The world of portable computer has changed immensely in the past three or four years. For ages, the majority of portable computers came in just a few sizes, with the smallest starting at 12″.
In 2007, Asus introduced the Eee PC, and that 7″ $300 computer started a revolution that benefited travelers more than any other target audience. Soon, the Eee PC was followed by countless other portable computers with screens under 10″ – starting the netbook era.
Now, when you walk into your local electronics store and see a $249 computer with a 10″ screen, you may think it is the perfect travel machine – but we are here to help you determine whether that is actually true, and to see whether you may want to steer your attention to something different.
What is a netbook?
A netbook is an ultra-portable computer, with components usually designed to keep the price and power usage to a minimum. In a netbook, you won’t find an optical drive (CD or DVD), you won’t find a powerful processor, gaming class video chip or anything else that raises the price. The majority of netbook computers weigh under 3 lbs and feature a 10″ display though more recent models have hit store shelves with 11″ and 12″ screens.
The advantage of stripping out powerful components is that battery life can be stretched well beyond what a normal notebook will reach. In most netbooks available today, you’ll reach 5 hours or more. The first 12 hour machines were announced earlier this year, finally delivering all-day computing.
Advantages of a netbook
As I mentioned earlier, the netbook appears to be everything the traveler needs – a compact computer, long battery life and a low purchase price. On the road, you no longer need to worry about your 6 lbs 15″ behemoth – you simply open up your netbook and get some work done. There are however several things you need to keep in mind when you shop for a netbook, as the smaller size could actually prove to be more of a hassle than you’d expect.
Trade-offs and downsides
Everything about the netbook may appear to be designed for mobile use, but mobile use isn’t always designed for the netbook. Here are the top five downsides to the limited power and features of netbook computers:
- Limited screen resolution
- Small unergonomic keyboard
- Low power processor not suitable for (HD) video
- Limited expandability
- Low end operating system choices
Limited screen resolution
This is my biggest pet peeve with the netbook – in most models, the screen is limited to 1024×600 pixels – below are two examples of how a low resolution screen compares to a higher resolution. In the top one, you see 1024×600, below is 1366×768. The differences may not be immediately visible, but if you live your life on the web, you’ll quickly realize that the more pixels, the better. Text editing and other screen real estate hungry applications don’t do too well on a small screen, and in some cases, you may be scrolling around much more than on a larger computer.
That said – there is a limit to what your eyes can handle on such a small screen, and people with limited eyesight may want to keep the resolution on the lower end.
Sadly, HD displays on a netbook are relatively rare, and in most cases, you won’t be able to find one in a retail store.
Small unergonomic keyboards
In keeping prices low, some netbook makers cut corners on the keyboard and trackpad – if you plan to invest in a netbook, make sure you read as many reviews as you can, and spend some time in a store using the keyboard. The trackpad also deserves some special attention, as some brands find their way around the limited space on the machine by putting the mouse buttons in really weird places. Thankfully, most reviews do pay close attention to these issues, so you’ll spot them easily.
The newest development in netbook keyboards is the chiclet keyboard – this spaces the keys apart, making the keys smaller, but easier to type on without hitting more than one key at a time.
Low power processor not suitable for (HD) video
Do you like watching movies on the road? With low powered netbook machines, many brands are not capable of playing anything beyond the most basic quality video. Forget HD video, forget Hulu and Youtube (Flash based video rarely works well). Also, forget video editing or replaying the HD video clips you made on your little HD camcorder.
Thankfully, there are ways around this – but you’ll need to invest in a machine with a dedicated graphics accelerator or add-on card for HD video.
Limited expandability
On your home PC, if you regularly run out of memory, you head on over to the local electronics superstore, hand over $50, and install an extra “gig” of memory. With netbooks it isn’t always that simple.
For starters, some machines only have one memory slot, which means your only stick of ram has to be a larger (and more expensive) one. Other machines don’t allow for any kind of user upgrades at all. In the worst case, you can upgrade, but it involves removing the entire case, keyboard and motherboard.
The same applies to other expansion options. A full size notebook might allow for upgrades with 3G cards, better network cards and a variety of expansion cards, while most netbooks only offer a single memory card slot for expansion.
Low end operating system choices
The netbook accomplished something big – it bought Windows XP a new lease on life. Originally destined to be killed off on June 30, 2008, Microsoft made an exception for sales to manufacturers who wanted to install it on ultra compact laptop computers. This meant an old and obsolete operating system suddenly became very popular.
Thankfully, the exception ends later this year, and many manufacturers have switched to Windows 7. Even today many netbooks are being sold with Windows XP. One other disadvantage of Windows XP can be found in the restrictions Microsoft imposes upon the manufacturers – machines were only allowed 1GB of memory. This is the reason most older netbooks are so limited.
