Netbook for Photo Backup

[SheilaNC]

This has been mentioned before but I believe it bears repeating. Do go to a store that carries all of the contenders that you are considering and try them out. My experience was that no matter the bells and whistles, I have large hands and needed to be sure that I could type with relative ease if I was going to use it for more than uploaded and sorting photos. I use my Asus for work and travel and the battery life and keyboard were the most important to me. Wifi and OS are givens so once you know that you can live with the OS be sure that the 'fit' works for you. Hope you enjoy this light weight toy as much as I do :)

[BallFour4]

This has been mentioned before but I believe it bears repeating. Do go to a store that carries all of the contenders that you are considering and try them out. My experience was that no matter the bells and whistles, I have large hands and needed to be sure that I could type with relative ease if I was going to use it for more than uploaded and sorting photos. I use my Asus for work and travel and the battery life and keyboard were the most important to me. Wifi and OS are givens so once you know that you can live with the OS be sure that the 'fit' works for you. Hope you enjoy this light weight toy as much as I do :)

 

Netbooks are the rage... some have one, some have two and the rest want one. We want one because it is small, light and will serve a few tasks for about half the effort of taking a 15" laptop computer along.

 

Amazing that once we get one the keyboards are small, screens are small, memory is limited, it runs XP (that's a good thing) and then we find ways to pick at it.

 

Isn't the reason we bought it? All the above added to the economy of the little guys? It was for me!

 

Was at Sams over the weekend and saw a Dell machine with 160 gig HD and nice features for $350 bucks. That's amazing.

 

For three weeks now the Asus has been the center of the coffee table and we all have logged time on it. I pulled the MacBook from the case last night for a school dance I am DJ'ing and it seemed huge. Consider it is not the MacBook pro.

 

So... for defense of the netbook, and since CC is famous for a top ten list beyond David Letterman, why not start a top ten reasons I bought/want to buy a netbook and what you bought.

 

Extra points for neatness. I might even send you a Conquest or Ecstasy pin for the best one :eek:

 

Ladies and Gentleman! Stand up and defend you purchase!

 

1. Small - Asus 1000HE for me, HP Mini's for wife and college kid (3 machines)

 

 

 

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[Jade13]

Well, if you ever need to reinstall, you can go buy an external drive, or borrow one. I'll have to see if ASUS will send me back-up disks. Did you have to pay for them?

 

Kathy

 

Kathy, if you needed to reinstall can you do it with a USB cable plugged into your main computer and use the main computers DVD drive?

 

Btw, did Asus send you the back-up disks?

 

If you ask someone at Best Buy they sell them for $40.00..

[Jade13]

Well, if you're willing to spend that much on a Dell Mini10, I would suggest waiting a couple of more weeks and getting the Asus EeePC 1008HA. !

 

Is this model out yet?

 

I think I'd like to stick to something in the $350.00 price range.

[Jade13]

I've had my Acer Aspire 10.1 inch netbook for about a month now. I bought it through Costco because I wanted to be sure I liked it. You have 90 days and you can return it for any reason for full refund, no restocking fee. Of course I am keeping it, I just love it! It cost $349 and came with a case and a mouse. I never use the mouse and the case is just what I need. It is quick and snappy and perfect for me. I have Open Office on it and Picasa and both run perfectly. I called Acer and they sent me out all the back up disks I would need it I ever had to reformat it. But to do that I would need an external CD/DVD but I'll worry about that later...and I hope I don't need to worry about that! The small keyboard hasn't been a problem at all, I have adjusted to it just fine. Now I can't wait for my trip to Alaska in 3 weeks, it will be coming with so I can organize all my photos.

 

 

Don't you need to pay to be a member to buy from Costco? Is there a link to buy this online?

[Jade13]

Netbooks have speakers, you'll need an external DVD to load and possibly run the software, that could be more hassle then its worth. The voice recognition is part of the software, it may run slower on a less powerful computer but should still run.

