Computer Techs - do you prefer a netbook or laptop for field use?

[JPS]

I had a client the other day who expressed an interest in a netbook and asked me to look into them and make a recommendation. I had honestly never seen one in the wild so I went by BB and looked at the samples on the floor. The sweet spot appears to be in the 10in variety - best screens, best keyboards, and easily upgradable.

Anyways, having played with them for a while got me to thinking - as a computer tech, do I really need my current laptop (modified Dell Latitude E6400)? Honestly, when I need a powerful system, I have the workstation and server back in office. The E6400, while a great laptop in its own right, is redundant overkill at this point. To me, a properly configured netbook would be eminently more portable, take up less space and be more utilitarian in some of the cramped spaces I am called to work in. Not to mention, if it was stolen from the truck or broken in the field, replacing one would be much cheaper and simpler.

The systems that seem most appealing, from a field tech's standpoint, are the MSI Wind, the new Asus Eee EPC1000HE, or buying the OCZ barebones unit and sticking the parts I want it in versus upgrading the Asus or MSI.

If you are using a netbook, let me know how it is faring for field service use. Do you prefer the netbook or a laptop - and why?

Thanks in advance for taking time to reply.

 

[PaperclipGod]

Netbook FTW. I'm writing this on an Asus EPC1000HE... honestly, it's just about completely replaced my desktop for everything that doesn't need the horsepower of a larger PC. The battery life is fantastic (at max brightness with wifi on I'm getting ~4 hours), although the advertised 9.5 hour life is totally doable if you're willing to sacrifice image brightness and use one of the EPC's lower power modes.

What's most convenient, though, is the small size... it's easy to carry this thing around with you wherever you go, and to open it up and work on it in cramped or crowded spaces.

The one issue I have is with the HID's. The keyboard is quick to suck up any particles you accidentally drop on it, as the keys actually raise up slightly above their sockets, leaving a gap between the the individual key and the surface of the frame. You can't even try to blow any small particles off the keyboard, because that'll just push them under the keys and into the internals. If you're using this thing in lots of grungy areas, be careful. On the up side, the keyboard's cover is pretty easily removable for cleaning. As for the trackpad -- bleh. It's adequate, but I had to turn off a lot of the various "gestures" or combos to make it usable. By default, the trackpad has a lot of gestures turned on, and it's sometimes maddening to try and click something and instead have the page zoom in, or scroll down, or change aspects.

One more little idiosyncratic critique -- the laptop is WAY unbalanced. The battery is like an inch and a half long and 5 inches wide, and it's positioned right underneath the LCD hinge. So you've got the two heaviest things in the computer -- the battery and the screen -- all at one end of the laptop. It's not a problem if you're using it on a table, but if you're like me and tend to rest it on whatever semi-flat surface is available, it'll be a little aggravating trying to balance the thing. To make matters worse, the battery actually protrudes a bit from the otherwise flush underside, acting like a fulcrum for the weight of the screen when it's open.

 

[JPS]

Originally posted by: PaperclipGod
Netbook FTW. I'm writing this on an Asus EPC1000HE... honestly, it's just about completely replaced my desktop for everything that doesn't need the horsepower of a larger PC. The battery life is fantastic (at max brightness with wifi on I'm getting ~4 hours), although the advertised 9.5 hour life is totally doable if you're willing to sacrifice image brightness and use one of the EPC's lower power modes.

What's most convenient, though, is the small size... it's easy to carry this thing around with you wherever you go, and to open it up and work on it in cramped or crowded spaces.

The one issue I have is with the HID's. The keyboard is quick to suck up any particles you accidentally drop on it, as the keys actually raise up slightly above their sockets, leaving a gap between the the individual key and the surface of the frame. You can't even try to blow any small particles off the keyboard, because that'll just push them under the keys and into the internals. If you're using this thing in lots of grungy areas, be careful. On the up side, the keyboard's cover is pretty easily removable for cleaning. As for the trackpad -- bleh. It's adequate, but I had to turn off a lot of the various "gestures" or combos to make it usable. By default, the trackpad has a lot of gestures turned on, and it's sometimes maddening to try and click something and instead have the page zoom in, or scroll down, or change aspects.

One more little idiosyncratic critique -- the laptop is WAY unbalanced. The battery is like an inch and a half long and 5 inches wide, and it's positioned right underneath the LCD hinge. So you've got the two heaviest things in the computer -- the battery and the screen -- all at one end of the laptop. It's not a problem if you're using it on a table, but if you're like me and tend to rest it on whatever semi-flat surface is available, it'll be a little aggravating trying to balance the thing. To make matters worse, the battery actually protrudes a bit from the otherwise flush underside, acting like a fulcrum for the weight of the screen when it's open.

