Is a netbook right for you?
Are you looking for a cheap, portable computer? Then you need a netbook.
You’ve seen people lugging heavy laptops in cases. then searching high and low for somewhere to plug them in because the battery only lasts an hour. Well netbooks have come to the rescue as the ultimate portable computer, and they’re set to make laptops a thing of the past.
Netbooks started as cheap low-powered computers, using wifi to access the internet (hence “NET book”). But these days, even cheap netbooks have so much power and storage capacity that they outperform normal laptop computers of only a couple of years ago.
is a netbook for you?
What can you do with a netbook?
Pretty much everything you can do on a laptop.
- word processing and spreadsheets
- accessing the internet (even out and about at wifi hotspots)
- watching videos
- editing your photographs
These are the basics you can do on even the cheapest netbooks, and don’t forget you can easily carry it about with you or even put it in your pocket. For specialist applications the regular high-powered (and expensive) laptop still has its place, but for the everyday user, a cheap netbook is the portable computer to buy.
So what IS the difference between a laptop and a netbook?
Not a lot, really.
Size is the main difference, with netbooks normally having screens under 12 inches and keyboards to match. And of course because they’re smaller, netbooks are lighter and more portable.
Then netbooks don’t have a DVD writer and most laptops do - but who writes DVDs these days? With USB sticks there’s no need and I don’t remember when I last burned a DVD.
Netbooks have a smaller processor - the Intel Atom, but most laptops are way overpowered for what you want to do with them and you’ll be pleasantly surprised how powerful your new netbook is and how fast your programs run on it.
And this means that the batteries in netbooks last long after those with laptops have rushed away searching for a power socket to recharge their laptop. Seven hours’ battery life is not uncommon for a netbook.
And finally netbooks often have less hard disk storage, though160 Gigabytes is quite common in netbooks now and enough for many hours of video, tens of thousands of music tracks and most other things you’d want to take around with you.
Windows or Linux for your netbook?
You’ll probably be used to Windows on other PCs or laptops and you can get plenty of great netbooks already loaded with Windows XP. But many netbooks now come with Linux preloaded instead, and at cheap-netbooks we recommend Linux as a great operating system for netbooks that saves you money - find out more about Windows vs Linux on netbooks.
How do I get online with my netbook?
Once you’ve decided a netbook is right for you, then check out our Guide to getting online with your netbook. We take the mystery our of Wifi, 3G and mobile broadband and make getting online with your netbook a breeze. You might even choose a free netbook. Check out The truth about free netbooks.
