Can I justify buying a netbook?

[NewGenAdam]

I love the idea of netbooks.
Uber-small, portable and usable.
But as I have an MBA, can I justify buying one - I mean, how much more would a netbook offer me than my Air??

Persuade me !!

 

[GroovyLinuxGuy]

If you don't know what you are going to use it for, then I would have to say you probably don't need it. Besides, you have a nice Air...I'd take one of those over my Acer Aspire One...just cuz.

 

[pellets007]

I'd take a Core 2 Duo over an Atom any day. That said, wouldn't the Air be a better machine?

 

[NewGenAdam]

>GroovyLinuxGuy
I'd use it for internet when travelling/at school, if possible on mobile internet card.

>Pellets007
I'd say the Air is a better machine - but a netbook would be more carryable, and a quarter of the price! So I wouldn't get paranoid about that shady guy stalking me. Who may or may not exist.

 

[warlun]

Get one...
1. It's cheap
2. you can be rough with it
3. The 6 cell batteries lasts for hours more than your air
4. you can mess around on it without fear of corrupting it (stick OSX on it)
5. The newer ones have built in HSDPA

 

[NewGenAdam]

>warlun
Persuasion ^^
OSX on an unofficial netbook ... HUH? I'd ask but I think Google would be sensible-r, considering.

 

[HLdan]

>warlun
Persuasion ^^
OSX on an unofficial netbook ... HUH? I'd ask but I think Google would be sensible-r, considering.

Some people are doing it but keep in mind that it will make your netbook a Hackintosh. When it comes down to it, consider it as a netbook with a beta version of OS X on it. You will have driver issues and of course, no support from Apple. Netbooks are designed to be Windows machines, if you are going to use one just use it as a Windows machine.

TBH, I think they are bit of a fad. It's one of those devices you brag about being the first on the block with, then after reality sets in and the honeymoon is over you'll be sticking it in your book bag and forgetting you have it.

 

[cerealj]

I like netbooks, but if you've already got a MBA, I don't really see the point of a netbook. I bought mine because it's cheap and very portable. But the MBA has a much bigger screen and is almost as portable (3lbs instead of about 2), and although it's ridiculously expensive, you've already bought it anyway.

Also, I don't see netbooks as a fad because I've used mine for a year I find it very useful. They're still secondary machines though, and they'll stay that way until they get faster CPUs, bigger hard drives, and (most importantly) the ability to output video to high resolution external monitors.

 

[mikey28]

I was at Best Buy today, for some videos, and ended up looking at the netbooks. The "I want one" feeling came over me. "Gosh, I could keep this in the car, handy at the coffee houses, keep the expensive MBA at home..."
But then I thought, "ridiculous. You have the MBA, it's fabulous, and what in the world do I need a "secondary" laptop for???"

 

[mhnajjar]

Well, if your MBA is giving you trouble while watching a video on youtube, then you might want to consider purchasing a netbook .

 

[Scottsdale]

Someone mentioned abuse. I had not thought of that. I always fear even scratching my Mac. I also have two little ones. A netbook may be the answer when abuse is a concern. I would not care if the netbook gets banged up. I would leave my Mac in the office the two days of the week when I have the kids. It could go to McDonald's, the park, and etc and not worry about ABUSE!

A netbook is like a toy, a Mac is a tool and precision instrument. And at a mere fraction of the price of a Mac, the netbook can be a fun and inexpensive worry-free computer.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I cannot stand the thought of dings, scratches, and spills caused by my kids. Damage to my Mac is a constant fear when the kids are in the same room as my Mac.

Great way to think of a netbook, as a toy where it can take the abuse while my Mac stays in perfect condition.

 

[watchrabbit]

Having the same thoughts...

Have an Air, a Sony Z but still thinking of a netbook.
But if you think hard, you don't need it: it's not lighter, only smaller. Now in a bag, it doesn't make any difference, plus the thinness of the Air brings me more room in my bag than a smaller footprint would bring. And the small resolution will be very disturbing over the time. That said, if I wouldn't have an Air, I would have gotten myself allready one of this small (price) marvels.

