I hope this thread doesn't collide with the Notebook buying guide thread.

Anyway I just purchased a netbook for myself, and I ended up getting the Samsung NC10-14GW. I had grown up with Samsung laptops (I think I had three different Samsung laptops over a span of 10 years or so X_X) and this netbook is getting great reviews. I first became interested about netbooks when the Asus EEE came out and wanted to get an EEE but I ended up going for the Samsung. I did try out the Lenovo ideapad, and although it is a nice netbook, the specs of the Samsung NC10 were too good to resist.

So anyone else own netbooks? I am getting my Samsung netbook next week and will post photos of the unboxing here. It would be great if owners could post tips about netbooks, photos of your netbook, etc.

Oh and does anyone have the Dell netbook? It is currently the best netbook ranked by CNET and I was wondering how it was. Other people said that the design felt flimsy but I haven't seen one for myself so I can't say.



Here is the netbook I'm getting, the Samsung NC10-14GW. Credit to engadget


A good place to purchase netbooks is www.portableone.com -- right now they're carrying the Samsung NC10 as well as Asus EEE and Acer.

EDIT:

Okay so I got the Samsung NC10 today! I am typing on it right now

First impressions:
The netbook seems a bit thicker than most other netbooks (not 100% sure though), but the screen is pretty thin. The build seems nice and solid to me, but the keys on the keyboard feel weak but not flimsy or easy to fall off. I had some trouble connecting to my wireless network -- I don't know if this is common. The design is very pretty and I love it because it's in white and I have a thing for white gadgets haha -- the external cover is matte so it's not going to attract fingerprints (not that they would even show very well since the computer is white). The camera that comes with the netbook is very nice and clear -- it is 1.3mp... It's no Photo Booth though! I like the fact that Samsung gave a pouch to hold the netbook in -- Lenovo's ideapad didn't come with a pouch. The manual and stuff is straightforward and I thought it was kind of amusing that it came with two discs since there's no optical drive. Lastly, the trackpad is definitely smaller than your normal laptop's trackpad, but it's not that bad. I really like how it has a little section on the right where you can drag up or down and it will scroll the page. The buttons on the trackpad aren't clearly cut, so it sort of looks like a MacBook's trackpad button, but there are definitely left click and right click buttons.

I want a netbook.
I was thinking a Lenovo S10 w/ a 6-cell aftermarket or that NC10.
No money to throw around though. Oh well.

When are you receiving it? Can you post a review (how does the smaller trackpad work for you?)

^Yeah I bought the S10 today, but I'm returning it tomorrow since the Samsung won me over. The Lenovo is really nice, it's just that I prefer Samsung -- plus the 3-cell battery life is kind of poopy. The keyboard on the Lenovo is not hard to get used to, but the tab and shift keys are not wide like in normal keyboards so that took some time to adjust to. The smaller trackpad is honestly a little bit annoying but it's not that bad. I'm getting the NC10 on Monday so hopefully I'll have photos up next week

I'm buying a net book but I can't decide what to buy,
especially now that there are a lot of net books coming out
But then again I have to buy a netbook without exceeding,
$ 600 >< .... This is what I get when my parents are in charge.


here are what I saw on the net/advertisements/magazines


HP mini 1000
MSI Wind U100
LENOVO IdeaPad S10


What do you think?
Any suggestions ...
I need help badly

I don't know very much about netbooks either, but look up Samsung NC10 -- the specs are really great and its price is very competitive (~$460).

I'll buy a netbook once they come out with a tablet version.

Oh man that would be awesome...
I know I'm being lame but I wish Apple came out with a netbook... I would totally have gotten it... Having two Macs and an XP Netbook is making things a little bit hectic.

Same, I don't see a real reason for a netbook atm, since my iphone basically does the same thing

But I saw the lenovo S10 for about 315, can prob score a dell for around 245.

nah, in fact I was actually thinking of having all netbook stuff separate from notebook/tablet pcs.

my own two cents:
so many of them have nearly the same specs, and that nearly everyone is getting into this market.
But so far, imho, the best quality notebook is Samsung's NC series.. although it isn't the best priced, thats where Dell and Acer leads.
Although I've considered it from time to time, I still think finding an older ultra portable model like a Lenovo X series, to offer more for the money.

