Used portable laptop versus netbook

[LuckyTaxi]

I jumped on the woot deal earlier this morning for an asus eee netbook.
The more I thought about it the more I couldn't pay that much money for an undersized device. I finally told woot to cancel, which they did within hours and I was on a mission to do research. Was it worth spending $300 on a 10" device that will probably lose it's luster after a month or so. I mean really, what would I be able to do with it?

So after much debate, I finally bought a portable device. I used to work with an executive who had a Dell D420. It was nice and small, not too big and not too small. I jumped on ebay and found it for $220 used. I just need to buy a 2gb stick and I should be good. Granted it's a little bigger than a netbook (they serve a different purpose) but I think I'm happy with my decision. I can surf the net in bed and do a little coding if I need to.

Now let's see if I can put linux on it.

 

[Ksyder]

sounds like a smart move. I bought a netbook awhile back and ended up switching back to a regular notebook. The atom is an amazing cpu for what it is but if you need to do real work that dell will be much better for you. Sounds like you got a steal on that d420 laptop.

 

[DaveSimmons]

You can find brand new laptops for $280-350 most weeks in Hot Deals. They're 5-6 pounds instead of 3-5 for a used D4xx or D6xx, but come with a 1-year warranty.

 

[LuckyTaxi]

yea, i was looking for something really light. I have two 15" laptops that I hate lugging around the apt. if i want to sit outside on the balcony i prefer a smaller laptop (i.e. netbook).
i wont be doing anything crazy on it, it's more for browsing and light code hacking.

 

[slugg]

It's threads like these that make me love my X200. Except, of course, the price tag.

 

[GaryJohnson]

@LuckyTaxi

You should compare used laptop prices to used netbook prices or new laptop prices to new netbook prices. You can get a used Eee on eBay for around $130.

 

[LuckyTaxi]

my dell d420 finally arrived. i wiped vista off and installed ubuntu. I'm in heaven. it's so freaking light and the screen size is perfect for what im using it for.
so glad i didnt buy a netbook. $220 shipped is awesome.

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: LuckyTaxi
I jumped on the woot deal earlier this morning for an asus eee netbook.

The more I thought about it the more I couldn't pay that much money for an undersized device..

I mean really, what would I be able to do with it?

So after much debate, I finally bought a portable device.

Now let's see if I can put linux on it.

LoL! Depends on the user, I suppose. I love my Asus!

Eee PCs aren't the toys that (some) ppl think they are...

Here's a screenie that I just took of my Eee PC ($249 at Target).

http://vindsl.com/images/Luster.png (VinDSL,com - Asus Eee PC 1000HD)

As you can see, I'm running Firefox 3.5.2 via Linux Mint 7 "Gloria".

Check out the Conky stats. Does my netty looked stressed and/or lackluster to you?!?!?

What you can't see is that this machine is dual-booted with Windows XP...

Not bad for $250 bones, I would say!

 

[cparker]

It's not "either or" unless you are short of money and can only afford one. I have both, actually, a laptop I picked up a few years ago (14" thinkpad) and a Samsung nc-10. I use and like both, and they complement my desktop PC. Then netbook is superb in terms of portability and battery life. It also is solidly constructed, light, and has a great keyboard. I bought it as something I could grab and take to a wifi hotspot incase my dsl went down in the apartment. But I find I'm using it much more around the apartment than I expected. It's just so portable and convenient. I also wouldn't knock the advantages of having a brand new, state of the art netbook under warranty with that of a used laptop purchased from a stranger with no or with questionable warranty. I also should mention that you can easily hook up a netbook to a standard size external monitor and use it as a "desktop", then unplug it and travel with it when you need to. I have a friend who ditched his standard sized laptop for just that arrangement. He's very happy with a 2.5 pound netbook vs a 5+ pound laptop that he used to use in his work.