Jul 23, 2010 Posted by admin in Articles

Netbook Purchase Tips

Netbook is the novel and hottest craze in portable computing, as lugging a 17“ laptop everywhere can be neatly replaced by buying an ultra portable netbook. Conversely, shopping for a netbook is best by following some buying tips.

Identifying computing needs: This is an immense factor worth considering and needs proper thinking and planning about using the netbook and the related software that you need. This depends on the fact about using it for web surfing or checking email or doing some serious jobs such as video editing or graphic designing. Netbook is appropriate for lower intensive tasks that comprises of web browsing, email checking and replying, besides office applications. A netbook with full size is recommended for jobs that are processor intensive.

Portability features: Carrying a netbook around involves comprehending the size and weight as the main factor. Netbook is available in plenty of sizes, but definitely is tiny and weights less in comparison to the bulky laptops. The portability features certainly is favorable only when the netbook is light in weight and small in size. The battery size and weight also requires to be considered as some power adaptors come heavy and large in size.

Comprehending the storage types: Types of netbook available in the market should be comprehended as it helps in selecting the desired to suit the needs and wants of the buyer. Netbook comes in SSD and HDD storage types such that SSD, the Solid State Drives boot faster, possess withstanding impact and is a bit faster in performance, but is notorious for low storage. Contrarily, HDD, the Hard Disk Drives netbook stores up to 160GB data, but are weaker withstanding impacts in comparison to their counterparts, SSD. Buying a fast netbook with less storage capacity or a netbook offering high capacity, but is slow in booting depends completely on the desire and need of the buyer.

Considering the netbook`s brand: Considering the brand before purchasing is essential as the market today is filled with numerous brands of netbooks. However, good brands such as ASUS certainly carry high repute, and are followed by many more manufacturers of netbook such as Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo and MSI. These manufacturers vary in their signatures and a buyer should know these details prior to purchase, such as ASUS have small keyboards. It is necessary to know the different brand netbooks as well as their differences, and this can be understood by researching in the internet with patience.

Operating system: Similar to the desktop computers having Mac and Windows as operating system competitors, the netbook has Windows XP and Linux for competition. The netbook models are shipped by different manufacturers with an operating system, and hence every netbook is either featured with a Windows XP or Linux version. However, Linux version netbooks are well-known for their security and stability, while the Windows XP netbooks have gained the topmost popularity. Compatibility of versions is a must and hence a buyer usually opts for Windows XP netbook, as it is tough to switch paradigms facilitating Linux.

Reading reviews: User reviews play a vital role in determining the performance of some netbooks. Manufacturers do not leave any opportunity in hyping their product so that their sales are boosted. But, reading the reviews will assist in knowing the value or the rundown of a netbook model. Reading independent reviews of products offered in online computer magazines and searching the internet for more reviews will give valuable information about a product to be purchased.

Comparison: Settling for a shopping website at the first attempt is not recommended. Comparing prices from minimum three or five netbook sellers is the best before placing the order. Comparison is required as some websites offer the netbooks cheaper as they deal on wholesale orders, while others do the same and sell second hand netbooks. If buying online, make sure the you are dealing with a trusted website.

Jul 3, 2010 Posted by admin in Articles

The Most Recommended Netbooks

We’ve reviewed the experts’ recommendations and users’ comments on a wide range of netbooks, and here we recommend 4 highly rated ones.

Firstly, what are netbooks? Like the meaning of “responsible” (as in “who really is responsible for the deep economic mire we find ourselves in – greedy bankers or incompetent ministers?”) everybody seems to have a different point of view.

For the non-techy they are small, very portable laptops which are more likely to be used for basic wordprocessing, emailing, surfing the net, and watching and listening to video, pictures and songs on the move. Later models are now able to play more sophisticated games, and even do some video editing, though this is still best left for a more powerful laptop or desktop. They are at the smaller end of the screen sizes, up to 11 inches (measured diagonally), though there are no hard and fast rules.

Don’t get confused with notebooks – notebooks a bit bigger, and less portable, lying between the netbook and the laptop; nor are they “tablets” – the most famous of which is the newly launched iPad. Tablets have no keyboard and are principally for playing media and surfing the web, not more serious multi-tasking.