:x you should have bought a MSI wind or the Dell Mini... then put in Hackintosh. Legally gray to illegal, but possibly a bit more legal since you do have licenses for using OSX to begin with. http://i.gizmodo.com/5112909/boing-boing-g...atibility-chart

Thats a nice netbook, but the price is a bit steep for me. The 1gb "max supported memory" (according to newegg specs) is a bit discouraging because everyone likes to drop in 2gb+ in everything these days but the battery capacity is certainly impressive.

Have you actually found a real purpose for it? Like assuming you have a laptop already when would you take a netbook over a laptop? Its certainly not the same as saying, I will just carry the ipod touch today to go online rather than my laptop.

I think if I were to get a netbook, I would want the price to be at about $200, 9-10" screen. Hackable like the EEE (internal USB, potential for touch screen etc) is a bonus but I don't really need it. Unrealistically, I want it to have decent battery life and a solid state drive (16 gb or more)... so basically it can be a beater laptop that I can stuff in my backpack or toss under the seat of my car. I would be willing to sacrifice weight for durability, especially in terms of backpack + books.

Then again, nothing really stops me from lugging around my HP except that it weighs 6 pounds and the two hour battery leaves much to be desired.

I noticed that too, that all the netbooks seem to have similar specs. Same RAM, same processor, around the same HDD... I honestly did not even know about the Samsung until later and I have to go return the Lenovo now... I'll probably have to foot the 15% restocking fee but I deserve to be punished for not doing more research on this beforehand.


Haha I have no computer skills to make something into a Hackintosh. Samsung NC10's max supported memory is 2gb I believe. The main reason why I got a netbook was just so that I could carry it around easily to classes and take notes with it. I agree that the iPhone pretty much does the same thing (I have an iPhone too -- I guess it's pretty stupid to get both an iPhone and a netbook), but I just wanted a netbook to try out.

I remember back when the smallest notebook was the Sony T series; my friend had one and I was sooo jealous lol. They're still awesome, but nowhere near affordable for me.

oh yeah, I so wanted one of those

Yeah have to give Sony credit for making incredibly small laptops. Almost makes the macbook air look bad!
*is amused by internals of the new P series* http://i.gizmodo.com/5127189/sony-vaio-p-d...lectronics-gore (Yes I am on gizmodo too much )

Nah the iphone can't compare for note taking... you need a real keyboard for that! Pocket PC+keyboard.. slightly better but mostly fails still. I spent so much on it and its so obsolete now

oooooo, just saw a dell mini 9 for about 225 bucks.... hmmmmmmmmmmmmm

This is the netbook I just got ($425 on ebay):
Asus S101





Very nice appearance, check http://www.asus.com/news_show.aspx?id=12994 for specs.

^That's cool. What's the difference between the S101 and S101H?

I take it your netbook has the Atom 1.6Ghz processor with a standard 1-2GB ram but what of the hard drive is it SSD or did you opt. for the SATA option? Once you get your hands on it give us some real world feedback I'm curious to see what the battery life is like on one of those sub-notebooks. Do you have specific needs for the purchase (i.e. school, work, etc.)?

Good choice on the Samsung it has the best battery life out there. I'm thinking of getting the Samsung too it'll make it easier to take to class and take notes.

The S101H uses linux and SATA hard drive I think? I went for the 16GB SSD Win XP one (since I have external hard drives anyway).

if you end up getting the Samsung, I would reccomend Portable One.
They're not the cheapest, but they got the greatest service, support, and more importantly didn't charge sales tax (if ur not in cali), and easier to deal with regarding returns (full refund).

I'm wondering if Apple will ever get into the netbook market,
and how long netbooks can last as a separate category.

It's not that difficult to install OS X onto a PC. In fact, it's pretty easy.
What makes it frustrating and the several hundred dollar apple tax worth it, is getting the sound to work, getting the graphics card to work, etc.
And that upgrading could ruin your install.

With laptops, the trick to a successful hackintosh is to get a model that is popular with the hackers and is well supported by the hackers.

I don't like netbooks- too underpowered and too small a screen. I already have a laptop and I can think of better things to buy with $300-$500 rather than a weaker version of my laptop.

