Ask Engadget: What's the best netbook out there?

This week's episode of Ask Engadget (you know you can submit your own inquiry at ask at engadget dawt com, right?) poses a beautifully simple, albeit timely question about those bantam laptops that have taken over the world in recent months. What was once a niche market is now a blossoming sector, and the choices are indeed overwhelming.

"With so many netbooks now available, which is the best one out there? I'm mostly concerned with getting the best bang for my buck, so I'm not too interested in any of those higher-end units."

For those of you who have bit the bullet on one netbook or another, what kind of taste has it left in your mouth? Would you recommend your current unit? Would you suggest looking elsewhere? Let the battle of the bite-sized lappies begin!

[Flashpoint @ Aug 14th 2008 11:04PM]

EEE PC with Windows XP.

[Dan Halen @ Aug 14th 2008 11:41PM]

Wait a few weeks and grab the Dell. I have little doubt about that being the best decision.

[diode3diode @ Aug 15th 2008 12:18AM]

Dude, your getting a Dell!

[Jason Randazza @ Aug 15th 2008 12:20AM]

I have an Eee PC 701. Got it when they were the only real netbook option. I run XP on it. I would say it is a VERY capable machine. The only real drawback? The resolution is nothing short of unforgivable. For web browsing it is VERY weak. 900 series at least. Or wait for the Dells.

[lukas88 @ Aug 15th 2008 12:49AM]

The Eee 701 surf with its subpar keyboard and its 1.5" bezel probably isn't the best, but it is still my favorite.

[lukas88 @ Aug 15th 2008 1:00AM]

When it first came out about a year ago, it was a novelty for being the only laptop in its niche. Now, after the flurry of netbook advancements in the past five months, it skipped the obsolete stage and went straight to retro. In another year it will likely be a collector's item.

[d00b @ Aug 15th 2008 1:19AM]

If this is for school, i.e. you'd be using it for taking notes in class, then get a unit with an extended battery that can last 4-5 hours. The wimpy standard battery that comes standard with all current models will NOT last a full 3-class day, and it defeats the point of portability if you have to lug along an AC adapter and have to fight for a seat next to an outlet.

AFAIK, the only netbooks that you can buy with extended batt are some EEE models and the MSI Wind. Both are rather expensive at prices north of USD$500. Personally, I am waiting for the Lenovo S10, as its keyboard has dedicated PgUp/Dn keys, which probably get the most use of outside of the space bar. OK, and because it also comes in red and is cheaper. But that's Sept/Oct, probably a bit too late if this is indeed for school.

If price is not a prime concern, and you want something with a bit more muscle to do more than simple web surf/note taking, look into the Thinkpad X61, a highly ranked ultraportable. Lenovo is clearing out this unit, in favor of the X200/300, and it can be found currently at around $850 (with 8-cell batt).

[Eric @ Aug 15th 2008 2:13AM]

I still love my EEE 701 with Windows XP. Got the accidental extended warranty, so I'm waiting for a nicer one to come along and catch my eye-then I'll have an "accident".

[LondonConsultant @ Aug 15th 2008 7:38AM]

Eee PC 900A XP Black. It has the nice 900 case, but upgraded with the Atom. Then perform a couple of mods:
- remove the slow small secondary SSD it comes with - and replace it with a faster bigger MyDigital SSD.
- add a touch screen panel kit.

Perfection... :-)

[Mark @ Aug 14th 2008 11:06PM]

macbook air
Next revision
September 16

[j @ Aug 14th 2008 11:15PM]

yeah, that's definitely NOT a high-end unit ^^

[Dustin @ Aug 14th 2008 11:54PM]

Are you guessing on the September 16th date or do you have an inside source? I've been waiting on buying a new Mac for school and I'm waiting for the new Macbook Pro's with hopefully Centreno 2 processors and hopefully 9800GT's. If an iTablet comes out, I'll maybe look at it, but I'll be using it for video/photo editing

[Cycomachead @ Aug 15th 2008 12:04AM]

The Sept 16th date would be speculation based on Apple's history rumors and the iPod promo. However the 9th is also a possibly. And the event will likely be foucused on iPod and the last few years have shown.

And the MacBook is too high end and expensive. There's probably an Eee PC that fits hits bill though.

[heshmati4 @ Aug 15th 2008 12:15AM]

Maybe he is an Apple Employee! You never know!

