June 12, 2009 at 05:33Netbook - what function costs money?
In a short review, as promised in the comments, I would like to draw conclusions about netbooks based on a year of experience with these toys and ... about my choice of laptop.
June last year.For the first time, such charm as the ASUS EeePC 701 was brought to our Odessa, the price is $ 429 (from stock). We accidentally saw this toy with my father, he was just thinking about a laptop, and when he saw this baby in action, he said that this is what we need! Since $ 430 compared to the minimum (at that time) $ 750 per laptop, it was a pretty big difference. To him as a lawyer, the requirements for a computer were minimal, a typewriter and wi-fi + cdma (evdo) Internet for access to the legislative framework. Bought, I started to configure it and ... fell in love with this toy. Small, easy. Well, to hell with it that 4Gb in total, we’ll buy a 8GB flash drive (+ $ 50 on 07/08/2008), and we’ll expand the memory (+ 40 more) and we’ll definitely buy the battery. Solved! I take one more. Class! Weight is perfect. Windows XP ... Only the truth slows down, and the standard battery is barely enough for 1 hour, and there is no bluetooth, and Firefox is loading. We buy a 100GB screw with a pocket (+ $ 100) and, as a gift (and protect your knees from the “stove” below), I order two leather covers for eeepc (+ $ 45) for myself and my dad.
New versions of 900, 901, 90X NNN, 1000 NNN appear (a bunch of letters at the back symbolize the model). The memory becomes small, a 16GB SUN Disk flash drive is not always detected, to determine the need to raise the voltage, i.e. the battery was not enough even for the film. There was news that it was released ...
August 2008... MSI Wind U100. With grief in half, I am selling my EeePC 701 for $ 320 (along with increased memory). We proudly stomp into the store and take for (at that time) $ 580 MSI Wind U100 Pink (pink is to be different :)). Happiness knew no bounds. For "happiness", I immediately shoved 2GB of RAM (+ $ 30) and a USB mouse (+ $ 7). There is no limit to “happiness”, so we’ll immediately buy a handbag (+ $ 60) in order to carry this miracle (more precisely, wear a nightmare that is terribly huge for such a crumb). Everything is perfect. A netbook is just lovely! On his 1.6 Atom and 2GB of RAM and on a 2200 battery (standard) and with a CDMA (EVDO) modem or Wi-Fi, you can sit for as long as ... 1 hour 45 minutes. Brrr ... mess ... I have the time allotted for coffee and for reading the Habr - 2.5 hours! Well, we’ll fix it now -> ebay -> msi wind u100 6-cell white -> 110 $ -> 3 weeks ... Oh! Super! As much as 4 hours of work, and if the brightness is dimmed very, very completely, then you can withstand 4.5 hours. Now you can work. Although ... try to install Ubuntu. In general, I will not explain here, -3 weeks of life. Addictive, damn it :). Return to Windows. MSI Wind U100 White + Lenovo S10 were taken as gifts for parents and as a care for their eyesight, at a price ($ 490 + $ 25 for 2 GB RAM).
