Sure, everyone has heard of notebook computers (AKA, laptops), but how about “netbook” computers? These diminutive descendents of full-size laptop computers are becoming all the rage, doing exactly what many people need a portable computer to do.
Originally called UMPCs (Ultra Mobile Personal Computer), netbooks simply look like tiny laptop computers, with a small keyboard and a 9-10″ screen. Netbooks were initially popularized by computer manufacturer Asus in late 2007, and, by mid-2008, numerous manufacturers were offering various and assorted netbook computers.
I was very close to buying an early Asus netbook, as I was tired of lugging around a full-size laptop from job to job. After doing some pretty thorough research, I decided to wait, as it seemed that new netbooks were about to be released that would more closely meet my needs. Finally, in August of 2008 I took the plunge and purchased an Acer Aspire One netbook. I love it.
Most netbooks share a common set of features, such as built-in cameras and wireless networking capability, multiple USB ports, Intel Atom processors and 1-2 Gb of RAM. Light weight and small size make netbooks perfect for travelers and students that need more computing capability than is offered by a smart phone or PDA.
While the Asus Eee PC took an early lead in netbook sales, Acer took the number one spot last December. Since then, everybody has been jumping on the netbook bandwagon, including the MSI Wind, the Lenovo IdeaPad, the Samsung NC10, the HP Mini-Note, the Dell Mini and the Toshiba Mini. Too bad that HP, Dell and Toshiba couldn’t come up with more original names, but c’est la vie.
This is a great time of the year to go shopping for a netbook, as most retailers are having pretty competitive back-to-school sales. As of this writing, BestBuy’s website lists no less than 73 different netbooks for sale, ranging in price from $250 for an Asus Eee PC to $900 for the obscenely-overpriced Sony Lifestyle netbook. While the netbook field seems to change every day, another good place to compare models is http://products.liliputing.com. I bought my netbook at Amazon. I know one lady who bought hers at Buy.com.
As most netbooks share identical features, comparison shopping can be difficult. Screen size isn’t that big of a deal to me, as the difference between 8.9″ and 10.1″ just isn’t that vast; anything bigger than 10″ tends to defeat the size and portability advantages of a true netbook. To my way of thinking, the most important differentiating features are hard drive size and battery capacity.
Many lower-end netbooks sport solid-state hard drives at around 16 Gb in size. This size may be fine if all you ever want to do is check your email or surf the Web, but it won’t hold much in the way of picture albums or a large iTunes library. 160 Gb is a good size for a netbook hard drive.
Battery life is the next critical issue. Early models of the Acer Aspire One had a poor battery life of only 2 hours or so. I decided to spend a little bit extra and get a high- capacity battery, which gives me a solid 5-1/2 hours of battery life before needing to recharge. I like that a lot.
Other things to consider when shopping for a netbook are keyboard size and touchpad operation. Netbooks aren’t for everyone. Some netbook keyboards are too small and cramped to suit some typists, and netbook touchpads can take some getting used to. After about a week, I became totally comfortable with the touchpad on my netbook; using it has become second nature. Some folks may prefer to use an external mouse, though.
Finally, buy the netbook that looks and feels right for your personal style. I think that netbooks are cool; give one a try and you may agree.