Forum Archive Home -> Polls -> Do you own a netbook?
Do you own a netbook? | ||
| yoda313 posted 2009 Apr 11 07:26 | ||
| THIS POLL IDEA CREATED BY BALDRICK - THANKS!
So do you have a netbook? I have a cellphone with moderate internet capabilities - its a prepaid plan so I only get the sites they offer for free. I also have an old p2 laptop that is pretty much useless these days. How about you? | ||
| Baldrick posted 2009 Apr 11 07:54 | ||
| Nope. But I'm thinking of getting one but for now is my smartphone enough(samsung omnia). | ||
| John posted 2009 Apr 11 08:10 | ||
| nope, i have had 4 smart phones now, the latest and best being the Samsung Omnia, though thinking about it if it was the best why is it back at samsung getting fixed LOL. | ||
| gadgetguy posted 2009 Apr 11 08:16 | ||
| I don't have any interest in a netbook. I have my laptop for my portability needs. | ||
| Number Six posted 2009 Apr 11 08:44 | ||
I'm going to say yes because I have a Sony Picturebook - which can be considered as the predecessor to today's Netbooks.
 | ||
| Constant Gardener posted 2009 Apr 11 12:03 | ||
| Yes. I like the small size. I try to avoid computers when on vacation, but this one is handy for backing up cameras and feeding the mp3 player. | ||
| raffie posted 2009 Apr 11 12:39 | ||
Not yet, but I really like them, and I would ve bought one if I didnt know about the Sony P-series, wich will come out here in Europe this summer.
GPS, GSM, runs Vista and will fit in me pocket, my ultimate gadget ^^ | ||
| edDV posted 2009 Apr 11 12:45 | ||
| IMO, the one good thing about netbooks is they keep the price of true laptops down.
I'd rather have a decent screen size, usable keyboard and a real mobility CPU. Netbooks are just an oversized iPhone/Blackberry :P | ||
| Seeker47 posted 2009 Apr 11 12:55 | ||
Yes, I agree. There is something appealing about the concept, and I have seen whole educational presentations conducted from one (where you almost can't even see the netbook up there on the podium), but I would miss the burner -- at least -- and maybe some other features typically found on a well-equipped notebook. I guess I prefer a notebook that can be an adequate desktop replacement, to the extent that is possible. Carrying something that runs 3 or 4 lb.s is not a big deal, in order to have that. | ||
| edDV posted 2009 Apr 11 13:31 | ||
| The laptop fits fine in my travel backpack (along with HDV cam, still cam and peripherals). A netbook wouldn't save much if any space.
People forget there is still a large power supply that goes with the netbook. To that you may need to add an external DVD writer plus power supply which cancels any size/weight advantage. | ||
| freebird73717 posted 2009 Apr 11 13:45 | ||
| No I have a 17inch HP laptop but I'd love to have a netbook. Would be so much easier to take with me on jobs than to lug around the hp. It's heavy.
It will probably be the next thing I buy ...as I save my pennies | ||
| disturbed1 posted 2009 Apr 11 18:27 | ||
Absolutely agree. I almost bought one for just under $300, until I saw it in person. Under powered CPU, small screen and small keyboard. Didn't think it was worth $300 for what it does. A 2x powerful laptop with a much larger screen and keyboard can be had for $400 or less out the door. They have the 10" netbooks with larger keyboards, but when compared side by side to a real laptop, they don't make much since. Unless the extra pound makes a difference to you, or if you have small girlie hands ;) If these things would drop in price to $199 or less, it's a good deal. At the present price point, not so good. I still have (and use daily) my Palm Tungsten T2, and Sony Clie palm devices. The Sony has built in wifi, so it allows me sync and check email on the go. Looked at the BlackBerry's and other smart phones, but without a long contract, the phones are outrageously priced. | ||
| MJA posted 2009 Apr 11 20:57 | ||
| they are selling like hotcake on amazon.com specially the new ASUS Eee1000HE 9.5 Hour Battery Life ,not bad for $350(ZipZoomfly,com) | ||
| budz posted 2009 Apr 11 21:14 | ||
| At work I got to see a HELL one, :lol: I mean a DELL one which cost $600.00! :roll:
:evil: And yet the governor here in Hawaii wants to cut government worker salaries/benefits but they sure know how to waste money. Okay I'm done with my ranting. :lol: Getting back to the topic at hand. The keyboard is too freaking tiny. It's good to have if you travel on business a lot since it's quite lighter than a laptop. I personally won't buy one as well unless the cost comes down to $200.00. If all one wants to do is surf the net, listen to mp3's and do emails then that would perfect. I don't see it running much of anything else. I don't need a netbook since I check my email on my Sanyo cell phone. Just my 2 cents! :wink: | ||
| Nitemare posted 2009 Apr 12 01:55 | ||
| I don't own a laptop or a netbook, yet. When I buy, it will be laptop. | ||
| greengate69 posted 2009 Apr 12 09:07 | ||
| I use a Samsung NC10 and regard it more as a small laptop than a Netbook. It handles web, mail, office and media applications (like slingbox) with ease. It has a 75% full size keyboard and gives me 6-7 hours use on battery. It is around the size of a 10" portable DVD and infinitely more versatile.