Now the instrument itself has been found! Will be working. Of the working tools, only FAR + Firefox + Denwer + Photoshop. (I joked about the latter on a netbook, right? :)) The euphoria from the purchase lasted more than 3 months, but in December they brought me a familiar Core Quad with 8Gb RAM, a 22 "screen and Windows Vista, and somehow I thought, at home There was no stationary car for a long time, it was completely replaced by the ancient ASUS A6Rp (1.6 celeron, 15.4 "screen). I thought ... about buying a 22 "monitor as an extension for Wind's small ideal computer. It was the first" nail. "The 22" monitor with a resolution of 1680x1050px the netbook didn’t stretch out, but rather pulled out, but the step-by-step pixel strategy didn’t stretch me and my old ASUS. It was decided to purchase the same stationary car. The second “nail” was a powerful home desktop computer with ASUS GeForce GT9800 1Gb, and a second 22 "monitor was purchased, the total cost was only $ 1050 (from warehouses). Naturally, all the work was transferred to it, since it it was nice to sit. By that time Delphi got carried away. But the netbook was a loyal assistant on the road. Wherever I went, I could everywhere ... check mail and read the hub ... but not work, especially with my new hobby - Delphi. But with so I started to find fault with the netbook more and more. Sound sucks. Graphics sucks. Go to my beloved. mother-in-law for a week - you can’t, because I won’t be able to work behind a netbook, that is, as if I have something portable, but at the same time, on which nothing can be done, which is loaded - more than 1.5 minutes (believe me, this is a lot ) And the weight and dimensions with a 6-cell battery are not so pleased. It ended up that the netbook became what it was declared by the manufacturer - an Internet reader, and a typewriter, sometimes you can watch movies, but preferably dumb, because the sound sucks. 4 months have passed in this condition. During this time, I tried in my hands different models of netbooks HP 1233, ASUS 901, 1000H, Lenovo S10, Acer (the entire line).
May 2009 Reading from a small screen, with constant scrolling, the hand already hurts, dragging useless 1.5 kg (with charging if). All! Tired of it! Criteria for the laptop: 1. CHEAP! 2. core 2 duo not lower than 2 GHz; 3. up to 4GB RAM; 4. Screw> = 160Gb; 5. Work not less than 3 hours + a possible additional order of the battery; 6. Weight not higher than 2.5kg; 7. Warranty - at least 2 years. 8. Standard stuffing: BT + WiFi + DVDRW .; 9.4USB; 10. Vista should work fast. 11. Support (without brakes) for a 22 "monitor. A laptop was found instantly, it turned out to be Dell Vostro 1310. The configuration is as follows: 13.3" (1280x800 matte) / C2Duo T8100 (2.1GHz) / 2Gb + 2GbRAM / GeForce 8400M 128Mb DDR3 / 250Gb 5400rpm /USB2.0x4/BT+WiFi+1394+LAN/FreeDOS/6-cell, Hr 3.5 + / 2.02kg / 3 year warranty, price - $ 780. In general, I will not praise him, I will say this, the most basic thing in this is that it completely replaces my stationary car (except for games estessna). The weight of 2.02 kg is not felt at all, it is 5 mm higher in height than the MSI Wind U100, 4 cm wide, 5 cm longer in length. In terms of battery life, it turned out to be higher than stated - 4 hours stable with Wi-Fi (despite the fact that there are batteries expanded for $ 80 = +2.5 hours). In terms of dimensions, it fits into the same bag that I bought under a netbook (it was taken for 13.3 ", since charging from Wind didn’t fit otherwise). And the first thought appeared in my head about the price. Damn it ... how much am I, & ^ #, spent all the lotions, cards, and other crap on this MSI Wind +? Now, now a modest, easy calculation. It turned out to be higher than stated - 4 hours stable with Wi-Fi (despite the fact that there are batteries extended for $ 80 = +2.5 hours). In terms of dimensions, it fits into the same bag that I bought under a netbook (it was taken for 13.3 ", since charging from Wind didn’t fit otherwise). And the first thought appeared in my head about the price. Damn it ... how much am I, & ^ #, spent all the lotions, cards, and other crap on this MSI Wind +? Now, now a modest, easy calculation. It turned out to be higher than stated - 4 hours stable with Wi-Fi (despite the fact that there are batteries extended for $ 80 = +2.5 hours). In terms of dimensions, it fits into the same bag that I bought under a netbook (it was taken for 13.3 ", since charging from Wind didn’t fit otherwise). And the first thought appeared in my head about the price. Damn it ... how much am I, & ^ #, spent all the lotions, cards, and other crap on this MSI Wind +? Now, now a modest, easy calculation.
