The Tale of Notebooks

Netbook = small and light laptop with fairly limited capabilities. Can't really play the latest 3D games of play 1080p HD movies, doesn't have any optical drives, etc. The cost are normally in the $199-$450 brand new

I used to own an Asus 1000H, and having many friends with computers asking me questions, I pondered about who can use netbooks and which one.

Netbooks are great for people who use their computer mostly to watch videos (netflix, hulu, etc), browse the net, look at pictures, listen to music, do office work, even programming (web, or otherwise). If you travel a lot, you will enjoy the 7+ hours of battery life, 3lbs or less weight (including power supply) and most of all, it doesn't take much room when deployed (think airline trays)

Netbooks are NOT for people who watch blueray videos or 1080 high def videos, want to play the latest video games, extensively do photo editing or movie editing (simple to moderate photo editing is fine, movie transcoding is a little slow).

One thing to remember about the price: You can buy a full featured laptop starting at $499 or so with 15" screen and very fast dual core processors. I wouldn't pay more than $400 for a netbook.

Why wouldn't you buy a regular laptop over a netbook:
- if you travel a lot 3lbs for the laptop and power supply is a far cry from 5lbs weight of the laptops alone
- most people don't need the computing power on the laptops
- it's at least $100 cheaper than the cheapest laptop
- the 8+ hours of battery life (with 6 cell batteries) is very handy when you're on a long flight
- laptops don't easily fit in a Coach purse

How to use them for everything you might need at home:
- get a larger screen, hence the accessible VGA port is important
- get a wireless mouse and keyboard
- even if you don't travel a lot, it's nice to not take up a lot of room for your computer

What to look for when getting a netbook:
- get the Intel Atom processor (either N270 or N280)
- get the 6 cell batter (less = less battery life, more = heavier)
- 11.6" screens are usually paired with the less capable Z520 processor
- watch out for keyboard size and layout
- watch out for touchpad size, layout and button placements
- make sure all the ports are accessible (Asus 1008 places the VGA port on the bottom)
- easy upgrade for memory (usually comes with 1GB, want 2GB) and battery

My choice:
- Asus 1000H (older, decent battery life at 8+ hours, but can be had for <$300 and has almost everything the more expensive 1005 HA)
- Asus 10005HA (very good battery life at 9+ hours, decent keyboard and build quality
- Toshiba NB205 (has accelerometer for hard drive protection, very good battery life at 9+ hours, one USB port is always live for charging devices even if the netbook is turned off)

Would not buy:
acer aspire one ao751h - weak cpu (Z520, 1.2Ghz)
acer aspire one 250 - cramped keyboard
asus eeepc 1008 - vga port on the bottom, non replaceable battery
hp mini 110 - hd screen available (1366x768), video accelerator available, ok battery life, side mouse buttons (this one is ok to get, I prefer the above three)
MSI WInd U100 - nothing to boast about (this one is ok, I prefer the above three)

There are many others that I looked at but quickly dismissed (Samsung NC310, Dell Mini, Lenovo IdeaPad S12, etc)

Hope this helps.