He even has the same netbook I do, a Samsung NC10. Yet he still feels that the portability and usability of an AlphaSmart is far, far better. He also cites battery longevity. Though I’ll agree that years of battery life is better than a few hours, ever since I got my NC10 I haven’t felt chained to an outlet. (It’s the 7+ hours of battery life, I love it, so.) And while it is great to have a machine that allows you to concentrate on just one thing, writing, the device is just a little too unitasking for me.

One of the reasons I stopped using my AlphaSmart is that it was crap for editing. Sure, it would allow you to get some words down on the screen and drive forward. However, you certainly can’t edit really well on that thing, or go back through what you’ve written and try to take stock in a meaningful way. And only seeing 4 lines of text at a time felt like far too little. You can’t edit already-existing text. And if you’ve typed a major chunk of your novel on the thing, good luck trying to get a sense of the structure.

Not that Marko claimed the Neo could do any of these things. These were just my reasons for giving the machine up. I needed a gadget that would allow me to do all of my writing tasks, from the first draft through to the editing stage, that was easy to carry, light, and had a reasonably-sized screen. Aftre I accomplished that with my Eee PC, my next goal was a netbok with long battery life so I wouldn’t have to worry about outlets. And here were are.

Having read through his whole review, though, do you think that the Neo has enough advantages over a netbook to justify putting the latter aside?

If you’re looking for a netbook, these are the ones I suggest:

10-inch Netbooks

Samsung N Series

I actually own a Samsung NC10^[1] — after playing with dozens of netbooks for months, this is the one I chose to take home forever. I love it. It has a great keyboard and screen and lasts a long time and weighs less than 3 pounds so I can easily carry it with me everywhere. N Series netbooks are usually good, but this is one of three that I particularly recommend.

Since Samsung released the NC10 last year they’ve put out a couple of updates. The first was the N110 — it has a slicker case, a larger touchpad, and a higher capacity battery that lasts over 7 hours (the regular NC10 lasts 6.5). Sadly, it also has a glossy screen, which is a problem for some people. Recently Samsung brought the N140 to the US^[2], which again has a slightly different case and design and is more powerful. Weirdly, it has the same battery as the NC10, so it only gets 6.5 hours. But this is plenty for most people. Plus, it has a matte screen and Windows 7.

All of these netbooks have great keyboards, which is one of the most important factors, and long battery lives, which is the other most important factor. You’re not going to get stellar performance with most netbooks, but none of these are pokey or frustrating to use.

So, which one should you get? I advise getting the N110 because it has the longest battery life. And now that the N140 is out, you’re bound to find it for less than $400, maybe even less than $350. If you’re on a tighter budget, go looking for the NC10 as it is likely to be even less. As long as you can get the NC10 or N110, I say the N140 isn’t strictly necessary. But once those are gone, the N140 isn’t a bad choice at all.

I would not rec the N130, Samsung’s “value” netbook. It is pokey and only lasts 4 hours and 44 minutes on a charge. I am also not that fond of the Samsung GO.

Toshiba mini NB205

Most people at LAPTOP really, really like this netbook. And I will say that it’s quite snazzy looking. Plus, it lasts 8.8 – 9.25 hours on a charge, depending on which model you get. The reason I am not as gung-ho on it is that I am not a huge fan of island-style keys. The keyboard on the NB205 is good, though, and if you like that type of key then go for it. It performs well, looks good, and lasts a long time.

When buying an NB205, keep a few things in mind. Toshiba put out a bunch of different model numbers for this netbook, so when you go to their site or Amazon or something, you’ll see about half a dozen different machines with names like NB205-N210 or NB205-N330BL or whatever. Sometimes I wonder if companies are out to confuse us purposefully.

The difference between the N2** models and the N3** models is the keyboard. The N3** models have the island-style keyboard and the N2** ones have a standard keyboard. I didn’t get a chance to try the standard keyboard, so I can’t say whether it’s better or worse. But all of my colleagues seem to think the island-style keyboard is superior.

Another thing to look out for when purchasing is if the model has Windows 7 or XP. The XP model should be a bit cheaper and it gets longer battery life, so I would suggest going for that.

