Lally said:
Okay, maybe I'm dumb -- but what is the difference between a notebook and a netbook? Is netbook just what we're calling them now, or is there really a difference?
To me the defining characteristics of a netbook are size/weight and price. In laptops the 3 major characteristics are size, power and cost. 5-10 years ago you got to choose one of the three (small size, lots of power or low cost). Over time high(er) power got combined with low(er) cost, but still remained large in size. Then small size and high(er) power got combined, but at a ridiculously expensive price. The most recent combination was a small size and a cheap price, of course at a loss in power, and the Netbook was born.
Netbooks are under ~4lbs in weight, usually 2-3lbs. If it's heavier, it's certainly not a netbook, even if it uses an Atom processor. Nebooks are also relatively cheap, certainly under $700, usually $200 - $500. If you've got a $1000 device, it's not a netbook, even if it's got a tiny screen and a plastic casing.
Bubble181 said:
from small to big:
cellphone
smartphone
PDA
MID
netbook
notebook/laptop
desktop replacement
desktop
Big Blue :-P
You missed another new category, the MID (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_internet_device]Mobile Internet Device). Not a clearly defined cateogry, but it's somewhere between a PDA and a tablet PC.
and a mini-keyboard someone with a large schlong can't type on
Keyboards are better on some newer models. Some models have
keyboards 95% the size of full size.
Also would buying a more expensive one with a better battery make more sense then getting a cheaper one and then replacing the battery?
Based on a quick google shopping search, I'd expect to pay $60 - $100 for a new battery.
I do know that I would like to have a decent sized (no less then 50-60gb) hardrive to store music and photos etc.
Most netbooks with hard drives have a 160GB drive. Those with smaller storage usually use flash/SSD drives and are currently less common.
I'm in the market for a netbook too, though I'm still not certain I'm going to get one, so I'm keeping my eye on Dealnews.com because there are often some pretty big discounts on netbooks to be found. Like this deal on an
Acer Aspire One for $240 only a 3-cell battery, but the rest of the specs are good.
-- Fri Jul 03, 2009 12:24 pm --
Shakey said:
Games will work, just not as well as one would expect a brand new computer to run them. I always say that they aren't meant for gaming just because I don't like seeing someone drop $300 on something that can't do what they want it to.
I've heard varying reports of Flash video (youtube, hulu) stuttering when played back full screen. Can anyone confirm or deny that the 1.6Ghz Atom has enough power to Flash based video?