I think the next generation of Netbooks will see them really come into there own. They will feature built in 3g and up to 11 hours on battery. That is really where a Netbook can be regarded as a different solution to a laptop - ultra-portable and not dependent on access points or mains electricity. I would have to agree I can't see the point of some current ones that are underpowered, slow and rather pointless given the poor battery life of many. | ||
| classfour posted 2009 Apr 12 09:23 | ||
| I happened on an ASUS 10 inch by luck. $225 after rebate from zipzoomfly (started as $299 after $140 in instant discounts). It has a solid 4.5 hours per charge, readable 10 inch screen (without glasses), Windows XP - not Ubuntu, and 160GB hard drive.
I suspect it will take over many duties my Dell laptop was performing.  | ||
| unclebud posted 2009 Apr 12 11:01 | ||
| Asus 10" , underpowered but works. Added a 2gb memory chip, helped. I hardly ever use it at home, mostly for the road. | ||
| Seeker47 posted 2009 Apr 12 11:53 | ||
I still can't believe how much texting people seem to do on those even much tinier cell phone keyboards ! Can't really call it typing -- more like "thumbing." Must be a generational thing. (It helps a lot if you're under 25.) | ||
| TBoneit posted 2009 Apr 12 21:48 | ||
| I've used the Lenovo Netbook at work. 2.8 pounds, Great
1Gb memory, enough 80 Gb Hard drive, good enough XP Home, OK Webcam, Who wants that. Wireless, WiFi, and Ethernet, OK Plug in the 8X DVD USB Powered DVD Burner when needed. Good 1.6Ghz Intel Atom is adequate. Beats trying to lug around that heavy 15" screen laptop I currently own. I rate it at 4.5 stars out of 5 stars now that they have come out with the higher capacity battery. Plus it can do everything I need from a laptop and save my shoulder form all that weight of my current laptop. I may pick one up or maybe go for the HP laptop that runs over 24 hours per battery charge, How? LED backlight, SSD drive and so on. | ||
| edDV posted 2009 Apr 12 22:23 | ||
I guess it depends on what you need to do in that hotel room onsite vs. enroute. I need a local office in that Residence Inn when working and I need to quick edit video when on vacation. When all the airlines include a comp internet during the flight I'd need battery. But shouldn't they offer a power connector as well? | ||
| lordsmurf posted 2009 Apr 13 01:01 | ||
| I already have a laptop -- and I use it daily -- but I don't take it anywhere. It hasn't moved off the desk in a year. To be honest, it's a "desktop machine" now.
I question whether people really need to be this connected at all times, in all places. We got along just fine before Blackberries, TXT messages, laptops, etc. There was this device called the telephone, and it involved flapping your lips and moving your tongue while sounds came out. We communicated pretty well, too! Better, probably, to be honest! | ||
| edDV posted 2009 Apr 13 02:21 | ||
| I've been connected while travelling since I got a 80's 286 DOS Compaq using Compuserve. I was away weeks at a time then and even paid my power bill to PG&E from a hotel room in Tokyo with my BofA wire account using a 2400baud modem. Compuserve actually had local dialup in Tokyo, Hong Kong and most major Euro cities.
I've still got two 128 Kbps Ricochet wireless modems from Y2K era ($75/mo each back then). I signedup their first month. | ||
| Epicurus8a posted 2009 Apr 13 02:41 | ||
| My wife has an Acer Aspire One and loves it. It's actually pretty fast. | ||
| edDV posted 2009 Apr 13 03:15 | ||
| I see the netbook more as an email and/or social network device rather than a serious computer. It competes more in the phone/PDA space. The phone companies should give them away with a 2 year wireless subscription.
For my needs I still see the division this way Phone > in pocket (instant communication) Laptop > in backpack/briefcase (mobile workstation) Desktop > base station Ideally these are all networked/synchronized through a server. | ||
| racer-x posted 2009 Apr 13 05:31 | ||
| Bought an Acer Aspire for my son to use for school. After I disabled all the junk, it runs pretty well. Nice screen and 160 GB HDD should be very adequate for school work and web. No burner, but can easily plug in one of my old burners via USB.