1. ASUS EeePC: 429 + 40 (opera) + (45/2) (case) +50 (card) +100 (screw) = 641.5 $ - $ 320 (sold!) = 321.5 $
2. MSI Wind U100: 580 + 30 + 7 + 110 + 60 = $ 787
i.e. In total, $ 1108 for 1 year was spent on netbooks plus accompanying gadgets.
Those. for a year I was actually so carried away that I didn’t notice how much was spent on a typewriter in excess of the price of a NORMAL (even for 2008) laptop. Ideally, you can sell used MSI Wind U100, even with an extended battery, for no more than $ 380-400, i.e. We stay with a bag with a card and a screw and pay for using a netbook> 700 $. Parents also replaced netbooks with the same dells. Netbooks were sold both for $ 350 (MSI) and $ 430 (Lenovo), and a pair of Dell Vostro 1310s were also taken, with Intel X3100 graphics cards for $ 600.
I specifically focused on the amount of money and all the costs of a netbook. To date, the adjustment of the total amount will be ~ 150-200 $.
Netbooks as niche computers are undoubtedly needed, but ... Do you convince yourself that you need a laptop to work? See for yourself in the notebook market About $ 600 - we will end up with a complete computer. The price of a netbook is below $ 400 - it will be a netbook of the "past" generation - ASUS 901. That is, the difference is $ 200-220 with a laptop. The weight of 0.5kg is superfluous, it is absolutely not critical, and the battery life of the laptop is no different (unless of course the laptop is taken for work, not for games). The usefulness and functionality of a netbook is by no means equal to the money that manufacturers require for it. Netbook prices should be no more than $ 150-200 for a system with Atom 1.6 and a 1024x600 screen. It does not cost more.
Netbook manufacturers positioning schoolchildren on the market = robbing parents, although children probably enjoy riding netbooks in the snow. Positioning for students in lectures? Well, forgive me, but a student needs just a fully-functional machine, since theoretically an average student will not have enough money for everything. Wife? My personally requested my Vostrik, MSI Wind did not suit her precisely because of the impossibility of long work behind it, to make out the screen, it is necessary to bend to it, which spoils the posture and heavy and uncomfortable charging. Some here write one of the purposes of netbooks - READING BOOKS. Are you kidding me? How can I read from it? Here you can read books from the recently described CrunchPad, from the e-book'a possible, from the communicator - possible (with difficulty), but it’s inconvenient from a netbook - because the unfolded keyboard interferes. Although if you are a “severe” person, then this is not a hindrance. Use in the car as a navigator and media center, and also a touch screen. That's what exactly reminds of the fable "Monkey and glasses." Yes, sometimes you are amazed at the skill of the “Kulibins", but the question is, why? Especially for the money, especially in times of crisis.
A year later, the MSI Wind U100 netbook, for me, remained the reader of the hub and news in the cafe, now it is completely replaced by a laptop. An old daddy ASUS YyyPC 701, peacefully hanging on a hook in the "lounge" instead of a fresh press. The age of netbooks is complete for me and for a long time.
PS: Once again, I am convinced of loyalty: Avaricious pays twice; I'm not so rich to buy cheap things ...
PS2: The review is a bit emotional, but I did not want to write boring facts, if something is not clear, I’ll explain everything in the comments. :)
UPD: I won’t write any more at night, I found grammar and some errors in the text only after posting.
UPD2:
Ideal netbook:
1. OS loading no more than 10-15 seconds;
2. Normal video playback (not necessarily HD);
3. SSD (and only SSD) not less than 20GB;
4. The software package should include: Browser + Office + Multimedia + GPS;
5. GPS (optional for some money).
6. Work for at least 3.5 hours (with the original original battery supplied !!!)
7. Screen resolution - at least 1280x800;
8.3x USB ports minimum + SD Card Reader;
9. Wi-Fi + BT 2.0;
10. The lack of a keyboard (because it must be present separately as an accessory neatly fastened to a special fastener);
