Netbooks anyone?

Gehanna · May 26, 2009

In 2008, ATP made a post about Netbooks:
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=110129&highlight=Netbooks

I have been considering the possibility of purchasing a netbook and I have a few questions for anyone who has one. My questions are:

What brand do you have? Is it an Acer, HP, Asus, etc.
What do you primarily use your netbook for?
What is your opinion of it?

Sincerely,
Gehanna

leahzero · May 26, 2009

I'm posting this from my ASUS EeePC 1000HE, which I purchased one month ago. I primarily use it for web browsing, note-taking/research/novel planning (MS OneNote), and writing (MS Word).

My opinion of the 1000HE is: I adore it. What I was looking for was a light, cheap (less than $400) netbook, with great battery life (6 hours or more), a reasonably large screen for its size (10", 1024x600 resolution), and a comfortable, nearly full-sized keyboard that would both feel satisfying to type on, and be tolerable for lengthy writing sessions.

Thus far I have been completely impressed with this little machine. Its battery life is phenomenal (regularly 6-8 hours with multiple programs in use and screen brightness at medium), its screen is adequate and not as crippling as I'd worried it might be, and the "chiclet-style" keyboard (e.g., Macbook keyboard) is wonderful.

I upgraded my unit to 2G of RAM, and I'm running Windows 7 RC1 on it along with Microsoft Office 2007, and can even use Adobe Creative Suite 4 for non-intensive image editing. Where the machine shows its limits is when watching video in a web browser (embedded Flash). YouTube SD is watchable, but anything more intensive than that will choke. This is more of a problem with Flash than with the machine, though, as Flash is notoriously CPU-intensive.

Just beware of this limitation, which applies to all netbooks based on Intel Atom processors, and have realistic expectations in mind: as a web browser, word processor, music player, etc., netbooks are excellent.

I have two quibbles with the 1000HE. First, its keyboard: although the keys are large for a netbook (93% of standard laptop-sized keys) and have good tactile response, these units do have a tendency to randomly repeat keystrokes. There are some keyboard settings you can turn on in various OSes to deal with this, but ultimately nothing seems to solve the problem. It's not annoying enough to be obtrusive for me while writing, but I'm a fast touch-typist and don't mind having to correct occasional typos. Others may find it too irritating to bear, however.

My only real complaint with the 1000HE is its over-sensitive trackpad. While it has some nice iPhone-like finger gestures for scrolling and zooming, the pad is way too sensitive and sometimes registers movement while you're carefully typing, making the cursor leap to somewhere else on the page--and you'll suddenly notice you're typing in the middle of a paragraph. Frustrating. There are some user-created tweaking programs to deal with this, but the solution involves disabling the trackpad completely, which I don't want to do while I'm mobile. This problem typically isn't obtrusive enough to interfere with my writing more than a couple times over an hours-long session, but when it does happen, the results can be disastrous. Just a warning.

Overall, this criticism aside, I'm incredibly pleased with my purchase and am finding that the portability and battery life, along with the satisfying keyboard, are conducive to me taking the netbook with me nearly everywhere and writing on the go--which is more than I could have hoped for. It's also fantastic for carrying around the house and browsing while doing various domestic tasks, or just relaxing on the couch.

I've had several people at work notice my little netbook that's now always by my main workstation, and they've all been impressed with the price, battery life, and size. Netbooks definitely seem to hit a previously unrealized need for an extremely portable machine that can browse/email and do light productivity and media tasks.

Finally, personal anecdote: I bought an iPhone a few months ago, because I needed a portable internet device that I could take with me at all times. While I love the iPhone, I've found it too slow and cumbersome (both hardware-wise and AT&T network-wise) for doing anything but the most cursory web searches. I haven't ended up using it as much as I'd expected, or in as casual a way as I'd expected. The netbook, however, completely dominates my web browsing at home--and I have a powerful quad-core desktop with an enormous 30" LCD. It's just so much more convenient and cozy to use the netbook, rather than sit at my monolithic desktop and Browse the Web (capital letters).

Hope this verbose response contains something of use to you. Bottom line: get to an electronics store and try out as many netbooks as you can before deciding on one. They're such a personal type of device that it behooves you to find one you're truly comfortable with.

