Me? Seeking Advice? Netbooks...

[staffsMike]

Is this some sort of sick joke.. HUH!?

I can't bring myself to do it, I mean the atom is a weedy POS anyway, the via is just.. worse.

If I was after a general purpose netbook I think I would have pulled the trigger already though.

[SiM]

If I was after a general purpose netbook I think I would have pulled the trigger already though.

You want something more? Get a tablet pc instead... I know someone who want to sell theirs...

[staffsMike]

You want something more? Get a tablet pc instead... I know someone who want to sell theirs...

I'm listening..

[Webby]

I'll get you looking in a more sensible direction Acer Aspire one A150 £200 http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/582596...e/Product.html

May need to put a bit more RAM in it though if you plan to use XP.

[staffsMike]

yeah I found that one already (in the OP), it's what I'm seriously considering.

[Pob255]

Quick warning about tablet laptops they don't play nice with interactive white boards, I know you said you'd not be using one just a general word of warning.

HP used to do a very nice tablet for about £600, cannot remember the model number off hand.

Looks like the big price drop on the hp 2133 is to shift the old stock as no one wants that lump of crud anymore.

PS have you looked into getting thee VAT back/exempt as this is for education? Don't know your exact situation, so don't ask me how to go about it.
I've spoken to our bursar about getting thing through the school vat free, but it a no-go for me as it would have to be officially done off a budget and appear on the inventory, then there's the awkward questions of "where is this superpowerful gameing pc?" and "why we need a superpowerful gaming pc?" at the yearly audite

However as a teacher you may be able to clame vat back as a "legitimate teaching aid" . . . now that's a possibility I'll have to look into.

[staffsMike]

However as a teacher you may be able to clame vat back as a "legitimate teaching aid" . . . now that's a possibility I'll have to look into.

Interesting.. I'll look into that myself.

[idimmu]

did you come to any conclusions staffsMike? i'm really tempted to get the acer aspire (the one you linked from play) but cant really work out wether i should be so selfish this close to christmas!

[staffsMike]

Still debating whether it's worth it and how long it will get used for. My guess is.. not very long.

Might just fix the vaio tbh or see if anyone is feeling generous over xmas. If I was going to get one just for browsing etc.. I'd still be tempted by the HP soley on the keyboard and the screen is nice too.

[idimmu]

yeah im looking for a replacement for my dell c400... its still all fine for what i sue it for, but its a bit beat up now and the battery is knackered... and its 50quid to replace.

decisions decisions...

[staffsMike]

Well apparently some people have been injected with the xmas cheer and will be buying me the one I choose

Hmmmm... So now it is the best compomise netbook not just the cheapest lol

Samsung? I still don't need XP so linux is fine.

[Pob255]

Depends what you're after.

Maximum portability and battery life, Asus 901
High portability and HD (good for windows & high storage) Toshiba NB100
Portable, HD, larger keyboard and screen Samsung NC10

I still highly rate the 901, it's the only one that seems to come with a 6cell battery as standard and not an optional extra, the low weight (1kg), size (9") and SSD make for maximum portability.

The Toshiba NB100 is very nice (I've done a mini-review here The light weight and small size make it very portableand the HD gives you a lot of storage and seems to run xp fine)

The Samsung NC10 looks like the best of the 10" netbooks all told, but the added size and weight (1.33kg) are something to consider.

The Acer One looks great as a cheap option (ps apparently the version of linux on it is rather stinky)

You may want to consider the Dell mini 12, it's a 12" screen so we're in small laptop territory here.
However, and these are big however's, the atom cannot cope with vista so you'd need to wipe it and stick on linux or xp + the 3 cell battery has under 2 hours of life (can get 6 cell, but have to get it seperately, not even an upgrade option ) + and the Price is £400
For £400 you're comming up against low cost 15" laptops, which would be better or a lowcost 12" laptop for a bit more, eg the Asus X20E is a laptop with 12" screen for £500ish.

I'd draw up a good list of what you want and then look for the one that ticks all the boxes and one thing to be said for netbooks is they can generally do everything a cheap laptop can.

[staffsMike]

Well that pretty much sums up my entire problem with netbooks.. they are all compromised in one way or another, and they are not niggly little compromises either.

The dell mini 12 is rediculous.. not even thinking twice about that one.. ever.

Sticking to £300 or below.

The increased weight (ever so slightly) doesn't bother me at all considering it's uses. The keyboard is more important than weight.

Asus gets a shout purely on battery.. but the keyboard is awful and the samsung can produce 6 hours of battery life..

I can't see a compelling argument, other than the £100 less an acer will be to not go for the sammy.

I don't care about Linux, while I don't need XP on it, XP is going on regardless.

[Pob255]

Sorry no direct experience of the acer one or samsung nc10 to compair them.

I'd say for £200 the Acer one wins, the main weakness is the 512mb ram but play also has a 2gb stick for £18
http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/-/2164/14...archtype=genre

I'd also look out for a ide+sata to usb converter, or something simular, usefull for installing off CD's and connect a hd for backup/massive data transfur.

EDIT: Can I just say the weight difference does matter, yes it's small 1kg vs 1.33kg (9" toshiba or asus vs 10" samsung) but when you look at the base weight it does matter.
Ok it may be less important for you however I'm currently planning on makeing a bag that hangs off my belt for my 901, at 1kg it's doable, at 1.33kg it's a little too much for confort.
I also find the 9" keyboard fine for typeing, but I'm not a super fast typer.

[staffsMike]

EDIT: Can I just say the weight difference does matter, yes it's small 1kg vs 1.33kg (9" toshiba or asus vs 10" samsung) but when you look at the base weight it does matter.
Ok it may be less important for you however I'm currently planning on makeing a bag that hangs off my belt for my 901, at 1kg it's doable, at 1.33kg it's a little too much for confort.
I also find the 9" keyboard fine for typeing, but I'm not a super fast typer.

That sounds.. a little weird lol

Yeah I can see the weight difference being a problem for some people but obviously not myself.

I think it's down to the Acer or Samsung. I can't decide right now though.. too difficult.

[Airlemental]

If your concerned about the keyboard, i'm getting the sammy for christmas, i tried writing about 3 paragraphs on it in currys (the store assistant did look a little concerned how long i was going to keep going) and its very nice to use, the dell 9" is ok (friend has that one) but i didn't like the Acer one. It's a little cramped for my liking, guess it depends on how big your hands are but the Sammy is nice.