Awesome feedback and comments - thank you. What about fan noise? That is one major gripe I am hearing with the 1000HE, i.e. when it comes on, man does it come on. Is that really an issue? Also, have you made any mods to the 1000HE? I am thinking of swapping out the factory RAM and HDD for 2GB of RAM and a 60GB SSD (OCZ Vertex). And the WiFi - is the factory card good? I have a spare Intel 5300AGN that I could drop in if needed.

 

[zerogear]

I'm using my netbook a lot more than my laptop, its easier to work with. Although I don't work out in the field, it is nice to have it in tight spaces where you just need something to check data.

 

[Insomniator]

We basically give out netbooks (Dell mini 9's or 12's) to people unless they specifically ask for a powerful machine. Some have returned them for being too slow, but most are happy with the weight and size.

However one thing I gotta say is... the Dell mini's are slow as fuck. We have them config'd with a gig of ram and a 16-32 gig ssd and I personally can't use one. They take forever to start up (even with a fresh install of XP) and just general crap like surfing the net is slow.

I originally thought this was just how netbooks are but my dad just bought a refurb HP 10inch for a friend... same specs as the dells and it is night and day. I don't know what the deal is but the Dells are sooooo much slower.

 

[JPS]

Originally posted by: Insomniator
We basically give out netbooks (Dell mini 9's or 12's) to people unless they specifically ask for a powerful machine. Some have returned them for being too slow, but most are happy with the weight and size.

However one thing I gotta say is... the Dell mini's are slow as fuck. We have them config'd with a gig of ram and a 16-32 gig ssd and I personally can't use one. They take forever to start up (even with a fresh install of XP) and just general crap like surfing the net is slow.

I originally thought this was just how netbooks are but my dad just bought a refurb HP 10inch for a friend... same specs as the dells and it is night and day. I don't know what the deal is but the Dells are sooooo much slower.

I know what you mean about the Dells - the ones I have played with have been slow as molasses.

Regardless of which one I go with, whatever version of Windows I put on there will be tweaked and optimized as much as possible to (hopefully) mitigate any slowness.

 

[PaperclipGod]

Originally posted by: JPS

Awesome feedback and comments - thank you. What about fan noise? That is one major gripe I am hearing with the 1000HE, i.e. when it comes on, man does it come on. Is that really an issue? Also, have you made any mods to the 1000HE? I am thinking of swapping out the factory RAM and HDD for 2GB of RAM and a 60GB SSD (OCZ Vertex). And the WiFi - is the factory card good? I have a spare Intel 5300AGN that I could drop in if needed.

Well, you can certainly hear the fan when it comes on, but it's nothing I've been bothered by. Honestly, I'd actually say it's pretty quiet. I live in a quiet nook of suburbia, and my hearing is pretty good, so it's not like the fan is being drowned out by ambient noise. It's way quieter than my sound-dampened desktop. I've been working and playing around air-cooled computers for as long as I can remember, though, so maybe I can just tune it out better than most?

I haven't made any mods/upgrades, so I can't speak to that... but I haven't really felt the need, either. For it's purpose -- internet and light applications -- the factory build seems to suit it very well. The wifi is good -- a little flaky at times, but I think most of that can be blamed on the software, not the hardware. I can pick up signals from wireless networks 2 houses over from mine.

 

[Mwing]

im thinking about ditching my panasonic w2 toughbook (pentium m 900mhz with 768mb ram) for a netbook also, i dunno the performance of the current netbook with atom and 1gb ram, is it a upgrade? guess? i will put my corsair ssd into the netbook if i do get 1

 

[0roo0roo]

if you have a tough book you can afford other super slim laptops that have much better performance/usability than a netbook...which is a compromise design for price

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: PaperclipGod
One more little idiosyncratic critique -- the laptop is WAY unbalanced. The battery is like an inch and a half long and 5 inches wide, and it's positioned right underneath the LCD hinge. So you've got the two heaviest things in the computer -- the battery and the screen -- all at one end of the laptop. It's not a problem if you're using it on a table, but if you're like me and tend to rest it on whatever semi-flat surface is available, it'll be a little aggravating trying to balance the thing. To make matters worse, the battery actually protrudes a bit from the otherwise flush underside, acting like a fulcrum for the weight of the screen when it's open.

That pretty much describes the MSI Wind with 6-cell battery.

Though I hardly use it, I like my MSI Wind for the portability and battery life. Don't like MSI's draconic warranty though, because opening it up for upgrading will void warranty. fan is not noisy. Windows XP runs fine on it and is as expected for the level of components.