Kitty Pryde · May 26, 2009

I got an Asus EEE PC. Something was wrong with it right out of the box, and it wouldn't save documents (it would revert them to blank docs). Reinstalling OpenOffice failed, and reinstalling the OS failed. Eventually I sent it to my dad who fixes electronical doodads for a living--he was able to breathe life into it again. A big problem with the Asus EEE is that it runs Linux so if anything goes wrong, and you're not a computer genius, you're mostly outta luck as far as fixing it.

Now I have an Acer Aspire One. I love it! It's tiny and adorable, it has a very long battery life, slots for memory cards and lots of USB ports. I have smallish hands, but if i had bigger hands it would be hard to type on. As is I do a lot of typing on it. There's a builtin webcam that works well too. I use the computer for web surfing, keeping photos, and writing/typing/editing mostly.

The only bad thing I can say about the Aspire is the fan is a little bit louder than on other laptops. But it's white noise and it doesn't really distract me.

SFNative · May 26, 2009

Kitty Pryde said:
A big problem with the Asus EEE is that it runs Linux so if anything goes wrong, and you're not a computer genius, you're mostly outta luck as far as fixing it.

Just a couple of minor quibbles there.

You don't need to be a computer genius to know how to deal with Linux. It's all about what you already know. If you didn't know how to deal with Windows, you wouldn't be able to do that either. Once you learn how to use an operating system, you can use it.

In any event, the EEE is available with either Windows or Linux.

Kitty Pryde · May 26, 2009

SFNative said:
Just a couple of minor quibbles there.

You don't need to be a computer genius to know how to deal with Linux. It's all about what you already know. If you didn't know how to deal with Windows, you wouldn't be able to do that either. Once you learn how to use an operating system, you can use it.

In any event, the EEE is available with either Windows or Linux.

That's true. But Windows (as much as it is pleasurable to rag on it) has a lot of things Linux doesn't, like reliable and accurate documentation, and support. My EEE PC came with two disks to reinstall the OS if needed: one said Reinstallation Disk (or something like that), and the other had a label all in Spanish. It turned out that, in order to reinstall, one had to FIRST use the disk with the Spanish label, and THEN the disk labeled 'Reinstallation'. There was no note of this ridiculous scheme in the manual, either hard copy or online. Documentation I found was all either wrong, outdated, dodgy, or nonexistent.

I don't want to have a windows vs linux throwdown or anything, as both have pros and cons, but dealing with Linux problems can be a huge tribulation if one isn't a unix-loving computer fanatic.

One problem I had with the EEE that runs windows is that it costs as much as a nicer netbook does (I found it cost significantly more for a windows machine vs. a linux machine because of the price of the windows os).

sassandgroove · May 26, 2009

want.

scarletpeaches · May 26, 2009

What she said.

ATP · May 26, 2009

I had also considered the purchase (2nd hand) of a laptop to do just these sorts of tasks, and enable me to get out of the apartment, and avoid creeping 'cabin fever'. However, I could never justify the cost of a laptop for "low intensity" work done outside of my home office.

Recently, because I had to move from my previous apartment, and had not been able to reconnect to the internet for 6 weeks, I had been forced to review the idea, and netbooks & nettops seem to answer the laptop problems of expense and weight. Still, as I possess relatively thick fingers, the keyboard and key size of the netbook/nettop is a concern.

David McAfee · May 27, 2009

leahzero said:
I'm posting this from my ASUS EeePC 1000HE, which I purchased one month ago. I primarily use it for web browsing, note-taking/research/novel planning (MS OneNote), and writing (MS Word).

My opinion of the 1000HE is: I adore it. What I was looking for was a light, cheap (less than $400) netbook, with great battery life (6 hours or more), a reasonably large screen for its size (10", 1024x600 resolution), and a comfortable, nearly full-sized keyboard that would both feel satisfying to type on, and be tolerable for lengthy writing sessions.

Thus far I have been completely impressed with this little machine. Its battery life is phenomenal (regularly 6-8 hours with multiple programs in use and screen brightness at medium), its screen is adequate and not as crippling as I'd worried it might be, and the "chiclet-style" keyboard (e.g., Macbook keyboard) is wonderful.

I upgraded my unit to 2G of RAM, and I'm running Windows 7 RC1 on it along with Microsoft Office 2007, and can even use Adobe Creative Suite 4 for non-intensive image editing. Where the machine shows its limits is when watching video in a web browser (embedded Flash). YouTube SD is watchable, but anything more intensive than that will choke. This is more of a problem with Flash than with the machine, though, as Flash is notoriously CPU-intensive.