^Yeah I guess Hackintosh isn't that hard but I don't know. I was a full-time Windows user before I switched to Apple last year and using Windows isn't so awful that I have to hack my computer to use Mac OS. But if Apple released their own netbook, I'd buy it in a heartbeat. Yes I'm lame like that haha... I guess the MacBook Air is sort of their own version of a netbook but I'm hoping they'll have something like the old PowerBook G4 12.1" >_<


I didn't get SSD because I didn't think I'd need it and I'd rather have more memory haha. I'm pretty sure that my feedback will be positive as everyone else's unless mine turns out to be a bad apple or something. As I said before, I'm using it to take to school for notes and things



Haha thanks. Apparently the EEE also has great battery life but I don't know enough to compare between the two.



Oh cool! My HDD is'nt SSD but I'm not going to throw it around or anything so hopefully it'll be okay


I already ordered from Amazon for cheaper because I live in CA, but thanks for the recommendation -- I think I'll put that on the first post for others. And yeah, I didn't even know that they were called netbooks until very recently... I just used to refer to them as super tiny laptops x)

i had three netbooks: the original eeepc 8g, eeepc 901, and the eeepc 1000h.

i ended up with a lenovo x61t.

at first i wanted something small & portable with decent battery life. the first two eee pcs had puny keyboards which was horrible for me. after using it for a month or two, i also began running out of space. so i switched over to the eeepc 1000h, which was pretty awesome. though it was about 1/2 pound heavier than the netbooks in the same class. so i eventually dropped and i wanted to get the samsung netbook (the one you have) because it was supposed to be the king of netbooks. although watching all those touchscreen mods i decided to get a small tablet.

what i really want to get is the netbook tablets that asus just announced during ces

My sister bought the Acer Aspire One a couple of months ago to take notes for classes, but she rarely bothers to use it anymore cause the battery only lasts her a little over an hour (3-cell battery)

So I'm also thinking about getting the Samsung NC10 cause of the keyboard and battery life. (Since I'll pretty much only be using it for notes too)
So you guys would recommend buying it at Portable One over Newegg? I've never ordered anything from either sites and Newegg being $20 cheaper is really tempting since it'll pretty much cover the shipping cost..

Acer Aspire One has 6 cell now.
I'm thinking of buying that.

For me, amazon was cheapest, so I got it from amazon.

Is a netbook good enough for school use?
I'm thinking of getting the NC10 for college and basically use it as my main computer.
Will not having a CD drive make it less efficient for school? I know I can always buy an external one but of course I wouldn't carry that everywhere.
Any advice?

I would not get it as a main computer. I had the same idea as you when I was entering college and I got a notebook with 11" screen. My eyesight got so bad in one year -- I saw the school optometrist who told me to get a new computer -.-

a Netbook is designed for secondary use. They are very underpowered, have limited space, small screens, and a cramp keyboard. Most of them aren't built very well either.
They are aimed towards people who want to do simple tasks on the go.
if you plan on using only a netbook, at least consider an external monitor.. and make sure that the netbook you plan to buy will have the necessary ports for it.

^ Although you could use as a primary computer if you want. Some netbooks have keyboards 95% full size, and 10" screens which are alot better than 7" or 9" ones. Heck, the Asus N10 even has an nvidia 9300 inside it for gaming. I say three USB ports should be enough, and who needs optical drives when you can just download iso files and mount them? As for limited space, get an external hard drive =]

Wow that's scary I saw someone using a 7" eee at school and it was like woah. I know its a lot bigger than a ipod touch screen but I get the impression that it was like that... and thats just sad.

But I never thought of it in terms of eye damage and strain, more along the lines of how do you multi-task?! I went from my 19" desktop monitor to my 14" laptop and other than complaining about how dumb wide screen is, I guess I am lucky.

// oops delete this post I thought this was about notebooks O.o; but I have a Dell xps 1530 notebook :]
-claire

A netbook would actually replace my notebook completely. I use my notebook primarily for internet and document work on the go and a smaller, longer lasting (battery wise) unit would be perfect. No notebook could ever replace my physical desktop.

I'm probably going to get the Acer Aspire One for university next year just so I can carry it around without having a huge notebook to hold. Although I'm kind of having second thoughts and thinking about the MSI Wind. > W<

Oh wow... I never thought about whether it would strain my eyes or not.
Well that's why I'm considering the samsung nc10 since it's known for its bigger screen and keyboard.



