Digital Home Thoughts: How to Determine Which Netbook is for You

"A netbook as we’ve come to know it is a small laptop that is cheap. That’s about it, although the term can be confusing, as larger notebooks are sometimes called netbooks, since that is currently the hot buzzword. So you want to get a small, cheap notebook (or netbook) if you will, what are the five things you should know before plunking down your cash? 1. How are you going to use your device? 2. How much screen do you need? 3. How small of a keyboard will you tolerate? 4. Do you need the (heavier) extended battery? 5. Can you walk away from Windows?"

I recently upgraded from the original Eee to the Acer Aspire One. The above article really hits it on the head for me. Everyone had different needs but here is my take on each of the 5 items mentioned. 1. I use or want to be able to use my netbook for almost everything I would use my regular computer for, save video editing. I fully recognize that a netbook pretty much by definition would not have the horsepower. I also don't really intent to do things like sync my Zune, or even load my music collection on to it. 2. The screen is a biggie. The 7 inch screen on the Eee was OK, but the 800x480 resolution was not bearable. I'd be satisfied with a 7 inch screen at 1024x600, but like the 8.9 inch screen on the Aspire One, except for the glossy finish. 3. Keyboard really depends on how big your hands are. The Aspire keyboard is noticeably bigger than the Eee, but I have fairly small hands and did not have much of a problem typing on the Eee. I'd really like to see a tablet version with no keyboard at all, but built in Bluetooth to connect to a fold-up keyboard when necessary. 4. I don't really need the extended battery since I mostly use mine either at work or home, but I would like a more economical option for a second power adapter. I don't want to pay nearly 25% of the cost of the device just for a second adapter. 5. Windows vs. Linux - I really liked Ubuntu on the Eee. But there were a few key things I wanted that I needed Windows for, namely Slingbox and Netflix video streaming.