Do you own a netbook?

[yoda313]

THIS POLL IDEA CREATED BY BALDRICK - THANKS!

So do you have a netbook?

I have a cellphone with moderate internet capabilities - its a prepaid plan so I only get the sites they offer for free. I also have an old p2 laptop that is pretty much useless these days.

How about you?

[Baldrick]

Nope. But I'm thinking of getting one but for now is my smartphone enough(samsung omnia).

[John]

nope, i have had 4 smart phones now, the latest and best being the Samsung Omnia, though thinking about it if it was the best why is it back at samsung getting fixed LOL.

[gadgetguy]

I don't have any interest in a netbook. I have my laptop for my portability needs.

[Number Six]

I'm going to say yes because I have a Sony Picturebook - which can be considered as the predecessor to today's Netbooks.

[Constant Gardener]

Yes. I like the small size. I try to avoid computers when on vacation, but this one is handy for backing up cameras and feeding the mp3 player.

[raffie]

Not yet, but I really like them, and I would ve bought one if I didnt know about the Sony P-series, wich will come out here in Europe this summer.


GPS, GSM, runs Vista and will fit in me pocket, my ultimate gadget ^^

[edDV]

IMO, the one good thing about netbooks is they keep the price of true laptops down.

I'd rather have a decent screen size, usable keyboard and a real mobility CPU.

Netbooks are just an oversized iPhone/Blackberry :P

[Seeker47]

IMO, the one good thing about netbooks is they keep the price of true laptops down.

I'd rather have a decent screen size, usable keyboard size and a real mobility CPU. Netbooks are just large phones

Yes, I agree. There is something appealing about the concept, and I have seen whole educational presentations conducted from one (where you almost can't even see the netbook up there on the podium), but I would miss the burner -- at least -- and maybe some other features typically found on a well-equipped notebook. I guess I prefer a notebook that can be an adequate desktop replacement, to the extent that is possible. Carrying something that runs 3 or 4 lb.s is not a big deal, in order to have that.

[edDV]

The laptop fits fine in my travel backpack (along with HDV cam, still cam and peripherals). A netbook wouldn't save much if any space.

People forget there is still a large power supply that goes with the netbook.
To that you may need to add an external DVD writer plus power supply which cancels any size/weight advantage.

[freebird73717]

No I have a 17inch HP laptop but I'd love to have a netbook. Would be so much easier to take with me on jobs than to lug around the hp. It's heavy.

It will probably be the next thing I buy ...as I save my pennies

[disturbed1]

IMO, the one good thing about netbooks is they keep the price of true laptops down.

I'd rather have a decent screen size, usable keyboard and a real mobility CPU.

Netbooks are just an over sized iPhone/Blackberry :P

Absolutely agree. I almost bought one for just under $300, until I saw it in person. Under powered CPU, small screen and small keyboard. Didn't think it was worth $300 for what it does. A 2x powerful laptop with a much larger screen and keyboard can be had for $400 or less out the door. They have the 10" netbooks with larger keyboards, but when compared side by side to a real laptop, they don't make much since. Unless the extra pound makes a difference to you, or if you have small girlie hands

If these things would drop in price to $199 or less, it's a good deal. At the present price point, not so good.

I still have (and use daily) my Palm Tungsten T2, and Sony Clie palm devices. The Sony has built in wifi, so it allows me sync and check email on the go. Looked at the BlackBerry's and other smart phones, but without a long contract, the phones are outrageously priced.

[MJA]

they are selling like hotcake on amazon.com specially the new ASUS Eee1000HE 9.5 Hour Battery Life ,not bad for $350(ZipZoomfly,com)

[budz]

At work I got to see a HELL one, I mean a DELL one which cost $600.00!
And yet the governor here in Hawaii wants to cut government worker salaries/benefits but they sure know how to waste money. Okay I'm done with my ranting.

Getting back to the topic at hand. The keyboard is too freaking tiny. It's good to have if you travel on business a lot since it's quite lighter than a laptop. I personally won't buy one as well unless the cost comes down to $200.00. If all one wants to do is surf the net, listen to mp3's and do emails then that would perfect. I don't see it running much of anything else. I don't need a netbook since I check my email on my Sanyo cell phone. Just my 2 cents!

[Nitemare]

I don't own a laptop or a netbook, yet. When I buy, it will be laptop.

[greengate69]

I use a Samsung NC10 and regard it more as a small laptop than a Netbook. It handles web, mail, office and media applications (like slingbox) with ease. It has a 75% full size keyboard and gives me 6-7 hours use on battery. It is around the size of a 10" portable DVD and infinitely more versatile.

I think the next generation of Netbooks will see them really come into there own. They will feature built in 3g and up to 11 hours on battery. That is really where a Netbook can be regarded as a different solution to a laptop - ultra-portable and not dependent on access points or mains electricity.

I would have to agree I can't see the point of some current ones that are underpowered, slow and rather pointless given the poor battery life of many.

[classfour]

I happened on an ASUS 10 inch by luck. $225 after rebate from zipzoomfly (started as $299 after $140 in instant discounts). It has a solid 4.5 hours per charge, readable 10 inch screen (without glasses), Windows XP - not Ubuntu, and 160GB hard drive.

I suspect it will take over many duties my Dell laptop was performing.

[unclebud]

Asus 10" , underpowered but works. Added a 2gb memory chip, helped. I hardly ever use it at home, mostly for the road.

[Seeker47]

The keyboard is too freaking tiny.