 

You might want to look at some full featured ultracompact laptops that come with more powerfuly CPUs, seperate graphics cards, more memory and more HDD space, and most importantly a built in DVD player. My son picked up a 13" laptop, netbooks, still nice and compact. Netbooks I think run ~ 10" screens and most larger laptops start at ~ 15 - 17"

 

It runs all aps well, has seperate nvidia graphics, it runs a lot more at 2x price ~ 899. But do some research, nothing would be more frustating then buying something for 499 then finding you still need to buy another computer for 699 or 899. But if you get two you will help the economy ;)

 

Different issue but my Dad phoned me yesterday and wants me to recommend a notebook computer. It can not be a Netbook because it needs a DVD drive. He is an attorney and besides never using a computer, the discovery he needs as an attorney is now all on DVD's. He wants to learn to use the internet later. My Mom has a computer at home and just got cable. His associates can load the computer for him as he has licensed versions of Word etc and Adobe. He also wants "cheap" and his associate hates Dell. Again the parameter is that it have a DVd and at least a 13" screen so he can see it. I assume the only other extras would be a case and extrnal mouse. Maybe Acer? I am looking at specific model recommendations and links to purchace such as B&H or Amazon so he will not have to pay tax. Thanks.

 

Oh, and his Associate said to get one loaded with Windows XP. They have Vista at his office and hate it.

[pierces]

Different issue but my Dad phoned me yesterday and wants me to recommend a notebook computer. It can not be a Netbook because it needs a DVD drive. He is an attorney and besides never using a computer, the discovery he needs as an attorney is now all on DVD's. He wants to learn to use the internet later. My Mom has a computer at home and just got cable. His associates can load the computer for him as he has licensed versions of Word etc and Adobe. He also wants "cheap" and his associate hates Dell. Again the parameter is that it have a DVd and at least a 13" screen so he can see it. I assume the only other extras would be a case and extrnal mouse. Maybe Acer? I am looking at specific model recommendations and links to purchace such as B&H or Amazon so he will not have to pay tax. Thanks.

 

Oh, and his Associate said to get one loaded with Windows XP. They have Vista at his office and hate it.

 

Windows XP is no longer officially for sale, but some makers will still load it for you. If you aren't buying it from the manufacturer's site, you usually have to buy XP separately, format the drive and install it yourself. Since his associates will be supporting, you should probably cater to their belief system and avoid Dell (I've had 3 Dell laptops over the years and am still using the oldest one) and that thrice-be-damned Vista (been using for almost three years since it was in Beta and never had any issues beyond ones caused by PEBKAC*). With that little rant against computo-religious intolerance over, here's what I would recommend.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Acer-Extensa-5620-4677-15-4-Inch-Laptop/dp/B001E25JKE/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=pc&qid=1244034487&sr=1-8

 

The 15.4" screen will make it a bit heavier but will be much easier on the eyes. This particular one comes with Vista loaded, but includes an XP downgrade disk. Keep in mind that full power 12"-13" laptops are really expensive.

 

Here's one that fits your criteria with a 12.1" screen, but it's about twice the price (comes with the XP disk as well).

 

http://www.amazon.com/Acer-TravelMate-6293-6640-12-1-Inch-Laptop/dp/B001O9DTM2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=pc&qid=1244034735&sr=1-1

 

Happy shopping!

 

Dave

 

 

* PEBKAK - Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair

[s2k000L]

Is this model out yet?

 

I think I'd like to stick to something in the $350.00 price range.

Yep! Amazon.com now has it up on their site, although the price is just a wee bit higher than originally thought...$417USD for the Black, and $429USD for the white. Take a look at them here: http://www.amazon.com/Seashell-10-Inch-Netbook-Processor-Bluetooth/dp/B0029QMDZI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1244052600&sr=8-1

That's a nice machine!

[s2k000L]

Don't you need to pay to be a member to buy from Costco? Is there a link to buy this online?

Yes you do in fact need to be a member to shop at Costco--both online and in-store. However, at any given time you can simply cancel your membership and receive a refund. They have one of the best return policies out there, and it's pretty hard to beat! Trust me, you won't be disappointed. I shop only Costco and now Amazon Prime!

[Jade13]

Yes you do in fact need to be a member to shop at Costco--both online and in-store. However, at any given time you can simply cancel your membership and receive a refund. They have one of the best return policies out there, and it's pretty hard to beat! Trust me, you won't be disappointed. I shop only Costco and now Amazon Prime!

