Can't do anything serious on an iPad.

Quote :

"for what you want, you're probably not going to find anything smaller than 11.6" (and most will probably be 12" or so)...and if you want ION2, you're looking at $500 or so (and still not a high-resolution screen) "

Agree. Go with a 12". It's really not that big. Don't consider 1366 by 768 to be high-res?

9/1/2010 8:41:33 AM

i consider it high resolution for the physical size of the screen

9/1/2010 8:52:27 AM

So a 50" 720p Plasma wouldn't be considered "HD"? because of it's size? I thought anything over 1280 by 720 was considered "HD".

9/1/2010 8:59:21 AM

high resolution != high definition

the first is subjective, the second is a term that describes a defined standard

9/1/2010 9:14:06 AM

Oh you're right. Brain fart. So yeah 1366 by 768 on a 12" would be. Not so much on a 15".

JBaz i'd shoot for ~11-12" at 1366 by 768. Compared to hauling around your camera gear an extra pound or so for a more usable netbook is nothing IMHO.

9/1/2010 9:19:45 AM

^ completely agree...10" is great for what it is (i have one and love it), BUT i don't use it for anything except the most basic of tasks...if you will be using it for any extended period of time and/or want a decent resolution, 11.6"/12" is the sweet spot

9/1/2010 9:22:55 AM

Dell 10" mini's have HD 1366x768 for about $400, but no ion engine and haven't read reviews about them yet. I'm looking for smallest size as possible so I can fit the netbook in my small ass camel-back. I'll have to go to best buy later today and check the 12" size to see how I feel about them.

http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/inspiron-1012

[Edited on September 1, 2010 at 12:14 PM. Reason : ]

9/1/2010 12:13:24 PM

Just be sure you have a Best Buy employee standing with you before you try to see if it will fit in your camel back.

9/1/2010 1:57:59 PM

I'm just gonna put them all in the bag at once and see who notices first, while wearing full motorcycle racing leathers and helmet with a mirror shield... Yeah... They won't stop me. lol

But seriously, I might just wait a little bit till Ion2 and dual core atom's becomes more available from other manufacturers. Really don't want to spend more than 400.

[Edited on September 1, 2010 at 3:25 PM. Reason : ]

9/1/2010 3:09:50 PM

you might as well just ride your bike into the store.

9/1/2010 3:23:49 PM

while doing a wheelie...

9/1/2010 3:27:14 PM

just googled bestbuy and motorcycle. hahaha:

9/1/2010 3:55:17 PM

humm... didn't realize that they have a racing series in the UK for zero emmissions bikes. Sounds fun. i want. But the real question, will it sync with an iphone?

9/1/2010 4:10:35 PM

well I walked into bestbuy with my helmet on and walked up to the notebooks, was funny. Anyhow, they only had the 10" sized netbooks. I really like their size but damn, didn't realize that they had insanely huge bezel for the lcd. Was hoping to see a physical 12" to see it.

9/1/2010 8:19:06 PM

^ i don't think my 10" acer has an especially large bezel, but i'll have to go back to check...if i had to guess, it's to allow for the keyboard to be as large as possible (mine claims to be 92% the size of a "normal" keyboard)...it's usable and i have no real complaints, but i can't imagine using a smaller one

9/2/2010 8:31:42 AM

Well my 17" dell has a small bezel with the 1920x1200 panel, maybe it's just the size relation, I just saw the huge margins right away. I think I like the samsung 10" looks better than the rest, the Eee is ok, but I don't like their panel hinge type. And none of them have Ion.

9/2/2010 11:17:46 AM

So... Those who have netbooks with ION or without, please post your impressions about your average use of your netbook.

Those with ION/ION2, do you see yourself gaming or watching video's a lot, or do you simply just use it for basic tasks and never/barely use the graphics?

Those without ION, do you see any hindrance with performance in terms of video playback or basic operational use? Do you have an HD video processor to help with it? Does it work well or still choppy?

Still trying to gauge which avenue I want to go.

9/8/2010 11:01:09 AM

I have someone asking me about the Dell Mini because apparently they know someone that gets Academic pricing. I don't have the model or price, but in general is the Mini an accepted model/form factor?

9/8/2010 11:16:22 AM

tell them to go to Best Buy, they have Dell mini's.

9/8/2010 5:50:48 PM

I don't know what that means.