11. Touch screen;
12. The price for this whole set is not more than $ 350 in the CIS countries.
Getting to know a netbook
June last year.For the first time, such charm as the ASUS EeePC 701 was brought to our Odessa, the price is $ 429 (from stock). We accidentally saw this toy with my father, he was just thinking about a laptop, and when he saw this baby in action, he said that this is what we need! Since $ 430 compared to the minimum (at that time) $ 750 per laptop, it was a pretty big difference. To him as a lawyer, the requirements for a computer were minimal, a typewriter and wi-fi + cdma (evdo) Internet for access to the legislative framework. Bought, I started to configure it and ... fell in love with this toy. Small, easy. Well, to hell with it that 4Gb in total, we’ll buy a 8GB flash drive (+ $ 50 on 07/08/2008), and we’ll expand the memory (+ 40 more) and we’ll definitely buy the battery. Solved! I take one more. Class! Weight is perfect. Windows XP ... Only the truth slows down, and the standard battery is barely enough for 1 hour, and there is no bluetooth, and Firefox is loading. We buy a 100GB screw with a pocket (+ $ 100) and, as a gift (and protect your knees from the “stove” below), I order two leather covers for eeepc (+ $ 45) for myself and my dad.
New versions of 900, 901, 90X NNN, 1000 NNN appear (a bunch of letters at the back symbolize the model). The memory becomes small, a 16GB SUN Disk flash drive is not always detected, to determine the need to raise the voltage, i.e. the battery was not enough even for the film. There was news that it was released ...
Enthusiasm
August 2008... MSI Wind U100. With grief in half, I am selling my EeePC 701 for $ 320 (along with increased memory). We proudly stomp into the store and take for (at that time) $ 580 MSI Wind U100 Pink (pink is to be different :)). Happiness knew no bounds. For "happiness", I immediately shoved 2GB of RAM (+ $ 30) and a USB mouse (+ $ 7). There is no limit to “happiness”, so we’ll immediately buy a handbag (+ $ 60) in order to carry this miracle (more precisely, wear a nightmare that is terribly huge for such a crumb). Everything is perfect. A netbook is just lovely! On his 1.6 Atom and 2GB of RAM and on a 2200 battery (standard) and with a CDMA (EVDO) modem or Wi-Fi, you can sit for as long as ... 1 hour 45 minutes. Brrr ... mess ... I have the time allotted for coffee and for reading the Habr - 2.5 hours! Well, we’ll fix it now -> ebay -> msi wind u100 6-cell white -> 110 $ -> 3 weeks ... Oh! Super! As much as 4 hours of work, and if the brightness is dimmed very, very completely, then you can withstand 4.5 hours. Now you can work. Although ... try to install Ubuntu. In general, I will not explain here, -3 weeks of life. Addictive, damn it :). Return to Windows. MSI Wind U100 White + Lenovo S10 were taken as gifts for parents and as a care for their eyesight, at a price ($ 490 + $ 25 for 2 GB RAM).
Now the instrument itself has been found! Will be working. Of the working tools, only FAR + Firefox + Denwer + Photoshop. (I joked about the latter on a netbook, right? :)) The euphoria from the purchase lasted more than 3 months, but in December they brought me a familiar Core Quad with 8Gb RAM, a 22 "screen and Windows Vista, and somehow I thought, at home There was no stationary car for a long time, it was completely replaced by the ancient ASUS A6Rp (1.6 celeron, 15.4 "screen). I thought ... about buying a 22 "monitor as an extension for Wind's small ideal computer. It was the first" nail. "The 22" monitor with a resolution of 1680x1050px the netbook didn’t stretch out, but rather pulled out, but the step-by-step pixel strategy didn’t stretch me and my old ASUS. It was decided to purchase the same stationary car. The second “nail” was a powerful home desktop computer with ASUS GeForce GT9800 1Gb, and a second 22 "monitor was purchased, the total cost was only $ 1050 (from warehouses). Naturally, all the work was transferred to it, since it it was nice to sit. By that time Delphi got carried away. But the netbook was a loyal assistant on the road. Wherever I went, I could everywhere ... check mail and read the hub ... but not work, especially with my new hobby - Delphi. But with so I started to find fault with the netbook more and more. Sound sucks. Graphics sucks. Go to my beloved. mother-in-law for a week - you can’t, because I won’t be able to work behind a netbook, that is, as if I have something portable, but at the same time, on which nothing can be done, which is loaded - more than 1.5 minutes (believe me, this is a lot ) And the weight and dimensions with a 6-cell battery are not so pleased. It ended up that the netbook became what it was declared by the manufacturer - an Internet reader, and a typewriter, sometimes you can watch movies, but preferably dumb, because the sound sucks. 4 months have passed in this condition. During this time, I tried in my hands different models of netbooks HP 1233, ASUS 901, 1000H, Lenovo S10, Acer (the entire line).