Picking the right netbook
So, now we’ve covered some of the terms, upsides and downsides, it is time to learn how to pick the best netbook. To do this, you’ll need to take an honest look at your requirements and budget. Money is important, but don’t make the mistake of fitting your netbook to your budget, as you’ll often end up with a purchase you’ll regret.
What to stay away from?
I’ll add a quick warning here about machines you’ll want to stay away from – the market is still saturated with 2007 era netbook computers. These 7″ and 8″ screen machines are cute and cuddly, and often available for under $150, but as soon as you try to get any real work done on them, you’ll realize why they are priced to ship. The first generation Asus Eee PC had a mere 4GB of storage and an 800×480 display. For comparison, an iPhone has better specifications.
Non Windows powered machines are also a bad idea – the first generation netbooks kept their prices even lower by installing specially designed versions of Linux. At the time it seemed awesome – you got the same browser as on your desktop, and had access to things like Twitter and Facebook. After about a year, these Linux powered machines almost all disappeared, and if you buy one today, chances are that updates are no longer available.
And finally, pay very close attention to machines running WindowsCE. These pop up at the local grocery store or even hardware stores – they retail for around $100, but are the worst possible purchase you can make. They’ll run a 5 year old browser, have zero application support and the majority of web sites won’t work.
Picking your needs
In most cases, your netbook will need to be an extension of a larger laptop or desktop. So, review what you do at home, and determine which apps you’ll want to use on the road. Do you blog a lot? Spend a lot of time on Facebook? Do your web requirements involve video? Do you do a lot of photo editing? All these apps will determine the basic specifications of your machine.
Screen size/resolution is also important – there is not a huge difference in weight/size between a 10″ netbook and one with an 11″ screen, and in many cases, the 11″ one could be the best pick.
Storage space matters a lot, but depends on what you plan to do on the machine. If you know in advance that you’ll never do anything more than surfing the web, then you are not going to need a machine with a hard drive, and can settle for a smaller/faster SSD drive. SSD stands for Solid State Drive, and uses flash memory technology rather than spinning platters in a hard drive.
Battery life is a tough one – because the longer the battery life, the heavier the machine will be. Battery options are usually presented in “cells”, referring to the number of battery cells in the battery pack. A three cell battery has half the capacity (and weight) of a six cell pack. Also, many larger cell battery packs stick out the back or bottom of the netbook, spoiling its sleek light appearance.
Operating system
Even though Windows XP is still available, I recommend staying away from it. Many software vendors have stopped supporting it, and in several months it will officially be “end of life”, which means no support, no service packs and no updates. One exception is if you plan to remove Windows XP and replace it with something else. A good example of this is the “Hackintosh” – a netbook computer that turns into a 10″ Mac. Of course, there are licensing issues involved, and we’ll leave the process of installing Mac OS on your netbook to other sites.
Your budget is probably one of the most important factors in your purchase. As I mentioned earlier, do not let your budget send you to a machine that lacks all the things you need in a netbook. When shopping with a limited budget, consider a refurbished version or a used machine off Ebay.
Alternatives to the netbook include the iPad, or even an iPod or iPhone – it all depends what you plan to do on the road. If work involves a lot or content creation, you’ll want to keep your focus on the netbook. If you only need a browser and the ability to watch a video, take a look at the iPad or any of the other tablet brands.
Going the 3G route is another option. If you already know that you need a machine that can connect to the Internet anywhere you are, and don’t mind paying upwards of $30/month, check your local phone store for netbook deals. In some cases, a $400 netbook will be your for $100, as long as you commit to a two year service agreement.
Warranty is less important on a budget machine (<$250), but it is important once you start shopping for high end netbook models. Another important factor is whether the warranty is international. A great warranty is useless if it only applies when you are in the U.S. Some brands (like Samsung) advertise their international warranty, which means you’ll get service no matter where in the world you are (as long as there is a service center in your area).
The best picks (July 2010)
Here are the best picks based upon intended usage:
| $200 – $299 |
$300 – $399 | > $400 | |
| Best 10″ netbook | Dell Inspiron Mini 10 ($299) |
HP Mini 210 HD Edition ($329) |
HP Mini 5102 ($415) |
| Best 11″ netbook | N/A | HP Mini 311 ($399) |
Toshiba T210 ($469) |
| Best 12″ netbook | N/A | Dell Inspiron 1110 ($349) |
MSI Wind U230 ($429) |
Final thoughts
The netbook era is here to stay – but it is evolving quickly. More powerful machines are replacing the limited versions that saturated the market, and the bottom of the barrel budget brands are slowly disappearing. At one point, every name in the computer industry wanted their brand on a netbook, only to realize they were competing with the major names like Toshiba, IBM and Asus.
With faster, more power friendly netbooks, these compact travel friendly machines really are becoming a traveler’s best friend.