Monday, July 13, 2009

Choose the right Netbook or Mini Computer Laptops

Netbook computer is another type of computer device name that related to Internet and Notebooks (Laptops), and people just call it Netbook or some of them call it ‘mini computer laptops’ or ‘small computer laptops’ or 'low end computer laptops'. The main reason to design and develop out the Netbook computer is to suit for the need for Internet users. There are many Netbooks models available in the market from different computer companies (Dell, HP, Acer, Asus, Toshiba, VIA, Sony, Packard Bell, Lenovo, MSI, Intel, Inventec, LG, Gateway, Samsung, Skytone, Sharp, One, and etc), and is not easy for us to choose the right Netbook computer for our own used.

There are many reasons that influence us to buy a specific Netbooks model, but before we make the final decision, and lets ask yourself truly if you really need the Netbook computer first.

  • If you are using the computer laptops mostly for the web surfing, checking email, chat with friend, view or edit word or presentation docs, reading ebooks, then why don’t you buy the Netbooks rather than full size laptops.
  • If you are always travel and usually try as less luggage as possible, then it really suitable for travelling purpose, with the good battery life and lightweight machine and cheaper price, and you will not feel painful if you lose or damage your Netbook computer. Average Netbooks weighing 1 ~ 1.5kg, and normal laptops weighing 3 ~ 4 kg.
  • If you are not use for computer gaming, photo editing, video conversion or storing, managing music or pictures, then can consider the Netbook computer.
  • If you have the budget constraint, and then need to consider the price from Netbook computer to a full size computer laptops or smart mobile phone.
  • If you think beside the normal mobile phone features, the Netbooks has a lot more functional than the Blackberry, Apple iPhone or G1. You can make call with the built-in Skype account and webcam.
  • If you know that 10” ~ 12” Netbook with around 90% of full keyboard that ease for typing, mouse pad is great on sensor function, has the touch screen to let you feel great for net surfing with grab and drag features and no problem surfing the net.
  • If you are aware that a lot of the Netbooks without optical disc device, and you have to USB device for data transfer or software installation.
  • If you already know the Netbook computer is not to replace your daily 8 hours heavy used computer laptops, or your daily smart mobile phone.

Once you confirmed you really need to buy the Netbook computer, then you will start look for the various Netbooks models specification, the benchmark or comparison for the Netbooks and the look and feel for the Netbook computer. I am using the computer laptops for many years, and has few different models / brands of computer laptops been used in my family or relatives, like Dell, HP, Acer, Toshiba, Apple, Sony and Lenovo. The key to choose the right Netbooks or computer laptops brand is the technical support service of the computer company (even their outsourcing computer services provider) and the warranty for the computer laptops. Lets list out what we need to consider, and choose the right Netbook computer or mini laptops.

  • Technical Support Service
    • 24 x 7 within 48 hours onsite support (Some company need you to pay extra money)
    • Online Remote Support (Online support website for self service or online forum or chat with remote access to your computer laptops for troubleshooting)
    • Telephone Support (The best with the toll free phone support, and some of them need to pay by minutes)
  • Warranty
    • 1 year full warranty (Even has one to one exchange is the best)
    • If have additional 1 years with limited parts warranty (Some of them need you to pay extra money)
  • Prices
    • Less than $500 (Some may work with Internet Service Provider with sign-up plan to get the cheaper price with lower than $150)
  • Design (Look and Feel)
    • Modern with solid look
    • Can customize color or picture even better (some company already provide this services)
    • laptops cover materials
  • Weight
    • Less than 1.5kg (With less built-in devices)
  • Display
    • Around 10” Screen with 90% of normal keyboard size
    • Support at least 720p (If can support up to 1,080p even better)
  • Hardware Processor (depend on model)
    • x86 (Most of the Netbook using Intel Atom)
    • ARM
    • MIPS
  • CPU Speed
    • At least 1.2 GHz and above (If can get more than 1.66 GHz even better)
  • Video Chipset (depend on model)
    • GMA
    • VIA
    • S3
  • Storage Type (depend on model)
    • HDD
    • SSD
    • SDHC
  • Storage Size
    • At least 40GB and above (To support more multimedia files, look for 160GB)
  • RAM
    • At least 1GB and above (If can get 2GB even better to improve the whole Netbook performance)
  • Battery Life
    • At least 3 hours and above
  • Operating Systems (depend on model)
  • Default Internet Browser (Can install other later, and you can refer to comparison of Internet Browsers)
    • Internet Explorer
    • Mozilla Firefox
    • Google Chrome Browser
    • Apple Safari
  • Other Hardware
    • Built-in Touch Pad
    • Built-in Webcam
    • Built-in at least 2 x USB 2.0 Ports
    • Built-in Wireless Device 802.11b/802.11g
    • Built-in Ethernet Port
    • Built-in Telephone Dial-up Port (optional, for certain areas)
    • Built-in WiMax Device (optional, and get ready for future used)
    • Built-in Universal Card Reader
    • Built-in Bluetooth (Great for mobile devices connection)
    • Built-in Touch Screen (Great for net surfing)
    • Built-in DVD ROM (optional, some Netbook model already has it, if not look for USB DVD ROM)
    • Built-in good CPU Cooling System (You can use it on the bed without system hang or slowdown)
    • Built-in Finger Print Scanner (optional, to provide the better security features)
  • Other Software
    • Support word or excel or presentation documents (Open Office or Microsoft Office)
    • Ebook Reader
    • Antivirus
    • Adobe Flash Support
    • PDF Format Support
    • Photo or Pictures Support
    • Video or Music playback Support
    • Java plug-in Support
    • Skype Services
    • Zip/Un-zip format support
    • Telnet or FTP or SFTP support
    • Only Chat Support (Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc)
    • Auto remote technical support tools

I suggested that you don’t simply buy the Netbook computer for whole day everyday work used (more than 6 hours), or you have bigger fingers which you already know you even not able to adjust it for the small keyboard after sometime, or always travel loads with advanced programs which need more than 5 hours heavy battery life. Then, you need to look for the better computer laptops or computer desktops, and not just to follow the Netbook trends from your friends or technology news or promotions to buy the Netbooks. Choose the right computers for your own used! :)


The Power of Internet ! The Idea of Netbook!

Posted by Jasswin at 1:37 AM
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