Laptop for Travel

Anouilh

Hello.

I would be very grateful for some help with choosing a new travel laptop. Size and weight are important considerations and I was wondering about best buys in a price range of 300-350 euro.

Does anybody have experience with using this Asus?

http://www.cnet.com.au/laptops/laptops/0,239035649,339290002,00.htm?feed=pt_transfer

At the moment I am using Packard Bell, which has been very reliable, but would probably be more expensive.

Alanstrainor

Get a Sumsung NC10, it's the best netbook around at the moment, has a 7 hour battery life 10.2" screen, nice keyboard, and 160Gb Hard Drive. SAMSUNG NC10, that's just a link to elara, you can pick them up cheaper elsewhere.
These "netbooks" do not have cdrom drives, and are aimed at those who want it for web browsing light office work, music etc.

Anouilh

Thank you for such a speedy response, Alanstrainor.

I also found this link to the Samsung, with a seemingly good price and a series of options for packages which include a SDHC card.

http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/2022974/art/samsung/nc10-blue.html

A lot of this technology is very new to me and I thought that readers here might find this in-depth introduction to SDHC cards useful:

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-sdhc-cards.htm

We found a relatively good range of netbooks on display at PC World, and the Samsung has a very solid keyboard (some of the machines have tiny keys, which could slow up people with larger hands) as well as a larger than average screen.

These netbooks are a good starter computer for young people, it seems.

Alanstrainor

I wouldn't buy it off pixmania, they have a poor reputation when it comes to customer service. Dabs.ie is cheaper when you take into account delivery and they have a good reputation on here. I wouldn't bother with the SDHC card unless you had a specific use for it, 160Gb Hard Drive space is more than enough.

Anouilh

Thanks again.

I am not in a hurry to buy and now have quite a few questions about the netbook V laptop choice.

I looked at a Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo Mini Ui 3520 in a shop today. It has several extras, including Blue Tooth. Also a card slot system, which other netbook do not have.

It does not have the same battery usage time when unplugged from the mains, but that is not usually a problem.

However, I now have found links to sites where the fan cooling system is mentioned and, in certain cases, this can be a problem area. My laptop gets quite hot and it would seem that, when choosing any machine, the fan should be excellent otherwise the machine will not have a long life.

Sorry to be so long-winded, but I would like to be certain about all the details of my final choice. Certainly, the Samsung is winning hands down on the popularity stakes, due to the sturdy keyboard with a sensible size and the good sized and well lit screen.

I've found references to people using Windows Vista on these smaller netbooks, but any of the sales people I meet do not recommend it.

AlmightyCushion

The samsung should have bluetooth and an sd card reader as well if I remember correctly.

jwcurtin

If you want to travel i would recommend a SSD (Solid State Drive) which is a bigger version of flash memory you would find in a iPod nano. Handy because if you drop your laptop it has no moving parts compared to a hard drive. Would recommend MacBook Air if you had a budget or Acer Aspire One if you had a small budget!

Anouilh

I would love a Mac, but it's beyond budget.

The Samsung NC 20 might be worth waiting for?
The specs seem to be promising and the screen is bigger.
I'm not very tech savvy and experts might be able to explain if it will be a good buy. Some reviewers seem to think that Samsung is repeating models already in the laptop market, but I have no way of judging whether or not they are correct.

http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=1297498

There is a thread about lightweight equipment for photographers running in the Photography Forum at the moment, if visitors here are interested.

Anouilh

jwcurtin wrote: »

If you want to travel i would recommend a SSD (Solid State Drive) which is a bigger version of flash memory you would find in a iPod nano. Handy because if you drop your laptop it has no moving parts compared to a hard drive. Would recommend MacBook Air if you had a budget or Acer Aspire One if you had a small budget!

There is also MSI Wind:

http://www.komplett.ie/k/search.aspx?q=wind+msi&gclid=CN_EvJTk95cCFQznlAodQ2pZDA

It all a bit dizzying...

Alanstrainor

I have the msi wind, but i got my dad the samsung nc10 for christmas. There are aspects of the msi wind i prefer, ie, the trackpad is better, and i prefer the keyboard, there are only slight differences. However the samsung probably wins out overall, as the
Battery life is far superior to the msi wind. I wouldnt be pushed with the nc20 tbh, i think it's getting too big and expensive to be a netbook.

Anouilh

We got the Samsung NC10 and it's wonderful.

Not knowing about the negative views expressed here, my friend ordered from Laptopdirect.ie. The service was exceptionally good and the person who delivered it was cheerful and pleasant. Worth posting, as a lot of people might be put off that firm by reading negative feedback.

gzoladz

Perhaps I should open a new thread for this, but in my opinion the problem with the netbooks is that you nearly must have another pc for when you are not travelling.

I would rather go for a fully features 13' laptop that I can use for travelling and at home.

Anouilh

You are right, particularly when it comes to keyboard size. It's very tiring to work on a netbook for too long, though plugging in a full sized monitor at home on a usb hub would solve many problems. I have a Packard Bell laptop but recent weight restrictions on airlines caused us to get a netbook.

Alanstrainor

gzoladz wrote: »

Perhaps I should open a new thread for this, but in my opinion the problem with the netbooks is that you nearly must have another pc for when you are not travelling.

I would rather go for a fully features 13' laptop that I can use for travelling and at home.

But the thing is, netbooks aren't supposed to be your "main" machine. They're made to be small, cheap, and usable on the go, once you start to get into the larger side of things ie 13" laptops, you lose out on battery life, they're heavier they're often more fragile and more expensive etc.
If you want a machine to cover both worlds, ie home use and on the go, a 13" would be grand. But for those who have desktops or larger laptops, a netbook is the way to go.

AlmightyCushion

Alanstrainor wrote: »

But the thing is, netbooks aren't supposed to be your "main" machine.

This 4211 has been my main machine since I got it. Although I am building a new pc soon. If I didn't want to play games though this would happily do me.

Alanstrainor

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

This 4211 has been my main machine since I got it. Although I am building a new pc soon. If I didn't want to play games though this would happily do me.

Haha, i was the same for about 2 months when i got my advent. I was just speaking generally, more thinking of 8.9" machines and the likes!

gzoladz

I agree with you guys. I believe a smart approach is to exercise long-term thinking to see if you are planning to go with one all-round laptop, or two machines (Desktop + Netbook, for example). And there is no right or wrong answer. Even the cost will end up being very similar.

Anouilh

Sharing equipment within families or groups may be the best policy? There is even the possibility of adding two keyboards by usb through a hub link, and of plugging into a dual monitor system.

We could think about efficiency a lot more.

I'm still able to use and ancient Gateway (offline) for photography and would not part with it as it is so stable and the old CRT monitor so detailed.

And continuing to sing Samsung's praises, especially in relation to battery life:

http://blog.laptopmag.com/samsung-nc10-battery-life-almost-8-hours-with-ssd

Cicero

Gonna wait another few weeks to see what the 'spring' collection throws up for netbooks- Samsung DC10 currently 326STG in currys Northern Ireland- looks and feels great so definately in the running but would an Asus 40 GB be better value ?
loads of Acer netbooks there also though- if anyone had an informed opinion about Acer wouldn't mind hearing it.
Thanks in advance.