much, and the ha doesn't have Bluetooth, which I never use. But if you had no budget the best bet would be getting the HV which has its own stand alone video card. The HA and HE both just siphon off ram to accomplish video processing, but youtube is very possible, and since you have a laptop already for video and gaming needs it should not be a problem. It will cost around $423-$624 when it is finally released.

[Generic Candy]

- Forby -

Netbooks take about 3 minutes to load up a basic page (im not kidding)

I don't know what kind of knockoff netbooks you've used. My Asus Eee PC 1000HE runs Windows 7 Home Ultimate (although I have 2GB's of RAM instead of the stock 1GB), with little to no lag, unless I bog the Atom processor down from various resource intensive programs.

[Sensorium139]

The Last Rydian

Imagine it's a windows 2000 computer with a small monitor, and just happens to be a laptop.

That's about the power of it.

My netbook owns the laptop I'm currently using right now, but I can't stand the tiny screen atm (headaches) .

I'm currently using a Compaq V2000 (736mb of RAM, 1.4ghz pentium M, and a 60gb hard drive...the only real big benefit is the extra 20gb on the hard drive...) and it's less powerful than a netbook, and I'm doing a LOT with it (and it's 4 inches bigger than my netbook) .

Netbook wise, I'd recommend something else, personally:

This one is quite nice.

[The Last Rydian]

It depends on the netbook as well.

Some Atoms score almost the exact same as your processor, while another scores over double.

[Brimmel]

Arthora

the 1000ha is the step down from the 1000he, the main differences are the ha is a little slower but not by much, and the ha doesn't have Bluetooth, which I never use. But if you had no budget the best bet would be getting the HV which has its own stand alone video card. The HA and HE both just siphon off ram to accomplish video processing, but youtube is very possible, and since you have a laptop already for video and gaming needs it should not be a problem. It will cost around $423-$624 when it is finally released.

Thanks for your post, it was very helpful! So you think it wouldn't make much difference if I chose the HA rather than the HE? Because it is about a $60 difference. I mean...if it's a lot more impressive, I'll go for it, but if they're basically the same computer I'd rather save money.

[azkay wat]

I got a 1005HA a few days ago, im restoring it back to factory default, then returning it.
I dont like it. Mostly due to it being glossy. I hate glossy, fingerprints everywhere.

[azkay wat]

Brimmel

Arthora

the 1000ha is the step down from the 1000he, the main differences are the ha is a little slower but not by much, and the ha doesn't have Bluetooth, which I never use. But if you had no budget the best bet would be getting the HV which has its own stand alone video card. The HA and HE both just siphon off ram to accomplish video processing, but youtube is very possible, and since you have a laptop already for video and gaming needs it should not be a problem. It will cost around $423-$624 when it is finally released.

Thanks for your post, it was very helpful! So you think it wouldn't make much difference if I chose the HA rather than the HE? Because it is about a $60 difference. I mean...if it's a lot more impressive, I'll go for it, but if they're basically the same computer I'd rather save money.

The HE is heavier, the HA is lighter/thinner. Depending on which battery you get, if you get the best 6cell for the HA, it has supposedly "10.5 hours battery". HE supposedly has 9.5 hours, or 8.5, or something.

[Arthora]

Brimmel

Thanks for your post, it was very helpful! So you think it wouldn't make much difference if I chose the HA rather than the HE? Because it is about a $60 difference. I mean...if it's a lot more impressive, I'll go for it, but if they're basically the same computer I'd rather save money.

The HA isn't that much less impressive, my teacher has the HA and he was actually the person who referenced me to the Eee pc. His works fine, and I'd say go for it The only trade off is a little bit smaller battery, no bluetooth, and .06 less ghz. All of which would pose no threat to its speed. It will run pretty much the same as the HE, and you'll save $60.

Here are some links with some reviews to help you out.

1000HA
1000HE

[LilPinkCandy]

This is my netbook: http://www.walmart.com/Toshiba-10.1-Netbook-Pc-Intel/ip/11976920

my mom and i both own one and we absolutely love it! she has blue and I have pink!
I take mine everywhere with me and use it to chat, play booty grab, for working at my internship, playing maple story, and updating a website through a cms. It has the atom N280 processor.
I find it to be just fine but my boyfriend finds it to be slow, however he is much more used to his fast laptop and desktop so that is not a fair comparison.
Netbooks are not as powerful as desktops and laptops so you are giving up power for portability.

[Brimmel]

azkay wat

I got a 1005HA a few days ago, im restoring it back to factory default, then returning it.
I dont like it. Mostly due to it being glossy. I hate glossy, fingerprints everywhere.

I've seen some pretty nice looking skins you can buy that would help with the fingerprint thing. So was that pretty much the only reason you're returning it? I still think it seems like a good choice, but I want to be sure.