Which of these 3 netbooks are better?

I’m looking to buy a good netbook I have found three that seem good but which one is the best. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy I just need something portable for school and school work.

I’ve got an Acer Aspire One but not saying you should get it. As a student you’re going to use this thing a heck of a lot – it’s not a toy for you. Go to a store or stores that have them on display and try to get sales staff to start them up. Try the keyboard – essential that you find it comfy and big enough. Look at the screen – essential that you like the display. Try to get a feel for the trackpad and buttons – a lot of users find they don’t like buttons on the side or the bottom or the sizes.

Compare the processors and the amount of RAM, but also look into how difficult it is to add more RAM or to change the hard drive – some models make it really difficult and expensive to install if you decide you want to buy extra. Count the USB ports for things like an external mouse and an external drive. Do you want a web camera? Do you want bluetooth?

If you’re on a tight budget, check into the software provided by the manufacturer or the store: it might include word processing or a spreadsheet that you will need for school. Yah yah, everybody says just download some free software, but your program at school might actually require that you use a well known word processing program (like Word) or a spreadsheet (like Excel) to really do your work, or you might want experience using real world software for job experience, and you might get these included or at a retail discount.

Finally, just google the name of the netbook and “forum” and see if there is a dedicated user group that deals with the problems that come up. Are the users happy? Are they helpful? If the machines all the same to you, a good user support group of real people might be enough to make a difference and get you over some newbie problems – experienced users can be a lot more help than “Ask Yahoo”.

Netbooks, et al