 

[NewGenAdam]

@HLdan Thanks for the lowdown on Hackintoshes - seems fun and novel, but I agree that without multitouch, and with driver issues the value starts dissolving.
I'm not sure if I like fads, but I got the WANT ONE OF THOSE lust feeling when looking at one...
@mikey28 Yes that feeling , where the mind runs wild with potential uses - I'm not yet over that ^^!
@mhnajjar Actually my poor MBA struggles with basic Youtube
@Scottsdale Yeh, a HUGE temptation is that I could take it, and treat it slightly easier than the Air - not having to worry about every. single. little. thing...
@watchrabbit Mm mm true; but I like the idea of being able to throw it in a satchel as I leave home without worrying about x, y and z as I would with the Air.
I'm SO undecided!!

And Twitter's rubbed off on me a little, hence all the @peoples - hope it doesn't seem rude!

 

[Acorn]

i dont know about you but as much as i like the air it is more attractive to me to carry around a 350 dollar laptop then a 1600 dollar laptop

 

[DarthTreydor]

i have an msi wind with osx installed and while it was a fun little project, honestly i don't really use it too often. its pretty toylike and i already have a macbook. if you have an air, there's really no need for you to get one, unless you just have some extra cash on your hands.

 

[Halon X]

I've got 2 Dell Mini 9's, one running Windoze and the other OSX.

The Dell Mini 9 supports full functionality out of the box and runs OSX very well. I find a netbook to be a nice compliment to the Air or another laptop for that matter.

I've upgraded the RAM in both to 2GB, the SSD to 664GB and swapped out the wirless card for an 802.11n. With those specs, it really becomes very usable machine with a lot more portability that even the air.

 

[jbernie]

>warlun
Persuasion ^^
OSX on an unofficial netbook ... HUH? I'd ask but I think Google would be sensible-r, considering.

Just install Safari on an XP Netbook and keep it maximised and most people wouldnt know the difference.

For me personally I bought a laptop based on small form factor & light weight for travel etc. Not the same as my quad core Vista box but I didnt need to run every app under the sun but I do want reasonable performance.

In comparison to a MB Air the lower price tag etc might = less worry about damage and depending on where you go less worry about unwanted attention. Though the MB Air covers pretty much everything the netbooks do just in a more normal size format.

One thing you could benefit from, although not uber fast you could always use the netbook as a test machine or a little more expensive virtual machine where you can test stuff without messing up the primary machine.

I dont really see you having the need to spend the money on the netbook. but if you do go ahead, at least you arent throwing away large sums of money if you dont really get much use out of it.

 

[mikey28]

@HLdan Thanks for the lowdown on Hackintoshes - seems fun and novel, but I agree that without multitouch, and with driver issues the value starts dissolving.
I'm not sure if I like fads, but I got the WANT ONE OF THOSE lust feeling when looking at one...
@mikey28 Yes that feeling , where the mind runs wild with potential uses - I'm not yet over that ^^!
@mhnajjar Actually my poor MBA struggles with basic Youtube
@Scottsdale Yeh, a HUGE temptation is that I could take it, and treat it slightly easier than the Air - not having to worry about every. single. little. thing...
@watchrabbit Mm mm true; but I like the idea of being able to throw it in a satchel as I leave home without worrying about x, y and z as I would with the Air.
I'm SO undecided!!

And Twitter's rubbed off on me a little, hence all the @peoples - hope it doesn't seem rude!

Uggh. Why did you say that??? At Best Buy I looked at the EEE (whatever, sorry) and it was running Linux (4GB memory, 8.9" screen size, $199) and looked like something I could toss around with no worries. Keep it in the glove compartment and basically have something whenever I have a minute to spare. I also looked at the HP (16GB memory, 10"screen, 499.00) But frankly $499 is more than I want to pay since I DO already have an MBA.