It's too small and weak for my tastes, but it's great for my 14 year old. | ||
| JohnnyMalaria posted 2009 Apr 13 07:30 | ||
| Weird.
That Picturebook reminds me of the stupid HP Journada (?) I had about 11 years ago. Everyone at work had them - for about a year. Then, as now, I found the display to be pathetically inadequate. Per lordsmurf, texting escapes me. I understood its value when it first became available because it was a much cheaper option than calling someone. But with the unlimited plans now offered, why not just call them? I think in a few years time, we will look back on texting as some very strange, clumsy intermediate technology. It's like sending telegrams. I bet there's even an iPhone Morse code app. Still, whichever technology you prefer, we are all still bound by that 19th century invention - the QWERTY key layout. With all the amazing technology literally at our fingertips we still have to use our - uh - fingertips. | ||
| Nelson37 posted 2009 Apr 13 10:15 | ||
| Can't use the small keyboard, need glasses for my 22" monitor, and I usually get my laptops for free or minimal cost. No interest in Internet on my phone, my cell is an ancient Nokia which rides in my pocket with keys and change, been dropped on pavement many times, refuses to die, and has outlasted the Ex's 3 or 4 various phones which have cost a crapload more cash. It dials, remembers numbers, sends and receives calls, which is all I need it to do.
I find e-mail or text totally insuffiicient for what I need to do, which usually requires a lot of question-and-answer, as most here already know most folks just do not provide enough information. In fact the advantage of e-mail is the delay it introduces into the communication, useful with the aforementioned ex. You can ignore an e-mail much more easily than pretending not to hear the nagging, bitching, etc. For work I'm in the "Answers NOW" business. Now, when they perfect the projected holographic keyboard, and video beamed directly onto the eyeball, these things might make a usable, low-power computer. Which won't play games or video, or pretty much anything useful except for Internet and E-mail. | ||
| usually_quiet posted 2009 Apr 13 12:45 | ||
| I don't travel enough any more to make a laptop useful, let alone a netbook.
As far as texting goes, for grownups, it is legitimately useful for privacy/stealth, or for communicating in noisy environments. The young adults I know who use it habitually began to converse with their friends via IM and texting so their parents couldn't overhear the conversation and know what was really going on with their social lives. Now they have to be prodded into making phone calls for anything. I don't get it either, but then again I have a middle-aged cousin who would write me 3-page emails, but can't seem to write letters. | ||
| AntnyMD posted 2009 Apr 13 13:47 | ||
| As often as I seem to kill laptops, Mac ones at that, a small, cute netbook is good enough for me. For the same $899 that I can get a refurbed Macbook, I can get three netbooks! Although the two cannot be compared "apples to apples," neither can my wallet continue to buy Macbooks at this rate! :-) | ||
| edDV posted 2009 Apr 13 14:19 | ||
A good new Vista 15" screen laptop can be had for $350-399 if you shop carefully. | ||
| yoda313 posted 2009 Apr 13 18:07 | ||
| This issue seems to be how much power you need on your portable device.
If you just need email and basic browsing cell phones are probably more than enough for the average joe/jane. If you need spreadsheet access and more verbose email/surfing ability the smartphone enters the picture. If you need full blown application processing than a laptop is what is really needed. It definitely seems like netbooks are in that in between a smartphone and a laptop. It does more than a smartphone - some of them - not all by any means. But it doesn't have a full fledged power structure like a laptop. I'm sure there is a perfect market out there at a reasonable price. Like some have mentioned if you don't need a full laptop and the weight that comes with it a netbook seems to be an attractive alternative - despite its obvious shortcomings in terms of features and computing power. | ||
| Number Six posted 2009 Apr 13 19:58 | ||
I never had a Jornado, but I still use the old HP200LX at work - the Jornado looks like an updated version of this, but with a color screen - very limited in today's world. The Picturebook works well for me because I am basically using it as a media player. I have a lot of stuff encoded for use on my Zune, so at that resolution it is a little lacking on it, but I am not going through all the trouble to re-encode everything for this device - YET, maybe at a later time if I ever get the ambition to do it. The nice thing about this device is that it also is a full function mini-laptop with a real OS, HD, and connectivity that can be very useful when necessary. Since it is an older device, it it severely limited in memory capacity, and only has a 600mhz processor. I would love to get a modern Netbook, but I am not willing to pay the price for it because I have no need for it at this time, and I know that sometime in the future I will get a used one at a very low price - I only paid $50 for the Picturebook with the adapter and external DVD drive. | ||
| rumplestiltskin posted 2009 Apr 14 13:58 | ||
| Bought the MSI Wind and, except for the absolutely horrible trackpad, the unit worked quite well. I even found the Hacint0sh OSX distribution that works (quite nicely!) on it. However, I did sell it as the trackpad was a joke. It was a Sentelic (not Synaptic as the first units had been) and it did not support scrolling. Worse, the buttons took about 5 pounds of pressure to activate them. Too bad such an otherwise workable machine had to be hobbled by sub-standard hardware. Another $10 for a decent trackpad and I would still have it and be singing about it.
