Which Netbook Feature is Most Important to You?

Laptops — on May 12, 2009 at 10:53 am | Comment Now

If you’re buying a netbook, most probably you would be on the lookout for one or two important features that could help determine which exact brand and model you would buy. Granted, brand can be one big consideration, which can help you narrow down your choice to a select few. Some netbook manufacturers like HP have only a few basic models, but with different specs. But some netbook makers like Asus would have different basic form factors, with each having different specs.

In some cases, you would have to settle with tradeoffs, and so you need to determine which particular feature is essential to your needs.

It boils down to the following: portability, battery life, storage, upgradability. We can even factor in price as part of the considerations.

Portability

Hands down, portability is probably the biggest reason you are buying a netbook. That’s why you’re buying a 9 or 10-inch machine rather than a 12-inch one, which is actually pretty close. Therefore you want a netbook that you can carry around in your purse, handbag, backpack or briefcase. It needs to be light enough.

However, portability also has its disadvantages. If you compare 9-inch netbooks to 10-inch ones, the 9-inch models are definitely more portable. But they also have smaller keyboards and screens. The Asus EeePC 901 is small, but if you have big fingers, you might have a hard time typing. The 10-inch 1000HA EeePC has a more comfortable keyboard, but it’s almost twice the weight of the 901.

Battery life

One advantage that bigger netbooks may have is battery life. Sure, the bigger 10-inch LCD might add to power requirements, but models with bigger or denser battereies last longer per charge. Asus’ 1000 series boasts of “all day computing,” or about seven to eight hours normal use on a single charge. Most 9-inchers would give you two to three hours of use in between charge only.

Some users prefer to use extended batteries that stick to the back or bottom of a netbook, and add to the weight. But these often double the battery life, so instead of three hours, you get five to six hours on a six-cell battery for the Acer Aspire One, as opposed to the three cell battery.

Personally, long battery life is my favorite netbook feature. I’m usually on the road for about five hours a day, telecommuting at cafés and libraries. I like my netbook to last at least five hours before needing to plug in.

Storage

Netbooks are not meant to be primary computers, but rather secondary computers you can bring while on the go. But for some markets, netbooks are a viable alternative (and not complement) to notebooks and desktops because of their price. So users would instead buy a $350 netbook than a $700 laptop. But they would need some place to store their photos, music collection and other multimedia. And so storage is important.

Most inexpensive netbooks come with small solid state drives of 4 to 20 GB, but newer ones come with up to 160 GB hard discs (non SSD). If you have a lot of photos, which one would you go for?

Upgradability

Netbooks are not meant to be upgradable, save for RAM and the battery, perhaps. If you need to do more than the Internet surfing and casual document processing, you might find the need to upgrade your netbook’s memory. How easy is it to do so? Some manufacturers require you to unscrew the whole assembly before you can access the RAM bay. Others make it easy by providing a slot where you can upgrade the memory modules.

Upgradability might also mean availability of aftermarket accessories like batteries and the like. Some brands have a lot of third-party support, while some do not.

Price

Perhaps one big factor to consider is price. Given a certain budget, which netbook would you go for? One with a bigger screen might be more expensive than one with a smaller screen. A bigger battery might cost extra. A bigger hard drive might require you to shell out more.

Buying a netbook involves many tradeoffs. Be sure to pick one depending on the feature you consider most important.