I totally agree with the previous poster. I worry a lot about dings and scratches on my MBA, the NetBook could be treated as a TOY...
(I feel like I'm talking myself into this..., but I'm going to fight it, because I JUST got the Rev B....)

 

[Scottsdale]

Uggh. Why did you say that??? At Best Buy I looked at the EEE (whatever, sorry) and it was running Linux (4GB memory, 8.9" screen size, $199) and looked like something I could toss around with no worries. Keep it in the glove compartment and basically have something whenever I have a minute to spare. I also looked at the HP (16GB memory, 10"screen, 499.00) But frankly $499 is more than I want to pay since I DO already have an MBA.

I totally agree with the previous poster. I worry a lot about dings and scratches on my MBA, the NetBook could be treated as a TOY...
(I feel like I'm talking myself into this..., but I'm going to fight it, because I JUST got the Rev B....)

After reading/replying to this post, I stopped by Best Buy and saw this Asus Eee PC for $199. It has 1 GB memory and a 4 GB Hard Drive. At $199, it's a really cheap toy. They have really nice netbooks between $350 and $450 running XP and have much nicer displays than the $199 closeout Asus. But as a toy $199 is a pretty good deal. They had an open box one for $164. I decided to think about it overnight.

The problem is, this particular Asus is a huge downgrade from a MacBook Air. I fear like the others said it will be fun for a week but will get really old fast. I mean, I have a brand new MBA that costs $2700, so why would I want to play with a junkie netbook. It's like having a Porsche in the garage and driving the Pinto to work.

But I guess if I don't end up using at all the kids will use it. And if the open box is still there, I will only have $180 in it with tax. If it saves one scratch on MBA, it will be worth it.

Netbook equals a less stressful time when having kids play on it, leaving in gym bag in lockless locker, or taking to park.

 

[poky]

If it's in your mind, you should go ahead and grab it!
Why not try to use it few days see if you like it?
15% of $200 restocking fee is $30.
I did have for with my first netbook (EEE 701, probably the same one you saw in BB, was selling for $399 when it first came out)
But after 3 days of use, I decided to put it on ebay.
Nothing wrong with it, it's cheap, the best money for the little computer.
But the resolution (800x480) is very useless, well if you like scroll up and down alot, it's fun.
I have a 15" WUXGA W500 Thinkpad for my work, and use MBA as my netbook, yes, MBA is 5 times more expensive then your EEE, and only 1 usb port.
But I do enjoy everytime I have my MBA out, the eye sights from the surrounding netbook users

 

[tubbymac]

Netbooks will feel like a toy if you already have an Air. The best way to get over them is to buy one and use it for a week and then return it so you never get the urge to buy another junk computer again

 

[vstephenson]

Yeah go on

Hi

I have an MBA as my laptop at home/personal but I bought a Wind clone to take exclusively for work (felt MBA at work would make me too nervous)

I put Windows 7 on it and I have to say, Im well impressed with it

As a little gadget to carry around from meeting to meeting its a perfect size

As someone said above, buy one and get it out of your system, but I think mines a keeper for work (windows environment)

Cheers
Vin

 

[NewGenAdam]

I've got 2 Dell Mini 9's, one running Windoze and the other OSX.

The Dell Mini 9 supports full functionality out of the box and runs OSX very well. I find a netbook to be a nice compliment to the Air or another laptop for that matter.

I've upgraded the RAM in both to 2GB, the SSD to 664GB and swapped out the wirless card for an 802.11n. With those specs, it really becomes very usable machine with a lot more portability that even the air.

Dell mini 9, huh. I'll admit I'm very tempted by those - but how easy is it to change the components, and is the atom processor not a huge limit?

 

[NewGenAdam]

@vstephenson Yeh, using it for school is an appeal, and if Windows 7 runs efficiently it'll be a deal maker.

 

[andrewp]

Imo a netbook is a cell phone with a larger screen, it's slow, it's ugly and the quality is low.

However you get what you are paying for. There's no doubt that they have dominated the notebook sales, but I would never get one, especially if I had a MBA. That said, a 7-9 inch screen is waaaay to small for me.