10 inch netbooks vs 12 inch netbooks

ilembitov · 2009-10-05 14:46:59

Hi, all! Wanted to ask for your advice here, people.
May seem strange to many, but I was thinking about choosing a netbook as my primary workhorse.
Basically, this is what I do with my current laptop:
-web browsing/IM/mailing
-writing texts, reading lots of pdf/ps/dvi/djvu texts
-multimedia: listening to music/watching some movies
-games: occasionally I do play some, like nethack, Ultima 7 (via exult), maybe some old games (pre-2003 only).

That's it! I'm no programmer, so I don't need heavy stuff like NetBeans/Eclipse, I am no designer, so I don't need Blender/Inkspace/GIMP. I would say that 65% of my time I lurk through numerous websites/RSS and read e-books for my studies, work and fun, 30% I write (and I mean, a lot) and 5% for everything else.

Which is why I thought: essentially netbook is a lightweight subnotebook of Pentium-M era (since Atoms were designed to be on par with Pentium M in terms of productivity) with wireless connectivity and extended battery life. I thought that I'll be fine with performance as long I run nothing heavier than XFCE-based environment. There are only two restrictions: screen and keyboard. Which are of the biggest importance to me. Another important thing is whether I could upgrade netbook to get WiMAX connectivity by adding an Intel card. So I began looking for a netbook around $400.

So the question is: can you actually use a 10 inch netbook for the purposes I am talking about? Can I spend a whole day (sometimes up to 8 hours continiously) reading and writing texts on a 10 inch model? I was actually thinking about eeepc 1000he. Many people praise the chicklet keyboard, and the screen is not glossy, so could this be my choice?

Of course, there is no universal truth here (people have different requirements, some may have bigger hands, for example), but still I wanted for an advice.

blasse · 2009-10-05 17:33:52

I'm using 12' HP notebook for daily basis and it's just fine. However when I tried something smaller my eyes were tired very quickly. Imho 10' is just to small... Also it's hard to find 10' netbook with full-sized keyboard, when in 12' it's almost in every one.

scio · 2009-10-05 17:40:54

I love my 1000HE, keyboard is like 93% full or something where it's almost impossible to tell and the chicklets are great! Also at 12' you really aren't looking at a netbook anymore, just an underpowered laptop. That said, it might be easier to find a 12' laptop since it's not part of that niche market.

lucke · 2009-10-05 17:54:34

Doing anything (reading, typing, watching movies) on my 10" Wind with Intel GMA is very pleasant; it runs KDE4 with desktop effects without a hitch - the only thing it doesn't handle is HD video.

-edit-

Yeah, it has a matte display, so it's actually nicer to work with than your regular laptop.

Last edited by lucke (2009-10-05 17:58:41)

rok3 · 2009-10-05 18:54:59

I have a Lenovo S10 (10" screen) which I use for microcontroller development / control. I find that the screen and the keyboard are too small for everyday use. I end up SSHing into it and writing most of the code using my desktop screen/keyboard. When I'm on the move though the small size/light weight can not be beat. As for speed I find that the S10 is slightly faster than the T30 which it replaced and I have yet to have it be an issue.

Wittfella · 2009-10-06 02:10:01

My eeepc 904 has become my primary machine, I plug in the external monitor/keyboard/mouse and just use it like a desktop at home.

When travelling the 9" screen is fine, but I'm not sure I would use it as my primary at home only using the inbuilt display.

ilembitov · 2009-10-07 14:49:23

Do I get it right that any contemporary netbook with Atom can be upgraded with Intel's Wimax card?

bruce · 2009-10-07 22:39:56

i do all my work on a 9 inch acer aspire one (110L)...
I don't find the screen an issue as all, unless i start using an IDE, which you aren't planning to do... (and even then, it can be delt with)
i watch movies on it all the time (often hooked up to a second screen, ie external screen has work on it, laptop has a movie), easy to watch, size is fine (unless your trying to watch from a while away)...
the other thing i've found is that having normalish sized (probably a tad small) hands, the smaller keyboard is magic (now that i'm used to it), i find myself cursing everytime i go back to a real keyboard because of the large amount of redundant moving to reach keys... (that's probably just me though :-p )
there's a hp 12 inch that i'm thinking of getting to replace my netbook and my (broken) 15 incher, that you may (or may not) be interested in, its the dv2z... seems to tow the line between netbook, notebook and ultraportable, without costing an arm and a leg...

ajonat · 2009-10-08 05:09:23

I've used 9 and 10 inchs netbooks and they felt kind of uncomfortable. The keyboard and the screen is just too small, IMHO. I found the perfect sizes to be 12 or 13 inches (not too small but portable). With these notebooks (i wouldn't call them netbooks) I am very productive and can do lot of work (8hrs or more) without any problem. I think it all depends on you feeling comfortable with the netbook/notebook, you should go to a computer shop next to where you live and try them a few minutes to see which one fits you the most.

uwinkelvos · 2009-10-08 05:29:37

I considered buying a netbook but finaly ended up with a hp dv3550eg (13,3" 1280x800). If you do a lot of reading (web, pdf), i think 800px vertical resolution is a bare minimum, so i'ld recommend at least a 12" display.

cdwillis · 2009-10-08 07:43:57

My Asus 1000HE is my main machine. I mostly use it while sitting on the couch. I don't think a 12 inch screen would be more cumbersome, but once you start getting into larger screens it's just really an underpowered laptop. I don't imagine the larger ones would have as good battery life. This asus gets around 7 hours now on Windows XP, and an hour or so less than that on Ubuntu.

