a&wd40

what's your pick?
what feature/s you like most?

references
wikipedia - netbook
wikipedia - comparison of netbooks
ask engadget - best netbook

bbottomley

I've had an Asus Eee 900 for a bit over a month now. 16 gB solid state drive, 1 gB main memory, 8.9" screen, XP SP3, 802.11g, 2.18 lb. $449 on eBay. I bought it after losing two consecutive laptops to hard drive problems that I tend to chalk up to overheating. Brought it on a week-long trip recently, and it did what I needed it to do. It takes up hardly any space in my backpack. While it comes with one of those touchpad things, I almost always use a mouse for better control.

The only really troublesome feature is its tendency to occasionally wait for a very long time before opening a program. It ultimately gets there, but the wait is much too long.

I have found an Asus users forum that has discussion (and solutions) about slowness problems, but I just haven't yet had the time to pursue any of these.

The only other drawback is that the screen is so small that it's sometimes hard to align the cursor in the right place when doing file manipulation things. It's often easier to right click and select Open than to double click.

In general, I'm happy with it. Planning on taking it on a two week trip to England and Scotland next month. We'll see how it goes.

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2003 XS Premium MT - 2005 Impreza 2.5 RS MT

a&wd40

Thanks for your input & the pic. I also been eying on Eee, and comparing 900 & 901(w/longer bat. life).
Planning to get a Netbook for upcoming trip.

bbottomley

There are aftermarket batteries of longer life. Check them out on eBay. Not extremely cheap, and larger.

You can get a cheaper Eee if you go for Linux in stead of XP. I didn't want to make this my Linux learning experience, and I wanted to use the same Windows encryption software that I use on my desktop for data that I wouldn't want to have stolen.

I think that the arrival of the 901 had caused the 900's price to drop a bit.

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2003 XS Premium MT - 2005 Impreza 2.5 RS MT

toddlamp

Hmmm I'm not sure I agree that the OQO should be on that list. It is an Ultra mobile PC. In fact I believe it holds the record for the smallest full function PC in the world.

I'm an OQO owner and the thing is freaking amazing. I would recommend it to anyone that is willing to spend the dough on one. New they are not cheap; think ~$2000 but does everything a normal computer can do and more. Mine even has built in WWAN. I use it daily for 8+ hrs at a time. My Sprint Rev A connection gets me 1.5Mb/500kb connection speed. Absolutely fantastic. And this thing is tiny.

I am a gadget freak and I can never have enough toys. I've been eyeing the Asus as well. It looks like a great option to have basic needs in a small package. However i've been spoiled. One of my requirements now is built in WWAN.

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06XT MT CGM Blouch TD05-18g 8cm equipped

a&wd40

OQO model 02 is nice, see laptopmag's article / image gallery.

toddlamp

it really does kick ass. It's just quite pricely new. You can find them on eBay for nearly half the cost new. It's still a niche product but those are the ones that I love. It is so small that it literally fits in my business khakis; and that's even in the case.

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06XT MT CGM Blouch TD05-18g 8cm equipped

nikoncanon

Here are some shots of my aspireone not book with a few mods. Soon i will buy the dell mini which is on sale now

screen shot:


Shot of bluetooth mod:




I also upgrade the ram and installed the dell 1390 mini wifi card.
Osx 10.5.4 in being installed right now as we read.

Main Page - AspireOne

nikoncanon

My acer was bought 2 weeks ago 120gig hdd 1 gig of ram wifi no bluetooth
349.00 at best buy.

bbottomley

That's gotta be a real hard drive, right? I've had it with heat sensitive mechanical parts in the cramped confines of a laptop. The solid state drive with 16 gB is ample for my laptop needs.

But that's sure a great price for what you got!

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2003 XS Premium MT - 2005 Impreza 2.5 RS MT