I’ve been a reluctant advocate of Netbooks. Why? Because I’ve considered them too small, underpowered, and with poor software and hardware support. And I also think many of them are poorly made.
I have more than one friend that’s purchased a Netbook only to return or shelve it with a trail of comments like “the keyboard is too small” and “it’s not good enough to use as a primary computer.”
Well, then Lora picked up an HP Mini 1000 and loaned it to me.
I see the world differently now.
Here’s the thing. The Mini 1000 has a 10″ display and a 1.6GHz Atom processor and just enough battery power to make a useful machine that’s light and small enough to want to carry around. Yeah, it’s not something I’d want to develop with (although I have been using it to remote desktop to my Mac Pro so I can sit outside and code 🙂 ), but it’s good enough for browsing and blogging. And that’s nice.
I’m not so sure a smaller screen or a lighter weight processor would be adequate for me, but I guess they’re OK for some. It could be interesting to see the return rates on 8.9″ display Netbooks versus 10+” Netbooks. My guess is that it would be much less with the latter.
I think much of my bias with Netbooks comes from my experience with the UMPCs, which are just too sluggish from my past experience.
Well, now there’s Windows 7–at least in beta form–and the Atom processor–and cooperative OEMs that are willing to manufacture a Netbook at a reasonable price.
Yes, the software isn’t ideal. There’s room for fixing this. The vertical screen resoluton (600 pixels on the Mini) is just this side of passable. There are some dialog boxes and web pages that get clipped. It’s marginal, but usable.
The keyboard for the Mini is fine though. It takes awhile to get used to the Home/End keys since you have to hit the Fn key with the arrow keys. And the left-right buttons for the trackpad are a little tricky to get used to. And the webcam is pathetic. But overall? It’s a nice PC. I’d recommend it to many people–as their primary PC for connecting with family and friends.
The one trouble spot I’ve found is with video. It seems like the Mini has a little trouble keeping up with YouTube videos all the time. I’ll watch this more closely.
And booting up? This has been a pleasant surprise. The HP Mini 1000 boots even faster than the Dell Latitude that sports a dual core processor (ULV). I’m guessing the time difference is all about drivers, but hey, the experience is the experience. The HP Mini wins.
So I still believe that the Netbook needs better optimized software (as well as more pen and touch options which may be coming down the road), but you know what? For most people, it’s not a bad machine. Combined with a mighty notebook I can see lots of people I know using one.
Simple fact: I was wrong. Netbooks have their place at the powerstrip.