Best netbook for under $500
 

Looking for a netbook for a chick who all she does is typical word processing, Internet, etc

I don't know anything about netbooks really so there any specific companies to look for or any hot deals on right now?


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My biggest complaint about netbooks are the keyboards. When the keyboard isn't correct it will get annoying very fast for many touch typists.

Many of the newer netbooks are better now, but there are still bad ones out there.

Exhibit A: The shift key is in the wrong position. You will end up hitting the up arrow more than you want.

http://blog.laptopmag.com/wpress/wp-...keyboard03.jpg

Toshiba NB305, super long battery life for netbooks, on sale for $399 right now.

where is this sale?

$400 for a net book is a waste

http://forums.redflagdeals.com/wm-15...9&daysprune=30

London Drugs, but you can probably price match everywhere else too.

There's lots you can buy for under $500. I didn't like the toshiba's. I returned mine the next day. Ugly bezel, cheap plastics, mono low volume speaker.

This is pretty decent. Dual core atom n550 and claims it can get 13hours battery.

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...nufacture=ASUS

Maybe they don't want to lug a 15.6" laptop around?

A $400 netbook is a waste. A $200 netbook isn't much worse than a $400 one - their specs are all pretty similar: intel atom, 1gb ram, ~200gb HD, integrated video card.

The main reasons people look for a netbook is because they're looking for something portable with good battery life.

No one really wants to lug around a notebook, especially since the majority of them have shitty battery life.

I have this one Acer Aspire AO533

It's highly modified with Windows 7. Runs super fast. Battery lasts around 9-11 hours on a 6 cell.

Why do they call it netbook these days? I used to have the sony VAIO ultra portable laptop (TZ/TX series) with 11.1 inch screen. It seems to have much much better build quality than today's plasticky "netbook"..

^ it was probably 2 or 3 times more expensive too

Maybe throw in another hundred or two and get a used/refurb/open box base model Macbook Air 11" ?

I doubt you can get an 11" Air for $6-700 this early.

Hondaracer, how big of a netbook does she want to lug around? My last laptop was a 12 inch Toshiba and I loved the size. My current netbook is a 13.3 inch Acer (Staples model) and it is pretty good. I played around with the 10 inch netbooks that is readily available everywhere and found it to be too small. The screen is small, and the mini 85 key keyboard is just too small. And the overall size is too small to comfortably place on my lap without fears of it falling off unless I keep my legs together which I find very uncomfortable.

Those 15.6 inch ones might be too big for her to lug around, but in general they are the cheaper priced computers. Not exactly sure why, but all the 14 inch and smaller units are pricier.

Another thing with those 10 inch netbooks, there isn't much room to do any upgrades. I believe there is only one DDR2 slot for ram, so the most you can upgrade to is a 2gig stick.

i'm pretty happy with my ASUS netbook. keyboard feels normal. battery life is pretty good too.

its more of a present than anything, so i'm kind of torn, obviously chicks probably like small netbooks better

If that is the case, then really any of the sub $300 netbooks from BB or FS will be more than enough.

Or pony up a few more bux and get the 12 inch asus netbook from NCIX. It's the most powerful netbook last year, and even has HDMI output.

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...nufacture=ASUS

It's been $299 at Staples for like a month now ...

Way to do research before giving advice ...

I don't think it makes much sense spending over 250 on a netbook.

Check out Lenovo's site, by combining discount+coupon, you can get yourself a nice lappy with around 600 bucks.

I just bought a new X201 with i7 CPU and some other options. After taxes it was under 900 bucks... if you don't need the CPU and all the options I added, I'm sure you can get some nice setup for around 650.

You got the x201 with i7 for under 900 taxes in?! wow. I got mine for $980. The higher TDP and not much benefit with the i7 wasn't worth it for me so I got the full i5.

I don't spend all my time looking at computers and flyers... I just put out what I know. If you know about it being that price, then you should mention it...

Yeah, the EPP+coupon at Lenovo is incredible.

Added everything with the exception of mem and HDD. Getting a Sandforce-powered SSD and 8GB mem to install myself. :)

i was looking to buy a netbook for my gf few months ago. The reason is simply same as u, she only word process, internet...

but after browe around few sites, i realized i can add another $100 to my budget to get her a decent laptop with bigger and better screen, CD rom and many other features that netbook doesnt have.

i say go for laptop, screw the netbook.

check out vision, best buy, future shop, london drug.... and price match if possible :)

i bought an ACer aspire (forgot the serial number) ... its running good and way better than the netbook i was thinking about getting her