netbook?

[reven]

anyone using a netbook in nz? any recommendations? im thinking about getting one and would like
- ssd drive
- 5+ hours battery life
- 3g (take a sim card for vodafone)
- 802.11n (must, i want to get remove b/g from my router, i know i can just get a second router for them but dont want to)
- be light
- small but good keyboard
- not that expensive

i was thinking about the dell mini 9 just because you can easily turn it into a hackintosh (not that i want to now, but might in the future) but that doesnt meet all those requirements

[johnsonx42]

The mini 10 has all those options, at least it does here. You can get a 32GB ssd, the big battery, various 3g cards (obviously different choices here vs. nz), 802.11n/g card.

[wannabepvr]

Hi Raven,
I have been using an Acer Aspire One - A150 for 12 months now and love it, I lot of people shout them down as being gutless - but for what they are intended they are great - they are not a workstation or gaming machine. I am typing on it now - with no more that the usual mistakes!

The A150 meets nearly none of your criteria, but I believe other models do.

But the question I will ask is about the SSD. Yes they are better on power, yes they are better should you ever drop it (but don't). But from all accounts on the Forums I scan they are pretty slow when ever swap space and any other cacheing is required. (standby, hibernation file) The problem is that netbooks are mainly getting the cheap end of SSD technology with terrible write times. While you can turn these things off - you are then limited to physical memory.

My advice is don't discount a HDD. You get much more storage and better write times. They are also cheaper if you want to upgrade.

I am sure you will find your net book indispensable and take it with you everywhere!

[wannabepvr]

I also hear good things about TinyXP as an operating system. There is also TinyVisa and now Tiny7.

[psycik]

I think you're only choice is the Dell Mini 9 isn't it, as sold by Vodafone. I'm not sure if there was an hp with 3g as well.

[reven]

i was just going to go with SSD for power really. but only size i can find here in nz is 8gb which is on the small side...

[stustunz]

I have the asus 10 inch screen says 7 hours battery but I get at least 5 which is way better than most expensive note books
I use a Vodem stick to connect or iPhone tethering I know not ideal but it works
negative thing is the resolution of the screen is only 600 pixels high which isn't ideal for some web pages or trade me the pictures don't always show with the close button as they won't fit on the screen
screw the ssd drive they are to small
pluses it runs cool as although I turn the fan off with some utility I found on the net plays video fine has double touch mouse pad for zooming
battery life


Negatives I hit the mousepad when typing
resolution of screen
the one I got has no Bluetooth looked at wrong specs wanted the 1000h but got the 1000a by mistake so if getting asus make sure you check the specs as the numbering is a bit weird

[reven]

negative thing is the resolution of the screen is only 600 pixels high which isn't ideal for some web pages or trade me the pictures don't always show with the close button as they won't fit on the screen

you know you can use the left/right/escape keys on the keyboard to control the popup gallery right?

the dell 9 looks cool, but only one i found doesnt have 802.11n, and the dell 10 on dell.co.nz im not sure if it supports 3G via a sim card? i have a iphone so i can tether it, just rather not have to.

kind of want a smalll netbook to use around the house between rooms debugging a the htpcs and bring along in the car and use on the road to check websites etc (iphones great and all, but cant do it all).

keep the suggestions coming, like hearing what people are using them for and what the problems with them are.

[reven]

oh and do any support GPS?

[reven]

just bought a dell 910 for NZ$460, didnt think i was going to get one cheaper than that. only 8GB SSD though, but only going to be using it for internet really and some small apps.

will have to upgrade the RAM to 2GB though.