Netbooks?

[PodgePapin]

I've been thinking about getting a netbook and wondered what actually the performance was like, i've read they can seem slow, but what do they class as slow.

Has anyone got one and is it worth it

[format]

Depends what you need it for.

For internet browsing, listening to music (w/ earphones/external speakers) watching films or wordprocessing they are just great.

THey are pretty limited though for playing games.

[idimmu]

i have an acer aspire one, 1gb ram version on which i run ubuntu remix. it runs fine, moving around is quick and easy, booting times are fine. i only use it for what its designed for though, no high intensity apps. for me its a portable media device, and internet machine. i watch movies and iplayer on it around the house or when im on the train etc. you cant really put any strain on it though, as they cant cope.

performance wise, the processor is of similar speed to a celeron i believe.

[Zak33]

my missus has an HP 2133 (VIA cpu and chipset) and it;s divine.
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/89-HP...Vista-Business

Prices fluctuate hugely... there was a point earlier this year when that was under £250.

Vista Business runs on it no worries. 1 gig ram, stunning screen, great sized keyboard for such a little beast.....120gig drive, 2 USB ports, monitor output, bluetooth wifi etc..

Don't think twice.. if you're fancying a netbook, get one so small, easily stored... perfect.

[Pob255]

I've found my eeepc 901 stutters slightly when trying to play some full screen video when it's not pluged in so it's not running at full speed.
But it depends on the video file.

Use bbc Iplayer to turn it into a radio when doing the washing up.
As format said, great for internet browsing and wordprocessing (if you can use the smaller keyboards.)
I've got a linux version so I've little experence with games in it, but it runs the megadrive and snes emulators really well

All depends why you want it.
For a high mobility, low cost laptop they are great.

I don't know if the Ion chipset and dual core atom will ever be turned into netbooks, I hope so as they would be a major boost to performance and worth waiting for.

[format]

I've found my eeepc 901 stutters slightly when trying to play some full screen video when it's not pluged in so it's not running at full speed.
But it depends on the video file.

Use bbc Iplayer to turn it into a radio when doing the washing up.
As format said, great for internet browsing and wordprocessing (if you can use the smaller keyboards.)
I've got a linux version so I've little experence with games in it, but it runs the megadrive and snes emulators really well

All depends why you want it.
For a high mobility, low cost laptop they are great.

I don't know if the Ion chipset and dual core atom will ever be turned into netbooks, I hope so as they would be a major boost to performance and worth waiting for.

THe thing is, ion and dual core CPU surely mean a bigger battery, which would compromise on the portability aspect

[PodgePapin]

I'll mainly use it for browsing, letters and sorting my photos out when im away. I may try a few old games on it, but games im now overly fussed about.

[Zak33]

it's so easy to make a little laptop perform lightning quickly, by turnin off all the Vista pretty stuff, and make it look like XP or older.... no faded menu's... no pretty effects.. just laptop.

[MSIC]

It's all relative - if a current netbook were taken back to 2002, it'd seem fast and powerful (ish), but compared to modern C2D's and AMD's stuff, they limp a bit.

That said, i'm typing this on my Acer Aspire One, 9" screen, 1.5GB RAM, running Ubuntu Netbook Remix. Easier to hold on my lap than my Quad core desktop.

I'd add that Boxee works on it, although its still a bit ... jumpy ... that might be because it's beta. It makes a great Skype machine (so the parents can see their grandson easily anywhere in the house), and Firefox, Thunderbird, Songbird and Picasa are in daily use (and all work 100%, smoothly)

[watercooled]

Just wanted to mention - if you are planning to type a lot be sure to pick one with a good keyboard. My friend has a Samsung NC10 and the keyboard isn't great IMO - the keys are too small, a lot of the keys aren't where you expect them to be and the return, shift keys etc are small so you miss them a lot but then I'm not really used to small keyboards. Also the touchpad is pretty annoying as it isn't very sensitive or accurate.

[MSIC]

The new Toshiba NB200 looks to have a really good keyboard.
http://www.trustedreviews.com/laptop...1in-Netbook/p1
My mate is getting one this week

[cptwhite_uk]

If you want something a little "more" than a standard netbook, look at the Lenovo S12 which has a 12" 1280x800 display here

The Lenovo S12 is also coming in an Ion flavour, the release of which is imminent. (Due in the next few weeks)

Alternatively, look at the MSI Wind (can be had for £230 without Windows XP here)

Or if you don't mind shopping at Aldi, look into the Medion E1210 (re-branded MSI Wind) which you can get with Windows XP (and Win 7 upgrade voucher). A refurbished model can be had for £200 here if you wanted to buy online.

I just used one of these and can vouch for it, a VERY nice little machine. Just avoid the Acer Apsire One 8Gb SSD version, the SSD hard drive is pathetically slow and cripples the machine.

[Pob255]

Just wanted to mention - if you are planning to type a lot be sure to pick one with a good keyboard. My friend has a Samsung NC10 and the keyboard isn't great IMO - the keys are too small, a lot of the keys aren't where you expect them to be and the return, shift keys etc are small so you miss them a lot but then I'm not really used to small keyboards. Also the touchpad is pretty annoying as it isn't very sensitive or accurate.

The Samsung NC10 uses exactly the same keyboard as the Asus 701, 900 & 901 and I have no issues with it at all
Granted the 10" based netbooks have that slightly larger keyboard which many people prefur, however you are sacrificeing some of the portability by adding size and weight to the unit.

That is a exellent example of the choise you have between the different netbooks and the comprimises you have to make.
Every netbook tends to vary in some slight way, you have to ask yourself what's the most important things to you and find one that meets them.

Other e.g.'s
Hard drive or SSD?
SSD is slightly lighter, has a lower power consumption and is fully shock resistant.
Hard drive has a far larger capasity and better read/write times (in netbooks*)

*to keep costs down they use far slower SSD's than you can get.

[nightkhaos]

SSD is slightly lighter, has a lower power consumption and is fully shock resistant.
Hard drive has a far larger capasity and better read/write times (in netbooks*)

*to keep costs down they use far slower SSD's than you can get.

Can't you in theory replace the SSD with a better one, at the cost of slightly increased power-use, thus slightly shorter battery life?

[cptwhite_uk]

Nightkhaos: Depends. I know the Aspire One can fit a 1.8" Drive (mechanical or SSD), but it requires some fairly tricky modding and taking the mahcine to bits, padding it out with sticky foam pads. And honestly, who wants to put a £150 60Gb SSD into a machine only worth £250-300? It's not really the right application for a high performance SSD.

From my experience of SSD and Mechanical HDD based netbooks, get the machanical based ones everytime. I wouldn't even consider SSD unless you're talking high-end like the Intel X25-M which is about £200.

My money's on the Lenovo S12 with Ion, if it comes in at £400 or there abouts, think I'm going to snap one up.