You mean, people would actually buy a 10" netbook for $520, making the $199 price a bargain? I must clearly be living in my own reality, where such price for a teeny screen would normally be called DUMB.
It is definitely an alternate reality. The NetBook concept is currently sweeping through my company. To me, they are an interesting idea for those who travel a lot and have no room or need for a full useful computer. For the average user, something that small only means that the keyboard is hard to use (fat fingered me), the screen will always be a little or a lot too small to view that web page (scroll hell), and once you add all the protection software that you need for indiscrimient surfing, I would be curious to know how the Atom processor keeps up. Everytime someone pushes a NetBook here, I push back with some reliable online source that has a decent, Toshiba, HP, Dell, Gateway, ..., laptop that far exceeds the mini netbook in features for close or less than the price; it's just 4-6 inches bigger and twice+ the weight (2.2 vs 5.5 lbs). Of course, 5-7 horus of battery life (6 cell units) is tempting if all you want to do is surf wirelessly on the desk sipping (gulping) a beer(s). Currently that was NewEgg with a dual core 2GB Gateway for $399. Yes, mini's sell for under $300, but that's usually 512MB and the lower end processor (1.0 or 1.2 Ghz) and not the one they tried at the store with 1.6 Ghz and 1 or 2GB. Ok, off my soapbox.
Either way, if you've loads of free cash, travel, or need long cableless web browsing, add a mini to your collection!
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You mean, people would actually buy a 10" netbook for $520, making the $199 price a bargain? I must clearly be living in my own reality, where such price for a teeny screen would normally be called DUMB.
It is definitely an alternate reality. The NetBook concept is currently sweeping through my company. To me, they are an interesting idea for those who travel a lot and have no room or need for a full useful computer. For the average user, something that small only means that the keyboard is hard to use (fat fingered me), the screen will always be a little or a lot too small to view that web page (scroll hell), and once you add all the protection software that you need for indiscrimient surfing, I would be curious to know how the Atom processor keeps up. Everytime someone pushes a NetBook here, I push back with some reliable online source that has a decent, Toshiba, HP, Dell, Gateway, ..., laptop that far exceeds the mini netbook in features for close or less than the price; it's just 4-6 inches bigger and twice+ the weight (2.2 vs 5.5 lbs). Of course, 5-7 horus of battery life (6 cell units) is tempting if all you want to do is surf wirelessly on the desk sipping (gulping) a beer(s). Currently that was NewEgg with a dual core 2GB Gateway for $399. Yes, mini's sell for under $300, but that's usually 512MB and the lower end processor (1.0 or 1.2 Ghz) and not the one they tried at the store with 1.6 Ghz and 1 or 2GB. Ok, off my soapbox.
Either way, if you've loads of free cash, travel, or need long cableless web browsing, add a mini to your collection!