 

Thanks!

[Jade13]

Yep! Amazon.com now has it up on their site, although the price is just a wee bit higher than originally thought...$417USD for the Black, and $429USD for the white. Take a look at them here: http://www.amazon.com/Seashell-10-Inch-Netbook-Processor-Bluetooth/dp/B0029QMDZI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1244052600&sr=8-1

That's a nice machine!

 

I'll take a look. So no funky colors.

[s2k000L]

I'll take a look. So no funky colors.

Sorry, no funky colors (yet). Asus is actually a pretty big company. Most don't know that in Asia, Asus is as well known as Apple is here in the US. As a matter of fact, Asus is the major supplier of many computer parts, like motherboards. You've most likely owned one of their parts, and didn't even know it!

[donaldsc]

Yes you do in fact need to be a member to shop at Costco--both online and in-store. However, at any given time you can simply cancel your membership and receive a refund. They have one of the best return policies out there, and it's pretty hard to beat! Trust me, you won't be disappointed. I shop only Costco and now Amazon Prime!

 

If you are not a member, you can buy at Costco and pay a slight premium. I did that on a camera.

 

DON

[Bodger]

Different issue but my Dad phoned me yesterday and wants me to recommend a notebook computer. It can not be a Netbook because it needs a DVD drive. He is an attorney and besides never using a computer, the discovery he needs as an attorney is now all on DVD's. He wants to learn to use the internet later. My Mom has a computer at home and just got cable. His associates can load the computer for him as he has licensed versions of Word etc and Adobe. He also wants "cheap" and his associate hates Dell. Again the parameter is that it have a DVd and at least a 13" screen so he can see it. I assume the only other extras would be a case and extrnal mouse. Maybe Acer? I am looking at specific model recommendations and links to purchace such as B&H or Amazon so he will not have to pay tax. Thanks.

 

Oh, and his Associate said to get one loaded with Windows XP. They have Vista at his office and hate it.

 

I work for a computer networking company in Canada. I know that we are able to supply clients with some models of Lenovo Thinkpads that come with a Vista Business licence but are pre-loaded with XP Pro. That may be a solution.

 

Regarding Acer vs. Asus, our experience over the years has been excellent with Asus products, they have been more reliable than Acer. I got my brother an Asus 1000HE.

 

The other piece of information that may be helpful to some is that Lenovo is coming to market very soon (July) with a 12" netbook with a full size keyboard. This may be the Netbook I buy for myself. Google Lenovo S12 for more info.

 

Bodger

[Jade13]

Regarding Acer vs. Asus, our experience over the years has been excellent with Asus products, they have been more reliable than Acer. I got my brother an Asus 1000HE.

 

 

Bodger

 

Bodger, that is good to know.

 

Btw, what would be the suggested Asus for my father who needs an inexpensive Notebook with a DVD and larger screen?

[Bodger]

Bodger, that is good to know.

 

Btw, what would be the suggested Asus for my father who needs an inexpensive Notebook with a DVD and larger screen?

 

Sorry, I don't know their larger notebook line well enough to comment, but I do like the EEE 1000HE for a netbook. I tend to like the Lenovo (used to be IBM) notebooks. The G530 series has been well priced here and there are some XP Pro models. Personally I have a Lenovo thinkpad T500 series notebook.

 

Bodger

[Jade13]

Sorry, I don't know their larger notebook line well enough to comment, but I do like the EEE 1000HE for a netbook. I tend to like the Lenovo (used to be IBM) notebooks. The G530 series has been well priced here and there are some XP Pro models. Personally I have a Lenovo thinkpad T500 series notebook.

 

Bodger

 

What do you think of the 1008HA? I found this review. I can 't figure out if there is a way to plug in two headphones so if we download some movies both Dh and I could watch at the same time. Any idea? He would also like to download his Rosetta Stone course. There is a special headset because it has voice recognition, etc.

 

"Asus Eee PC 1008HA Seashell netbookWe take a look at the netbook that some people are comparing to an Apple MacBook: the Asus Eee PC 1008HA Seashell.