Just beware of this limitation, which applies to all netbooks based on Intel Atom processors, and have realistic expectations in mind: as a web browser, word processor, music player, etc., netbooks are excellent.

I have two quibbles with the 1000HE. First, its keyboard: although the keys are large for a netbook (93% of standard laptop-sized keys) and have good tactile response, these units do have a tendency to randomly repeat keystrokes. There are some keyboard settings you can turn on in various OSes to deal with this, but ultimately nothing seems to solve the problem. It's not annoying enough to be obtrusive for me while writing, but I'm a fast touch-typist and don't mind having to correct occasional typos. Others may find it too irritating to bear, however.

My only real complaint with the 1000HE is its over-sensitive trackpad. While it has some nice iPhone-like finger gestures for scrolling and zooming, the pad is way too sensitive and sometimes registers movement while you're carefully typing, making the cursor leap to somewhere else on the page--and you'll suddenly notice you're typing in the middle of a paragraph. Frustrating. There are some user-created tweaking programs to deal with this, but the solution involves disabling the trackpad completely, which I don't want to do while I'm mobile. This problem typically isn't obtrusive enough to interfere with my writing more than a couple times over an hours-long session, but when it does happen, the results can be disastrous. Just a warning.

Overall, this criticism aside, I'm incredibly pleased with my purchase and am finding that the portability and battery life, along with the satisfying keyboard, are conducive to me taking the netbook with me nearly everywhere and writing on the go--which is more than I could have hoped for. It's also fantastic for carrying around the house and browsing while doing various domestic tasks, or just relaxing on the couch.

I've had several people at work notice my little netbook that's now always by my main workstation, and they've all been impressed with the price, battery life, and size. Netbooks definitely seem to hit a previously unrealized need for an extremely portable machine that can browse/email and do light productivity and media tasks.

Finally, personal anecdote: I bought an iPhone a few months ago, because I needed a portable internet device that I could take with me at all times. While I love the iPhone, I've found it too slow and cumbersome (both hardware-wise and AT&T network-wise) for doing anything but the most cursory web searches. I haven't ended up using it as much as I'd expected, or in as casual a way as I'd expected. The netbook, however, completely dominates my web browsing at home--and I have a powerful quad-core desktop with an enormous 30" LCD. It's just so much more convenient and cozy to use the netbook, rather than sit at my monolithic desktop and Browse the Web (capital letters).

Hope this verbose response contains something of use to you. Bottom line: get to an electronics store and try out as many netbooks as you can before deciding on one. They're such a personal type of device that it behooves you to find one you're truly comfortable with.

I have this exact same machine and I have not noticed the double-letter issue. As for the touchpad, I use a wireless mouse, and I've never had this happen to me. I love my Asus EEE, and have managed to do something with it I previously could not: write on my lunch break.

I've never visited Youtube on it before, so I can't comment on videos, etc. But this little thing does everything I bought it to do, anywhere I want to do it, and does all of it well for less $400.00.

jst5150 · May 27, 2009

I have the Acer AOA-1500, 160GB hard drive, and I upgrade the to 2GB.

It's a fantastic tweener PC. The keyboard is cramped. I use a USB mouse. Good sound. There are plenty of ports. Some limitations with some software because of the screen resolutions (some software requires 1024 x 768; this is 1024 x 700 or something akin to that).

To the above, I bought it specially for writing and have penned about 30,000 words in two novels since buying it in March.

if you're a Mac nut, you may want to hold fast. Mac is building a tablet PC/netbook its going to debut in 2010. Latest rumors have been making the rounds on Twitter and elsewhere.

leahzero · May 27, 2009

jst5150 said:
if you're a Mac nut, you may want to hold fast. Mac is building a tablet PC/netbook its going to debut in 2010. Latest rumors have been making the rounds on Twitter and elsewhere.

It won't have a keyboard, though, and while software keyboards have come a long way thanks to Apple, they're not really suitable for extensive writing.

Samantha's_Song · May 27, 2009

I've got an MSI Wind and it's a great little machine, it even works faster than my two year old normal laptop does or ever did.

Williebee · May 27, 2009

I posted on this awhile back. I test drove half a dozen different netbooks for our offices.

The HP Mini has a tiny keyboard and smaller screen, and most importantly, with the extended battery the screen doesn't open up to the appropriate angle for users.

