Need help with Netbook

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fredtgreco

fredtgreco

Vanilla Westminsterian
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My two oldest boys are thinking of using money that they have saved to buy a Netbook. They do not have enough money for a good laptop, but they don't really need all that computing power anyway.

They will want to do word processing, Gmail, and web browsing, including those silly flash game sites. Will a Netbook be able to do what they need? They want it not only to be useful, but "fun." By "fun" that does not mean installing heavy graphics games, but going to lego.com, and other basic game websites.

If a netbook is sufficient, which ones are best? Any particular brand? I am thinking that we want to stay around $200-250. Thanks.
 
Love, love, love my Asus. I actually bought it because of recommendations on earlier threads here. The battery is better now than on mine, there's plenty of memory, etc. It doesn't come with Office (it does have Works), but there's plenty of room for OpenOffice or whatever.

Based on your reference to lego.com, I'm guessing they're elementary age. The one thing Tim doesn't like about my netbook is the keyboard size. It's roughly 20% smaller than a small laptop, which might take an adult some getting used to. The first time I took it to Synod, several men wanted to try it out and realized their hands were too large to use it comfortably. But with kids, this shouldn't be as much of an issue.

It's slightly more difficult to find a sleeve/case/whatnot for it, but it can be done.
 
Recommend something with Intel Core 2 Duo processor with SU in front of it. They are dual core processors with low voltage. Long battery life, small, but they'll be able to run "bigger" apps as necessary.

ASUS UL20 or UL30 look nice.
 
Semper Fidelis said:
Recommend something with Intel Core 2 Duo processor with SU in front of it. They are dual core processors with low voltage. Long battery life, small, but they'll be able to run "bigger" apps as necessary.

ASUS UL20 or UL30 look nice.
Click to expand...
They look nice, but out of the boys' price range. They are 13 and 12, so I am looking more for entry level. I doubt that they will run more than IE/Firefox, maybe Office suite, and a couple other small programs.

Any good options around $250?
 
I've heard good things about Acer netbooks. The newest model has a dual-boot windoze/android OS that would be a unique advantage. I have an acer desktop, and I have been pleased for the past 3 years with it. Are you opposed to buying used?
 
fredtgreco said:
Semper Fidelis said:
Recommend something with Intel Core 2 Duo processor with SU in front of it. They are dual core processors with low voltage. Long battery life, small, but they'll be able to run "bigger" apps as necessary.

ASUS UL20 or UL30 look nice.
Click to expand...
They look nice, but out of the boys' price range. They are 13 and 12, so I am looking more for entry level. I doubt that they will run more than IE/Firefox, maybe Office suite, and a couple other small programs.

Any good options around $250?
Click to expand...

I'm sorry, I missed they were for your boys.
 
I've been using an Acer Aspire One for two years. It actually functions as my primary work computer--running Adobe Acrobat Pro, MS Office, Dragon Naturally Speaking, and other stuff. It does the job fine.

I know it will do flash games, but you want to check those games to see if screen size is an issue. Some netbook displays might cut off the lower part of the flash window. I get around that by changing the display configuration for those purposes, but it is a sort of slight hassle, especially if they are not familiar with display settings.

One other thing, I'm running XP and it works fine. I don't know how the Atom processor does with Windows 7, but it seems to work, based on the fact that a lot of these little netbooks are selling and nobody is complaining.
 
littlepeople said:
I've heard good things about Acer netbooks. The newest model has a dual-boot windoze/android OS that would be a unique advantage. I have an acer desktop, and I have been pleased for the past 3 years with it. Are you opposed to buying used?
Click to expand...

I'm not opposed to buying used. I am just now starting to get parameters.
 
i also use an Acer Aspire One. I like it alot, mainly because I TAKE IT EVERYWHERE. Main drawback is the small keyboard which causes random capitalisation and makes for very eratic typing. For me the small keyboard is a pain, but I put up with it because eeverywhere I go I have it with me & since every place seems to have free wifi now, i never feel out of touch.

BTW i only use it for email, and web browsing, anything else is done on a pc.
 
Semper Fidelis said:
Vic,

Windows 7 is actually a bit "lighter" than XP.
Click to expand...

Interesting. I remember reading some discussion a couple years ago implying that XP came with netbooks because of resources. I didn't follow up on it since my netbook came with XP installed and it worked fine. At the time, they were the only "laptops" you could get with a new XP install.

As I think about it, I think it was Vista that wasn't being put on netbooks. . . . my how time flies.
 
Email

Fred,

I emailed you the other day. I have an Acer Aspire One netbook and a HP Entertainment series laptop that I am looking to sell. Let me know if your interest.

Blessings! 8^)
 
Update:
I am back from vacation and looking to pull the trigger on this. The Asus 1005PEB model Rich linked to looks nice. I can get it for around $200 refurbed. Before I do that, is there anyone here looking to sell one used, or that has more specific advice on a netbook model?
 
Scottish Lass said:
Herald said:
Anna, what model ASUS do you have?
Click to expand...

Mine's ancient: Eee PC 900HD.

Fred, they have entry-level ones in your/their price range. You may have to skip the bigger battery (it's about an extra $100).
Click to expand...

I have this model as well. In fact it is the only PC I own and I love it. My kids use it and they are 7 and 5. It is a good computer and you will get a lot of bang for your buck.
 
I have the Acer Aspire One with the N450 chip. I added an extra gig of ram and it works great. I use it for email, websurfing, even loaded Office on it. Works like a champ! :)
 
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