Netbooks / Madison Computer Stores

[sbrylski]

1 - I'm looking at netbooks, if anyone has any recommendations I'd love to hear them.

 

2 - Where else in Madison could I at least go down and check them out besides Best Buy? Good chance I'll order online anyway, but its a bit of a unique product that I'd like to actually see and use before I order.

[hawing]

Are they at the DoIT tech store? At least that's a place you can visit.

[sbrylski]

Are they at the DoIT tech store? At least that's a place you can visit.

 

They only sell Macs (too much moolah, and don't offer a netbook), and provide a discount on Dell orders but don't have them at the store, according to their website.

[Diskono]

My wife has one of the Asus. It's alright, thought it has an issue where it won't come out of standby if the battery is really low. Not terribly fast, but a $20 RAM upgrade (to 2GB) helped. I have a Lenovo at work which seems very nicely built, but haven't used it enough to form a solid opinion. I wouldn't get one for as a main computer since the screen resolution is too small, but they're good to have as an ultra-portable traveling/sitting on the couch option.

 

I think Costco has the Acers on display, and you might be able to try Dell's offerings if they still have one of those mall kiosks near you.

[sbrylski]

Yup, the 2GB upgrade on the ASUS is a huge selling point. I wish it was a little sleeker though, a couple others models are slimmer. And yeah, its a compliment to my desktop.

[DHonks]

I only know of Best Buy. They have the HP Mini and some Acer products. The Acer is simple, but the HP keyboard seems nice. Plus, some of the small screens are ridiculously small. I'd like to see the Dell though, but can't see it anywhere

[sbrylski]

I only know of Best Buy. They have the HP Mini and some Acer products. The Acer is simple, but the HP keyboard seems nice. Plus, some of the small screens are ridiculously small. I'd like to see the Dell though, but can't see it anywhere

 

Yeah, 10" is the bare minimum IMO. I do like the size though. The Dell has their 12" screen model, which might be nice, but the processor is slightly slower and the battery life is low relative to other netbooks - and it costs more. Looks sleek though. I'm actually leaning toward the HP Mini at the moment now that I found out you can actually upgrade the RAM to 2GB no problem with it. The only sticking point is the battery life, its just a 3 cell.

[DHonks]

The Dell has their 12" screen model, which might be nice, but the processor is slightly slower and the battery life is low relative to other netbooks - and it costs more. Looks sleek though. I'm actually leaning toward the HP Mini at the moment now that I found out you can actually upgrade the RAM to 2GB no problem with it.

That's something Dell and HP were good with...notebookreview.com says they are VERY easy to upgrade memory on. However, the Mini 12 unfortunately cannot go beyong 1 GB of RAM given that the processor can't handle it. Additionally, the Lenovo S10 looks cool and affordable, but can only go to 1.5 GB RAM.

 

The Dell Ubuntu system and HP Mini MIE seem intriguing for the purposes of a netbook, but my problem is that I can't get wireless cards to work on my current laptop and computer in Ubuntu. It's making me realize that I feel fairly proficient with Windows products, but rather helpless with Linus products. The other debate is that Windows 7 is nice like Vista, only less of a system hog. It'd be nice to wait until it comes out, but that might be 8 or 9 months.

 

Does anyone know where to buy a cheap externam CD-Rom/DVD drive so that I can load disks in (like when I want to upgrade to Windows 7 next year?

[sbrylski]

It'd be nice to wait until it comes out, but that might be 8 or 9 months.

 

I've read it might be longer, sometime in 2010. When it does come out though, I plan on probably dumping both my desktop and probably my netbook for nice full laptop.

 

And I've decided to purchase the Samsung NC10. It is easily upgradable to 2GB of memory (I'm surprised how cheap 2GB of memory is) and it's pretty nice looking and thinner than everything but the HP Mini. The HP looks the best by far, IMO, but its battery life just stinks. The NC10 has a 6 cell battery to the Mini's 3.

