<p>“I have EEE Netbook and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it.”</p>
<p>Same here. The EEE is the Asus brand. I use it for all my diddling around chores, like CC posting…:)</p>
<p>I was looking at that pink plaid one the other day. It is soo cute. Trying to tell myself my choice of a netbook should not be based on cuteness factor.</p>
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<p>I bought an Acer Aspire 2 1/2 years ago at wal-mart for $299. I have literally dropped it a half dozen times on hard floors, used it for hours on end each and every day, and it still works just as well as the day I bought it!</p>
<p>I am typing on our 4 yr oldish Acer Aspire.
We are a bit low tech in our house. We have only 2 TVs and a shared family desktop in our upstairs office.
So the Acer lives in the TV room on it’s charger. I can check email, cruise CC, buy a rug at Overstock, etc all while not missing a minute of the Yankee game.
It has been trouble free. I don’t find the keyboard too small at all. But I’ve never done more than emails or a short word doc on it.</p>
<p>My H was feeling cheap when his laptop died. He got a Netbook. It is fine for websurfing, but I do not like typing on it at all. My hands are small and I’m a good typist, but I still find the keyboard too small. We disliked it enough we went and bought another laptop. So much for saving money…</p>
<p>sryrstress, The netbook took a little getting used to at first but now I’m more comfortable with it than I am on my old PC. I was more worried about a lack of using a mouse than I was about the size of the keys. I now feel more awkward using a mouse if I ever use the PC, even after only having my netbook since Christmas. I was surprised at how easy it was to transition to smaller keys,no mouse. The main thing I love is how lightweight and portable it is, great for travel.</p>
<p>I use a compact mouse with my netbook. It fits nicely in the case with the netbook and I have a paper thin mouse pad that I use with it. I’ve never been able to get use to a trackpad on any size laptop.</p>
<p>My youngest just got himself the Asus EEE PC Seashell, on the theory that he didn’t want to take his good laptop to the middle east this summer and he wanted a better battery life as well. It looks very cute, but he hasn’t really put it through its paces yet.</p>
<p>Dang! The longish reply I just finished went into cyberspace when the hotel connection timed out. Anyway, I am a confirmed netbook lover at this point. I debated for a LONG time about what to get & have previously purchased only to return netbooks & notebooks. I just bought a netbook early this month before going on a two week trip and LOVE it! The light weight is perfect & I have no problems typing with the keyboard of the Acer Aspire One. S got himself a HP netbook to replace his Sony notebook when it died. D bought herself some other on-line costco.com netbook when her HP notebook died (it was on sale & S recommended it). </p>
<p>So far, the Office Starter does all I need on the netbook. I also have my desktop that has my larger programs & archives (microsoft publisher, photos, etc).</p>
<p>I love purchasing from Costco because they have a no hassle return, especially in your 1st 90 days. You also get free technical service for 2 years as well as a manufacturer’s warranty for that length. Because I used the AmEx, I also get one additional year of warranty.</p>
<p>I wanted an iPad, but when I tried at the store, I could NOT type on it because my fingers would just slide all over the slick glass. Keyboards work much better for me; you can get an optional cordless keyboard as well, if you want one, but it seems to defeat the “slickness” of the iPad to do so. I also like the wide variety of “stuff” we have that is compatible with our PC stuff (very little apple/i stuff in our home & no one in our family can do tech support for it).</p>
<p>Unfortunately we don’t have Costco in our part of the world. I hear so much good about it.</p>
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Is that just through costco using amex?</p>
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I received an iPod touch for my birthday. I had never used a touch screen before. Funny how your brain works. About a week after I got it I was using my laptop and something came up that required me to click “ok”. I was poking the ok on the screen and getting very frustrated with the lack of response, then I remembered my computer does not have a touch screen.</p>
<p>I met a young lady at our hotel this weekend who had an iPad with a stand that included a keyboard that synched up with it. So cool! She got it at Brookstone, I think, which I’m not familiar with. I told her one reason I had chosen a netbook over an iPad because I liked the keyboard rather than a touch screen.</p>
<p>I did end up getting a netbook. Got the toshiba one in orange. Only had it a couple of days but I think I will like it. Keyboard is easy to use. Screen is small of course - it helped when I figured out how to close down two toolbars on internet explorer (google and favorites). The screen is way to small to have 3 active tool bars.</p>
<p>Looking forward to taking it to England with me. It is so light!!</p>
