Netbook advice

[IanXC]

Hi all

I'm looking at buying a netbook and wondered if there was anything particular I should be looking for, and looking to avoid?

I think the most taxing thing I'd ask it to do is look at fair size PDF files, I'm erring against the 3G models, probably more use to rely on wifi and hooking it up to my phone.

Anyway any hints and tips gladly received!

thanks
Ian

 

[hairyhandedfool]

Well I don't know what size pdfs you are looking at, but my netbook seems fairly basic and cost around £150 IIRC, and if I'm not in a wifi area (or able to use a wired connection) I have a '3' PAYG dongle (£100 at the time for the dongle (£40) and 100Gb (£100) of net access to use over the first year) which now costs me £10 a month for 10Gb of data or £15 for 30Gb (to be used within 31 days), I think there is a higher limit at £20 too.

 

[Crossover]

Depends what you are after really. I just got a "netbook" (you may have seen it last week as I had it with me then) which is really an ultrabook - a Lenovo with a 1.6GHz AMD E450 dual core, 4GB RAM and 500GB HDD. It also has an 11.6" screen. I erred away from the usual netbooks due to Win 7 Starter, only 1GB RAM and a small screen size I thought I may find annoying to use

 

[table38]

I thought netbooks were a bit passé these days

If you aren't doing a lot of typing, have you considered a tablet, if only because of the plethora of free and cheap apps. I'd spurned tablets until work were literally giving them away, and although I still favour a PC/Laptop for everyday use, when I'm out and about, I find the tablet quite convenient.

( By which I don't necessarily mean an iPad!)

 

[telstarbox]

I've got a Samsung one (think it's a N110). It's quick, battery lasts 6-8 hours, keyboard a decent size and handles PDFs fine. It fits on a seatback table nicely on the train! Also has Bluetooth so you can transfer files to/from a suitably equipped phone.

You can get netbooks 'free' with a mobile broadband data contract from mobile networks which is how I pay for mine.

 

[IanXC]

Thanks for all the replies!

I think I'm going to avoid a tablet as I can see a situation where I end up using it more than my desktop. Seeing as its mobile upgrade time I may well end up with a data contract, will have to see what Vodafone have to say for themselves, then delve deep into the inevitable research...

Three seem to be offering pretty good deals, has anyone used them recently? Have they improved?