netbook vs. laptop?

darcy · Post by **darcy** » Fri Mar 20, 2009 4:11 pm

what are main differences between laptop and netbook, pls? { besides physical size? }. are they strictly wireless?

my husband sent me a link to an ASUS netbook and asked what the difference was,,

are they strictly wireless, have power cord, etc.?

he is looking for something to surf with, that can hold some pics { storage }, etc.,, ;
cannot afford price of regular laptop { vet bills are killin' us,, }

a brief description and maybe some suggested brands would be appreciated.
thank you

DoPeY5007 · Post by **DoPeY5007** » Fri Mar 20, 2009 6:12 pm

Netbooks are just smaller, not power horses.

Most have Linux, some with XP

Very small screen and keyboard.

Very portable, good for basic surfing

Badmojo · Post by **Badmojo** » Fri Mar 20, 2009 6:26 pm

Its all in the name tell people: laptop is to desktop as netbook is to net surfing and books.

and when he said not power horses all you can do is surf on them more than one app at a time and they slow to a halt

netbooks have been giving many consumers the same problem the price looks good till they realize the limitations

EvilHorace · Post by **EvilHorace** » Sat Mar 21, 2009 7:16 am

Until now, I've never heard of a "netbook" so I googled it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netbook

normalicy · Post by **normalicy** » Sat Mar 21, 2009 8:13 pm

They also usually have minimal storage, don't have DVD/CD drives, & have difficulty decoding higher resolution DIVX videos.

darcy · Post by **darcy** » Sat Mar 21, 2009 9:39 pm

thank u, everyone : )

normalicy wrote:They also usually have minimal storage, don't have DVD/CD drives, & have difficulty decoding higher resolution DIVX videos.

no CD/DVD drives, ~ thank u, normalicy, ~ that is 1 of the things he was wondering about.

eGoCeNTRoNiX · Post by **eGoCeNTRoNiX** » Sat Mar 21, 2009 10:04 pm

You could just get an External DVD Drive to go with it..

eGo

EvilHorace · Post by **EvilHorace** » Sun Mar 22, 2009 7:45 am

I didn't check prices for a netbook but I do know that for $400 shipped, you can buy a new Dell laptop, large screen with XP or Vista, 2gb ram, DVD drive, 120gb HDD space from various Ebay retailers. If interested, I could recommend a retailer that we've used and know to be good.
I bought one from Dell last summer and my wife and son recently bought one so we now have 3 Dell Vostro 1000's here and everyone likes them. Short of running higher end PC games that need better video cards, they do everything a desktop does and they're fast too.

Personally, unless a netbook is extremely cheap (like $200), I don't see the sense in buying a computer that has limited function like those ultra small things you see at Walmart (which aren't cheap either btw).

Err · Post by **Err** » Sun Mar 22, 2009 8:48 am

You can buy a new dell for $400: Vostro A860. It only has a Celeron but it would still be more powerful than a netbook. I found a compaq at best buy for $400:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9168143&type=product&id=1218041995463

Get a cheap regular laptop as opposed to a netbook. A friend of mine was going to get one for his wife until he really started researching them and found that you can only do one app at a time. The keyboard also cramps your hands.

One note with any compaq or HP: Make a set of back-up discs as soon as you get it up and running. They don't come with backup media. There is a partition on the HD to restore the computer but it's only accessible by booting to the backup media.

Update: I just found this refurb over at J&R: $299, free ground shipping.

HP nc6120 15" Notebook PC - REFURBISHED: http://www.jr.com/hp/pe/HP_NC6120_hy_RB/

# This product has been Factory refurbished to perform as new. It Comes with 90-Day Warranty Box Contents: HP nc6120 Notebook PC, Lithium-Ion Battery, AC Adapter, System Recovery CD; Software Bundle: Windows XP Professional, 90-Day Warranty
# Intel Pentium M 1.73 GHz Processor
# 2 MB L2 Cache, 533 MHz Bus speed
# 512 MB DDR2 (PC2-2700) RAM Max: 2GB
# 40 GB SATA Hard Drive
# 15" diagonal SXGA+ (1440 x 1050) Display
# Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900
# CD-RW/DVD-ROM Combo Drive
# 802.11a/b/g Wireless
# 10/100 Base-T Ethernet LAN
# PC Card Slot
# 6-in-1 Bridge Media Adapter: MMC, SD, Smart Media, MS, MS Pro, xD
# Ports: 4 x USB, IEEE-1394, Headphone out; Microphone-in, Serial, Parallel, VGA, TV-Out (S-Video), RJ-11 (Modem), RJ-45
# Approximate Unit Dimensions: 12.9" (W) x 10.5" (D) x 1.2" (H)
# Approximate Unit Weight: 6.06 Pounds

