The first ever netbooks were tiny with small screens of about 8 inches and dinky keyboards that we had to prod with an index finger but we wholeheartedly embraced them. Why?
Simply because we could own a tiny laptop to carry around with us at a fraction of the price of a full size laptop and have access to the net wherever and whenever we wanted. We snapped them up.
Computer makers soon caught a whiff of the potential and started throwing all sorts of variations of the netbook at us and now we have all sorts of netbooks from most of the big names in the industry such as Toshiba, Dell, HP, Lenovo and Sony
Many netbooks today have larger screens of around 11 or even 12 inches and full size keyboards so when choosing a netbook today you might even have difficulty distinguishing a netbook from a laptop by appearance alone.
So what do you need to know if you are looking to buy a netbook?
First of all a netbook generally has less power and functionality than a laptop. So, if you walk out of the store with your cheap ultraportable netbook under your arm and expect to be able to do everything you can with a desktop or a fully fledged laptop forget it.
In short, netbooks are mainly for consuming content, so you can write and send emails and browse the net, watch videos and listen to music and yes you can perform simple processing tasks but if you want to do much more than that you’re going to need something more powerful.
Yes you might find a way to edit video and photos on your netbook but if you’re a bit of a novice then you’re going to come across problems.
A significant point to consider today when buying a netbook is the operating system. Most netbooks to date ship with Windows XP but with Windows 7 just around the corner things are about to change in ways that might affect your decision to buy.
Microsoft is limiting devices that will be allowed to run Windows 7 starter edition to netbooks with smaller screens of about 10 inches or less and you won’t be able to buy an upgrade to windows 7 starter edition for your existing netbook either.
If you’re planning to buy a netbook now, unless you particularly want a smaller less powerful device, as far as price and functionality goes you may find yourself better off buying one of the new ultrathins instead.
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[...] Buying a Netbook [...]
[...] 1. Looking for a netbook? Head over to GeekWithLaptop.com which they offer great tips for what you need to know for buying a Netbook. [...]
[...] 1. Looking for a netbook? Head over to GeekWithLaptop.com which they offer great tips for what you need to know for buying a Netbook. [...]