$100 Netbook-- a viable decision?

[Ariii]

http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/19/cvs-to-sell-100-sylvania-netbook-and-179-e-reader-this-fall-t/



I just saw this... and I'm wondering about it. I know some people who completely would hate to buy a used computer, but only use Facebook and simple websites, but most of them wouldn't want to deal with those issues. Windows CE just looks painful to use. Maybe somebody might buy it to learn Linux on unsupported hardware, though. I might buy one just to see it, and the reviews I've seen have been very, very negative. The processor I've seen looks like it's not available for any Linux distro. Maybe if somebody came up with a port of DSL (A Linux distro, extremely small) for that hardware, maybe even pre-installed, it could actually take off. It almost reminds me of some of NohrTec's products, though it doesn't seem nearly as good. So, is there any crowd who would actually buy it?

 

[maflynn]

This was why netbooks first caught on. Underpowered but allowed them to do email, surf etc. I don't see price being a motivator now, as the user experience is so abysmal that there are better alternatives for not much more money, such as the Kindle Fire.

 

[sigamy]

Hopefully some parents out there can relate to this...

My 9 year old daughter got an Acer One Happy netbook for Christmas. I tried convincing her to get a tablet but she was dead set on having a keyboard. I had strong feelings this would not end well but as a parent I went forward and got what was on her Christmas list.

Now five months later she rarely uses the netbook. I ask her why and she says "it is so slow".

The Acer was well reviewed. It came with Windows 7 Starter Edition. I forgot what a PITA Windows is... You can't even change the background with this version of Windows. I also can't upgrade past 1GB RAM, I'd have to update the OS first.

Santa should have ignored her request and got her a tablet...

 

[G51989]

Hopefully some parents out there can relate to this...

My 9 year old daughter got an Acer One Happy netbook for Christmas. I tried convincing her to get a tablet but she was dead set on having a keyboard. I had strong feelings this would not end well but as a parent I went forward and got what was on her Christmas list.

Now five months later she rarely uses the netbook. I ask her why and she says "it is so slow".

The Acer was well reviewed. It came with Windows 7 Starter Edition. I forgot what a PITA Windows is... You can't even change the background with this version of Windows. I also can't upgrade past 1GB RAM, I'd have to update the OS first.

Santa should have ignored her request and got her a tablet...

Or a good Netbook, mine has the Atom, but also has 3gb of Ram, decent video card, 10 inch screen. Its plenty fast for what it is.

 

[Ariii]

This was why netbooks first caught on. Underpowered but allowed them to do email, surf etc. I don't see price being a motivator now, as the user experience is so abysmal that there are better alternatives for not much more money, such as the Kindle Fire.

One big difference is that the netbook is really a standalone device, unlike tablets. And you have a choice of OS. But yeah, tablets do usually have a better experience.

Hopefully some parents out there can relate to this...

My 9 year old daughter got an Acer One Happy netbook for Christmas. I tried convincing her to get a tablet but she was dead set on having a keyboard. I had strong feelings this would not end well but as a parent I went forward and got what was on her Christmas list.

Now five months later she rarely uses the netbook. I ask her why and she says "it is so slow".

The Acer was well reviewed. It came with Windows 7 Starter Edition. I forgot what a PITA Windows is... You can't even change the background with this version of Windows. I also can't upgrade past 1GB RAM, I'd have to update the OS first.

Santa should have ignored her request and got her a tablet...

Yeah, I personally don't like Windows as a thing for tablets. I'm thinking, if somebody could have a really cheap netbook available with DSL loaded onto it that could be a good option. Most light users wouldn't want to take the time to load a new OS, even if it's easy to install, and they wouldn't like to have to deal with compatibility issues either.

Actually, I found a really great alternative:

http://www.norhtec.com/products/gecko/index.html

I think that this would actually be a great option for that. XP is definitely a lighter OS, and it allows you a lot of flexibility by using SD cards. It vaguely reminds me of the OLPC XO laptop.

 

[G51989]

One big difference is that the netbook is really a standalone device, unlike tablets. And you have a choice of OS. But yeah, tablets do usually have a better experience.

This.

Low End Netbooks can suck big time, but the higher powered ones are great. Some of them have decent processors, lots of memory, and proper hard drives, while still having a 10 or 11 inch screen.