Netbook or 12" notebook

[twodoctors]

Hi guys,

Have been looking at the Samsung NC10 for a while... now cost around £300 at Dixon. However there is a Packard Bell 12" Easy Note BG45
laptop with Intel Duo Core, 1Gb ram and 80gb HD for £280. Battery life is obviously no where near Samsung level. However for the price it's hard to ignore the Packard Bell...

I am looking for a machine mainly for internet and msn, but also occasional photoshop and maybe a smidge of 2D gaming as well out of the two which would you go for and why?

Happy New Year!

[staffsMike]

The packard bell is really easy to ignore, just watch me..



I wouldn't touch one personally. I would have bought the samsung if battery life was a concern but the MSI wind u100 was £250 and is essentially the same size/spec but with a 3 cell battery.

It's a very nippy little thing, can't say its frustrated me once yet even installing xp and patching to sp3 it was reasonable

There is always the dell 12" netbook if you want the extra size.

I used to run photoshop on a laptop with a 1.6 centrino with 512mb of RAM and it was fine so I expect the same of this. As long as you don't expect it to be like lightning then it is very good.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I would personally try not to spend over £200 for a Netbook unless it was ruggedized!

I use a 12" notebook and it is a good mix between portability and screen size. The one I use is made by MSI.

The Packard Bell is not a bad notebook in terms of build although I cannot comment on how reliable they are!

Here are some reviews:

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/i...?reviewid=2377

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/23901...-bg45u300.html

http://www.techradar.com/reviews/com...-438486/review

http://www.computershopper.co.uk/lab...-bg45u300.html

http://www.computeractive.co.uk/comp...-bell-easynote

http://www.computerbuyer.co.uk/labs/...-bg45u300.html

[Hawker1986]

Well, this is interesting, I was recently in the same situation, deciding between the samsung NC10 (since its the best netbook out there) and the same packard bell. Anyway I chose the packard bell, for me its more than compact and light enough, not to mention I will never need 8hours of battery life, and the extra power is well worth it. Admittedly you will need to get an extra gig of RAM for it as 1 isnt enough, but its hardly a lot of expense. Its a tough little thing due to its aluminium case and the keyboard and mouse are all good. So I will put up another vote for the packard bell (im typing this on it right now infront of the TV ).

Hawker

[twodoctors]

Thanks for the reply.

I decided on the Packard Bell myself. I reserved one in Mansfield (I live in Nottingham) which is 20 miles away. Got there, paid for it, but they couldn't locate the bloody laptop. So I had to get a refund. They don't have it in my region either...

...so I went for the NC10 instead. Got a £25 discount online via Currys. Hopefully should arrive in the next few days. I'm still happy with my purchase.

One of the most important criteria for a good laptop is battery life, and the Samsung obviosuly wins hands down. A laptop should do what a laptop does, be portable and away from the mains for as long as possible. The Packard Bell fits the bill, but the NC10 does it better. I don't intend to do (too much) gaming on it, but if I can play GTA St Andreas on it, then I think I'm sorted...