I still can't believe how much texting people seem to do on those even much tinier cell phone keyboards ! Can't really call it typing -- more like "thumbing." Must be a generational thing. (It helps a lot if you're under 25.)

[TBoneit]

I've used the Lenovo Netbook at work. 2.8 pounds, Great
1Gb memory, enough
80 Gb Hard drive, good enough
XP Home, OK
Webcam, Who wants that.
Wireless, WiFi, and Ethernet, OK
Plug in the 8X DVD USB Powered DVD Burner when needed. Good
1.6Ghz Intel Atom is adequate.

Beats trying to lug around that heavy 15" screen laptop I currently own.

I rate it at 4.5 stars out of 5 stars now that they have come out with the higher capacity battery.

Plus it can do everything I need from a laptop and save my shoulder form all that weight of my current laptop. I may pick one up or maybe go for the HP laptop that runs over 24 hours per battery charge, How? LED backlight, SSD drive and so on.

[edDV]

...
1.6Ghz Intel Atom is adequate.

Plus it can do everything I need from a laptop and save my shoulder form all that weight of my current laptop. I may pick one up or maybe go for the HP laptop that runs over 24 hours per battery charge, How? LED backlight, SSD drive and so on.

I guess it depends on what you need to do in that hotel room onsite vs. enroute. I need a local office in that Residence Inn when working and I need to quick edit video when on vacation.

When all the airlines include a comp internet during the flight I'd need battery. But shouldn't they offer a power connector as well?

[lordsmurf]

I already have a laptop -- and I use it daily -- but I don't take it anywhere. It hasn't moved off the desk in a year. To be honest, it's a "desktop machine" now.

I question whether people really need to be this connected at all times, in all places.

We got along just fine before Blackberries, TXT messages, laptops, etc. There was this device called the telephone, and it involved flapping your lips and moving your tongue while sounds came out. We communicated pretty well, too! Better, probably, to be honest!

[edDV]

I've been connected while travelling since I got a 80's 286 DOS Compaq using Compuserve. I was away weeks at a time then and even paid my power bill to PG&E from a hotel room in Tokyo with my BofA wire account using a 2400baud modem. Compuserve actually had local dialup in Tokyo, Hong Kong and most major Euro cities.

I've still got two 128 Kbps Ricochet wireless modems from Y2K era ($75/mo each back then). I signedup their first month.

[Epicurus8a]

My wife has an Acer Aspire One and loves it. It's actually pretty fast.

[edDV]

I see the netbook more as an email and/or social network device rather than a serious computer. It competes more in the phone/PDA space. The phone companies should give them away with a 2 year wireless subscription.

For my needs I still see the division this way

Phone > in pocket (instant communication)

Laptop > in backpack/briefcase (mobile workstation)

Desktop > base station

Ideally these are all networked/synchronized through a server.

[racer-x]

Bought an Acer Aspire for my son to use for school. After I disabled all the junk, it runs pretty well. Nice screen and 160 GB HDD should be very adequate for school work and web. No burner, but can easily plug in one of my old burners via USB.

It's too small and weak for my tastes, but it's great for my 14 year old.

[JohnnyMalaria]

Weird.

That Picturebook reminds me of the stupid HP Journada (?) I had about 11 years ago. Everyone at work had them - for about a year. Then, as now, I found the display to be pathetically inadequate.

Per lordsmurf, texting escapes me. I understood its value when it first became available because it was a much cheaper option than calling someone. But with the unlimited plans now offered, why not just call them? I think in a few years time, we will look back on texting as some very strange, clumsy intermediate technology. It's like sending telegrams. I bet there's even an iPhone Morse code app.

Still, whichever technology you prefer, we are all still bound by that 19th century invention - the QWERTY key layout. With all the amazing technology literally at our fingertips we still have to use our - uh - fingertips.

[Nelson37]

Can't use the small keyboard, need glasses for my 22" monitor, and I usually get my laptops for free or minimal cost. No interest in Internet on my phone, my cell is an ancient Nokia which rides in my pocket with keys and change, been dropped on pavement many times, refuses to die, and has outlasted the Ex's 3 or 4 various phones which have cost a crapload more cash. It dials, remembers numbers, sends and receives calls, which is all I need it to do.

I find e-mail or text totally insuffiicient for what I need to do, which usually requires a lot of question-and-answer, as most here already know most folks just do not provide enough information. In fact the advantage of e-mail is the delay it introduces into the communication, useful with the aforementioned ex. You can ignore an e-mail much more easily than pretending not to hear the nagging, bitching, etc. For work I'm in the "Answers NOW" business.

Now, when they perfect the projected holographic keyboard, and video beamed directly onto the eyeball, these things might make a usable, low-power computer. Which won't play games or video, or pretty much anything useful except for Internet and E-mail.

[usually_quiet]

I don't travel enough any more to make a laptop useful, let alone a netbook.

As far as texting goes, for grownups, it is legitimately useful for privacy/stealth, or for communicating in noisy environments.

The young adults I know who use it habitually began to converse with their friends via IM and texting so their parents couldn't overhear the conversation and know what was really going on with their social lives. Now they have to be prodded into making phone calls for anything. I don't get it either, but then again I have a middle-aged cousin who would write me 3-page emails, but can't seem to write letters.

[AntnyMD]

As often as I seem to kill laptops, Mac ones at that, a small, cute netbook is good enough for me. For the same $899 that I can get a refurbed Macbook, I can get three netbooks! Although the two cannot be compared "apples to apples," neither can my wallet continue to buy Macbooks at this rate!