Change of priorities
May 2009 Reading from a small screen, with constant scrolling, the hand already hurts, dragging useless 1.5 kg (with charging if). All! Tired of it! Criteria for the laptop: 1. CHEAP! 2. core 2 duo not lower than 2 GHz; 3. up to 4GB RAM; 4. Screw> = 160Gb; 5. Work not less than 3 hours + a possible additional order of the battery; 6. Weight not higher than 2.5kg; 7. Warranty - at least 2 years. 8. Standard stuffing: BT + WiFi + DVDRW .; 9.4USB; 10. Vista should work fast. 11. Support (without brakes) for a 22 "monitor. A laptop was found instantly, it turned out to be Dell Vostro 1310. The configuration is as follows: 13.3" (1280x800 matte) / C2Duo T8100 (2.1GHz) / 2Gb + 2GbRAM / GeForce 8400M 128Mb DDR3 / 250Gb 5400rpm /USB2.0x4/BT+WiFi+1394+LAN/FreeDOS/6-cell, Hr 3.5 + / 2.02kg / 3 year warranty, price - $ 780. In general, I will not praise him, I will say this, the most basic thing in this is that it completely replaces my stationary car (except for games estessna). The weight of 2.02 kg is not felt at all, it is 5 mm higher in height than the MSI Wind U100, 4 cm wide, 5 cm longer in length. In terms of battery life, it turned out to be higher than stated - 4 hours stable with Wi-Fi (despite the fact that there are batteries expanded for $ 80 = +2.5 hours). In terms of dimensions, it fits into the same bag that I bought under a netbook (it was taken for 13.3 ", since charging from Wind didn’t fit otherwise). And the first thought appeared in my head about the price. Damn it ... how much am I, & ^ #, spent all the lotions, cards, and other crap on this MSI Wind +? Now, now a modest, easy calculation. It turned out to be higher than stated - 4 hours stable with Wi-Fi (despite the fact that there are batteries extended for $ 80 = +2.5 hours). In terms of dimensions, it fits into the same bag that I bought under a netbook (it was taken for 13.3 ", since charging from Wind didn’t fit otherwise). And the first thought appeared in my head about the price. Damn it ... how much am I, & ^ #, spent all the lotions, cards, and other crap on this MSI Wind +? Now, now a modest, easy calculation. It turned out to be higher than stated - 4 hours stable with Wi-Fi (despite the fact that there are batteries extended for $ 80 = +2.5 hours). In terms of dimensions, it fits into the same bag that I bought under a netbook (it was taken for 13.3 ", since charging from Wind didn’t fit otherwise). And the first thought appeared in my head about the price. Damn it ... how much am I, & ^ #, spent all the lotions, cards, and other crap on this MSI Wind +? Now, now a modest, easy calculation.
