Netbook pros and cons
One of the surprise hits of 2008 has been the emergence of netbooks, ultra-portable laptop PCs for users on the move. Small, lightweight and mostly affordable, netbooks are designed as second PCs for most users who already have a work or home PC but need to check email and the Internet when out of the office.
But choosing the right netbook can be a challenge as they rapidly change specs and prices and now range from ultra-basic at a good price to full-featured with a hefty price tag. Here are some of the things you need to bear in mind when you consider buying a netbook.
Price
Obviously. But it’s not as obvious as it might seem. When netbooks were first introduced they (the Asus EEE PC) was pinned at around R2 500 – R3 500. Today, however, the price range is significantly wider. The Acer Aspire One 3G sells for anywhere up to R8 000 in South Africa. Which is a hefty price tag for a lightweight, lower-spec machine than an entry-level laptop. The R2 500 price tag makes it possible to buy a netbook as a "second machine". But at close to R8 000 it no longer makes sense to buy a netbook.
Keyboard
Don’t underestimate the value of a good keyboard. Even if you’re not going to be working for eight hours a day on a netbook a small keyboard is a much bigger obstacle that it might originally appear. The Asus EEE PC 700W is small, cheap and not-awful looking. But it has the smallest keyboard this side of a mobile phone. Even if you’re small-fingered you’re going to find it hard to hit the right keys every time, although kids find the keyboard pretty cool. The Acer Aspire One, on the other hand, has an almost-full-sized keyboard to work with. Its keyboard is undeniably better that that on the Asus EEE but you’re still going to find it cramping to use for a full day.
Hard drive
The initial value-proposition of netbooks was that they mostly used solid state drives (SSD) as opposed to traditional hard disks. But now many of the latest netbooks include a standard hard disk in place of the SSD. Which is great for storing multimedia files but requires a lot more power than SSD. So while you gain a lot more storage space you trade in battery life for that benefit. If you’re planning to use a netbook for its intended purpose – checking email and the internet out of the office – then the SSD-based versions are more than adequate. Most ship with 4GB or 8GB onboard storage and an SD slot (or two). Which is more than enough considering the rapid increases in solid state storage.
Operating system
This is a matter of personal preference. Most users will favour Windows XP because of its familiarity. But, if you’re comfortable with Linux then it is worth looking for a netbook without Windows to save a couple hundred rand and then either use the shipped Linux or look at something like Ubuntu EEE. From sometime next year we can expect to see netbooks shipping with Windows 7 when that is released. The one thing you want to avoid on a netbook, however, is Windows Vista.
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