The Asus EEE is a cool machine, light, cheap, comes in solid state or hard drive, and with Linux or Windows. But again, the screen and keyboard were just too small for the adults in the room. (The classroom kids love them. They make a great "1 for 1" tool.)
Since testing, larger versions have become available.

The MSI/Acer/Samsung versions all come in the same basic form factor, currently pretty much the same battery life, same size screen size options, etc. Keyboards are larger than the previously mentioned, about a 1/3 smaller than standard laptop keyboards.

The Dell was an interesting one. Keyboard slightly smaller than the MSI etc. (accomplished by eliminating the F key row and incorporating it as an additional function key in the middle of the keyboard -- awkward but it works. Most folks don't use the Function keys that often.) Again, though the screen was smaller.

In all cases, the speakers aren't much. These things were designed with headsets in mind, anyway. All of them had webcams that worked well.

None have CD/DVD Drives, but all use an external (via USB connection).

Prices for all models were in the 400 -500 range, depending on the options. And they are all cheaper now. grrrr.
(Except for the Fujitsu mini tablet, which was outrageously cool and came with an $1800 price tag.)

I wound up going with a combination of the MSI Wind Machines (my personal choice, although that was made because of trust in the provider, the Acer would have done as well) and the Dell Mini's (for a couple of our Administrators.)

Several months have past now. All units, both models, have worked out well so far.

So, is that more than you wanted to know?

Tina-Louise Ray · May 27, 2009

paperbacklove · May 27, 2009

I have an Acer Aspire One, and it's seriously amazing. Dual-boots with XP and Crunchbang! Linux (and may be triple-booting with the 7 RC soon, but I digress).

My hands are small, I guess, because the keyboard doesn't bother me much. It's a fantastic machine -- a regular laptop shrunken down so I can toss it in my purse~ :LilLove:

Kitty Pryde said:
That's true. But Windows (as much as it is pleasurable to rag on it) has a lot of things Linux doesn't, like reliable and accurate documentation, and support. My EEE PC came with two disks to reinstall the OS if needed: one said Reinstallation Disk (or something like that), and the other had a label all in Spanish. It turned out that, in order to reinstall, one had to FIRST use the disk with the Spanish label, and THEN the disk labeled 'Reinstallation'. There was no note of this ridiculous scheme in the manual, either hard copy or online. Documentation I found was all either wrong, outdated, dodgy, or nonexistent.

I don't want to have a windows vs linux throwdown or anything, as both have pros and cons, but dealing with Linux problems can be a huge tribulation if one isn't a unix-loving computer fanatic.

That sounds more like a weird ASUS thing than a Linux thing to me. Dealing with Linux problems is more often than not a case of poking about on the internet for a bit until you find what you're looking for. Since it's being so strange, though, you can always just put your favorite version of Windows on there.

Williebee · May 27, 2009

Since it's being so strange, though, you can always just put your favorite version of Windows on there.

And on that note; Please do not assume that the folks at your favorite big box store know what they are talking about when they want to sell you the box MS product.

There are often cheaper sources of legally getting MS software.

JamieMT · May 27, 2009

Just another quick review - I bought a Samsung NC10 netbook just 4 weeks ago, and I am *completely* in love with it! I upgraded it to 2gb of RAM, and it has a 160gb hard drive, so plenty of room for my novels, photos, etc. The battery life is stellar - 6 hours with wireless on, up to around 8 hours with the wireless off. Internal bluetooth, SD card reader, 3 USB ports...and a really great, comfy keyboard.

I use ywriter software and OpenOffice on it, plus Paint Shop Pro for photo editing. I do have that "cursor jump" problem occasionally, but it's not too annoying and doesn't happen often. I've never had the double letters or keys stick at all.

I have a desktop at home, but it's basically just a "server" - hubby uses his laptop exclusively, and I use my netbook. I love, love, love that it's so insanely portable, and can still do whatever I need it to like any larger, heavier laptop would.

Easily one of the best purchases I've ever made, and a serious leap forward for my writing, as far as tools go.

leahzero · May 27, 2009

JamieMT said:
Easily one of the best purchases I've ever made, and a serious leap forward for my writing, as far as tools go.

Totally agreed. Netbooks are excellent for writers.

