Netbook? Laptop?

[gillumhouse]

DH was going to buy me a laptop and I told him to wait until January thinking Windows 7 would be out and after Christmas sales.....
Then at the Conference I learned about netbooks and now wonder what do I really need and are there any recommendations? I need to be able to check e-mail, use Internet, and do a bit of word porcessing - maybe send confirm letters type thing - while traveling.
Saw an HP netbook at Staples for $349 today then was told it would be another $99 for the lifetime license for Office + $139 for a 2 year replacement insurance that would cover all but fire or theft. Is this a "good deal"? full of it? take me to the cleaners? Opinions welcome. Laptops looked to be about $600 and up.

 

[Morticia]

The best thing to do is see what the differences are between the 2. You're not looking for anything that plays video games or to watch movies or other graphic-intensive apps. You could get by on something very compact and easy but it will need to do what you want it to do. And that's what you need to know. If you think about your trip to the conference and your work at home and maybe taking it to meetings, what does it need to do?
Usually I would say skip the insurance, you'll never need it, but you do seem to go thru the equip at a pretty quick pace. (Keep in mind that you should check your cc for their insurance policy details. If the computer company warrants the laptop for a year, your cc may extend that warranty for another year which is how I got my laptop for 'free.')
Altho, I think some of the problems you have could just be not enough space on the hard drive. An example would be the way you lose OE quite a lot. OE may not be set up to 'expand' to the extenet you need it to as far as space. The continual crashes might be just that you need to allocate more space for the mail.
You need to compare apples to apples (no don't mean a Mac!). If you have to pay $99 for a Windows license, how much is it on the laptop? Insurance?
Will you like the much smaller screen on the netbook? It's a lot easier to carry that around, tho. More like a real 'notebook.'

 

[JBloggs]

Just be warned, tiny keyboards on netbooks, small monitors too. Many have difficulty using the keyboards.

 

[gillumhouse]

I am using the keyboard on my phone fairly well - my daughter told me she was proud of me for texting - and the HP had a decent size screen and keyboard. Is it a decent price or does anyone know anything bad about HP netbooks? I think I will look at other stores in Charleston this week - we will only have one evening event scheduled - to compare prices. Sad thing is - this is probably my travel for the year! and no netbook or laptop.

 

[muirford]

The best thing to do is see what the differences are between the 2. You're not looking for anything that plays video games or to watch movies or other graphic-intensive apps. You could get by on something very compact and easy but it will need to do what you want it to do. And that's what you need to know. If you think about your trip to the conference and your work at home and maybe taking it to meetings, what does it need to do?
Usually I would say skip the insurance, you'll never need it, but you do seem to go thru the equip at a pretty quick pace. (Keep in mind that you should check your cc for their insurance policy details. If the computer company warrants the laptop for a year, your cc may extend that warranty for another year which is how I got my laptop for 'free.')
Altho, I think some of the problems you have could just be not enough space on the hard drive. An example would be the way you lose OE quite a lot. OE may not be set up to 'expand' to the extenet you need it to as far as space. The continual crashes might be just that you need to allocate more space for the mail.
You need to compare apples to apples (no don't mean a Mac!). If you have to pay $99 for a Windows license, how much is it on the laptop? Insurance?
Will you like the much smaller screen on the netbook? It's a lot easier to carry that around, tho. More like a real 'notebook.'.

I have a netbook, a little Dell - I love it for travel because my smartphone just isn't smart enough to handle Webervations, and I can get my email, but don't ask it to do anything complicated. The space thing can be a real issue.
I have a problem with the keyboard too - not just because the keys are slightly compressed and smaller but because some of the keys are in different places. Apparently I use them a lot - the comma and some others - because I'm always hitting the enter key when I mean to put in a comma. If you don't use much punctuation, it could work better.

 

[JBloggs]

Why not just get a laptop and get rid of your other computer altogether since it has issues? If it were 'me' that is what I would do. Then you will be set no matter what.
Texting is not the same as a keyboard for emailing etc. Obv tons of people text and send emails via their phone. You were asking about the difference, I know those who have a problem with the keyboard, unless you are only using it on the odd ocassion, which is why I say why bother, go for the laptop if you are going to out lay any $ at all. My 2 cents worth.

 

[seashanty]

my daughter has the Asus EE PC 1005HA netbook. she loves it. it came with windows xp and office 2007. she uses it for email, surfing the web, and updating her blog. based on reviews about adapter issues and battery life, she got two adapters for it and plugs it in when home.
it was from bestbuy. without the additional adapter, hers was 249.99 from bestbuy - her brother scouted out the best price and grabbed it.
her hands are very small and she's comfortable with the keyboard size and screen. she loves being able to carry it around, it's so lightweight. i want one! if possible, it would be great if you could play with some models at a store to see how they feel and if the screen is a good size for you. i have a nephew in college ... he has very long hands and fingers and is comfortable with his netbook. my sons, however, both find the netbook keyboards too small and cramped for their hands.
i assume you have a desktop or other computer as well for your programs and files?

