I think netbooks are pretty much a toy for the time being. Or, while people are going from desktop to laptop, geeks who would’ve had a desktop and a laptop now own a laptop and a netbook.

The problem with netbooks as low cost computers is that they’re tiny, have small screens and small keyboards, and no optical drives. My parents are comfortable on a desktop, do ok on a laptop, but have trouble using my 13″ laptop because the screen is smaller. Add to that the fact that while their MSRP is lower, the final price is about the same as the “weekly special” laptop. I got my 15.4″ Gateway for $370 back in 2006 and my Acer for $330 in 2007. Incidentally, my Mini-Note also cost me $340 but I also have a relatively powerful desktop which I’m going to use in tandem with the ultraportable.

The great thing about netbooks for geeks like me who can’t afford Fujitsu’s latest creation is that they’re about the same size, only slightly slower and much cheaper.

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OK. So, different strokes… I can see that. Besides my preference for performance over size, the ravages of age certainly dictate what I choose to work with — as I’m sure anyone over 40 can attest to. Higher resolution (or even yesterday’s “standard” resolution) on a smaller screen makes for a miserable experience for those of us with less than 20/20 vision.

I’ve been using the ASUS 1000H as my sole notebook for about the last week or so. It’s working great and it feels awesome in my hand when I pick it up.

@Scott

I’m not sure if you measured properly. Most 14″ notebooks weigh at least 5lbs (most around 5.5lbs) and most 13″ notebooks weigh about 4.5 lbs. My “main” notebook is a 14″-er and I can notice a big difference between it and my relatively “fat” netbook (~3.2lbs). I also notice a massive difference in the battery life. I can use my netbook all morning without a outlet while my notebook could only make it through 2/3 of a flight.

In reply to Scott, everyone is different but the big things with a netbook is size and weight. My wife uses hers on the train in her job as a writer/editor. She has a Sony Vaio laptop SZ about the size of your Gateway but leaves that at home as commuting with her Acer Aspire One is a much better experience especially when it comes to carrying it walking to the train and the office. The other thing I like is Windows XP. Great to be able to remain with a old acquaintance. I was going to say old friend but that might be going a bit far!

I guess where I was going with the above is that, to me, it seems the netbooks don’t offer much more in the way of performance or convenience, and in fact may offer less relative to what I currently have. And in many cases, the netbooks aren’t any cheaper than what I have.

So, other than the novelty factor, I’m not sure I see the point in having a netbook as opposed to a full-sized laptop. What am I missing?

I wonder if the netbooks will ever fully replace the “typical” low cost laptops. On a lark, I just measured my mid-2007 vintage Gateway retail laptop (I believe I got it at Office Depot, not sure) and found it’s just a little over 1 inch thick — it actually looks and feels quite thin even though it wasn’t marketed as a thin PC. It weighs about 4 lbs. Not as light as 3 lbs or less, but not bad. It has a 2.2 Mhz CPU, 120 GB HDD, 2 GB RAM, 14.1 in screen and the standard battery runs for about 3 hours with wifi on. It runs Vista SP1 like a champ (Vista pre-SP1 definitely sucked, though).

I’m not sure where I’m going with all of this, but the kicker is that, at the time, I paid around $449 (after rebate; I believe the original retail price was $599). I wonder how the comparably priced netbooks would stack up?