Irene Posted May 13, 2010 Report Share Posted May 13, 2010 As the title says, I am thinking of buying a Netbook and would be grateful for any comments or recommendations. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanHo Posted May 13, 2010 Report Share Posted May 13, 2010 After much research I bought a Samsung NP-NC10 about 9 months ago. It is well built, light and compact, has a really good keyboard, clear monitor screen and approx 8 hour battery life - but like all netbooks the screen is small and I have to wear my specs. The lack of a DVD reader should be noted. Mine is loaded with XP which works fine - but I wish it were Win7 like my desktop which I am now more comfortable with. It has proved to be ideal for occasional use when away from home to keep up with Emails and web browsing (inc this forum)and to back up and review my photos on holiday, but I would not like to use it for any serious work taking more than an hour or so.The Atom processor used in all netbooks is low powered for maximum battery life and is relatively slow. Web browsing and Emails are fine - but cpu intensive processes like image editing is much slower than most laptop or desktop computers.Be sure what you want to do with it before you take the plunge - it is not a substitute for a desktop or proper laptop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Posted May 13, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2010 Thanks Alan. The one which I have been seriously considering happens to be the Samsung N150, which does have Windows 7 (starter version). It could never replace my desktop PC. It would be for travel etc. I have a Dell laptop which I never use, other than to update everything... I know that my daughter would be able to make very good use of that. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boris Posted May 13, 2010 Report Share Posted May 13, 2010 IreneHave you read :-/>http://www.computeractive.co.uk/computeractive/hardware/2259702/samsung-n150-review Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gandalph Posted May 13, 2010 Report Share Posted May 13, 2010 Irene have you considered buying a Macbook. The OSX Snow Laeopard knocks the spots off Microsoft OS. There are very few OS updates. No Virii and I doubt that you will see a Trojan. They are a few pounds more but definitely worth the investment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexpwnsn0b2 Posted May 14, 2010 Report Share Posted May 14, 2010 Irene have you considered buying a Macbook. The OSX Snow Laeopard knocks the spots off Microsoft OS. There are very few OS updates. No Virii and I doubt that you will see a Trojan. They are a few pounds more but definitely worth the investment. yea a thousand dollar investment. When you do buy your netbook dual boot it with linux. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Posted May 14, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2010 Have you read :-http://www.computera...ung-n150-reviewThanks Boris, useful link - I've bookmarked it. Irene have you considered buying a Macbook. The OSX Snow Laeopard knocks the spots off Microsoft OS. There are very few OS updates. No Virii and I doubt that you will see a Trojan. They are a few pounds more but definitely worth the investment. Looks good, Gandalph. The problem is that they don't appear to have one small enough. Unless of course I've missed something.I would like something which would not only fit into hand-luggage for overhead lockers (on aircraft), but would add minimal weight - maximum allowed in total of 10kg. The smallest I could see weighed 2.13kg - with a 13" screen (10" would be adequate). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan2273 Posted May 14, 2010 Report Share Posted May 14, 2010 Irene, I have a Samsung n140 10.1" Netbook, It has a 250GB hard drive and W7 starter Edition on it and I would recommend it. The battery life I get is about 8 hours.I tried Linux on it but it was no faster than W7SE.Be wary of the cheaper N140's as they have XP and only a 160GB HD./>http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/12037815/Samsung-N140-Intel-Atom-N270-1-6GHz-1GB-250GB-10-1-Windows-7-Starter-Netbook-White/Product.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanHo Posted May 14, 2010 Report Share Posted May 14, 2010 My Samsung netbook - complete with power brick, continental power adaptor, mini mouse (I don't like touchpads), 2 memory sticks and USB lead in a small lightweight laptop case weighs exactly 2.08 kg.The bare Netbook weighs 1.35 KgWeights established on madam's digital kitchen scale.Before I bought my Netbook I scoured all the reviews which differ in opinions so widely they tend to cancel each other out and tried out various models at the local computer stores. There is no substitute for having a go on one to try out the keyboard. They are all of necessity a bit cramped but I have no problems using mine for web browsing, Emails, playing music, viewing photos etc. However - I would not like to spend a couple of hours typing continuous text because of the small screen font and smaller keyboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Posted May 14, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2010 I've done it...HERE is my choice. Thanks for the advice everyone. My final selection was the Samsung N220, which I have ordered from Amazon for £288.90 - it was the best price I could find.I expect that I might increase the RAM to 2 GB, maybe even the Win7 to Home Premium, but I'll just try it out first. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan2273 Posted May 14, 2010 Report Share Posted May 14, 2010 I've done it...I expect that I might increase the RAM to 2 GB, maybe even the Win7 to Home Premium, but I'll just try it out first. :DI upgraded mine to 2GB's of ram, so simple to do, and also upgraded to Home premium, and it does not slow the netbook down at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexpwnsn0b2 Posted May 15, 2010 Report Share Posted May 15, 2010 I personally think Gateway makes some pretty good netbooks/>http://www.gateway.com/systems/category/529598126.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Posted May 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2010 I've done it...I expect that I might increase the RAM to 2 GB, maybe even the Win7 to Home Premium, but I'll just try it out first. I upgraded mine to 2GB's of ram, so simple to do, and also upgraded to Home premium, and it does not slow the netbook down at all.I ordered the 2GB upgrade from Crucial yesterday. ;)My Samsung came with a trial version of Office 2007 - Home & Student version. I have discs for Office Enterprise 2007. When I tried to put the Product Key into the activate, it didn't want to recognise it. (This is provided by the American company who the Company where I work - I am allowed to install on up to three computers at home). Naturally the Netbook does not have a DVD, so I hoped that I could just enter the Product Key and it would sort it out. Anyone have ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrong Posted May 17, 2010 Report Share Posted May 17, 2010 Open office Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-pops- Posted May 17, 2010 Report Share Posted May 17, 2010 The student editions of Windows (and Office) are different to the normal versions in that they are qualified by the statement "Not for commercial use" and the normal Product Keys won't work with them.Can to load your Office disk on to a memory stick and load from that?Or, as Wrong says, use OpenOffice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Posted May 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2010 The student editions of Windows (and Office) are different to the normal versions in that they are qualified by the statement "Not for commercial use" and the normal Product Keys won't work with them.Can to load your Office disk on to a memory stick and load from that?Or, as Wrong says, use OpenOffice.I could certainly copy the discs onto a stick, but would it install from that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrong Posted May 17, 2010 Report Share Posted May 17, 2010 Why shouldn't it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Posted May 18, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2010 Why shouldn't itI just thought that it was not allowed to copy the discs, therefore would only install from the original source. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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