Netbooks

Does anyone have any experience with the new netbooks? I believe they are offered by AT&T and Verizon and use their 3G networks. Unfortunately, I am an idiot as far as all this new-fangled stuff is concerned. My wife thinks she wants one for a simple way of hooking up to the internet. Will appreciate any information.

Re: Netbooks

We have an acer aspire. Runs for ever on its battery, great wifi, but we do not have the air card. It is just used to get on at the home wifi and wifi hot spots. The smallness you either love or hate. My wife has learned to type on the smaller keyboard, I have a bit of a hard time with my sausage fingers. BTW, it has around a 9.5 or 10" screen.
Dave

Re: Netbooks

For a few dollars more why not buy a real laptop or mini. I checked it out for mother in law and the Verizon offer of $39.95 for a few mega bytes is a joke, so you have to go with the $59.95 to get a decent rate of download time. Ok lets combine that with a 2year contract and look what your savings of $100.00 got you. An obligation for about $1,300.00 plus change that you might not like after using for a month or two. If I was going to use the service, the pay as you play option on your own choice of computer would be my way of going about it. My regular internet (hi speed) costs 30 bucks a month and I can cancel anytime I wish. In this day and age cell phones are a fact of life but there are a ton of options with internet service.

PS: You can buy a lot of computer for 13 hundred dollar bills.

Good luck and hope this helps you

Re: Netbooks

My dad, my uncle, and myself all have Acer Aspire One's and we love them. My dad has the 3G one from AT&T. The laptop and the 3G service work very well.

My boss got an HP netbook with a 10.1" screen. Let me tell you, that's the sweet spot right there as far as visibility and portability are concerned.

Re: Netbooks

I think the question is... what are you going to use it for. Are you just looking at the ones offered through your phone company because they advertised it to you? Or are you really going to need the 3G connectivity?

If you just want to be able to connect at home or local "hotspots" then I would suggest that you look at buying one from a retail store or online. I have seen the netbooks go for as little as $199, but more often $250- $300. If you REALLY need the lightweight portability, then a netbook may be your best option. If you can get by with something slightly larger, then a regular laptop may be a better option. I have only ran across a small number of folks who really NEED to have the 3G connectivity, and that was usually due to their job functions.

I have a friend who has a netbook and loves it because they take it to church and can follow along with the bible readings (they have the bible loaded on the netbook). But they also have a regular laptop or computer for most other things. One other thing to remember is that the netbooks typically do not have anytype of external drive (CD, DVD, etc) so you have to purchase a seperate drive or download everything via wi-fi.

HTH

Re: Netbooks

Thanks for the info. Am still looking and talking with better half to try to find out exactly what she wants. So far, can only be sure that she wants something that has the internet on when she turns the device on.

Re: Netbooks

also take into consideration that att's laptop connect air cards only allow you 5gb a month.