 

Darren Gladstone (PC World (US online)) 03/06/2009 15:30:00

 

The Asus Eee PC 1008HA Seashell is thin, sleek, and light. Asus may be spitting out more revisions of its Asus Eee PC netbook line than we can count, but at least its designers are continuing to look at ways to refine the machine. The proof is in this new netbook.

Under its frosty exterior, the Asus Eee PC 1008HA Seashell sports current netbook innards: an Intel Atom N280 CPU, 1GB RAM, a 160GB hard drive, Bluetooth, 802.11n, and a three-cell battery.

The 92-percent full-size keyboard is big and comfortable, with a good layout. The Asus Eee PC 1008HA Seashell's buttons feel firm and large enough to type up a quick story. Even the metallic mouse-button bar is reasonably secure.

That said, we're a little concerned about the Asus Eee PC 1008HA Seashell's touchpad. On the device that we tried, we found little indication between where the touch area ends and where the wrist rest begins. But a spokesman assured us that the final unit will have bigger grooves so that users can feel their way around without having to eyeball the strike zone.

To accommodate the Asus Eee PC 1008HA Seashell's thin-and-light design, the creators of the 1008HA dropped a few ports — and made an interesting design move in the process. In a hidden compartment on the netbook's bottom sits a VGA adaptor dongle. When you need it, you simply pop it out and plug it into the mini-USB port on one side of the machine.

This is a pretty smart move that keeps the Asus Eee PC 1008HA Seashell's functionality while cutting down the size, and it minimises the chance of losing dongles.

Otherwise, on the Asus Eee PC 1008HA Seashell you'll find hiding behind flaps the usual retinue Ᾱ an Ethernet hookup, two USB ports, an SD Card reader, and headphone and microphone jacks.

One last thing that we need to mention is the sneak peek we had at the software that Asus plans to bring to its future machines.

The Asus Eee PC 1008HA Seashell's interface gives quick access to a host of shortcuts for useful features. The more interesting ones fall under tabs called 'Eee Arena' and 'Eee Sharing'. The Arena is basically Asus's attempt at creating an online download site for songs, videos, and games.

The Eee Sharing feature simplifies syncing documents between the Eee PC and other computers (as well as uploading files to online storage).

The Eee PC 1008HA has a lot to like, based on our initial glance. Once we've had a chance to lay our mitts on this little beaut in its final iteration, we'll be able to give you a definitive call on its performance. Stay tuned. "

[Bodger]

The PC1008HA is thinner and lighter than the PC1000HE. Part of the weight differential has to be in the 1/3 of the battery life you give up. I just looked up the costs and see that the PC1008HA is about 15% more expensive than the PC1000HE

 

I have concerns about the VGA dongle cable on the PC1008HA and how robust it might be. If you are going to connect to an external display frequently I would go with the HE if you would rarely use it then I wouldn't worry. The weight differential of 3/4 of a pound might be important to some folks.

 

To use two headphones simply purchase a 'Y' adapter that converts one mini-jack to two. Likely available at most electronics stores. Both of the above machines have a mic input jack which I expect you need for Rosetta Stone.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Bodger

[Jade13]

 

To use two headphones simply purchase a 'Y' adapter that converts one mini-jack to two. Likely available at most electronics stores. Both of the above machines have a mic input jack which I expect you need for Rosetta Stone.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Bodger

 

Great, thanks.

[Donald&Margaret]

As I have stated before, I have a 1000HE and like it very much. The battery life if fantastic. The 1000HE comes with Windows XP and that is great, but I have been using Windows 7 on one of my desktop computers and I really like it. It seems that Microsoft took the best parts of Windows Vista (Graphics) and intergrated them into XP and came up with Windows 7.

From a few articles that I have read, the new netbooks will be coming out with Windows 7 in the August/September time frame. If you like Windows XP, you will also like Windows 7. I think when the 12" Lenovo comes out with Windows 7, my daughter will be getting a very nice slightly used Asus 1000HE.

[Jade13]

The PC1008HA is thinner and lighter than the PC1000HE. Part of the weight differential has to be in the 1/3 of the battery life you give up. I just looked up the costs and see that the PC1008HA is about 15% more expensive than the PC1000HE

 

I have concerns about the VGA dongle cable on the PC1008HA and how robust it might be. If you are going to connect to an external display frequently I would go with the HE if you would rarely use it then I wouldn't worry. The weight differential of 3/4 of a pound might be important to some folks.