 

[gillumhouse]

Why not just get a laptop and get rid of your other computer altogether since it has issues? If it were 'me' that is what I would do. Then you will be set no matter what.
Texting is not the same as a keyboard for emailing etc. Obv tons of people text and send emails via their phone. You were asking about the difference, I know those who have a problem with the keyboard, unless you are only using it on the odd ocassion, which is why I say why bother, go for the laptop if you are going to out lay any $ at all. My 2 cents worth..

That does make sense to just get a laptop for that (desktop replacement) but will it have all the ports my tower does? Oh, I discovered today something that I did not notice when the computer first came home - my F drive was gone today when I went to look for some photos.
Will be pondering both types. And will try keyboards before I do anything. Thanks all for the input. Leaving about 1 tomorrow. Need to make a pot of soup and some bread for DH before I can go. The office supervisor brought the keys to the managermobile and the credit card over Wednesday so I would be sure to have them for Sunday. I will take the Caddy so DH can have our car.

 

[muirford]

my daughter has the Asus EE PC 1005HA netbook. she loves it. it came with windows xp and office 2007. she uses it for email, surfing the web, and updating her blog. based on reviews about adapter issues and battery life, she got two adapters for it and plugs it in when home.
it was from bestbuy. without the additional adapter, hers was 249.99 from bestbuy - her brother scouted out the best price and grabbed it.
her hands are very small and she's comfortable with the keyboard size and screen. she loves being able to carry it around, it's so lightweight. i want one! if possible, it would be great if you could play with some models at a store to see how they feel and if the screen is a good size for you. i have a nephew in college ... he has very long hands and fingers and is comfortable with his netbook. my sons, however, both find the netbook keyboards too small and cramped for their hands.
i assume you have a desktop or other computer as well for your programs and files?.

i assume you have a desktop or other computer as well for your programs and files?

that is the real question. I like the netbook as a supplemental, not as a primary. My sister was deciding between netbooks and laptops for my nieces as their only computers for school. I recommended the laptop.

 

[swirt]

$100 for office ... don't you already own office on your old computer? (depending on the version it may be new enough to use on the new machine if you are getting rid of the old one) And of course there is alway OpenOffice (it can open word and excel and save as them too). Not 100% identical, but close enough for most people that aren't in a corporate environment
$139 insurance on a $350 machine? That's 40% of the cost of the machine, not really a great bet....betting that the machine will fail within two years. You'd be better off sinking that amount into more memory ... either that or put it in a cookie jar to buy another machine a couple of years.
Only you can decide if the size of the netbook is enough. Try using it to do what you currently do with your computer. The small screen and keyboard may get to you after a while.

 

[gillumhouse]

$100 for office ... don't you already own office on your old computer? (depending on the version it may be new enough to use on the new machine if you are getting rid of the old one) And of course there is alway OpenOffice (it can open word and excel and save as them too). Not 100% identical, but close enough for most people that aren't in a corporate environment
$139 insurance on a $350 machine? That's 40% of the cost of the machine, not really a great bet....betting that the machine will fail within two years. You'd be better off sinking that amount into more memory ... either that or put it in a cookie jar to buy another machine a couple of years.
Only you can decide if the size of the netbook is enough. Try using it to do what you currently do with your computer. The small screen and keyboard may get to you after a while..

Probably would not get the insurance (I did on my camera when new because I was flying to Louisiana that year) - but those that know me also know I am KLUTZ in giant letters. Actually the program in question is on that magically appeared in my possession one day...... and yes I do have the disk. Forgot about that. I really was just looking for something to use when traveling or unable to get to a computer - I do have a couple conferences I go to every year.
Will look from all angles.

 

[seashanty]

kathleen, is this a replacement for your 'tower'? i thought it was just for the basics ... i don't know how much memory you can get in a basic netbook. you said it's for while traveling, right?

 

[gillumhouse]

kathleen, is this a replacement for your 'tower'? i thought it was just for the basics ... i don't know how much memory you can get in a basic netbook. you said it's for while traveling, right?.

Original idea was basic to check things when traveling - e-mail & internet and to be able to do a little WORD as in keep basic confirm letter in memory to fill in blanks and send. E-mail would be left on the server until I got back to the desktop - just need to read good stuff and toss crap to keep mailbox from overflowing and me from getting too far behind.

 

[EmptyNest]

Oh a netbook would be great for travelers..but think...can you work on a daily basis with a tiny screen and keyboard. I could not. I would go for a nice laptop. THey are so much lightweight today and you can take it with you easily and still have a nice size screen.