{"id":6428,"date":"2009-01-03T14:16:00","date_gmt":"2009-01-03T12:16:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2009-01-03T14:16:00","modified_gmt":"2009-01-03T12:16:00","slug":"picking-the-right-netbook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/hardware\/6428-picking-the-right-netbook.html","title":{"rendered":"Picking the right netbook"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you have any money left over from Christmas you may be thinking about buying yourself a netbook for the new year. Here we take a look at what you can expect to pay for one and what you’ll get for your money.

Asus EEE 700W (R2 499) and Asus EEE 701W (R3 400)<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is the original netbook which started the trend. It’s still a pretty handy piece of hardware even though its keyboard is woefully small. The price tag on the 700W alone makes it worth checking out and even the higher price for the 701W is worth it. Both machines have a flash-based hard drive (2GB for the 700W and 4GB for the 701W) which is adequate for a netbook but will be too small if you plan to use this for anything other than surfing the Internet and checking the odd email. The built-in SD card slot can be used to extend storage capacity, however. Size-wise the Asus EEE 700 series is perfect for traveling around because it slips into just about any bag you can imagine and you might end up digging through your bag trying to find it. <\/p>\n

Asus EEE 904HD – R4 400<\/p>\n

A better bet when it comes to the Asus EEE netbooks is to get a 900 series one. The price is a good R1 000 higher than the 701W but you get a 80GB hard disk, a better 1024×600 screen, a better keyboard and it looks a bit more appealing than the 700 series. The 904HD Asus is less common in South Africa than the 700 series but it would be worth searching online for a retailer with stock.<\/p>\n

Toshiba NB100 – R4 900<\/strong><\/p>\n

Only recently released into the SA market the Toshiba NB100 is another contender although not widely stocked. The price tag is bordering on the high-end but it does include a 120GB hard drive, 8.9-inch screen at 1024 wide. The NB 100 ticks all the boxes when it comes to specs so is worth a look but it may not appeal to users who prefer the looks of the Acer Aspire One.

Acer Aspire One – R4 554 to R5 499<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Acer Aspire One is one of the best looking, and performing, netbooks. It has among the best, almost full-sized, keyboards around and a fantastic screen that does 1024 wide. The 120GB hard disk on the high-end version (running Windows XP) and the built-in multi-card reader make the One very appealing. But the price tag is a little heavy considering a decent entry-level Acer laptop will cost about the same price. If you want the same experience while still saving some money, then look for the Linux-based version with the Flash-based storage. At R1 000 cheaper it is a much better buy. Unless you really need all that power-sapping hard drive space. <\/p>\n

Acer Aspire One 3G – R6 999<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is the high-end of netbooks but as attractive as it is the price tag is likely a lot more than most people will want to spend. If your company is springing for a netbook then you want to argue for this machine with its built-in 3G modem. It’s an ideal on-the-road workhorse and includes the fantastic 8.9-inch screen at 1024 wide, a hefty 160GB hard disk, multi-card reader and six-cell battery pack. But if the money is going to be coming out of your own pocket then it is worth looking a elsewhere for an equally good but more affordable netbook. Bear in mind the built-in 3G connectivity adds around R1 500 to the base model price. <\/p>\n

Best netbook discussion<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With a wide range of price tags, picking the right netbook is a tricky business.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hardware"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6428"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6428"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6428\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}