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Which netbook ?

marbles

marbles

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Apr 30, 2008
1,776
1
EU mostly
Hi, I'm looking for a netbook for my wife, although Id love to buy her a Macbook I can't afford it just now so am opting to ask this trusted forum for advice on which netbook would be the best overall alternative .

Tasks would be the usual email, browsing, watching the occasional movie, just basic family PC type work really, the kids would probably use it too for cbeebies etc.

Help me keep them off my Mac :eek:
 
A simple HP that you can buy at best buy for about $600 would probably suit your needs the best. I you are willing to get a smaller screen, maybe 8" or 10", you could probably get an Acer for about $300.
 
Thanks for replying Alex,
I'm only looking to spend only about 2-250 UK£ or there abouts , screen size is not an issue because we'd plug it into a larger screen.

Build quality is very important though, battery not so because when it's with the big screen [which would be most of the time] it'd be pluuged into an electrical socket, well that's the plan anyway.
anymore ideas or specific models ? I know nothing about other computers
Our lass would use the netbook in bed so a couple hours battery life would be fine I reckon.

thanks
 
Get something with a 6 cell battery for sure.

I would look at the MSI wind, acer aspire one, and the new HP mini one I think it's called. The new HP has the atom chip, old one doesn't.
 
rjsfnd said:
Thanks for replying Alex,
I'm only looking to spend only about 2-250 UK£ or there abouts , screen size is not an issue because we'd plug it into a larger screen.

Build quality is very important though, battery not so because when it's with the big screen [which would be most of the time] it'd be pluuged into an electrical socket, well that's the plan anyway.
anymore ideas or specific models ? I know nothing about other computers
Our lass would use the netbook in bed so a couple hours battery life would be fine I reckon.

thanks
Click to expand...

The Lenovo S10 is the best netbook on market right now. It has the best build quality, and was sold out for 2 months at my local electronics stores. It also features some nice speakers (even though notebook speakers suck). The keyboard is very comfortable as well. It is priced at $400 which is a little above your budget but well worth it.
 
Try out the keyboard and make sure that it is comfortable to type on. They all have different layouts, some have a full shift key on the right side some on the left. Some have function keys on the top, some like the Dell netbook don't. Personally i think that is the most important. If you can't type on it it's hard to really like using it.
 
SnowLeopard2008 said:
The Lenovo S10 is the best netbook on market right now. It has the best build quality, and was sold out for 2 months at my local electronics stores. It also features some nice speakers (even though notebook speakers suck). The keyboard is very comfortable as well. It is priced at $400 which is a little above your budget but well worth it.
Click to expand...

I think people will argue that the Samsung NC10, Asus EeePC 1000HE, and even the new Acer AspireOne 10" version are the best reasonably priced netbooks, with their proper RIGHT Shift key, +7 hours of battery life, etc etc. The one I want, the HP Mini-note 2140 with 1366 x 768 screen resolution, is what I'd consider to be the best, and it's even made from aluminium. ;)

I think the best thing to do is to go and check them out. They rarely differ in specs, except something like the HP Mini 1000. The HP Mini 1000 is seriously lacking some key things. If you can live without these things, then fine. Otherwise, you may want to look at something else.
 
Abstract said:
I think people will argue that the Samsung NC10, Asus EeePC 1000HE, and even the new Acer AspireOne 10" version are the best reasonably priced netbooks, with their proper RIGHT Shift key, +7 hours of battery life, etc etc. The one I want, the HP Mini-note 2140 with 1366 x 768 screen resolution, is what I'd consider to be the best, and it's even made from aluminium. ;)

I think the best thing to do is to go and check them out. They rarely differ in specs, except something like the HP Mini 1000. The HP Mini 1000 is seriously lacking some key things. If you can live without these things, then fine. Otherwise, you may want to look at something else.
Click to expand...

The Asus EEE is junk. My dad had several of them (various models including 1000HE) at his work place. When he brought one home, he'd let me use it if I wished. The Lenovo just felt better than the others. The Acer has this "bulge" in front of the battery slot. The Asus had a junky keyboard. I liked the HP Mini's keyboard, but typing on it just felt like crap. Nicely spaced, but not "deep" enough. For me, the Sony P is the best netbook, but not for it's price.

To OP: Trust me, I ran a few of these netbooks to a 20" VGA monitor (don't flame me for not using the better DVI standard). The EEE got kind of hot. the HP and Lenovo was fine. I have yet to try the Sony P. Stray away from EEE if you can. If you can't afford the HP or Lenovo, the MSI Wind is also pretty cool. One thing I liked about the Lenovo over many other netbooks is the fact that it is level. The Acer and Asus was thicker in the back end than front.
 
SnowLeopard2008 said:
The Asus EEE is junk. My dad had several of them (various models including 1000HE) at his work place.
Click to expand...

The 1000HE still only available as a pre-order at many stores, and has actually only started shipping yesterday (Feb 20th). People have just started getting tracking numbers. ;)

Also, according to reviews at Laptopmag.com, PC Magazine, and Notebookreview.com, it's one of the best, or THE best netbook, with one of the best keyboards. Its massive battery does NOT protrude from the body, since it's the only netbook to use the brand new Intel Atom N280 processor, which requires a smaller motherboard. The entire battery sits inside the body.


Perhaps you're talking about the EeePC 1000HA. Your description doesn't sound like the 1000HE at all. :confused:
 
Ditto on the lenovo, converts to mac or dual boot quite nicely. Solid, dependable, almost stylish machine.

The wind is the most widely converted machine, but usability issues with the keyboard and its mattel build quality turned me off of it.
 
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