 

http://blog.laptopmag.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/nc10-battery-chart.jpg

[DHonks]

sbrylski06,

I'm with ya...I've heard the battery on the NC10 is great. But I'm planning on using around $300 in Best Buy gift cards, so it's pretty much down to just the HP mini. The Acer's look nice and are cheaper, but I like the 10" screen and better keyboard. Like I said, I'd love to try the Dell but can't find it anywhere. It's only available on bestbuy.com, not in stores

[sbrylski]

sbrylski06,

I'm with ya...I've heard the battery on the NC10 is great. But I'm planning on using around $300 in Best Buy gift cards, so it's pretty much down to just the HP mini. The Acer's look nice and are cheaper, but I like the 10" screen and better keyboard. Like I said, I'd love to try the Dell but can't find it anywhere. It's only available on bestbuy.com, not in stores

 

The HP is sharp. Does Best Buy sell the 60 GB version? I went down to take a look and all they had on the shelf was the 16 GB version. I know this isn't exactly a product you'll need/want a lot of space in, but I'd like a bit more than 16 GB. They do have a 6 cell battery for the HP you can purchase separately and attach, but its like 80 bucks and kind of kills the look of the machine. (BTW, I ran some studies on these machines on Swoopo - not worth it.)

[DHonks]

I go back and forth with the size of the hard drive. Most of the netbooks use either 4200 RPM hard drives or flash memory. I go back and forth, but ultimately it'll come down to using the gift card, and the HP is the best of their options at Best Buy (in my opinion). Bigger battery would be nice, but not necessary. Also, like I said, I view netbooks as a temporary purchase--something to replace every 2 years for $400. I could buy a loaded laptop for $1300, but that'll be slow and breaking down within 4 years. So I view the netbooks as the cheaper alternative.

[DHonks]

Sam,

 

did you ever find the Dell netbook anywhere? I see Best Buy online has dropped the price to $350. I'm just curious if the keys will be okay, or it it's worth $50 more for the HP.

[sbrylski]

Sam,

 

did you ever find the Dell netbook anywhere? I see Best Buy online has dropped the price to $350. I'm just curious if the keys will be okay, or it it's worth $50 more for the HP.

 

Sorry, I did not. From what I've read, it sounds like just too many compromises with the Dell Mini 9 though. I think a 10" screen is pushing it, so I wouldn't purchase a 9", HD is so small, the keyboard just looks oddly configured... I'd get the HP - rave reviews on the keyboard and a better screen size. Easy to like for the look of the machine too. But I've only seen the HP in person, not the Dell.

[DHonks]

alright, thanks for the response. I rarely if ever use the Function row, so it's not a big deal to me to lose it. I agree about the screen size. Seeing the Acer Aspire One at Best Buy makes the 8.9" screens look tiny. Thanks for your thoughts...maybe somebody has seen it. It's funny, I have yet to see someone using a netbook, but they're supposedly selling like crazy

[DHonks]

i picked up the hp mini at best buy with my gift certificates, so I'll let folks know how it is

[Katuluu]

I have a 9" 20GB Linux Eee and like it quite a bit. Keyboard was a bit of an adjustment at first since I have large hands, but after a bit of time I am almost as fast on it as I am on a standard keyboard. It's fast, lightweight and easy to take with me which is exactly why I bought it.

[sbrylski]

So far my NC10 is an ace. I almost had a heart attack from disappointment when I couldn't get the card reader to work and was about ready to send it back for a replacement, but then I realized I had the Micro SD card adapter switched to lock. Whoops.

 

But yeah, its awesome.

 

While we're talking about technology, DHonks, you're old digital camera is still working for me too! Turned out to be a great purchase for me.

[DHonks]

So far my NC10 is an ace. I almost had a heart attack from disappointment when I couldn't get the card reader to work and was about ready to send it back for a replacement, but then I realized I had the Micro SD card adapter switched to lock. Whoops.

 

But yeah, its awesome.

 

While we're talking about technology, DHonks, you're old digital camera is still working for me too! Turned out to be a great purchase for me.

sbrylski06, I knew I sold you something cheaply. I have to say, the battery life on the new ones is awesome. That was my big knock on the old one, besides the size.