When searching for this netbook on Amazon be careful you’re looking at the model # you want. On some pages if you change the color it will give you a completely different model, not the same model but in black or whatever. So check the specs and do a bit of hunting around. Like I said, XP is better and the model #s that start with NB205-N3** are what you’re looking for. Here’s a helpful Amazon link for you.

11.6 Inch Systems

Most people who ask are in the market for a 10-inch system. That’s my favorite size as well, so that’s usually what I recommend. But some folks like to have a bigger screen and 11.6-inch netbooks are all the rage these days. I have two recs in this category and one of them isn’t even really a netbook.

HP Mini 311

If you’re going to get an 11-inch system, you might as well get one that has some oomph. The Mini 311 has something most netbooks don’t: a discrete graphics chip. For those of you who have no clue what that even means or don’t care, this matters most when you’re doing two things: watching videos and playing games.

Netbooks can play Hulu, YouTube, etc. just fine. It isn’t the absolute best experience, but it’s also a 10-inch screen, so you’re not looking to recreate the cinema or anything. But the 311 is cool because it does smooth full screen video and HD video and, when the newest version of Flash comes out, can do full HD. You can also play games like Spore or WOW, though on the lowest quality, so you’ll have some fun in-between writing. The battery life is quite good for a system with a separate graphics card: 5 hours, 43 minutes. And the price is nice as well: starts at $399.

Acer Aspire 1410

Though this system is 11.6 inches and only $399, it’s not actually a netbook. It’s an ultraportable laptop. What’s the difference you ask? Performance. This notebook has a more powerful processor so it behaves more like a regular laptop. You won’t be able to do some major gaming or video editing or whatever on it. However, unlike a netbook, it isn’t going to slow down once five or six programs get going at once. Yet it’s still portable and light and inexpensive and lasts 6 and a half hours.

You won’t get the same graphics performance on this as on the Mini 311, but you will get good HD video playback and smooth full screen Hulu.

Those are my suggestions for anyone looking to get a netbook. There are many others out there and you can see very comprehensive reviews on LAPTOP Magazine’s website. But, after all these months, I haven’t come across a netbook that made me want to give up my Samsung NC10. The Toshiba is nice, just not my style. And I like these 11-inch systems, but the 10-inch form factor works best for me.

Hope this post helps those of you looking for a netbook. Feel free to ask me any questions in the comments, too.

Notes

1. Technically an NC10 Special Edition, which has a larger touchpad and better battery than the typical NC10
2. This is the netbook featured in that hilarious video a few months back with the model whose boyfriend dumped her before she got to Paris

As I said in my last post, I am definitely a netbook person when it comes to computers I carry around all the time and use anywhere. However, my needs and experience are not necessarily everyone’s. I can see the UL30 or other ultraportables being great machines for people who travel a great deal, folks going on extended trips (particularly abroad), and people with access to tables on their long commute.

Not everyone needs or wants to carry a laptop around all the time just in case you have a spare moment to write on them. Not everyone rides a cramped and crowded subway. I fall into the realm of Power User for netbooks, so what I need and do are on the extreme end of what mainstream consumers want.

That said, the UL30 came pretty close to being the kind of machine I want for a secondary computer. Perhaps if systems like this and with this price had come along before netbooks, I would be perfectly content. It has all the things I wished for back in the day. (The Day being 2 years ago. Sad, I know.)

I’m back to carrying my NC10 around now. Seshet missed me, I can tell. She always gets a little nervous when a new, cool netbook or notebook lands on my desk. However, I can say with some authority that I still think the Samsung NC10 (and its subsequent update the N110) is the best netbook I’ve ever tried. I’m glad I own one and I won’t be trading it for a fancy ultraportable any time soon.

The laptop does include a solution to that in the form of ExpressGate, ASUS’ instant-on OS. This boots up in about 10 – 15 seconds and from there you can access a web browser, Skype, music and pictures. The one thing I wish this instant-on had was a notepad or something so I could do some simple writing tasks (like these posts) without booting the full OS. I can’t access the web on the subway, so even being able to access GoogleDocs doesn’t do much for me.

Boot and wake time can be tweaked, like I said, so it’s not a tragedy.

Meanwhile, I’ve taken the system to several press events this week and it’s not as convenient for taking notes as my netbook. My NC10 wakes up pretty quickly and it’s easier to perch on the edge of a small table or my lap for notes. Of course, if I had a tablet it would be even easier, but we won’t get into that right now.