Personally, I decided on a netbook instead of a traditional laptop because I actually wanted something that was a little more limited in terms of what it could do--can't really play games, watch HD movies, etc.--so that it would limit potential distractions and let me focus on writing.

Williebee · May 27, 2009

so that it would limit potential distractions and let me focus on writing.

Very wise. You can also set a profile on the machine that doesn't allow internet browsing, has no games, etc. It actually serves two purposes. I cuts down on the distractions and temptation to goof off, and it keeps folks from bothering you to "look something up for a sec".

jessicaorr · May 27, 2009

I just got a Dell Mini 9 today. The keyboard seemed small at first, but I'm typing on it now and it really isn't bad. The only anoying thing is that the apostrophe is in the lowest key row so I keep missing it. I could probably get used to that. I bought a 512mb RAM/8 GB SSD model with no webcame from the Dell outlet store for 180$ after a 15% off coupon. It was a scratch and dent, but I can't find a scratch on it. I bought 2GB ram from newegg and installed it in 5 minutes. The mini is fast and boots up in under thirty seconds.

Other thoughts... It's absolutely silent. There's no fan and the hard drive is solid state so there is no disk spinning. Aparently, the Solid state drives are less prone to breaking, which is great because I intend to use the mini like a writer's notebook- toss it in my purse and pull it out when inspiration strikes. The trackpad is very nice, far better than the one on my Dell M1530, and the keyboard is very responsive. All in all, I'm very pleased.

ATP · May 28, 2009

leahzero said:
Personally, I decided on a netbook instead of a traditional laptop because I actually wanted something that was a little more limited in terms of what it could do--can't really play games, watch HD movies, etc.--so that it would limit potential distractions and let me focus on writing.

Then you're more or less in the same market as the Alphasmart Dana (no wifi or i/net connection).

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=89322

Many have praised this baby...!! And it is still cheaper than a net-book...

Perhaps the original net-books manufacturers got their idea from the response to the Alphasmart. (Who knows, they may have even been lurking here conducting some of their market research!!)

Inky · May 28, 2009

I just bought the Acer One.
Bah.
The wireless doesn't work. Reading through reviews, apparently, this is a common problem. Some have internet connetion without any issues, others--it never works.

Can't take it back--our military store is pretty anal about returning electronics, so I'm stuck with it. For me, the amount of traveling I do, it's defeated the purpose. I'm still forced to lug the heavier laptop in order to have internet access. For $249.00, whatever...I'd been eyeing one that was 900.00...THAT would have SERIOUSLY pissed me off, had wireless not worked on THAT bad boy!

But, as far as a tiny laptop, this Acer rocks, ESPECIALLY for those of us with rheumatoid where something heavy over the shoulder--purse/backpack/laptop carrier--ISN'T an option. Now, I can jet over to the library or coffee shop or park and work in a different environment other than my office and not feel like my shoulder is going to come out of the socket.
Again...it's for my WIP...as the interent has NEVER worked on it.

We'll be returning to the states soon where I plan to buy a second one from a more reputable store (one that can handle returns or exchanges) and we'll see if I just purchased the one bad egg in the bunch.

I'm lucky like that; forever under the black cloud.

jessicaorr · May 28, 2009

Inky said:
I just bought the Acer One.
Bah.
The wireless doesn't work. Reading through reviews, apparently, this is a common problem. Some have internet connetion without any issues, others--it never works.

Does it have a manufacturer warranty? If so you could probably call Acer and have them repair it. I've had problems with Dell laptops in the past and they've always been really good about repairs. One would think that if you've bought the laptop within the last year or so that Acer would be obligated to fix it, especially since it was broken when you got it.

Inky · May 28, 2009

I'm currently living in Turkey, so the whole mailing it out to manufacturer...we'll probably no longer be residing here by the time it's fixed/mailed back.
Like I said, it's a pisser that it doesn't work, but it's more work than it's worth to get it fixed, at this point.

jessicaorr · May 28, 2009

Inky said:
I'm currently living in Turkey, so the whole mailing it out to manufacturer...we'll probably no longer be residing here by the time it's fixed/mailed back.
Like I said, it's a pisser that it doesn't work, but it's more work than it's worth to get it fixed, at this point.

Ah. I don't know about Asus, but it's really easy to replace wireless cards in Dell laptops. That might be an option, though if it isn't the wireless card, then that wouldn't help. What a pain! If you bought it, the darn thing should work 100% :-/

Netbooks anyone?

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