1. ASUS EeePC: 429 + 40 (opera) + (45/2) (case) +50 (card) +100 (screw) = 641.5 $ - $ 320 (sold!) = 321.5 $
2. MSI Wind U100: 580 + 30 + 7 + 110 + 60 = $ 787
i.e. In total, $ 1108 for 1 year was spent on netbooks plus accompanying gadgets.
conclusions
Those. for a year I was actually so carried away that I didn’t notice how much was spent on a typewriter in excess of the price of a NORMAL (even for 2008) laptop. Ideally, you can sell used MSI Wind U100, even with an extended battery, for no more than $ 380-400, i.e. We stay with a bag with a card and a screw and pay for using a netbook> 700 $. Parents also replaced netbooks with the same dells. Netbooks were sold both for $ 350 (MSI) and $ 430 (Lenovo), and a pair of Dell Vostro 1310s were also taken, with Intel X3100 graphics cards for $ 600.
I specifically focused on the amount of money and all the costs of a netbook. To date, the adjustment of the total amount will be ~ 150-200 $.
Netbooks as niche computers are undoubtedly needed, but ... Do you convince yourself that you need a laptop to work? See for yourself in the notebook market About $ 600 - we will end up with a complete computer. The price of a netbook is below $ 400 - it will be a netbook of the "past" generation - ASUS 901. That is, the difference is $ 200-220 with a laptop. The weight of 0.5kg is superfluous, it is absolutely not critical, and the battery life of the laptop is no different (unless of course the laptop is taken for work, not for games). The usefulness and functionality of a netbook is by no means equal to the money that manufacturers require for it. Netbook prices should be no more than $ 150-200 for a system with Atom 1.6 and a 1024x600 screen. It does not cost more.
Why is he?
Netbook manufacturers positioning schoolchildren on the market = robbing parents, although children probably enjoy riding netbooks in the snow. Positioning for students in lectures? Well, forgive me, but a student needs just a fully-functional machine, since theoretically an average student will not have enough money for everything. Wife? My personally requested my Vostrik, MSI Wind did not suit her precisely because of the impossibility of long work behind it, to make out the screen, it is necessary to bend to it, which spoils the posture and heavy and uncomfortable charging. Some here write one of the purposes of netbooks - READING BOOKS. Are you kidding me? How can I read from it? Here you can read books from the recently described CrunchPad, from the e-book'a possible, from the communicator - possible (with difficulty), but it’s inconvenient from a netbook - because the unfolded keyboard interferes. Although if you are a “severe” person, then this is not a hindrance. Use in the car as a navigator and media center, and also a touch screen. That's what exactly reminds of the fable "Monkey and glasses." Yes, sometimes you are amazed at the skill of the “Kulibins", but the question is, why? Especially for the money, especially in times of crisis.
Total
A year later, the MSI Wind U100 netbook, for me, remained the reader of the hub and news in the cafe, now it is completely replaced by a laptop. An old daddy ASUS YyyPC 701, peacefully hanging on a hook in the "lounge" instead of a fresh press. The age of netbooks is complete for me and for a long time.
PS: Once again, I am convinced of loyalty: Avaricious pays twice; I'm not so rich to buy cheap things ...
PS2: The review is a bit emotional, but I did not want to write boring facts, if something is not clear, I’ll explain everything in the comments. :)
UPD: I won’t write any more at night, I found grammar and some errors in the text only after posting.
UPD2:
Ideal netbook:
1. OS loading no more than 10-15 seconds;
2. Normal video playback (not necessarily HD);
3. SSD (and only SSD) not less than 20GB;
4. The software package should include: Browser + Office + Multimedia + GPS;
5. GPS (optional for some money).
6. Work for at least 3.5 hours (with the original original battery supplied !!!)
7. Screen resolution - at least 1280x800;
8.3x USB ports minimum + SD Card Reader;
9. Wi-Fi + BT 2.0;
10. The lack of a keyboard (because it must be present separately as an accessory neatly fastened to a special fastener);
11. Touch screen;
12. The price for this whole set is not more than $ 350 in the CIS countries.