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portege

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#33543 8-May-2009 09:33
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Hey guys,

I need to buy a netbook for my dad so we can talk over Skype Video Chat (I'm now based in London).

Anyways after browsing www.ascent.co.nz - I have no idea which one is the best?? They all seem to be very similar (price, chipset, RAM, harddrive etc..)

I don't really mind spending $800-$900 but was wondering if anyone have any favourites - it seems that Acer/Asus and MSI are the best ones but can someone please recommend me one

Dad won't need it for anything advanced but Word Processing/Excel/Skype and maybe Videos would be sufficient. I suppose good battery power is a bonus too

Thanks in advance


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Ragnor
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  #213392 8-May-2009 10:08
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They are all basically the same thing eg: 1GB ram, 10" screen, Atom 270 chipset/cpu (I would avoid the older 8" and celeron mobile based models).

It's actually worthwhile going to a mall and going to DSE and Harvey Norman and trying the keyboards out because the feel/style of the keyboard is the only real differentiation.



magu
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  #213400 8-May-2009 10:41
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I'm in the market for one as well and I'm looking into getting a Lenovo S10. 10" screen, nice keyboard, $755 through PriceSpy with 1GB of RAM and 160GB of HDD.




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grant_k
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  #213401 8-May-2009 10:53
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I went through this exercise about 5 months back during the Boxing Day sale period. Was quite keen on getting an Asus EEEpc but after trying one in-store decided that the buttons on the Touchpad were terribly stiff and would be really annoying to use very much.

As a result, I haven't got a netbook at all yet. My 12" ultra-portable is still soldiering on, but when it eventually dies, I will do the research again.



portege

188 posts

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  #213402 8-May-2009 10:55
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Just bought the

Asus Eee PC 1000HA Netbook, Atom N270 1.6 GHz, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, 10" TFT, No optical drives, WLAN, Win XP Home, Black for $858.08

nitrotech
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  #213406 8-May-2009 11:08
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I have brought over the last few weeks an Acer D150, looked at lots of reviews and based on specs and price decided it was the way to go.

Got to say I am very pleased, I've upgraded to RAM to 2gb and having inbuilt bluetooth is great, comparing them side by side with standard laptops - the full size looks big and bulky now.

The keyboard is a little smaller than average but it doesn't worry me so much.

My ideal netbook would have been the HP 2140 but at about 1/3 more expensive for the same specs i couldn't see the sense, the HP also only has 2 USB ports which is not enough in my opinion.

qraider
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  #214163 11-May-2009 17:50
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Got myself an Acer Aspire One Netbook from DSE

Atom N270 1.6 GHz, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, 10" TFT, WLAN, Bluetooth, Win XP Home, Black for $899 + free Targus bag

Very nice little beastie.




Current Phone:
- Android: Samsung SM-G900F Galaxy S5 (XT)
- Win Phone 8: Samsung ATIV S (XT)

Current Tablet:

 

- Acer Iconia 7" Android Tablet

 

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BigAlf
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  #215059 15-May-2009 14:53
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Ive got an Eee PC 1000H which i absolutely love and seems to have everythind I need - no problems yet. I did my research and read a lot of reviews online and this seemed to get good feedback from others not just me.

 
 
 

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portege

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  #215175 16-May-2009 01:09
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Anyone know if these Atom chips will be any decent at ripping DVDs? I know that dad would love to store some of his DVDs on the harddrive for flights....

magu
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  #215195 16-May-2009 09:28
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As far as I know, they don't have DVD drives, so ripping DVDs is out of the question.

If you're referring to watching ripped movies, then yes, they are more than capable of that. HD may choke, though.




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sbiddle
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  #215201 16-May-2009 10:31
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I picked up a new MSI Wind Plus while in Aussie this week. This is the new Atom 280 model that was only released this week and came with a free upgrade to 2GB upgrade and also included the 6 cell battery as standard.


magu
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  #215211 16-May-2009 12:02
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sbiddle: I picked up a new MSI Wind Plus while in Aussie this week. This is the new Atom 280 model that was only released this week and came with a free upgrade to 2GB upgrade and also included the 6 cell battery as standard.


Price? And do they have online store?




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sbiddle
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  #215214 16-May-2009 12:11
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magu:
sbiddle: I picked up a new MSI Wind Plus while in Aussie this week. This is the new Atom 280 model that was only released this week and came with a free upgrade to 2GB upgrade and also included the 6 cell battery as standard.




Price? And do they have online store?


I paid A$625. Even though the $ is terrible at present by the time I got my GST back in AU I would have paid just under NZ$700 for it which isn't bad value.


Ragnor
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  #215254 16-May-2009 15:47
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FYI..

Standard Atom 270 = 1.6Ghz (12 x 533 Mhz FSB) and 945GSE chipset << weak HD and 3D performance
Lame Atom 280 = 1.667Ghz (10 x 667 Mhz FSB) and 945GSE chipset << same as above
Better Atom 280 = 1.667Ghz (10 x 667 Mhz FSB) and G40 chipset << better hardware HD and 3d

The Asus 1000HE and MSI Wind U100+ are Atom 280 with 945GSE not G40 sadly!


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Master Geek


  #217794 25-May-2009 19:49
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I have an Acer Aspire One 150 with an 8.9" screen and it really rocks once I took the pre-installed crap like the touch pad extensions. It even came with DVD player software...... funny since it does have a DVD drive. Now got WIN 7 on it and its still great. If the track pad is a awkward you can always use an external mouse. I think PB Tech is doing them for $599. I had an issue with the track pad button but it was quickly fixed by acer.

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