Best netbook out right now?

AUMM

Diamond Member
Mar 13, 2001
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Looking to buy an ultraportable laptop for traveling/general usage.... I've been looking at the Asus Eee PC 1000HE

is there something else anyone would recommend? I liked this one in particular because of the battery life...
 

AnnonUSA

Senior member
Nov 18, 2007
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MSI's Netbook is one of the better ones in my opinion....Good display, good keyboard.

I have a Lenovo S10e and I love it, very sturdy, but the MSI has a better keyboard...and the Lenovo display is actually 1024 x 567 (not 1024 x 600).

I got the Lenovo as a dealer special...price too good to pass up, otherwise I'd have the MSI. Whatever you get, be sure it comes with a six cell battery.
 

VinDSL

Diamond Member
Apr 11, 2006
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www.lenon.com
Originally posted by: AUMM
Looking to buy an... Asus Eee PC 1000HE

is there something else anyone would recommend?
I've been looking for a while...

If I had to buy a netbook TODAY, it would be the HP Mini 2140.

The PC 1000HE would be my second choice, but I'm still tossing it around. ;)

EDIT: Just did a little online shopping...

http://www.provantage.com/hewl...157ut-aba~7HEWW11X.htm (PROVANTAGE)

Hewlett Packard Mini 2140 KS157UT#ABA (6-cell) $413.19

LoL! I am sooo tempted to add it to my cart! :D
 

AnnonUSA

Senior member
Nov 18, 2007
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Originally posted by: VinDSL
Originally posted by: AUMM
Looking to buy an... Asus Eee PC 1000HE

is there something else anyone would recommend?
I've been looking for a while...

If I had to buy a netbook TODAY, it would be the HP Mini 2140.

The PC 1000HE would be my second choice, but I'm still tossing it around. ;)

EDIT: Just did a little online shopping...

http://www.provantage.com/hewl...157ut-aba~7HEWW11X.htm (PROVANTAGE)

Hewlett Packard Mini 2140 KS157UT#ABA (6-cell) $413.19

LoL! I am sooo tempted to add it to my cart! :D

The HP is overpriced, and the keyboard is strange....while the keys seem large, there is little distinction between the keys....

but ergonomics aside, the cost difference of the others vs the HP is too great...HP is too overpriced, as is the Dell Mini's

 

VinDSL

Diamond Member
Apr 11, 2006
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Originally posted by: AnnonUSA
The keyboard is strange....while the keys seem large, there is little distinction between the keys...
Not sure what you mean by "distinction between the keys"!

Sounds like you're saying small keys with big gaps between them are preferable to large keys with small gaps. Is that what you're claiming?!?!?

I haven't seen a HP 2140 in the wild - but I played around with the HP 1000 at Costco - and the keyboard was astonishing - best keyboard I've seen, by far! Made the other netbooks look like toys...
 

AUMM

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Mar 13, 2001
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The Asus I'm hoping to be able to pickup for about $330 and upgrade the ram...
 

VinDSL

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Apr 11, 2006
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Originally posted by: AUMM
The Asus I'm hoping to be able to pickup for about $330 and upgrade the ram...
"The ASUS" is nice too! I keep going back n' forth between the ASUS and the HP...

I would definitely stay away from the 'budget basement' stuff - Acer, et cetera. Penny-Wise, Pound-Foolish!

I have a perfectly good multi-booted x64 Toshiba lappy but @ 15.4" it's kind of a PITA to tote around!

I want a NETbook for carrying and (ahem) getting on the net. The HP wins on both accounts!

The HP 2140 is tough as nails! It has an aluminum lid, steel pivot pins, magnesium chassis, blah, blah, blah.

And, the 2140 has a stellar WiFi card, plus a full-sized ExpressCard/54 slot for my Sprint/Verizon EVDO.

Battery life seems pretty good too, depending on who you believe...

SOURCE: http://www.laptopmag.com/revie...-mini-2140.aspx?page=3

The HP Mini 2140 outshines not only its predecessor when it comes to endurance but all other netbooks equipped with six-cell batteries.

On the LAPTOP Battery Test (continuous Web surfing over Wi-Fi), the system lasted a very impressive 7 hours and 19 minutes.

This runtime blows away the mini-notebook average of 3:48, and it beats out even the Samsung NC10, the longest-lasting mini-notebook to date, by 45 minutes.

[T]he smaller three-cell battery lasts a solid 3 hours and 32 minutes.

HP also includes its Fast Charge technology in the Mini 2140, which can charge... a completely drained six-cell battery in... 98 minutes... [emphasis added].

Anyway, happy hunting! ;)
 

hans007

Lifer
Feb 1, 2000
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i guess it depends on how much you want to spend.

i've had a wind, an s10e, and a hp mini 1000. i'd say the 1000 was the best keyboard , but the MSI wind had better features and price. the s10e had a weird keyboard, but was built pretty well.

the s10-2 is really nice, as it has a new keyboard layout (lost the express card though which sucks).

the S12 is theo ne i'd buy if i was going to get one now. its expensive, but 12" HD and ion based. not out yet i dont think though.
 

you2

Diamond Member
Apr 2, 2002
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I like the 1000HE. I played with a bunch at staples and bestbuy (not sure which hp model they had but I couldn't stand the dell min keyboard). The 1000HE has very good wireless; very good batter life (around 7 hours in use). and excellent linux support (yea I stuck linux on it). Most of my complaints cant' be fixed by a netbook (would like bigger screen with higher resolution, large keyboard and smaller form factor). Anyways, it is a toss up between the 1000HE which I purchased about 3 weeks ago or a laptop BUT I didn't want it to weight more than 3 lbs or cost more than $400 (most of the light weight laptops with 6+ hour batteries cost >>).
--
So In the end I consider the 1000HE a stop gap. I can use it for email when I travel; play a few games if I care to (halflife/baulder gate) and run linux for corporate access.
 