So again, I find myself wishing for my NC10 instead of the UL30. I do still really like this machine in general. It’s just not a netbook.

For me, this experience reinforces what I’ve always thought: though light and inexpensive 12 and 13 inch laptops have wonderful screen real-estate, when looking for a laptop to carry around with me everywhere at all times, the 9 and 10 inch sizes are better. Even 11.6 is more than I need.

But when it comes to power, I do find myself wishing that 10-inch netbooks came with CULV processors so that I could run more programs at once. Perhaps that will happen sometime in the near future. Or the new Intel Atom “Pine Trail” will provide the power I seek.

One thing I find interesting about the netbook craze is how netbook-specific communities pop up very soon after the netbooks are announced or come out. Back when the original Eee PC came out I found a lot of great information on EeeUser. I was unfamiliar with Linux, so the tutorials and explanations I found there on how to add programs and make my BlueTooth dongle work really helped. Now with almost every new entrant into the netbook category you’re likely to find a community of dedicated users.

I found SammyNetbook when I was attempting to make the hardware on the NC10 play nice with Windows 7.  That’s also where I found out that Fedora works on it out of the box, which was very useful in writing my Linux piece. Someone there pointed me to Linux on my Samsung and I intend to read and contribute there a lot over the next few weeks. I’m putting Linux Mint on my Samsung, but I’m waiting until the next version comes out. Ubuntu, which Mint is based on, is set to have better compatibility with netbooks, so it follows that Mint will, too.

I think it’s awesome that if you buy a netbook you’re likely to find a group of people who also have one and are dedicated to solving problems, trying new things, and extolling its virtues.

If you end up getting one, tell me how you like it!

For those unaware, the NC10 SE is pretty much the same as the regular NC10 except it has a larger trackpad and comes with a high-capacity battery for longer life. (It’ll probably get over 7 hours.) It came out shortly before the announcement of the Samsung N110, which is pretty much the same as the NC10 except it has a larger trackpad and a high capacity battery. …Yeah.

Okay, there are two other differences. First, the chassis (housing) of the N110 is slightly different. It has rounded corners and a glossy lid and in general a sleeker look.  Also, the screen itself is glossy, not matte.

I liked the look of the N110 and that’s why I decided to buy it. Then I started leaning back toward the NC10 SE. We even had several discussions about it over on the SammyNetbook community. The screen ended up being a big part of my wavering. I didn’t think glossy or matte made a difference to me until I spent a month using a loaner glossy screen netbook and found that my eyes were far less happy. Taking that as a sign, I decided to go for the Special Edition NC10.

Lucky for me I had a huge Amazon gift certificate to cover most of it.

I still think the N110 is a great netbook and, if you don’t mind or prefer a glossy screen, I say get it! If you prefer matte, then grab the NC10 SE. Either way you’ll have a long-life battery, a large, useful touchpad, and the best netbook keyboard on the market.

We had this in Laptop’s offices a while ago to review and I spent maybe 5 minutes with it before I knew I had to have it.  The NC10 was my former favorite, and the N110 boasts a slightly more rounded design, a larger trackpad, and more battery life. It has the same fantastic keyboard, thus making it one awesome netbook.

It’s not out until April (though Amazon – and I am SO there whe the pre-order page is up) so I have time to save up my pennies for it.

I’m so excited, I can’t tell you!

Having a 12-inch system stretches the definition of netbook a bit, I agree.  My boss told me long ago (I think the day I interviewed) that he felt consumers who go for netbooks really want 12-inch ultraportables that don’t cost an arm and a leg.  Figure out how to combine the 12-inch form factor with a $350 asking price and you can go swimming in the money you’ll make.  (I’m paraphrasing here.)

Dell came out with the Mini 12, but it had a slow hard drive, 1 gig of memory, and Vista.  Yeah.  Even though you can get it with XP now, I don’t see the Mini 12 tearing up the netbook charts.  The NC20 may have a better chance — after all, the 10-inch version is pretty popular.  I think it all hinges on our review :)

As does, I suppose, my true desire for it.  We’ll see how I feel after I’ve played with it for a bit.