Netbook advice

[jas328sport]

Am struggling to think of what to get the old ball and chain for Christmas so am thinking of getting a netbook as a present from the kids but have no idea what to look out for so any advice welcome.
It will only be used for web browsing/Facebook etc although I suppose I can always borrow it to watch avi's on if she let's me.

[CondorX5]

Jas, I'm writing this from my little netbook - I love the portability and simplicity and use it loads. It does NOT replace a full laptop or PC and the processor is a lot slower and more limited than either of these, which limits the graphics speed, so possibly not the best portable dvd player. You also need external dvd drive as there isnt a built in one.

I bought a Samsung N130 from Argos- a great deal, 2 yr warranty plus 2 year AVG Licence. Ihad bought a cheaper one -a Zoostorm- which packed up after only a few days and Argos exchanged it for the Samsung, I paid the difference. Its been superb - had it about a year now, partner also has one, wifi is simple to set up and use, and they are great for browsing / email etc. Even used it for writing the odd documents. I/ve added memory to the max, which helps the speed a bit.

You can get great deals at present - personally, stick to a main manufacturer, Samsung are really well regarded in netbook market. Or Acer or Dell or one of the bigger names. Zoostorm are made in the UK and I tried to support locally made kit, but it was flaky and badly made and packed up within days, so I went for the Samsung and have been delighted with it.

Good luck in the search, hope you get as good a deal as I did,

[Junkie]

Same as Condor, absolutely love mine, its an Acer which is really the budget end of the line but is pretty robust and came with XP installed on a 160GB drive.

As a bit of a gadget freak I think the next move is an iPad, alhough I'm hanging out for work to decide whether or not to give us wider choices after a recent survey into cloud computing and office virtualisation.

That said, I wont be looking to get rid of the Acer as its a great bit of kit for browsing the news or on here for instance, instead of booting up the main PC or prising the Macbook from wifey...

Good luck shopping and look forward to reading which decision you made...

[jas328sport]

Samsung n210 is looking odds on favourite at the moment.

[Sanj]

We returned our iPad purchase but it may make a nice present...

[AW8]

Have Samsung NC10 in te household...........had thought it had since been superceded though I may be wrong.

Pretty reliable - though it did have a bit of a wobble after a few months in due to a trojan.No fault of the netbook & it's been stable since.

[pvr]

Those dodgy websites you visit ...

Both Acer and HP have good write ups. I don't have one as I have no need for them.

[X5Sport]

Some netbooks may struggle with AVI files, but not all. Go for one with a faster processor and possibly Windows 7 if you can.

I don't have one myself but did set up my Father's. His is an early Asus from a couple of years ago. The biggest issue that he has, as do I, is the small screen size. But if you can live with that then fine. He bought one for doing emails etc whilst abroad, but has struggled to get it working the way he wants. I suspect it's more of a User Issue' as he has used Macs all the time so does struggle with a Windows PC. He won't pay for a Macbbok - which I quite understand! I work with the iPad with no issues, but for some reason a netbook just doesn't do it for me. Maybe it's because it's XP based and you have to scroll around the screen to see everything as it does not all fit properly. I think the newer ones are much better as they now have more powerful processors and a better OS.

[Turks]

I bought my missus a Sony Vaio netbook last year for Christmas and an external Samsung DVD RW Drive so she could put software on and burn CD's etc. As with all Sony stuff, it is really well made and looks great. The battery life is long, has a built in Webcam and Microphone, and came with a nice Sleeve / Pouch to keep it safe.


Turks.

[StumpyPete]

we've got too Asus Eeepcs and they work fine for most things. In fact I tend to travel with mine on business rather than using the full size laptop that work gave me. Play AVIs and DivXs on them whilst on planes, with no problems whatsoever - the newer seashell designs look cool too.

[jas328sport]

I have actually now ordered an asus 1015p which will hopefully do just fine for her web browsing needs.

[pvr]

Just get the longest warranty you can get on it. Even if it is the extra year warranty from your CC company.

[petert]

Have had a couple of free HP/Compaq mini 110s from Rogers on our TV/Phone deal here in Canada. Work fine for what they are - kids use them for surfing and Skype. I take one away with me to keep in touch on email/skype. Upgraded to Windows 7 and they work fine.

Peter T

[Turks]

I get the extra warranty cover through my Bank Account which is handy.


Turks.