[Cunthor @ Aug 15th 2008 12:29AM]

"yeah, that's definitely NOT a high-end unit ^^"

It's not. But the price is :)

[Sean @ Aug 15th 2008 12:44AM]

It seems you conveniently missed the whole, "I'm mostly concerned with getting the best bang for my buck, so I'm not too interested in any of those higher-end units."

[modernangel @ Aug 15th 2008 1:18AM]

My spouse works for Apple Japan and they confirm updates to notebooks and ipods in september but I don't have any specifics beyond that.

[Rich @ Aug 15th 2008 5:38AM]

I can see it now...

"Engadget is pleased to announce the results for the 2008 Reader Awards.

The Winners:

Best Netbook: Apple MacBook Pro
Best Netbook under $500: Second-hand Apple MacBook Pro
Best Netwook with 10" screen or small: Half an Apple MacBook Pro"

[Evan @ Aug 15th 2008 7:49AM]

The iPod Touch iPhone would be a better suggestion. A netbook is supposed to be small and cheap, and the iPod Touch is probably the smallest and cheapest internet-browsing device.

[Rich @ Aug 15th 2008 10:06AM]

Evan - The iPod touch can't compete with a proper network. The screen resolution is very limited (try reading a page without constantly zooming in), the web-browser isn't desktop class (no Flash) and the on-screen keyboard is slower to type on than even some of the smaller netbook keyboards.

It's not even that cheap. I paid £269 for my 16GB iPod touch. My Asus eee 901 XP only cost an extra £30.

[Cybergypsy @ Aug 31st 2008 10:57AM]

You DO Mean the 9th!!!!!
Not The 16th for sure :)

[Agent42 @ Aug 14th 2008 11:07PM]

My vote goes to the MSI wind currently.
Well built, well priced, and great performance.

[Minilap @ Aug 14th 2008 11:44PM]

I wish MSI would release Wind with a fairly fast SSD.

Pros:
10" Screen
Really good keyboard
OSX86 compatible

[BrokenMonkey @ Aug 15th 2008 1:45AM]

Seconded. And none of the netbooks out really benefit from having an SSD, unless you consider a lack of storage space a benefit.

[Booshack @ Aug 15th 2008 4:32AM]

Another benefit of the Wind is that it uses a standard 2.5 inch harddrive, which happens to be a high quality WD scorpio. Easy to switch for an SSD when they drop in price.

[PrimoLevinas @ Aug 15th 2008 6:01AM]

MSI Wind does it. Atom, Bluetooth, excellent keyboard size, 80 GB, available with XP, what else do you need? (At least if you use it as a Sidekick for mobile work).

[Charlie @ Aug 14th 2008 11:08PM]

MSI Wind

[MickeyMoo @ Aug 14th 2008 11:08PM]

I got my MSI wind 2 days ago - it makes for a killer 10" superlight mac laptop - XP is fine on it - dual booting.... kind of a pain.

the keyboard is great - trackpad sucks donkeyballs, no way to turn off click and drag on the mac side. FUGLY white vinyl slipcase with grey piping - guess the girl next door gets a new carry bag for her Brats dolls (ick).

VERY happy for 549.99 (free shipping/no tax) and no Steve Jobs $200 "black tax"

[imacmatt09 @ Aug 14th 2008 11:10PM]

MSI Wind defiantly.

[Striker @ Aug 14th 2008 11:19PM]

MSI Wind defiantly what?

[imacmatt09 @ Aug 14th 2008 11:35PM]

Opps I failed. Never trust OS X's spell check.

[James C @ Aug 15th 2008 12:30AM]

I love it when people reply to a typo call-out with another typo.

[Catdogburger @ Aug 15th 2008 12:31AM]

never trust OSX period

[NoTypo @ Aug 15th 2008 12:34AM]

I love it when people think there is a typo where there is none.

[lowdef @ Aug 15th 2008 1:28AM]

"opps" is "defiantly" a typo.

[kikkert @ Aug 15th 2008 5:08AM]

No, OS X was typo, he meant XP

[Jeff @ Aug 14th 2008 11:11PM]

I should suggest the Acer Aspire One with 512MB RAM. Its only $349.99 as it stays true to the netbook intention. Small, cheap and gets the job done.