 

To use two headphones simply purchase a 'Y' adapter that converts one mini-jack to two. Likely available at most electronics stores. Both of the above machines have a mic input jack which I expect you need for Rosetta Stone.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Bodger

 

It sounds like the PC1000HE might be a better option because of that longer battery life (and better pricing). Nothing would be more annoying than to download some movies and not be able to watch them because of the battery. WE are going to Asia next year and have very long flights. we don't know yet if we will be on a flight with a personal video.

 

I guess the only other question would be why the PC1000HE over the Acer?

[Jade13]

The Asus eeePC 1000HE has a 160 GB hard drive and comes with XP installed. I doesn't come with a lot of software installed, but there's plenty of room for Picasa or even a full MS Office suite. Since it's not well suited for duty as a workstation, downloading something like Open Office woild suffice for minor editing or document creation.

 

Another good choice might be the Acer Aspire One 10.1" with the 160 GB drive.

 

Both run about $100 cheaper than the dell and give a bit more bang for the buck.

 

Dave

 

 

Dave, I finally found a place that had both the Acer Aspire One 10.1" with the 160GB and the Asus eeePC 1000HA with 160 MB hard drive and 10" screen (the store did not have the HE). Based on what I saw I liked the Acer better. It felt a lot lighter and had, I think, a much better keyboard. I would like to see the new Asus "seashell" but haven't found anyone who has one in stock. However, I'm thinking I should just stick with the cheaper Acer (about $329.00 vs. $417.00 for the new Asus seashell) especially since it has a 6 cell battery and 3 (vs 2) USB ports. The Acer is lighter than the 1000HA (2.95Ibs vs 3.2 Ibs). I also liked the way the Acer lid was attached vs the Asus, although not a big deal. The Asus seashell would be 2.4Ib vs the Acer 2.95Ib.

 

Has anyone seen or used the new Asus 2.4lb Netbook?

[Jade13]

eo.

 

I guess the only other question would be why the PC1000HE over the Acer?

 

If the Asus1000HE looks like the Asus1000HA than I found out today why I would order the Acer.

[Jade13]

I've had my Acer Aspire 10.1 inch netbook for about a month now. I bought it through Costco because I wanted to be sure I liked it. You have 90 days and you can return it for any reason for full refund, no restocking fee. Of course I am keeping it, I just love it! It cost $349 and came with a case and a mouse. I never use the mouse and the case is just what I need. It is quick and snappy and perfect for me. I have Open Office on it and Picasa and both run perfectly. I called Acer and they sent me out all the back up disks I would need it I ever had to reformat it. But to do that I would need an external CD/DVD but I'll worry about that later...and I hope I don't need to worry about that! The small keyboard hasn't been a problem at all, I have adjusted to it just fine. Now I can't wait for my trip to Alaska in 3 weeks, it will be coming with so I can organize all my photos.

 

What is open office? Is it freeware?

[pierces]

Dave, I finally found a place that had both the Acer Aspire One 10.1" with the 160GB and the Asus eeePC 1000HA with 160 MB hard drive and 10" screen (the store did not have the HE). Based on what I saw I liked the Acer better. It felt a lot lighter and had, I think, a much better keyboard. I would like to see the new Asus "seashell" but haven't found anyone who has one in stock. However, I'm thinking I should just stick with the cheaper Acer (about $329.00 vs. $417.00 for the new Asus seashell) especially since it has a 6 cell battery and 3 (vs 2) USB ports. The Acer is lighter than the 1000HA (2.95Ibs vs 3.2 Ibs). I also liked the way the Acer lid was attached vs the Asus, although not a big deal. The Asus seashell would be 2.4Ib vs the Acer 2.95Ib.

 

Has anyone seen or used the new Asus 2.4lb Netbook?

 

They have just hit the pipeline. Cnet has only had their review up for a week or so: http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/asus-eee-pc-1008ha/4505-3121_7-33661568.html

 

If you always wait for the next best thing, you'll never own the last best thing! :D

 

Dave