Netbook envy

I love my year-old Samsung, but Asus — the company who pretty much invented the netbook — has some very tempting new models. The 1005PE is under three pounds, has a 250GB drive, and boasts up to 14 hours of battery life. I’m a little skeptical of Windows 7 OS for a netbook though. There’s a cheaper version, the 1001p, with 11 hours of battery for under $300. Any netbook user should consider down(up)grading to XP. The current version of my Samsung comes with XP, which saves you the trouble of re-installing when you dump 7. It’s a little pricier than the ASUS models but the N110 should be a solid machine.

Update on March 25, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

Men, some hard-won advice: If you buy a netbook, get a black one. I’m absolutely sick of hearing how cute my white Samsung is! I thought things looked larger when clothed in white. It’s enough to make me consider covering it in skull-and-crossbones stickers or something. To be honest, I got a white one just to aggravate my Mac-using son. I should have known.

SAMSUNG N110

Comments

[LizL]

Aye Matey, something like this?? http://www.amazon.com/Bundle-Monster-NETBOOK-Notebook-Sticker/dp/B002XQS0R4

Mine is PINK, another Valentines gift from a few years ago that I love. My spouse has a required business trip each Valentines Day week and I have gotten many guilt-goodies because of it.

[Frank@OBOW]

Thanks, Liz. That might do it.

[Frank]

Windows XP is an archaic piece of crud by now... I'll take Windows 7 over XP any day, thank you! And as I have it running fluently in a VM with 512MB ram without any 3d support whatsoever, I'm guessing it will urn just fine on a netbook...

[Brad]

I too am an archaic piece of crud, probably why I prefer XP. I've heard both sides. If 7 works well with a netbook, good! I have heard that it decreases battery life somewhat compared to XP.

[Chris]

I'm a crusty old unix dude myself, so neither would stay on my netbook.

[Jeff]

If you use canon photo professional it will not work with windows 7 but just fine with XP

[Hugh]

I have to agree about the "cute" moniker - but it isn't just limited to white. When I used my Asus 1005HA at school it was the only descriptor the ladies would use. I had it in Duke Blue to aggravate the North Carolina Tarheels, but cuteness overcame any abhorrence of the Duke Blue color...

My spouse got hers in pink, which goes over well with the granddaughters. Story for another day.

Brad is right though - avoid white and pastels if you can.

Hugh