netbook vs laptop

CATSEYES8787

Hi all,

I'd like to invest in a portable computer, only I know little about netbook/laptop features and would like some help to determine what would suit my needs best.
At the moment I use a desktop, and still have lots of space in my hard drives so I'm not looking for a portable computer with lots of memory (I'm thinking about plugging the hdd to the laptop/netbook if more memory is needed).
I would be using the device for basic stuff, like writing college essays, internet browsing. No gaming, no downloading..
So I'm basically looking for the most decent and best value device suited to my (little) needs.
Also, what specs should I be looking for when buying the device? (RAM, processors etc)

Thanks for the help

Jarren

your budget ?

CATSEYES8787

€250-300 max..

doopa

When you say memory - do you mean HardDrive space or RAM.

An external drive for a netbook is a must - just to keep it backed up.

But yeah if all you are doing is browsing the web, writing documents then a netbook would do. The keyboards are small, so its worth having a play with one first to see if you could handle it. The screens are generally small as well. I have one in the house and prefer it to the laptop for that reason but other people disagree.

250 euro should get you a new netbook, worth buying extra RAM aftermarket for it though. And most of them come with office starter, which is abysmal - so you may need to pay for office if you aren't in college or your college don't provide access to the full Office Suite.

CATSEYES8787

I was talking about hard drive memory..although what would be the minimum RAM for something decent?

CATSEYES8787

Any recommendation as to make/model for a netbook?

partyatmygaff

I wouldn't bother with a netbook. They're underpowered and have poor screens and keyboards/touchpads.

For what you're describing, a basic laptop would be much more suitable. Something like is only about €10 over your budget but will offer you a far better computing experience.

Jarren

http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/5086809/Trail/searchtext%3ENETBOOK.htm

http://www.pcworld.ie/Product/ACER-Aspire-One-D370-Netbook-Red/310274/2.5.0

http://www.komplett.ie/Komplett/product/netbooks/80005157/asus_10_1_r051bx_blk033s_c60_1gb_320gb/details.aspx

http://www.powercity.ie/?par=10-27-976580&pages=1&prod=976580&brands=TOSHIBA&image=


Get additional RAM from them

http://www.crucial.com/uk/

CATSEYES8787

Thanks for all replies folks :-)

Occono

I don't know of any Laptops that come with Office in the box, it's Starter on all of them. Of course it's often discounted with purchase.

Still, I've stuck with a combo of Office Starter and OpenOffice for Uni. It's actually been problematic, but I don't want to pay or pirate The problem has been referencing....starter doesn't have footnotes. So I have to write it in Office, open and add footnotes in OpenOffice, save and open in Office to make sure it's okay...

....this is off-topic but damn Microsoft, I'm not paying €100 just for Word.....

doopa

Occono wrote: »

I don't know of any Laptops that come with Office in the box, it's Starter on all of them. Of course it's often discounted with purchase.

Still, I've stuck with a combo of Office Starter and OpenOffice for Uni. It's actually been problematic, but I don't want to pay or pirate The problem has been referencing....starter doesn't have footnotes. So I have to write it in Office, open and add footnotes in OpenOffice, save and open in Office to make sure it's okay...

....this is off-topic but damn Microsoft, I'm not paying €100 just for Word.....

try mendeley for managing references - and well actually just all your journal papers. It integrates well with openoffice.