I have no problem with the screen size. Maybe if I were running eclipse or some cumbersome IDE I would want more screen real estate, but you said you weren't going to be using something like that. All of my fonts are set at 8p and everything is easily readable.

The 93% sized chiclet keyboard is fantastic. Typing on it is really effortless. When I switch back to typing on a regular keyboard it feels cumbersome. The keyboard does has a smaller left shift key, but it is moved inward a little. You get used to it.

I've ran just a solo WM (dwm) up to gnome and even kde4 with all the graphical effects turned on. It's not going to play HD video, but I occasionally play some older games (Diablo 2, Starcraft, Planescape: Torment) on the XP partition and those work pretty well. I haven't tried them with Wine, I figured it wouldn't really be worth it.

Last edited by cdwillis (2009-10-08 07:44:57)

iphitus · 2009-10-08 09:20:41

It's not the screen size, it's the resolution! netbook screens fail miserably in the vertical height.

Whoever decided on 1024x600 instead of 1024x768 is a moron.

1024x768 can play HD video at the same effective resolution, only with slightly larger black bars above/below. I understand that some people find black bars annoying, however on my netbook Asus chose to fill in all that space with an incredibly irritating glossy plastic instead!

Anyway, netbooks are truly brilliant for watching DVDs! Wait, what? what did you say? no DVD player? oh. I see. Then why the fuck is it\x600?

For years web and application developers have designed with x768 as the minimum! x600 is stupid. Either way, my netbook works, however when it's at home, it's plugged into a nicely sized LCD.

</end rant>

Last edited by iphitus (2009-10-08 09:23:58)

ilembitov · 2009-10-09 20:17:38

cdwillis wrote:

My Asus 1000HE is my main machine. I mostly use it while sitting on the couch. I don't think a 12 inch screen would be more cumbersome, but once you start getting into larger screens it's just really an underpowered laptop. I don't imagine the larger ones would have as good battery life. This asus gets around 7 hours now on Windows XP, and an hour or so less than that on Ubuntu.
I have no problem with the screen size. Maybe if I were running eclipse or some cumbersome IDE I would want more screen real estate, but you said you weren't going to be using something like that. All of my fonts are set at 8p and everything is easily readable.
The 93% sized chiclet keyboard is fantastic. Typing on it is really effortless. When I switch back to typing on a regular keyboard it feels cumbersome. The keyboard does has a smaller left shift key, but it is moved inward a little. You get used to it.
I've ran just a solo WM (dwm) up to gnome and even kde4 with all the graphical effects turned on. It's not going to play HD video, but I occasionally play some older games (Diablo 2, Starcraft, Planescape: Torment) on the XP partition and those work pretty well. I haven't tried them with Wine, I figured it wouldn't really be worth it.

Thanks for a report. Funny thing is, that Asus eeePC 1000he is nearly as expensive as Lenovo S12 (VIA-edition) in Moscow. But I'm really thinking towards Asus. Too bad it doesn't have a non-glossy surface (like eeePC 701 or 900). The screen is not glossy, right?

BTW, do you know if it would be possible to add a WiMaX miniPCI Express Card to it?

Last edited by ilembitov (2009-10-09 20:18:49)

scio · 2009-10-09 22:39:12

Screen is matte and shell is glossy on 1000he. Never tried to add a card too it, but changing the ram was real easy.

fuse · 2009-10-12 09:16:27

You could do this but I would recommend the Acer Aspire Timeline $499 bucks, 15.6 inch screen, 8 hour battery life and its extremely light and portable. I just ditched my netbook on ebay and replaced it with this and its 100x better.

Arch Linux

#1 2009-10-05 14:46:59

10 inch netbooks vs 12 inch netbooks

#2 2009-10-05 17:33:52

Re: 10 inch netbooks vs 12 inch netbooks

#3 2009-10-05 17:40:54

Re: 10 inch netbooks vs 12 inch netbooks

#4 2009-10-05 17:54:34

Re: 10 inch netbooks vs 12 inch netbooks

#5 2009-10-05 18:54:59

Re: 10 inch netbooks vs 12 inch netbooks

#6 2009-10-06 02:10:01

Re: 10 inch netbooks vs 12 inch netbooks

#7 2009-10-07 14:49:23

Re: 10 inch netbooks vs 12 inch netbooks

#8 2009-10-07 22:39:56

Re: 10 inch netbooks vs 12 inch netbooks

#9 2009-10-08 05:09:23

Re: 10 inch netbooks vs 12 inch netbooks

#10 2009-10-08 05:29:37

Re: 10 inch netbooks vs 12 inch netbooks

#11 2009-10-08 07:43:57

Re: 10 inch netbooks vs 12 inch netbooks

#12 2009-10-08 09:20:41

Re: 10 inch netbooks vs 12 inch netbooks

#13 2009-10-09 20:17:38

Re: 10 inch netbooks vs 12 inch netbooks

#14 2009-10-09 22:39:12

Re: 10 inch netbooks vs 12 inch netbooks

#15 2009-10-12 09:16:27

Re: 10 inch netbooks vs 12 inch netbooks

Board footer