I'll wait for the upcoming Apple "netPod" (or ePod or whatever you want to call it). Apple will get the user interface right and then we'll see Asus, MSI, HP, etc. rush to follow suit. That's a good thing as the competition will help keep the prices down. | ||
| dadrab posted 2009 Apr 15 09:33 | ||
Well, there you have it in a nutshell. To take it a step further, there're worlds of things to be discovered in solitude. I crave it. Solitude doesn't include picking up email every five minutes OR getting the latest stock download OR hearing from the VP of a company I've been trying to contact for a week OR any of the other shit that can wait until I'm back in my office. There are many times when I want to shut out the insanity of the world. Connectivity's OK, but it ain't all it's cracked up to be. It's become an obsession with too many people. How can we be expected to communicate effectively with others if we have no idea what's going on with ourselves? I've seen too many examples of husbands or wives or kids who are absolutely cut off from one or more of the people who should be important to them because that person is too damn busy being "connected" with everybody else. I've had people in my house who are more interested in reading their email than they are with the visit at hand. Where I come from, that fucking rude. I travel a good bit. My laptop and phone are just fine. AND I can and frequently do turn them off or ignore them. There's nothing written anywhere that I know of that says I HAVE to answer A DAMN THING. My time is just that. I won't have it encroached upon by anyone except my wife or sons. I'm not schlepping around anything - heavy, light or otherwise - unless I want to be bothered. A phone fits neatly into a pocket and I can be reached there by anyone who matters. Otherwise, I don't care. It'll wait. If I'm working and it's needed, I take a laptop. Laptop too heavy? Work out. end rant | ||
| solarfox posted 2009 Apr 15 12:41 | ||
| Wow, I'm not seeing a lot of love for the netbooks in this thread... :D
I bought one of the Asus EeePC 1000HD netbooks back in December, to replace my aging and increasingly-cranky Dell Latitude-C laptop... and actually, I kind of like it. It fits my particular portable-computing needs pretty well: (1) I don't play computer games, so I have no need for super-high-performance CPU and graphics, or large screens. (2) I despise cell phones in general -- and even if I didn't, there's no way I could use a "smart phone" for any serious work. Frankly, I find it astonishing that so many people in this thread seem to think that smartphones, with their 3-inch screens and thumb-driven keypads, are even remotely comparable to something like the 1000HD netbook with a 10" widescreen display and a proper QWERTY keyboard. (And with all respect to you, yoda313, anyone who tries to do spreadsheets on a smartphone is certifiably insane. :D ) (3) Most of my on-the-go computing is pretty self-contained. The Dell had a CD-R drive, but I hardly ever used it, and so far haven't really missed having one on the Asus. (The only time I really found myself needing it was when I was initially setting the machine up, and needed to install WordPerfect Office 2002 from CD.) (4) The small size of the netbook means that it's easier to operate comfortably when crammed into a coach-class airline seat, and less likely to get damaged or crushed if the guy sitting in front of you suddenly decides to lean his seat back while the netbook is sitting on the tray table. (5) The Asus EeePC comes with Windows XP instead of Vista. 'Nuff said. :D | ||
| yoda313 posted 2009 Apr 15 17:12 | ||
Hey no problems. I don't own one so I don't know how practical it is. I just assumed it was technically feasible. | ||
| edDV posted 2009 Apr 15 19:42 | ||
Confirms my observation that the Netbook is an alternative to the BlackBerry or iPhone. A laptop can be a serious mini-workstation when on the road. This is a video forum and it is video edit/processing and/or photo work that swings the serious mobile user to the laptop. I'd include web browsing, word processing and spreadsheets into the must have category. I remember at least a dozen all-niters editing a presentation or a contract proposal in a hotel room. So score one point to the Netbook for coach airline use but what happens when you get there? I'd rather have the laptop because real work can get demanding. | ||
| Webster posted 2009 Apr 15 21:33 | ||
Well, I find that a netbook is most useful for powerpoint presentation when you are on the road. Sometime, you just don't want to give your presentation to other people to mess around with. | ||
| vhelp posted 2009 Apr 16 19:21 | ||
| ..never mind..
-vhelp 5082 | ||
| lordsmurf posted 2009 Apr 18 23:25 | ||
Yep. :lol: |
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