Netbook!

[medi.freak]

Hey guys!
I know I am probably asking in the wrong forum, but here it goes. My brother is asking me what netbook he should buy, and my first response was: Macbook Air 11". But there are a couple reasons that made him frown:

- price (netbooks are a lot cheaper)
- glossy display (most work will be outside)
- he has to use windows on it (one big part of buying a Mac is the OS...)

So my question, what netbook would you buy if the biggest selling points would be:

- not over $450
- antiglare or similar display
- long battery life (around 7 hours)


?? Thank you so much already! =D

 

[ouimetnick]

Regardless, its going to be slow as ****, and be crummy. All Netbooks are like that.

 

[rovitotv]

I had a Mac Book Air but upgraded to a recent Mac Book Pro 15" which is an awesome computer, but for my 7 year old son I couldn't talk the wife into giving him my Mac Book Air so we purchased a HP DM1Z.

HP has two models one with the AMD fusion platform and one with Intel i3. We got the Intel i3 which is not a bad performer. It is not as fast as the Mac Book Air but for $500 it is a bargain. Manufacturers might have better options now this was December of 2011. Good luck...

 

[r0k]

I have an Acer Aspire One that has not been powered on since April 2010 when I picked up my iPad. I loaded Linux on the thing and it worked well until it was replaced. I really should wipe it and resell it one of these days. It cost me around $300 back then and I bet I could get a couple hundred bucks for it now. I never got the Windows XP home CD so I'd be selling it with Ubuntu Linux.

If I were in the market for a netbook now, I would consider an 11 in MBA. Apple won't admit it but it's an OSX netbook. In fact, if performance was not a factor, I'd consider one of the older refurb 11 in MBA models showing up in Apple's refurb store for $699. They aren't a very good deal but if cost is of paramount importance I would consider one. Another option to consider for a child is an iPad. They can get a lot done on them and at $500 for wifi or $400 for last year's model they really are a much better value than any netbook.

I would not consider a Windows netbook but this is more out of personal preference.

hope this helps...

 

[zigzagg321]

ASUS eeePC would work, Ive got one and it serves its purpose and isn't terribly slow for normal basic tasks. Best part, was that it cost me $200 used and has been flawless for over year now.

 

[medi.freak]

Thanks for all the input there! Funny to read some of these considering my brother is 30 and writing his dissertation right now, which is why he needs that thing. Portability is really important, thats why it needs to be something like a netbook. His old laptop he says is too bulky for that. Forget the Airs, as much as I would like to talk him into one, he won't appreciate having one anyway. Both the HP and the Acer Eee that you guys said would work have a glossy display though. That's also a no-go. Samsung makes netbooks with antiglare displays so he send me a link to this one:Samsung
What do you think? Keep in mind that he only wants to write on that thing, so it does not have to be powerful at all! And he needs Windows because he needs to have citavi on it.
Thanks already again!

 

[Jb07]

So this is a little bit more expensive, but definitely worth it. Lenovo ThinkPad X130e. Link