This article is written for the person shopping for a netbook. You have already read up on the differences between a laptop and a netbook, a notebook and a netbook, and you are now sure all you need is a netbook. Let's discuss what to look for when you are shopping for a netbook.
Battery LifeKeyboard and TouchpadWeightUser Experience
While there are a few netbooks out there for simple gaming and some HD video viewing, most netbooks can be considered only tools for "type and Skype", with some standard definition video thrown in. The essential netbook is for internet access with basic browsing, email, and composing documents on and offline.
Battery life
Pay attention to the time rating for the battery. They currently vary from 3 hours to over 14 hours. You will generally not get the full time that the netbook is rated for, since you won't always be using it in the lowest energy mode. However many netbooks rated for 11 hours or so get easily 8 hours usage according to user reviews. If you want to be able to take your netbook anywhere and not worry about recharging for hours, pay attention to your battery life rating while shopping for a netbook.
For whom is battery life especially important factor? Travelers, students taking notes on a netbook.
Keyboard and Touchpad
Netbooks differ slightly in keyboard and touchpad user experience. This slight difference can sometimes mean a large difference in your satisfaction. Do try to get to a super store or ask friends with netbooks if you can just try typing and scrolling for a few minutes. Your will be able to find better pricing online, but do take make an effort to see what all the fuss is about.
Keyboard types generally are described as "chiclet", or "island", with a percentage of how large they are compared to a laptop keyboard (which used to quote how large a percentage they were of a standard keyboard). If you type 100 wpm, a keyboard may be your most important deciding factor about which netbook to buy. If you have a typing speed below 60 wpm, you may find that you can easily adjust to slight differences in keyboards.
Touchpads may now have multi-gesture capabilities like certain electronic devices that allow pinch and pull zooming and two finger swiping. Others only allow cursor tracking and perhaps tapping for clicking.
The touchpads may also incorporate right and left click buttons, or one button with right and left incorporated into one button. Many users find they have serious preferences for the two button solution, or where the buttons are placed, or how hard it is to press the buttons. Try a few out, and realize you can always take a travel mouse with you to avoid a touchpad you dislike.
For whom are the keyboard and touchpad experience the most important factor? Touch typists with over 100 wpm speed.
Weight
With the 6 cell battery for longer battery life, most netbooks are currently running about 2.5 lbs (1.1 kilos) minimum. You can find lighter netbooks with less battery time due to only 3 cells, and you can find heavier netbooks due to higher end features like HD video output or touch screen capabilities. If you really want great HD output and touch screen, you might consider a laptop instead. In the netbook niche of simple computing, don't settle for anything over 3 lbs (1.36 kilo) or you could haul around something with real computing power.
For whom is weight the most important factor? Those who need to carry their computer with them.
Other User Experience Differences.
Other tiny differences that do make your end user experience different include
Whether there is a multi-card reader or only SD cards -- important if you have a non-SD card for your camera or other peripheral.Two separate outlets for microphone and earphones or only one combined outlet -- important if you already own a particular type of headset for Skyping for instance.Glossy or Matte screen -- important if you work outside or in a brightly lit place often.Glossy or Matte body finish (the famous fingerprint magnet or not) -- important if you are easily bothered by fingerprints on your netbook.Initial set up time (one popular model takes about 1 1/2 hours, others mere minutes) -- important to know if you choose that one brand that you will need to allow over an hour set up time.Amount of bloatware (free trial software and other software that you don't really need) pre-loaded -- important if you really feel like spending the time to remove unnecessary software.Bluetooth or no bluetooth -- important if you use a lot of bluetooth accessories with your mobile computing.Price -- You can now buy the previous generation of netbooks for a lot less money. The Pine Trail netbooks are running between about 9 - 0. And you can get "free" netbooks for signing up with certain cell phone providers packages for GSM coverage.
Finally, if you want lighter and/or cheaper, buy older models. If you only want to check emails, Skype, and browse the internet, a netbook is for you.
| Price : $338.99 | Post Date : May 03, 2012 18:42:05
