... they are not much better then the one I currently have that is three years old. Can it really be, three years is an eternity in computing!? Look what happened in the mobile domain in the last three years and compare.
Whenever I look at the latest netbook models, they still have a slow Atom processor with a built in slow graphics adapter. I don't mind that the 1GB of RAM hasn't advanced, my Ubuntu is quite happy with that. But I'd really like the CPU and graphics to be a bit faster. Three years is a long time for things not to improve all that much.
True, Ultrabooks are coming to the market now so perhaps they are something for me. One thing I have second thoughts about is how I can replace the built in battery myself? On all of my previous notebooks and netbooks the battery had to be replaced a year or a year and a half as their capacity was not longer sufficient for my use. Also, more than 11" is no good for me either, it just has to be that small so I can work with it in the train. Any more and it stays in the bag.
Asus Transformer Prime
Posted by: Ze Manel | February 14, 2012 at 08:32 PM
Yes, indeed. I’ve just looked at the netbooks available on the market and they seem haven’t advanced much recently. Most of them still run on Atom. If you could reconcile yourself to 11-12” laptop than there would be more possibilities to choose from. Here is a piece of info to think about.
http://www.3g.co.uk/PR/Feb2012/smartphones-sell-more-than-whole-pc-market.html
There has been a slump in shipments of netbooks recently. May be manufactures don’t find the netbook market lucrative anymore and that’s why they don’t improve on specification of netbooks. Or the opposite, manufactures don’t improve netbooks and the sales have plummeted.
Asus Transformer Prime runs on Android, not Ubuntu, and Ultrabooks are quite pricey. Tough choice.
Posted by: Sergey | February 15, 2012 at 12:19 AM
Manufacturers' efforts seem to be directed at tablets these days as keyboards are out of fashion with the masses who are more concerned with content consumption rather than content creation. Those who create appreciate 'hard' keys and they are more likely to buy expensive machines. Perhaps that's a reason?
Posted by: dominic hayes | February 15, 2012 at 11:27 AM
I would never buy a netbook, because of the inferior keyboards. Just get a used subnotebook. They have equal or better performance, same price and much better hardware quality.
I buy mine at TodaysBest Computers in Berlin, but there are stores elsewhere in Germany. I would try and shoot for a used Thinkpad X61s. You might want to check in Ebay. You need to use advanced search and limit your search to commercial suppliers. And then you call or email them about A-Grade (they usually only sell B-Grade on Ebay) models. Since the machines are used, they don't have all models in stock all the time.
There are many Thinkpad X60 and X61 models with built in 3G!
Another store would be Harlander.com
Don't buy B-Grade models. A good A-Grade (A-Ware statt B-Ware) should have no visible knicks or problems whatsoever. Perfect screen, etc.
Unfortunately I don't know about good stores in other cities than Berlin.
Posted by: Malte | February 15, 2012 at 04:36 PM
Netbooks are dead with all the attention on tablets....if you're not a tablet-type, your best bet to ride the "innovation" are ultrabooks...
Posted by: Mo Snjid | February 16, 2012 at 04:44 PM
I feel the very same.
My old eeePC is constantly overstrained as well.
I'm searching for a good 10-12" laptop.
But as much as i still love my Asus Netbook, i wouldn't buy a new one as well.
I'm searching for something compact with processing power but still affordable for months now.
http://shop.lenovo.com/deweb/de/de/notebook/thinkpad/x-series/x121e
is one of the few i'd actually would buy...
still searching though ;)
Posted by: sebastian | February 16, 2012 at 09:15 PM