Tempted to buy a netbook

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LindyUpson

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Anyone got any thoughts on best buy or anything NB to watch out for when researching. I also heard they will probably drop in price to around a grand quite quickly - dont want to buy too early?
 
I doubt they'll drop that low. At least not for a LONG time. And by that stage, other BETTER ones will be available.

Best value at the moment is the Acer Aspire One A110L. You can get them for R2499 at Incredible Connection. One downside (for some) of this notebook is that it comes with a version of Linpus Linux Lite modified by Acer. It's a very simple interface that is easy and fast to use. Unfortunately if you want a more usable computer, you will have to look at "unlocking" the real operating system, or installing another operating system of your choice. Another downside of this notebook is the limited storage space. 8GB might not be enough for you. But if you will only be using it for mobility, as I do, then you will likely be more than happy. And there are 2 card slots that you can use for extra storage space.

I got my Acer Aspire One A110L for R1999, installed Ubuntu Linux 9.04 on it and have never looked back. It's sleek, does everything I need, and I still haven't run out of storage space.
 
The Lenovo IdeaPad S10e is selling like HOTCAKES with us at the moment.

R3996 all inc PLUS a free Netbook sleeve valued at R145.

The price just came down. This unit was R4700 inc a month ago.

Sold many many of these and all customers extremely happy:

Intel Atom 1.6Ghz
1Gb DDRII
160GB SATA
Webcam
10.1" LCD
Wireless
Lan
Bluetooth
Windows XP Home.

Check out the deal on the website.
 
Can I ask why the need for a netbook vs a normal lappie or even a desktop? Going to be on the move a lot?
 
Well, when it comes to Mini Notebooks, i suggest you start to look at something like this (link below) and work your way down . Initially i looked at these Acers/Asus ones and you simply don't realise the "what am i missing?" factor until you check the more expensive models .

I'm not saying go for this one, just look at the features and then determine if your Linux driven, 2GB hard-drive version, is -really- worth it:

http://www.expansys.co.za/zoompic.aspx?type=item&i=168824

It's R6k . Now look at those Acers again ;)

And to be honest, after i looked at that, i realise if i'm ever going to get a mini-notebook it MUST have a touchscreen so i can use it as an e-reader and not use a trackpoint/panel [you don't want to carry a mouse with you] . I mean what's the point of a small lappy if you're still going to sit with it at a table or forced to use it on your lap ;). I want to be able to stand and work on it ;).

The only other thing i want on these things are integrated 3G/HSDPA, but i guess the mini USB modems is ok..just make sure you got minimum TWO USB ports, so that you -can- plug in a mouse/flashdisk/HD plus a modem.

I'm still confused as to why they call them "netbooks" when there's no 3G built in :/ ....very misleading for us South Africans. Overseas aparantly "wi-fi" = "internet everywhere" .
 
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Shew, thanks guys. Going to have to work my way through all the advice - much appreciated.
HJ2K x: yes, hate lugging my laptop around. Wil definitely take netbook around with me to keep in touch. Also for clients (in online marketing) hopefully a nifty way to show go online during meetings.
 
LindyUpson said:
Shew, thanks guys. Going to have to work my way through all the advice - much appreciated.
HJ2K x: yes, hate lugging my laptop around. Wil definitely take netbook around with me to keep in touch. Also for clients (in online marketing) hopefully a nifty way to show go online during meetings.
Click to expand...

Cool, then I concur with what has been said.

Just take the lappie for a spin before you buy if possible. IC usually have a lot on display. The smallest EEEPC's are too small in my opinion...So just have a look at the 9 and 10 inch ones and check that they are not going to be too small for your needs...
 
Would be nice if those netbooks had a DVD drive or something. Ah, well, I guess that's why external drives and divx was created. :)
 
TheRift said:
Would be nice if those netbooks had a DVD drive or something. Ah, well, I guess that's why external drives and divx was created. :)
Click to expand...

It would be nice, sure... But at the end of the day, for mobility, it's not really needed. And because it would add to the cost of the system, it doesn't really make sense to include something that isn't as useful as you might think.
 
sn3rd said:
It would be nice, sure... But at the end of the day, for mobility, it's not really needed. And because it would add to the cost of the system, it doesn't really make sense to include something that isn't as useful as you might think.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the last time I used mine was to install software when I reinstalled windoze...
 
Can the USB ports on the R2k model power an external HDD? A laptop drive in external enclosure would add sufficient storage. Cheaper than paying the extra up front, more versatile you could probably get a 320GB one these days:D
 
Budza said:
Can the USB ports on the R2k model power an external HDD? A laptop drive in external enclosure would add sufficient storage. Cheaper than paying the extra up front, more versatile you could probably get a 320GB one these days:D
Click to expand...

Indeed it can (assuming you're talking about a 2.5" external).
 
I'm looking forward to the ARM based netbooks coming out this year.
 
ponder said:
I'm just thinking about battery life. Price should however be lower than the Intel offerings I suspect.
Click to expand...

And performance would be lower too :p

Getting the right price/performance ratio will be essential to their success.
 
TheRift said:
Would be nice if those netbooks had a DVD drive or something. Ah, well, I guess that's why external drives and divx was created. :)
Click to expand...
I've got plenty of dvd drives in other more powerful machines that can quickly rip and encode and the relatively large drive in my AAO can hold plenty of content. :)
 
Lindy, lol@u, online marketing during meetings... its so common to go to a meeting these days and everyone pops open their notebook; "jsut waiting for a seriously important, lifechanging, thought provoking email from my golf instructor." :))

WHY buy a netbook... they're cool for surfing but ultra small screen makes squinting part of your daily health routine. Super light in some instances but super slow too. Don't plan on doing anything other than surfing because the Atom processor is useless for running multiple applications. Noooo Powerpoint. thats not a bad thing though.

FYI to the rest I have a netbook - my wife loves it and stole it as soon as it got delivered. I got my revenge by ordering a new i7 desktop the enxt day :)))

Ideapad is a great purchase for value, Acer is going to leave you making coffee and phoning 5 friends while it loads, Dell is overpriced but the solid state drive is light and a whole lot faster than 5400k SATA drive.

Good luck with your purchase.
 
I have an Acer Aspire One A110L. It's not slow at ALL. It multitasks quite capably. It does everything I need. And it was cheap as chips :D
 
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