9/8/2010 7:25:44 PM

Dell Mini 10's are eh ok. They only have the N455 & N450 which is single-core, only 1GB of memory, low-resolution display and intel graphics which I don't think are acceptable for HD... (they do have an option for HD screen & Crystal HD graphics so it's an option, but I think it's a lot more). They are basically at the very bottom of the scale in terms of the performance and features of a netbook go.

Dell Mini = 10" Atom-based netbook

[Edited on September 8, 2010 at 7:58 PM. Reason : .]

9/8/2010 7:58:19 PM

^yeah, what I found out, their reviews aren't that good, but the upgraded features seem good, but you end up paying $400 for the upgrades for a 10" that isn't really all that powerful. Also I didn't like the form factor compared to Samsung or Eee, seemed too bulky and non-sexy.

9/8/2010 9:16:40 PM

http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/14/dell-inspiron-duo-tablet-netbook-hybrid-unveiled-with-rotating/

This looks pretty hot.

-or this for use while you're riding your bike:

http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/15/algiz-xrw-10-inches-of-rugged-well-specced-laptop-nirvana/

10.1 with 1366 by 768!

[Edited on September 15, 2010 at 11:49 AM. Reason : s]

9/15/2010 11:24:23 AM

looks cool, but expensive, donno if I can wait till dec. Still waiting on ion2 to get a little more popular and more options are on the market. Although, almost got pulled on the SD deal with the i7 UL laptop last week for $600, 13" notebook with tons of features for $100 more than the asus netbook I was looking at.

I seem to keep uping my requirements and idea "oh its only $100 more". lol This 17" dell is killing me now.

9/20/2010 10:07:09 AM

Do you guys suspect prizes to drop for the holidays? I'm looking at the ASUS 1018P, but I haven't seen one with a finger print reader. (Not that I need it) Is that exclusive to the European market?

BTW where can I play around with one in Raleigh? I tried BB and HHGregg their selection isn't that great.

10/12/2010 10:05:49 AM

are there any good netbooks for under 200 bucks? I am just looking for something to browse the web and take notes in class. I mean, I will be running microsoft office too, but I don't think that takes any special power.

I am trying to look around at black friday deals but havent seen anything yet.

11/14/2010 11:11:13 AM

I like my wife's netbook, but for me personally, I think I am going to bounce on laptops in general and do a duo of a all out desktop and sport an iPad/tablet for mobile usage. My iPad runs shit a lot better and is far easier to use than her laptop. Tablets will definitely eat into the netbook market share.

11/14/2010 11:42:37 AM

hopefully that will have an effect on their prices.

best buy has a 10.1" netbook on sale for black friday, but it isn't on their website

http://slickdeals.net/blackfriday/16075/compaq-101-netbook-w-intel-atom-processor-1gb-ram-160gb-hd-windows-7-starter

is that a good computer?

11/14/2010 11:56:38 AM

for what it is? sure...i picked up an acer with the same specs for $170 after tax a couple of months ago from staples and i didn't need to wait in line to do it

this one is $9 cheaper and you have to deal with BF in order to get it (best of luck to you there)...i'd also rather have an acer

personally, i'd suggest setting up a deal alert on SD for "netbook" and just wait for something as good for $20 more to come around...my time and sanity is well worth $20

11/14/2010 1:00:31 PM

Quote :

"Can't do anything serious on an iPad."

Damon Albarn begs to differ.

11/14/2010 2:32:23 PM

Quote :

"Damon Albarn begs to differ."

Read this as:

"A damn barn begs to differ." and was like wat?

11/15/2010 12:56:12 PM

Looking at an Acer Aspire

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115840

Dual Core 1.3 Ghz Athlon II Neo (2Mb cache)
ATI Integrated Graphics
2GB GDDR3 Memory
384 MB Dedicated Video Memory (an odd amount I thought)
64 bit Win 7 Home Premium

Buy.com has it for 400$ (i posted the newegg link because the specs are more complete) I Tried to find the roughly equivalent Toshiba T215D-S1150 but everyone seems to be sold out.

Is the dedicated video memory (which the Toshiba doesnt have) worth the "lesser" brand or is it some kind of gimmick? Ill take suggestions but im mainly looking for a 12" screen or less.

11/29/2010 1:07:22 PM

I just want to remind everyone that the best netbook on the market (not the cheapest though) is from Toshiba.

Just so we're clear.