<p>Yes, LOVE the lightness and portability of the netbook. Have been carrying it around some. Have heard about the iPad with cordless keyboard, but at some point, if you’re going to be carrying all sorts of accessories for your iPad, why have it?</p>
<p>H says the iPad is more for consumers of content while netbooks & other devices are more for folks who are creating or at least interacting with content. Not sure all would agree, but it is NOT easy for me to type on the iPad.</p>
<p>I bought a highly rated Acer at Target for an incredible price. Target had a 90 day return policy (including electronics). I brought it back after about 2 months! It was supposed to be a 9 hour battery, but never lasted more than 6 (It depends on your usage but I was not using high consumption programs). I also could never get used to the keyboard. It is supposed to be one of the largest for a netbook. The ad claimed “full size keyboard”, but online reviews said it was only about 95%. I type quickly by feel (from typing classes LONG LONG ago). The small change in size, however, slowed me down considerably, and I made too many typing errors. I also did not want to invest in more programs. I downloaded, and used Open Office on the Netbook. I could open any MS Office documents on the netbook, but not in reverse ( I could not copy my Open Office documents to my desktop or work computer). Perhaps I just did not know how to get around this, but I did not want to change to Open Office on all the other computers.</p>
<p>If you need the mobility or travel, the small size would be a benefit, but so far, the standard laptop works better for me.</p>
<p>kjofkw, you just have to tell open office to save it as an office document instead of an open office document. if you pick open office document, only open office will open it. if you pick office, either program will open it.</p>
<p>The Toshiba netbook ( and I think most netbooks on the market now) comes loaded with Microsoft office starter which includes word and excel. As far as I can tell from briefly trying it the starter will be adequate for my needs when I am traveling. I basically have several papers to write. </p>
<p>I find the keyboard fine. I was concerned about it but it is not too small (and I have big hands). But I am not a speedy typist - I am a hunt and peck typer. I think that may make a difference. My daughter, who is a very fast typist, has tried using her fiancees netbook and does not like the keyboard - though I think the one I have has a larger keyboard.</p>
<p>My purpose of buying it is for mobility and traveling with it. I took my laptop to England last year and would walk to the pub pub 2-3 times a week to use their wi-fi to send stuff - it seemed to get heavier every day!! I still have my laptop for at home and major stuff.</p>
<p>I have an Acer and it is SO SLOW loading web pages. Any suggestions on what I can do to improve matters?</p>
<p>I really do like the lighter weight of the netbook vs. a notebook. It means the difference between bringing it or leaving it home. It has come in handy to take notes during LONG meetings, so I can pay attention & retain more than if I am just there & HOPE to absorb what I can.</p>
<p>My new Acer Aspire 1 is faster than my desktop, so I’m happy. Have not really noticed any problem in typing with the keyboard & I’m mostly a touch typist, but we’re all different. The keyboard “feels” fairly full-sized to me, but sometimes I do over-reach & end up hitting the top row when I meant to reach the 2nd to top row. It just take a bit of getting used to, for me.</p>
<p>In generaly, I think if you remove whatever programs you don’t want & use, it should speed up your computer. Also, I notice more problems when I open many windows at the same time vs. being neater & closing windows as I finish them before opening more. </p>
<p>CountingDown, are you saying that it is slowed loading web pages than other machines you have? For me, I sometimes notice that things are slower, but when I try the same site on my desktop, it’s just as slow or slower at that moment (often at night from 4-6pm & later, when many ar home from work in our community & jumping on the internet.</p>
<p>I love netbooks, but not MY netbook. My boyfriend has had a Gateway netbook for probably about 2 years now and it rocks. It’s super fast, the keyboard is nice, and the trackpad is responsive. </p>
<p>DO NOT get a Dell Inspiron Mini. It has been slow since I got it (would freeze loading Firefox) and has only slowed down since, the webcam is too dark to use, the keyboard is awkward, the trackpad is VERY temperamental, and the battery doesn’t last long at all. Everybody who borrows my computer hates it, though I’m more than used to it at this point. It’s my only computer, so I still use it, but I really wish I had gotten something else. It came in a bundle with a laptop for my brother (which completely pooped just after the warranty expired) so I could not return it for something better.</p>
<p>Intel has been talking about a new class of notebooks called Ultrabooks - the best example is the MacBook Air. Apple is widely expected to update the MacBook Air next week. Several other companies are coming out with similar products this fall - under 3 pounds, Sandy Bridge, SSDs, etc. Definitely not cheap stuff. In the future, these will also have touchscreens so that they can be used as tablets.</p>