8 replies to this topic

[halo_3]

TEers, I have shortlisted the best netbooks down to 3 as mentioned in the title and intend to buy one before the end of the month. I tried the NC10, Lenovo S10 etc but they have some issue or the other.

The main advantage with these three is that they are all very recent models so many issues have been either improved on or replaced with better stuff compared to their predecessors like the NC10, 1008HA etc.

So what does everyone say? The 1000HE seems the most balanced model, the Toshiba is the best looking (IMO) and the keyboard was very nice. The Sammy N120 has a horrible edge around the display that takes too much space and looks a little childish. I did not get a chance to try out the N110 but reviews say that it is an improved version of the NC10 plus it has the Sammy brand name which is well recognised in the industry and might help with resale values in the future.

What do you guys think?

[coolcowboy]

How much are you getting the 1000HE for?

[halo_3]

^^A little less than 23k.. all three netbooks are almost in the same price segment.

[kippu]

you should be able to get the n110 around 20k

[halo_3]

Just checked out the latest version in the EEE series, the 1005HA which is basically a 1000HE with the curved seashell look of the 1008HA. I think this is the best netbook right now.. so either 1005HA or the Toshiba NB200(205).

Also played with the N110 and N120 for almost one hour.. here are my observations:
N110: glossy exterior, only one colour, 5900Mah battery
N120: matte exterior, horrible bezel, excellent sound, black or white available, larger keyboard, 5200Mah battery

Overall, these models are looking a bit inferior to the asus and toshiba. Just my observations. I will try out the two models on monday evening and take a final decision then.

@kippu: Pretty much all netbooks are in the same price bracket of 20k-25k so price is not a priority but rather the feature set (looks, BT, # of USB ports, display etc.)

[halo_3]

Just bought the ASUS 1005HA for 23.5k (N280 1.66Ghz, 6 cell & 3 USB)

Other netbooks that I considered:
Sammy N120: ~22k
Benq Joybook U101: 20.5k (or 23k with an external Benq DVD writer)

1000HE was my top choice originally but it looks dated compared to the 1005HA and is being discontinued as informed by various dealers.

[Ragin_Ice]

halo_3 said:

Just bought the ASUS 1005HA for 23.5k (N280 1.66Ghz, 6 cell & 3 USB)

Other netbooks that I considered:
Sammy N120: ~22k
Benq Joybook U101: 20.5k (or 23k with an external Benq DVD writer)

1000HE was my top choice originally but it looks dated compared to the 1005HA and is being discontinued as informed by various dealers.

reason for choosing it over the toshiba ?

[MAGNeT]

whts the price of toshiba nb 205 here???

and who supports its service stuff...

And how far is ion yet?

[halo_3]

Ragin_Ice said:

reason for choosing it over the toshiba ?

The Toshiba has (possibly) the best touchpad in the netbook segment, the WORST speakers in the netbook segment, doesn't offer multi-touch and does not have recovery CDs in the box.
On the other hand, the 1005HA offers just about anything one could possibly want - inside and outside the box.

As mentioned in the first post of this thread, the 1005HA (1000HE) is the most balanced approach. However, if you value looks more than anything else, the Toshiba is #1. It's awfully close and after trying almost 15 netbooks in the past few days, I can confidently say that either one would be a great purchase but with that logic, you might be waiting forever since ARM and AMD could probably release an even better low cost proc next year.

MAGNeT said:

whts the price of toshiba nb 205 here???

and who supports its service stuff...

And how far is ion yet?

Most of the world is still awaiting Ion. The only models that I am aware of are the Sammy N510 (Ion LE NOT DX10 ION) and Lenovo's 12" S12. My advice is this - if you want to buy a netbook, buy one with Atom N280 + GMA950 (or GN40 if you can find one for cheap). Ion LE is the screwed up version of the regular Ion and is expected to cost at least 30k in India which doesnt make any sense for a single core processor based laptop. Otherwise, wait for Pinetrail to launch in Q4 this year and buy the next gen netbooks.
Btw, Ion wont make any difference to your graphical abilities since - 1. the CPU is too slow anyway to play anything that was not made in the Jurassic era and 2. flash videos on websites like vimeo, hulu etc. that are a sore point for netbook owners right now won't look any better on Ion books since flash decoding is done by the CPU and not the GPU.