To netbook or not

[bender0069]

I have my iMac that I love, but occasionally I like to sit on the couch and surf the net. I have this laptop with the exception of a bigger hard drive http://imagine41.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=463&osCsid=d23bef08252a51acaf5c59255c4852da I've thought about upgrading the ram, but I'm not sure if it will support more. I bought a new battery for it about a year ago and it says it lasts for almost 4 hours. I've never really timed it, but I'd say it's close. The computer is 6 yrs old at least. I had tons of problems with it in the past, but so far it's been OK since I've installed the last hard drive. Down falls- it gets really hot, it's really big and heavy.
I don't know how often I'd travel with the laptop, probably not much, just light use on the couch, maybe save pictures and such.

This is what I'm thinking about getting.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B001DIY2D4/ref=ord_cart_shr?_encoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance
I'm OK with linux. I have small hands, so I think the keyboard will be OK, I'm sure the missing rt shift key may bother me a little. I don't want to spend a bunch on something like this, so I like the price. I know it's a huge step down in size, but I think I'd be OK with it.

I guess I just can decide if it would be worth it, and if I was to get the netbook I may sell the gateway. I'm assuming it's only worth about $300. Comments, ideas? Thanks.

[Yonzie]

If you can handle the big and heavy part, how about this (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80115790)? It's padded on the underside to be gentle on your thighs, and the top insulates you from the heat generated. It's only a bit more than 1/20th the price of a netbook, and the screen size will probably be a lot nicer.

[Dorian Gray]

I don't own a netbook, but I've researched them with the intention to get one. In your case I'd say definitely get one! It will be a dream to use compared to that old laptop, and although an 8.9-inch screen sounds small, it's 1024 pixels wide and more than adequate for surfing the 'net or writing. In practice it doesn't feel too small (at least for me). I believe Yonzie has a 30-inch display so he will naturally have a different perspective.

Sylvania make good lightbulbs but I'm not sure what their netbooks are like! Have a look for reviews from people who test these things for a living rather than buyers on Amazon who've probably never used another netbook.

Other netbooks you should consider around $300-350 are Linux versions of the Acer Aspire One (http://www.acer.com/aspireone/) (which I've used and highly recommend: great build quality, great price, nice design, good screen, one of the better keyboards available; its biggest weakness is the battery life of just over two hours in the 3-cell version); the HP 2133 Mini-Note (http://h40059.www4.hp.com/hp2133/) (very slow processor and mediocre battery life, otherwise superb in every respect, boasting a metal body that's a steal at the massive discounts now available); the Dell Inspiron Mini 9 (http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/laptop-inspiron-9?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs) (small keyboard and low storage space (flash memory only), but compact even by netbook standards, and decent battery life); and of course the innumerable Asus Eee PC (http://eeepc.asus.com/global/products.html?n=0) models with 9-inch displays. There are also nice netbooks at $400 and a good deal more, but at that price some of the basic appeal of a netbook goes away, even if you can afford it (and frankly, I doubt I'd pick any of them over the Aspire One even if they were priced lower).

The only downside is that you won't get anywhere near $300 for your old laptop. In fact, you'd be lucky to find someone who'd give you $30. Hope that doesn't discourage you from getting the netbook, because I think you'd love it and I believe netbooks are the future of portable computing for many of us. Certainly they are making people realise that it's often foolish to buy the cheapest laptop with the biggest screen available, ignoring every other consideration, which is frankly how a lot of non-geeks bought laptops for the last few years. The result of that thinking was the near-unusable monstrosities that plague brick-and-mortar computer shops everywhere. Any netbook is a much more usable and enjoyable machine than one of those brutes.

[artesc]

I second everything Dorian said; from what I've seen, the Acer Aspire One or the MSI Wind are the way to go. I've been wanting one for a really long time but I just can't justify the expense, I mean, it's the price of 2 or 3 textbooks, but I have a perfectly serviceable laptop that doesn't really pose many portability issues. However, if I happen to come into a spare $300-$400 you can guess what I'll be buying. Also noteworthy, is the ability to run OS X on some netbooks with little to no issues.

[Capella]

I would recommend my own Dell Inspiron Mini 9 over the Sylvania- I've never heard of the brand and am correspondingly leery. The Acer Aspire 1 is a nice machine, but the Mini's battery life is superior (I routinely clock over 4 hours with wifi and brightness down all the way (which is still readable)). If you're just surfing and doing light word processing, the smaller size of the SSD is going to be negligible, and the SSD takes less battery than an HD from what I've heard. I upgraded to the 16GB, and I really don't need it- the grand total of all the eBooks, class notes, and writing I keep on here is under 700MB of text!

I just convinced a friend to get a refurbished model, and he managed to get the 1GB RAM/8GB SSD model for $279. It was Previously Owned New, too, which is Dell speak for "returned unopened", aka "unit was never turned on", which means "essentially new". At that kind of price, it's a fantastic deal. I can give you more details on Dell Outlet if you want.

(Also, did you see the Sylvania's ship time? Usually ships within 1 to 2 months. Why so long? Get a machine that gets there quicker!)

[artesc]

Wow, $279 is a really good deal. I don't need one, but maybe I can just go look...where did you say they were again?

[Capella]

Dell's Outlet website is www.dell.com/outlet. From there you pick Laptops and Inspiron Mini 9. From there you can sort by your needs (RAM amount, SSD size, color, etc.) You can also pick your preferred refurb category.

Previously Ordered New: Ordered, possibly shipped, but was not turned on. No cosmetic damage.

Certified Refurbished: Was turned on, may have slight cosmetic damage.

Scratch and Dent: Has been used, major cosmetic damage.

Minis are new enough that there's no S&D models and only a few Certified Refurbs. Obviously CRs are less than PON models. And again, exact price varies by conditions and specs. But I got a Certified Refurb desktop that was $120 off from new, and it had no blemishes and worked GREAT. I really do recommend Dell's refurbs.

I'm trying to give a direct link here (http://outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnlineSales/topics/global.aspx/arb/online/en/InventorySearch?c=us&cs=22&l=en&s=dfh); let me know if it works. As of this moment the PON of the 4GB SSD/512MB RAM model is $269. But they update every half our, so constantly check in and you'll hopefully find a friend. :)

[artesc]

Yup, works. Looking at all the lovelies right now. Thanks for the link. :D

[Yonzie]

I believe Yonzie has a 30-inch display so he will naturally have a different perspective. True, but that's not why I wrote that ;) Just trying to flip the idea on it's head to possibly save the OP a lot of money.
Of course, I do realize now (which I didn't at the time) that this is the US and you have TV-dinner trays and tables galore, so the OP probably already thought of that idea.

[nikstar101]

I kinda agree with Yonzie. Buying a netbook just so you can sit in front of the Tv and surf the net at the same, when you already have a laptop does seem a little crazy.

Yes the laptop is going to be heavier, but if your not carrying it around, that's not really a problem. Plus it will have a bigger screen and keyboard.

But then again i am going to buy this digital piano, which is double the price of the model below, just for one feature that i probably wont use that often. So what do i know....