VinDSL

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Apr 11, 2006
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Heh! I'm so conflicted!

I'm thinking - really - who the hell wants to use a toy computer for 7+ hours anyway?!?!?

I would probably be better off buying a 9-cell battery ($69) for my Toshiba, and calling it a day, you know?

The mistake I made was buying a 15.4" model. I should have bought a 12" lappy - the perfect size, IMHO!

Overcompensating for my initial mistake, by purchasing an undersized 10" freak of nature is probably equally stupid...
 

AUMM

Diamond Member
Mar 13, 2001
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just bought the Asus 1000HE with the 2gb upgrade..... get it tomorrow. cant wait..... Thanks for the replies
 

SickBeast

Lifer
Jul 21, 2000
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I think that the new 12" HP laptop with the new AMD 'atom'-like processor is the ultimate laptop. It's very portable, and you don't really sacrifice anything in terms of performance compared with a full sized laptop. In fact, it's probably better at gaming and will have a better battery life. At $700 it's a very good compromise IMO. I suppose for $200-300 more you can get a Macbook is all.
 

hans007

Lifer
Feb 1, 2000
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Originally posted by: SickBeast
I think that the new 12" HP laptop with the new AMD 'atom'-like processor is the ultimate laptop. It's very portable, and you don't really sacrifice anything in terms of performance compared with a full sized laptop. In fact, it's probably better at gaming and will have a better battery life. At $700 it's a very good compromise IMO. I suppose for $200-300 more you can get a Macbook is all.

it actually down to $599 now I think.

Its the dv2z or whatever. Athlon neo mv-40 1.6 ghz (basically a 1.6 ghz athlon single core). the dv2 has a 3410 graphics card that is discrete too, but its more an intel C-ULV competitor than an atom one (and at $599 its more expensive than netbooks).

 

SickBeast

Lifer
Jul 21, 2000
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Originally posted by: hans007
Originally posted by: SickBeast
I think that the new 12" HP laptop with the new AMD 'atom'-like processor is the ultimate laptop. It's very portable, and you don't really sacrifice anything in terms of performance compared with a full sized laptop. In fact, it's probably better at gaming and will have a better battery life. At $700 it's a very good compromise IMO. I suppose for $200-300 more you can get a Macbook is all.

it actually down to $599 now I think.

Its the dv2z or whatever. Athlon neo mv-40 1.6 ghz (basically a 1.6 ghz athlon single core). the dv2 has a 3410 graphics card that is discrete too, but its more an intel C-ULV competitor than an atom one (and at $599 its more expensive than netbooks).

It's worth the price premium for the graphics power alone. The 12" form factor is better as well.
 

VinDSL

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Apr 11, 2006
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Originally posted by: SickBeast
I think that the new 12" HP laptop with the new AMD 'atom'-like processor is the ultimate laptop...
Which one is that - the $700 cheapskate?!?!?

I truly believe that a 12.1" (nominal) screen is "the best" portable size!

But, hell, 12" lappys cost an arm-and-a-leg!
 

GaryJohnson

Senior member
Jun 2, 2006
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If we're ordering up a perfect netbook here:

12.97" total diagonal. With a 16:10 ratio that fits the length of a sheet of notebook paper. That's ideal I think.

Oh, and some of those "internal" USB slots so your dongles aren't danglin. Those would be awesome.

Advice for buying a netbook right now:
I've had an SSD and an HDD netbook and the HDD performs much better with XP. If you're going to stay with a pre-installed linux then SSD is fine.
 

hans007

Lifer
Feb 1, 2000
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Originally posted by: Inspector Jihad
battery life on the dv2 is supposed to be crappy though.

its pretty crappy on netbooks if you get the smaller battery too.

there is a bigger batteryfor the dv2.
 
Apr 17, 2005
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Originally posted by: hans007
Originally posted by: Inspector Jihad
battery life on the dv2 is supposed to be crappy though.

its pretty crappy on netbooks if you get the smaller battery too.

there is a bigger batteryfor the dv2.

i thought it was only available with the 6 cell.
 

SickBeast

Lifer
Jul 21, 2000
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I read that the dv2 got 4 hours of battery life under normal usage. That's decent in my books. I figure if a 10" netbook gets 6 hours, it would probably get 4-5 hours if it had a 12" screen. Let's not forget that the CPU and GPU are both more powerful that the chips found in netbooks.
 

woz77

Junior Member
Nov 14, 2008
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I found a eeepc 900 Win with XP, 16GB SSD, 1GB RAM, etc for $209 on clearance at a brick and mortar retailer recently. Was wondering if its worth it or should spend the extra $$ to get a newer model?
 

Ksyder

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Feb 14, 2006
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LS21

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Nov 27, 2007
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love my lenovo s10e. SOLID BUILD QUALITY and AWESOME BATTERY LIFE. only gripe is barely a gripe - it has smooth exterior which means smudges. prefer matte surface. i use it ALL THE TIME