Netbooks

The latest rage in portable PCs is Netbooks. What is a Netbook? Well it seems that Laptop PCs have evolved into three classes. These are most easily discernible by the size of the display. The display size also relates to portability – the smallest display is the most portable. The three classes are: 1.The movable desktop with a 17-inch diagonal display, 2.The more common student style laptop with a 15-inch display and 3. Netbooks with an 8 to 11-inch display.

The internal features of these three laptop classes (like CPU chip and GHz speed, RAM memory, DVD Drive, Hard Disk drive) can be very similar. The differentiating feature is the display size. The smaller display netbooks tend to be less powerful than their large display brethren because they are designed to do very specific tasks like email and simple web surfing. The larger laptops are more like transportable desktops that run Windows 7. Netbooks often run Windows XP or Linux. The display size and Windows version make Netbooks prices run from $180 to $350. In contrast the 17-inch display laptop prices range from $700 to $1,400. Sony and Dell offer small high performance PCs that are the size of a Netbook. They have Solid State Drives, fast graphics, fast CPU chips, and cost around $1,000.

A netbook screen ranges from 8-inches to 11-inches. It is small but sufficient for email and web browsing. The CPUs are Intel Atom or Celeron chips running with 1 GB of RAM. Operating system is often XP Home Edition. The cheapest Netbooks may use Linux. Linux works like Windows when web surfing and using Web based email like Gmail or Yahoo mail. Linux also has Open Office software which is a full office suite with Word, Excel, and Power Point equivalents similar to Microsoft Office. Linux software costs almost nothing compared to Microsoft software.

Since the portability is the key purchasing feature, it may be good to check specifications on battery life without power. The battery life claimed is not necessarily what actual in use operating battery life really is. The specifications should permit some sort of Apples to Apples comparison. Screen visibility and colors are subjective so pick one that looks best to you.

Some netbooks come with a $40 per month anywhere Internet access - via a Third Generation (3G – 80 Kbps to 1 mbps speeds) or Fourth Generation (4G) 100 Mbps cell phone network (these Netbooks have the lowest upfront purchase cost because the sellers get a $40 per month 2 year subscription with each purchase). Netbooks all use WI-FI (Wireless) Networks like those at Starbucks and Panera Bread.

An alternative which represents the future is the Mac iPad. It connects through Wi-Fi to the Internet at this time. The iPad has Web Surfing, Email, Photo Album, Video Streaming (e.g. YouTube), Music, Books, Maps, Notes and other applications. It is not a phone, but rather a larger screen electronic touch screen tablet that has more display focused capabilities than the iPhone. The iPad really competes with Netbook computers for the specific tasks the iPad performs. Netbooks can act better as a student’s computer and they are cheaper. The Netbooks also connect using the cellular network to the Internet making them more geographically useful than the iPad.

HP Netbooks are common, but they come with lots of junk software. I recently worked on a Samsung loaded with viruses. Once cleaned it was a capable small PC. It and other Netbook PCs would work well as a portable repair station computer for on-site PC repair. The only drawback is that they come with XP home edition software. A PC repair station must run XP Professional to be able to work effectively with Windows disk security.

So the attractiveness of Netbooks is their low price and portability. They are excellent tools for an on the go person. As a nerd I want a Netbook, a large laptop and the iPad. One can never have enough PCs.