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Sun Mar 22, 2009 11:04 am

Yeah I think I'd get a small laptop before I bought a netbook. The netbook is really for techies who already have a laptop and just want something small for travel and convenience. I wouldn't mind having one for travel, but I would hate to write a job proposal on one.

darcy · Post by **darcy** » Sun Mar 22, 2009 2:03 pm

many* thanks, everyone : )
i think what he was figuring, was that for a netbook under $300 he would not bother w/warranties, which can really run into some $$ when buying a decent laptop. most of you guys can fix ur own stuff, ~ but we are not that gifted,,
i will pass the info on to him : )

EvilHorace · Post by **EvilHorace** » Tue Mar 24, 2009 6:26 am

Here's the one my son recently bought. Better specs than the one Err listed above and Dell isn't making that same unit anymore.

http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Dell-Vostro-100 ... 7C294%3A50

General Information
Manufacturer: Dell
Manufacturer P/N: PP23LB
Manufacturer Web: http://www.dell.com
Product Line: Vostro 1000
Product Type: Basic Portable Notebook
CPU: AMD Sempron 3500+ Processor 2.0GHz
RAM: 2GB DDR2 SDRAM Memory
HD: 120GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
Optical Drive: DVD-ROM/CD-RW Drive
Graphics: ATI Radeon X1150
Communication: 10Base-T/100Base-TX Fast Ethernet; 56K Modem
Wireless: Dell 1390 802.11g Wi-Fi
Features: SD/MMC Card Reader; 4 USB Ports; 15-Pin VGA Port
Display: 15.4" WXGA TFT LCD Display (1280x800)
OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Business 32-Bit
Package Contents: Main Laptop Unit, Standard Battery, AC Adapter, Power Cord and Recovery Kit
Condition: Brand New
Dimensions: Width 14.02" x Depth 10.45" x Height 1.42"-1.5"
Weight: 6.38 pounds

darcy · Post by **darcy** » Tue Mar 24, 2009 3:44 pm

thank u for that, EvilH, ~ 'tis appreciated.

canton_kid · Post by **canton_kid** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 1:33 am

I'm pretty happy so far with my Acer Aspire 5515, was $350 plus tax ($380) at Walmart. They don't have them in stock now where I bought mine just about 3 weeks ago. At the time I mostly just wanted to surf the net and download large files at same time at WIFI spots, had to have something better than my ancient IBM Thinkpad that was kinda dying and didn't do anything but downloads.
But after I got this one I am glad I did not go any smaller! It is so nice to actually be able to work on it!

Amd 2650E 1.6ghz Cpu
15.4" Wxga screen
160gig hard drive
8X DVD burner
3 Gigs DDR 2 ram
ATI 1200 something video
WIFI built in and 10/100 cable connection also.

Only 2 USB, Vga out, though and no PS2 for mouse nor keyboard (could use USB) and also no Pcmcia slots for any add on cards (Means I can't use my modem card nor my 2 USB port card)

I been doing Carrara 3D stuff on mine, not the greatest but nice for the money.
I read up the CPU seems to be upgradeable to 5050E 2X and I plan to do that later.

For $500 Walmart has a Toshiba with AMD I like allot and would probably got but they did not have it when I bought this Acer. Also I wanted AMD and not as easy to find those while I was looking around online.

I had looked at the Netbook thing Walmart had and I would never bought that myself, I needed something to surf on WIFI and download large files for 3D stuff, and also it's nice to actually be able to do things with the laptop when I want too. Like show others how the 3D programs work if they have an interest when I'm at WiFI spots, and I can watch DVDs too if I want. That Netbook did not look very useful to me for much.

I mention all Walmart cause that's all I have around here other than some SMALL computer shops that would not have anything but costly stuff.

darcy · Post by **darcy** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 2:12 pm

thank u for input/info, c_kid. the more we can learn about these things, the better : )