11/29/2010 4:21:41 PM

the NB305? what is it that sets it apart? I'm looking at them for xmas and don't know where to start

[Edited on December 4, 2010 at 9:00 AM. Reason : .]

12/4/2010 9:00:18 AM

Quote :

"Those without ION, do you see any hindrance with performance in terms of video playback or basic operational use? Do you have an HD video processor to help with it? Does it work well or still choppy?"

I have an N450 10.1" Acer with WinXP, no video processor, 2GB of ram, and 10 hours on battery. I bought it to be just a netbook, but have been shocked at how well it does everything else. So much so, it is now my primary computer. It plays older 3D games (halflife era) perfectly. OnLive is awesome for playing new games. With the newest VLC which utilizes the dual-threading of the atom, it actually plays 720p mkv perfectly, although it will skip with too high a bitrate; 1GB per hour plays perfectly, 2GB per hour skips during high action scenes. Thanks to the 2GB of ram, I even use it for all my Visual Studio development. When I get to work, I just plug in an external monitor for dual monitors and USB hub with fullsize mouse/keyboard. I keep a power cord plugged in at work from my old laptop, so all I have to carry is the netbook itself. All for $220 off craigslist.

[Edited on December 5, 2010 at 10:05 AM. Reason : .,.]

12/5/2010 10:03:28 AM

My buddy has a $300-400 netbook budget. Are Asus and Samsung still some of the goto brands or what? Any advice?

1/31/2011 7:56:52 PM

Nothin? :/

2/8/2011 11:48:30 PM

yup, cause we all bought netbooks months ago fool, you behind the times, best not to buy them now or else you'd look dumb (says apple ppl) /sarcasm

2/9/2011 12:02:45 AM

I graduated and finally bought a real laptop.

2/9/2011 8:59:27 AM

Well it's for a buddy of mine and I considered pushing him toward an ipad or tablet, but I doubt netbooks are a 'bandwagon' purchase. I actually researched and chose the Samsung NC10 right when it was released and 6 or 7 months later recommended the N110 to someone who loved it.

But yeah, I've had a real laptop for a while as well and haven't bothered to keep up with what's current. I don't feel like doing all the legwork again if there was a handful of clear "winners" like that first roundup.

2/9/2011 9:36:25 AM

I had the NC10 when it first came out too and loved it. Upgraded to an Asus 1201n and loved that too. Finally just got a 13" MBP and I'm happy. 10 hour batter life and it's actually a real laptop. The only downside is it's 1-2 pounds heavier. Which I really could care less about.

2/9/2011 10:14:33 AM

plus its kinda of a different price range, how much you pay for mbp?

2/9/2011 3:32:01 PM

yeah but who cares about money! Was ~$950 new after I got the student discount and sold the iPod.

2/9/2011 3:38:08 PM

Yeah my MBP kicks the ass of any smaller PCs. its soo much faster and actually functions as a good laptop.

The only thing i wish it didn't have was cruddy lintel graphics but ooh well its not like its a gaming PC.

2/9/2011 3:59:13 PM

i'm waiting on more AMD Fusion options

2/9/2011 4:10:38 PM

what MBP do you have that has Intel graphics? They all have Nvidia 320m(13")/330m(15"/17"). Even the last couple generations had Nvidia chips. They're decent chips. It's not like you buy a Mac to game anyway.

2/9/2011 4:10:59 PM

^must be a 15/17". The new ones use an Intel chip when the 330m isn't needed.

2/9/2011 6:54:05 PM

So what should my buddy get, Acer 721 plays HD shit is there a successor to that? I'm an Asus fan through and through and always been wary of Acer, but perhaps things have changed?

Plus Asus doesn't give their 2 year warranty on netbooks, so there's a little less incentive to be set in stone on that brand.

Asus 1215 is 499 and has dual core + ion. 1015 is dual core with 13 hr battery life for 359

2/9/2011 8:29:47 PM

actually, sorry mine has the 9400m



still shares ram with my cpu.... ohh well

2/9/2011 8:36:21 PM

are there any netbooks that come close to the performance of the m11x? I can get one for ~450. I'd like something in the 11-13" form factor, minimum of 6-8 hours battery life, 1360x768 screen, capable of 4-8gb of ram, and discrete video good on par with a geforce 310 or 330. asus had the ulv30jt, don't know if it ever came out though. also the performance per dollar doesnt seem on par with the sulv m11x for ~450

2/9/2011 8:41:38 PM