Laptops Computers Heaven: 5 Tips to Choose Right Laptop Netbook
If you are looking for a small, light and portable computer to use it on the road, travelling or simply outside of your main computer, you can consider to buy either a laptop or netbook that has all the features of notebook, but has the computing power in less than a full-sized laptop.
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A netbook is well suited for general computing, word processing, running a web browser and Internet connection. It has small, usually slightly less with 10-inch screen, weighs 2.5 pounds and sold for less than $ 500 nowadays. Most of the netbooks come with Intel Atom processor with at least 1GB of RAM.
Due to the ever increasing demand for portable but power computers, many computers manufacturers introduce different netbook models in the global market. That is why searching for the right laptop or netbook becomes an uneasy task.
Here are a 5 tips and guides for those who want to buy a Netbook that can help them to choose the right computer for their needs.
Screen size and display resolution
Netbooks generally come with a screen size which ranges from 7 to 12 inches. That’s a big difference from the average 15 inches on a full-sized laptop. In order to decide which screen size is good enough for you, you should try to run your favorite programs and view your favorite websites on different size screens.
Try to buy a screen size of 8.9 inches or larger otherwise the screen and its resolution might be too low and make it more difficult to read. A 10-inch netbook usually has resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels and weighs less than 3 pounds, whereas 11- and 12- inch netbooks resolutions are 1280 x 800 and 1366 x 768 respectively, and weigh slightly more.
But, taking into consideration price and weight together, a 10-inch screen is a perfect choice and is the best selling netbook size on the retailer’s sites.
Keyboard and touchpad
A keyboard of netbooks is usually smaller than a standard keyboard of full size laptops, about 88-93% of the full-size keyboards. The keyboard layout of netbook is quite similar to the full size keyboard but key buttons on netbooks are smaller and closer.
In many cases, even if two netbooks have the same size keyboard, their layouts could be different and their keys are closer on some netbooks than others. Try to test out the keyboard to ensure they are large enough and user friendly.
Touchpad is one of features to consider. At present, a wide variety of touchpad have been developed and specially designed to offer a more comfortable experience during prolonged use. So, try out and get a touchpad that supports multi-touch gestures.
Operating system (OS)
Netbooks are available for Linux and Windows operating systems. A new netbooks were introduced with Windows 7 Starter, which is a lighter version of Windows 7, to help with load time and overall performance. Most people are familiar with the Windows layout as they have been using it for several years on their home and office computers.
You can also get a netbook with Linux, which is a much more basic and faster operating system. Netbooks with Linux run great for web surfing, email, and word processing via Open Office. However, Linux may be incompatible with some programs. And you can still find netbooks running on Windows XP or Vista.
Processor
Intel Atom is the most common processor available for the netbooks (most of them run on the Intel Atom N or Z Series). It’s advisable to go for the latest technologies because they are more efficient and offer higher speed.
The latest Atom processor on netbooks for 2010 is Intel Atom N450 Processor (1.66 GHz). Most netbooks launched into the markets last year were Intel Atom N270 or N280 which are being replaced by new Intel Atom N450. We can notice that all processors on netbooks are slower than the standard processor on laptops, which is about 2.1 GHz.
It means that a netbook will be slower when running heavier programs. So, you shouldn’t use a netbook for heavy processing, such as photo/video editing and gaming. However, netbooks are perfect for light processes like web surfing, email, and word processing.
Battery Life
Old notebook batteries usually come with 3-cell (less than 30 Wh) units that usually get between 1 and 3 hours of endurance. Most of new netbooks are supplied with standard batteries of 6-cell units which can get you unplugged for much longer, about 6-9 hours.
If your job or work require travelling then you should look for the 6-cell option that can get you unplugged for about 6-9 hours on a single charge. They are more expensive than 3-cell battery netbooks but can be very useful if your activities involve overseas travel or all-day classes.
After Intel has unveiled new Atom N450 processor, new netbooks can consume approximately 20% less power over previous netbook generation (Intel Atom N270, N280). New latest netbooks, such as models Asus Eee PC 1005PE-P, Asus Eee PC 100P, Acer A0532h and Toshiba Mini NB305-N410 (10-inch screen) are coming with battery life of 10-14 hours.
We hope that you have found above tips helpful for finding the best deal for you new laptop netbook.