That's the main reason why I want a netbook instead of a regular notebook. I want something lightweight. Plus, I only need something to surf the net and type things with since I don't do any gaming. My current computer right now is a 6yr old notebook so I'm hoping any netbook should be able to beat it ^^"

I'm also curious about the Samsung NC20 with the 12in screen that's rumored to release in Feb. Except a lot of people are calling it more of a notebook than a netbook.

unfortunately current netbooks have rather poor battery life, particularly compared to ultraportable notebooks of this current generation which made large steps towards longer life.



i haven't heard of the pricing and cpu for the nc20 yet, but based on other stuff I've heard.. its leaning more towards notebook.
at one point or another, the distinctions between netbook and notebook will be blurred once better processors come out for netbooks.

Have you guys factored in the warranty cost for these guys too? The price just keeps increasing. At this price I feel it would be more better to just get a notebook instead.

Acer's seems to look like toys. Asus' looks good, but the price just doesn't make sense you know.

Is the EEE 901 any good? Personal reviews.

I thought of the same thing. At the current price for many of the netbooks on the market it would (or could be) cheaper to buy a low end Dell, HP, Compaq, etc. than it would to buy a netbook.

Isn't it the same price increase if you get a netbook or notebook? Warranty price for either should be the same?

The difference between current gen notebooks and netbooks:
Netbooks have 10" screen or smaller
Netbooks use an Intel Atom or Via processor
Netbooks have no optical drive
Netbooks often have linux os and solid state drives offered

I've been waiting all day for my friggin Samsung NC10 to get here. It's still not here. This is why I hate UPS

Really? I thought some of the ssd + intel atom models sport like 6-8 hours of battery life?? The specs boast like 8+ hours of battery life. no???

Didn't you know the rule? If you go out in the afternoon then it will come early, but if you were home all day waiting... it will come at 7:30pm... the guy will run up to your porch and toss it at your door and rumble off. Yep always waiting.


@ battery life I think I read the chipset is holding the battery life back? Like the Atom chip itself is a power saver but the chipset is draws as much (or more) than the cpu itself. I don't know if that applies to the laptops but I had considered a Atom based NAS (as in buy a Atom based ITX and put one together) but the totals were still much higher than the VIA chips... In the end, I couldn't justify the price and idle power consumption to my theoretical "need"...

The latest intel montevina cpu, combined with integrated graphics and a larger battery gives some of these ultra portables like this Lenovo Thinkpad x200 up to 9 hours of battery life
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=272634

unfortunately this Dell Mini 9, which sports an atom 1.6ghz, and an SSD drive only gets 3 and a half on a 3 cell which is typical of netbooks of this type
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4578

of course, the Thinkpad has a larger cell battery, but I don't think there are too many battery options for Netbooks yet.

So I got the Samsung NC10 about 2 hours ago? It's great but I can't get it to connect to the internet, which is weird because I had no problem getting the Lenovo ideapad to connect to the internet. I'm using Apple's newest Airport Extreme. The wireless just hangs at acquiring network address, and the LAN does the same thing but it poops out after a while and says limited or no connectivity.

IP issue, make sure you dont have MAC filtering blocking it and try turning off your security or reenter your wireless keys.. make sure no typos

Yeah it's so weird. I was tinkering around with Airport Utility on my iMac and I somehow reset my Airport Extreme so right now its network name is Apple Network blahblahblah instead of the network name I set before. Also there is no password on the network and I'm getting paranoid! But the internet works on my netbook right now... But my iMac's doesn't work... Ah this is frustrating.

How do you "make sure you don't have MAC filtering block it"? O_O

I can't say for your airport specifically, but mine is under "MAC filtering rules" netgear has a button to set access card list. But most likely if you didn't enable it, you should be fine.

If your airport resetted itself like that, your laptops might be trying to connect and connect with the old password and stuff giving you the problems... so you will have to likely start a new wireless profile.

Yeah I just completely reset the wireless network and everything works now, EXCEPT my iMac is being retarded. It gets stuck at the white screen in the beginning (with the gray apple and the spinning tool thing) after I shut it down manually because it froze. I'm doing the Apple Hardware Test on it with the OS X installation disc but I don't know what to do if this doesn't work. I've tried both the SMC and PRAM(?) reset

I'm using the eee pc right now and I'm not straining my eyes at all. I think 10" screens are okay, I went from a 14" and I don't feel too much of a difference.