- Battery life: Most laptops have a top battery life of three hours (if that); some netbooks have battery life of up to 11 hours. In practical terms this means you could probably go for a weekend away and not bring your charger; whereas with a laptop you would have the worry of finding an available plug socket.
- Portablility: With some laptops busting the scales at 3kg+, this has a big impact on your hand luggage allowance (you wouldn’t want to put it in the hold). As well, the extra dimensions mean this may be a tricky item to fit. No such problem for the netbook, an average weight of 1.2kg and small footprint mean a typical model will easily fit into any bag.
- Cost: Prices on netbooks have been falling and it’s possible to pick one up now for less than £200; in many cases, cheaper than a mobile phone. This kind of price makes a netbook not quite disposable, but if you lost it, it would much cheaper to replace it. From a security point of view, a shiny Ipad is much more likely to be a target rather than a small netbook which is underspecced.
- Connectivity: All netbooks feature wi-fi which means should you be able to hook up to a network you’ll have the perfect workstation. Many netbooks are also coming with a SIM card slot as well, meaning that you can pick up the internet anywhere you go, thanks to your service provider. By contrast, you’ll at the very least need a seperate USB dongle to access the internet on a laptop.
Given this, our recommendations (see our link to compare prices)
Battery Life: ASUS 1005PE - ASUS have been a solid brand in the netbook scene. Their latest models with the ‘E’ – standing for extended are renowned for their superb battery life with no compromise on performance. With some of the older models now retailing under £200, there are some real bargains to be had.
Portability: Toshiba Portege R600 – one of the lightest portable computers out there at only 820g – you’ll hardly believe it’s a computer. The downside to this is a compromise in performance with a battery life of under four hours – low by today’s standards. If you can tolerate an extra pound, do see the HP Mini 2133, which comes with a smaller screen but better spec.
Cost: Second-hand you’ll probably pick up a bargain, but it’s really a minefield; just one costly repair may see the economics of the used item disappear. For new items there are always plenty of sales on; two models that are commonly discounted are the MSI Wind U600 or Samsung N130. Both should be easily available for under £200.
Connectivity: As time goes on, the likelyhood of the SIM card slot gets more likely with the newer models, but many older models do not have the facility. If you need this; do double check before purchase that the item definately does have it; one that does is the Compaq Mini 311C. Remember, if planning to use a lot of data do make sure your cell plan doesn’t overcharge.
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