[kyle @ Aug 15th 2008 1:21AM]

agreed. best overall is a toss up, but in best for the money there is no competition.

[thequinox @ Aug 15th 2008 1:38AM]

I would agree, except for the fatal mistake in the choice of memory. I assume Dell will also be doing this in an attempt to cut cost. Acer chose to use MLC NAND memory for the SSD, which is not suitable for the task. It has very slow read/write speeds and as a result is not recommended for OS installs. This is why you don't see any Aspire One's with XP and an SSD.

Asus also used MLC memory on some EEE PCs, but it was only to supplement the faster SLC memory that housed the OS.

I also have an original 701 EEE, and while the screen resolution isn't as nice, it has never failed me and is quite suitable for most of my needs. I don't think I will replace it until we start seeing netbooks powered by the NVIDIA Tegra.

[clearThumbtack @ Aug 15th 2008 1:47AM]

And it looks nice too. I'm going to pick me up one of these soon myself!

[varun @ Aug 15th 2008 10:44AM]

I got a Acer Aspire One A150 the day that it launched - this is the 120GB drive, 1GB RAM, Windows XP machine for $400 - in dark blue. It's a winner.

If you're not OCD about fingerprints, this is the best machine hands down. And a primary reason for that is the keyboard. Unlike the mush that is the EeePC keyboard, the Acer's keyboard is fantastic and I'm using it at nearly full speed (83WPM versus 90WPM on a full-size keyboard). The screen is incredible, though it suffers from the problem that all glossy screens do - the reflections. It's a full $100 cheaper than the MSI Wind, has more hard drive space, and you just can't go wrong with the classy dark blue.

[Jeff @ Aug 14th 2008 11:12PM]

None of them, buy a real computer

[killermojo @ Aug 14th 2008 11:15PM]

Hi, welcome to the "what's the best netbook" thread. Go away.

MSI Wind gets my vote as well, if you can find one.

[Evan @ Aug 15th 2008 7:42AM]

And what do you do on your "real" computer? Browse the web, write emails?

Some people have a legitimate need for a powerful "real" computer - aerospace engineers and Pixar animators - but the majority of consumers don't do anything with their PCs that a netbook (and/or video game console) can't do for less money.

[Ogo @ Aug 15th 2008 8:09AM]

Hit the nail on the head ..... Back in the day it was worth upgrading because you saw the difference in power, but computing power is well above what the average user needs.

Other than gamers, movie rippers and hardcore computer users, the majority of people do not need the real computers of today. How many cores do you need to check your email, watch youtube and the other things people mostly use their computers for?

[loosely_coupled @ Aug 16th 2008 4:41AM]

"How many cores do you need to check your email, watch youtube and the other things people mostly use their computers for?"

I can perhaps understand that in relation to a secondary computer netbook that is meant for maximum portability, but certainly not representative of ALL computer use. I don't know what world you live in, but in the one I'm in, many people I know use their computers for activities that need more than an Intel Atom/512MB RAM/1024x768 res

- Digital Photography editing and printing (Photoshop / Photoshop elements / iPhoto / etc)
- Illustration, painting, 3D modeling and animation
- PC Gaming
- Home/Amateur video editing / youtube videos
- DVD ripping, DVR, video encoding
- Maintaining websites and blogs
- Hobbyist/Open source software development
- Audio mixing, music production, podcasting/Internet radio
- etc

[Ogo @ Aug 16th 2008 1:23PM]

@loosely_coupled

This is the world I live in: university students use their computers to view youtube, play on facebook and msn, surf the web, look at porn, write a paper or two. Business people use excel, word and make presentations once in a while. Service men carry around laptops to enter data on service calls, most of with can be handled by these computers. People need bsstbuy to install software for them and call the neighbourhood "computer guy" or family "computer guy" when something goes wrong.

The fact that you are reading Engadget makes me assume that you are not an average computer user. There is a good chance you work in a computer world and maybe you know people who can use computers.

[j @ Aug 14th 2008 11:13PM]

i'd go for acer aspire one a150x

[Jayayess1190 @ Aug 14th 2008 11:13PM]

I like my EEE 901.

[Joe @ Aug 14th 2008 11:16PM]

Ditto! I love my black 901 with XP. +1 for MSN Live Search as well! I've a cool $120 discount thanks to them when I purchased my 901 from eBay.