The important thing is that netbooks are designed to be very portable laptops – though a recent survey of US owners found that 60% never took them out of the house! Most have inbuilt wifi to connect to wireless internet wherever you are, or have the capability to link to the internet via a 3G link (like a phone).

Why would you want one? Apart from establishing your IT revolution credentials on the 7.36 from Tring, it could perfectly adequately satisfy your general computing needs whilst on the move. Battery life of the more modern netbooks is between 6 and 8 hours.

However, the basic fact is that you trade off convenience for power – ie what the thing will do for you. For example, they are unlikely to do lots of tasks at the same time, or even a single, power hungry application such as video editing. Also, one of the key things to bear in mind is the size of the screen – its small size may mean that it’s easy to slip into a large pocket or bag, but as a result it may be less easy to see what’s on it. Nevetheless, you just have to read a few user reviews to see how popular they are, and how they fulfill most users’ computing needs.

The other thing you are unlikely to find in a netbook is an inbuilt CD/DVD player – though a reasonable solution is to buy a seperate player (or “drive”) for around £30.

So what netbooks do the experts recommend? We’ve scanned the web to find their recommendations, and have found suggested best buys listed by Cnet, PC Advisor, Netbook Review, Budget Netbooks, TechRadar, Stuff.tv, Pocket Lint, Trusted Reviews, and we’ve also reviewed user comments in Revoo, Review Centre and Amazon. We’ve aggregated the rankings, and come up with our own definitive list of best buy netbooks – ones we would happily buy ourselves.

One thing to bear in mind is that manufacturers are developing their products all the time – new versions are being released regularly. This means that reviews and recommendations may be out of date after a short while. However, where a notebook has been around a while, and there is an updated version, we’ve mentioned it as worth checking out.

We’ve looked at the budget end of the notebook spectrum – under £260. You can spend more – over £400 – and you will generally get a more powerful machine, with more features. However, we think, for general use, you can buy an excellent notebook for under £300.

Here are the 4 top recommended netbooks in priority order, best first. To get more detail and the price, click on the name of the netbook. To see a particular review, check out the full article at 1.Samsung NC10 Netbook

Possibly the most recommended netbook is the Samsung NC10. Described as “Most Popular” byBudget Netbooks, given 10/10 by Trusted Reviews, 4.5/5 by PC Advisor, 5/5 by TechRadar,  5/5 and a “Hot Buy” by Stuff.TV.

In terms of user reviews, it gets 4.5/5 (11 reviews) at the Review Centre, and 5/5 (22 reviews) at Amazon.

Unfortunately, this notebook is getting a bit old now (though still available and still getting excellent reviews), so you may also wish to consider a newer netbook from the same stable, such as the Samsung N120 (TechRadar gave it 4.5/5 ) or the Samsung N130 (TechRadar gave it 3/5 and 52 users gave it an average of 4.5/5 at Amazon). They all seem great notebooks!

2. Asus 1005HA 10-inch Netbook

This netbook is highly recommended by Netbook Review (2nd out of 5), and is considered “Good Value” by Budget Netbooks. It gets an average of 4/5 in 7 reviews at Amazon

It supercedes the highly acclaimed Asus 1000 HE. A good alternative, though more expensive, is the Asus Eee Asus PC 1008HA, which is ranked 9/10 by Trusted Reviews, and 5/5 by Stuff.TV, and rated 4.5/5 on average by 12 customer reviews at Amazon
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3. Toshiba NB200-10z 10.1-inch Netbook

Highly recommended netbook, by Netbook Review (5th out of the top 10), Cnet (8th out of the top 10), Trusted Reviews (9/10), PC Advisor (4/5), and Stuff.TV (4/5).

9 customer reviews average 4/5 at Amazon

4. Acer Aspire One D150

Whilst this notebook is getting a little long in the tooth (relatively!), and has been updated during 2009, it is still rated very highly by the experts and users. Budget Netbooks said it was “easy to use”, PC Advisor gave it 4.5/5, as did TechRadar. Stuff.TV rated it slightly lower at 4/5, but still recommended it. 33 customer reviews at Amazon rated it 4 /5 on average.

You might equally consider the Acer Aspire One Pro 531 which is rated  4/5 by Stuff.TV, and gets rated 5/5 by 1 customer at Amazon.