Well I am usually a bit of a compulsive buyer when it comes to electronics. But this time I spent a bit of time researching what the best 10 inch netbook is at the moment. Today I finally decided and made my purchase. I am now the proud owner of an Acer Aspire one, pictured on the left.
Actually there were not that many choices. It boiled down to the latest two netboooks out at this time. The ASUS EEPC 1000HE or the Acer Aspire One. Here is the 10 Inch Netbook Review that helped me make my decision.
NB It is likely the “best netbook” will change again within the next month as competition with manufacturers is fierce.
The ASUS EEPC 1000 HE does have better battery life but to me it looks darn ugly in comparison to the Acer and I don’t like the keypad design. The Acer Aspire One is also considerably cheaper.
We plan to use it as a family computer for when we go out or travel. Mainly because of the long battery life and size and together with 3G Internet access we will be able to access the Internet even in the mountains and country side. It will also be a great research tool for taking notes in the library as well. There is a 3G slot for me to put in our 3G card.
It comes with Microsoft XP, McAfee anti virus checker ( 60 day trial subscription) and also a 60 day trial of Microsoft office. There is also a smart portfolio type carrying case. Unfortunately it does not come with a built in CD ROM. All the software including XP must be installed from the disk drive. With the money I saved by buying the Aspire rather than the EEPC I purchased an external USB DVD writer. This enabled me to quickly install a copy of Ubuntu Linux. The installation disk allows you to install Ubuntu on the same disk as Microsoft XP is installed. The advantage is you don’t have to muck around re-partitioning your disk drive, which Windows XP takes up entirely by default. I feel so much safer using Linux as my main Internet browsing platform plus it’s so much faster than XP.
Disadvantage wise netbooks take a bit of getting used to with their small displays and keyboards. Also the fonts displayed on some websites are almost unreadable but the convenience is worth the difficulty.
Notebook manufacturers are doing it tough at the moment but there does seem to be a booming market within the netbook category. They are priced well have long battery life as well as portability. Highly recommended, but make sure you also install and use Ubuntu for casual browsing.
About Danny Sheehan
Danny lives in Hong Kong but is originally from Australia. He is Married to Maggie and together they have two children with whom they enjoy sharing and enjoying an exciting life with daily. Danny's passions are freedom, adventure and discovery, mainly in nature and science but also spiritually. He is a great believer in living in the NOW.
More about Danny Sheehan
Life Online