[kwlug-disc] things to look for in a netbook

[Oksana Goertzen]

On Fri, Jun 26, 2009 at 10:44 AM, Robert P. J. Day <rpjday at crashcourse.ca>wrote:

>
>  a lady i know is in the market for a netbook that will fit in her
> purse.  and even though she's almost certainly going to be running
> windows, she asked me what she should be looking for, so i'm pondering
> the following, and others can tell me what they think:
>
> 1) screen res:  most netbooks have 1024x600 displays, but i just
> noticed this:
>
>  http://www.linuxfordevices.com/c/a/News/HP-Mini-5101/
>
> and the option for a 1366x768 display.  *i* would go for that, but i
> don't know if it would be a big deal for her.  are there any netbooks
> available locally with that kind of res?  i checked canada computers
> and the salesgeek was adamant that any netbook that advertised that
> was simply talking about the size of the virtual desktop.  that's not
> what i read about the HP model above, but i'll ask the lady if that's
> an issue for her.
>
> 2) HDMI port:  just me, but i think it's getting increasingly
> important to have an HDMI port.  thoughts?
>
> 3) Atom N280 processor.  it looks like that's the standard for fairly
> new netbooks.
>
>  other thoughts?
>
> rday



Hello Robert,

As for other options - Last time I was at Costco they had an HP model,
though
on their site I see Dell now.  Sony also makes a very slick, expensive,
checkbook
size netbook [more multimedia device] and there is Lenovo's S10.  I don't
like the
keyboard on it as it's a  non-standard keyboard but that likely wouldn't be
an issue
for a non-linux user.  I have the Lenovo model for use at work and it's
pretty nice
otherwise.

I don't know if you'd need an HDMI port on a netbook because of the
limitations
imposed by the ram/processor speed and video processing card... though many
of the smaller models are becoming more capable.  Weight might be an issue
to consider.  The Sony model is 1.4 pounds whereas the HP model you noted is
2.6 pounds.  The Sony has a display of 1600 x 768 vs. the HP of 1366 x 768.
I suppose what she ends up buying depends on the functionality she wants and
the price she's interested in paying.  The Lenovo model is only $399 now and
it has 1 GB of memory and a display of 10.1 " WSVGA Glossy TFT w/integrated
camera 1024x576 and a 6 cell battery.

- Oksana
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