[beim4]

I want to get a netbook only for web surfing & email. Possibly keep a calendar on it. Want something very compact & lightweight but not slow. I'd appreciate some advice choosing.

Asus Eee (model 1105PEB-RBLU01S)
10.1" screen
1GB DDR2 memory
250GB Serial ATA hard drive (5400rpm)
Intel Atom N450 processor. Runs approx. $329.

Toshiba Satellite laptop (T115D-S1121)
11.6" widescreen
2GB DDR2 memory
250GB hard drive (5400rpm)
AMD Athlon Neo Dual-Core processor Runs approx. $450

Is it worth spending the extra $100 for the Toshiba? Or if someone has another recommendation, I'd appreciate any comments. Thanks!!

[dannyn]

I don't really think so. I have a lot of friends with the Eee pc's and they really like them.
Keep in mind that the screen on those babies are pretty small.

[aka Brett]

With a little hunting you can usually get a laptop with dual cores.
You also get a dvd burner...more ports etc
larger battery
will run aero
400 to 450 with some looking
I recommend against a netbook unless there is a specific need for one

[guy2]

I have Toshiba and wouldn't trade it any day for a Acer for good reasons.

The rest of my family shares a large expensive acer laptop they had got handed down for free and i don't mean free as in broken computer it was slightly used. Acer obviously has a few major design problems with the particular model my family uses ,im not saying all Acers are bad but they are very cheaply made computers with a huge fail rate compared to toshiba a long time giant and well owned and tested computers for decades ,Acer comes in last in that respect.

If you decide to buy a Acer be sure it can do what it was advertised to do before you can't exchange it.

Run it hard to see if it vents air properly with out getting to hot and shutting down.

[dannyn]

Originally Posted by guy2

I have Toshiba and wouldn't trade it any day for a Acer for good reasons.

The rest of my family shares a large expensive acer laptop they had got handed down for free and i don't mean free as in broken computer it was slightly used. Acer obviously has a few major design problems with the particular model my family uses ,im not saying all Acers are bad but they are very cheaply made computers with a huge fail rate compared to toshiba a long time giant and well owned and tested computers for decades ,Acer comes in last in that respect.

If you decide to buy a Acer be sure it can do what it was advertised to do before you can't exchange it.

Run it hard to see if it vents air properly with out getting to hot and shutting down.

Did you get Acer and Asus mixed up... Or is that a I'm just saying thing.

The Acer Timeline is a pretty nice machine especially with its 8 hour battery life.

[guy2]

Holy smokes ,yep i mixed it up... Thanks for noticing

Asus i would imagine to be a deferent story ,i know they are a very good make but iv never own or even personally seen an asus laptop at the budget stores. I have an Asus tower still running strong ,best tower iv ever owned from 96 and still awesome.

As for Acer i can only post what iv seen and iv not seen much from them except cheap machines that don't properly vent air but isn't that an issue with all laptops including my Toshiba ,it gets hot but never hot enough to shut down. Iv noticed that the cpu fan in my machine is much bigger and vents are fairly useful in venting air compared to the acers cheaply designed over plats.

I wouldn't know about the battery life on the acers ,it's stationary and not my computer but my Toshiba never has enough battery ,thinking of buying and extra of replacing the cells my self when they go bad.

The batteries are fairly expensive

[dannyn]

No problem guy.

The Acer Timeline is supposed to go 8 hours on that battery.

And Asus makes good motherboard I have never tried there laptops. One thing that I find a problem with Asus is a lot of there mombos are DOA.

[aka Brett]

Acers many times have a good bang for the buck
I an not thrilled with their support however.

I had actually read an article regarding laptops and the failure rates for within 3 years of purchase...asus actually came in first place.{with the least failures}

I would like to point out that it wasnt by a huge margin and the graph was actually pretty tight ranging from roughly 17 to 25 percent failure rates for the brands.

I wouldnt let a brand particularly scare me away from a decision...as long as the unit fit my needs for the money...are happy with the looks etc.

I would however stay away from units that did not have efficient processors as these tend to drain the battery as well have a habit of running warmer

[Elvandil]

If it's only for email and minor web surfing, you don't need a full-fledged machine. One of those Chinese netbooks for $29.95 allows web surfing, wireless connectivity, and email, as well as a few other things.

[dannyn]

Elcandil is correct. But I hate reading my email and surfing the web on a screen the size of a dollar bill.

[aka Brett]

Originally Posted by dannyn

Elcandil is correct. But I hate reading my email and surfing the web on a screen the size of a dollar bill.

A normal keyboard is also nice as well
I just cant bring myself to ever go under a 14 inch laptop

[dannyn]

Good point brett.

[Elvandil]

Here's one at Ebay. They really make them sound good, until you read the numbers:

http://cgi.ebay.com/7-Mini-Netbook-L...item3efc16664e

And here's one "starting at" $299.95. It has a whopping 128 MB's of RAM, and 2 GB's of storage space!

My friend bought one for her daughter. I bought it from her for $25, though I did really feel guilty. Really.

http://www.gadgetcraver.com/7inchwin...der-p-304.html

When they price them so high, they sell a lot to people who think they are real netbooks because they cost just as much, and who don't know what all the specs mean. When my friend brought it to me to be "fixed", I told her that the problem with it was that it was working perfectly.

They run Windows CE, maybe the same OS that runs your washing machine.

[guy2]

Are these cheap machines upgradeable?

I wouldn't mind buying one for a carry around ,looking at formulas and such.

7inch would be good for glancing at i guess and getting dirty

XO LAPTOP is what is was thinking

http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trk...All-Categories

[aka Brett]

Good point brett.

I use a 15...but will settle for a 14
Here is a 15 inch dell great specs for the price