A 10" screen is the magic number for me. I have huge hands and a smartphone is too small for me and carrying around a laptop just for email is a chore.
@CraziestGadgets.com: Or a butterfly laptop with expanding legs that hold usb hubs. Add speakers to the top beside the screen, small enough for planes and light for travel.
I think that, for the most part, the biggest problem with the netbooks are their controls, namely the trackpad. I love my Macbook's trackpad because it's spacious and allows more control, compared to my previous laptop, which had a tiny 2x2 square to poke at. These netbooks seriously need to pull a Thinkpad and start adopting the toggle, much like the X200. It allows so much more control over the computer for the space given.
As for the sheer size all around, I think that they're damn near perfect. If you were planning on doing lots of typing, then you may have been better suited with a full sized laptop. To me, a netbook is something that I use for internet browsing, which does not actually require a great deal of text input, just enough to have moderate comfort when doing searches.
@Kaiser-Machead: I assume by "toggle" you mean that nub that looks like a pencil eraser? My office was issuing Lenovo's for a while and I came to really hate and resent the nub. Especially when it started disintegrating, like an actual pencil eraser does after a while. Nasty.
@noamjamski: I actually don't like the nub that much either, that is, until I used it for a few hours and tortured myself. I eventually learned to get a feel for how sensitive it was and I slowly gained accuracy, and now I have the hang of it. lol
@Kaiser-Machead: Yeah I had an old dell that had a nipple. There is definitely a learning curve on them, but they are quite useful once you are proficient. Plus if you are typing a lot you don't have to move your hands as far from the keys to move the cursor around.
I find anything 10 in or smaller uncomfortable to use as well as look at. The small screen is a killer for me, especially if it is accompanied with a smaller than usual keyboard
@falandil: That was my first impression as well when I first saw the eee, but once I started seeing the ones with 10" screens and the larger keyed keyboards, I started to rethink things. I will not buy one until it was a touch screen and accelerated graphics so it can run Win 7 next year nicely.
I feel like smart phones (or "Coms") are slowly taking over this market. If people want a mobile internet, they want it smaller than a netbook, but if people want a notebook they want it larger than a netbook. Netbooks are kinda stuck in this crappy limbo land between what people want.
@admoseremic: I think a generation or two from now in smartphone technology and your assertion will hold true, but for the time being though, the proposition of having a full computer in that form factor (the full OS being the main draw) will continue to entice a lot of users.
I feel that there should really be only 4 sizes for notebooks.
1) 11" 1280x720. These weigh at most 3 pounds, take the footprint of a piece of paper (sometimes smaller) and STILL have enough space for an optical drive, something I feel that to this day is a must, even for a notebook
@Eauboy: the 9" form factor is fantastic. Supreme portability while still having a useful screen. The next gen of netbooks (dualcore Atom) will likely be up at least near 1280x720 screen rez (hopefully).
But honestly this is all up to user preference, why does the existence of small form factor laptops seem to piss so many people off?
No one is holding a gun to your head any demanding that you type 100wpm on it...
@bpapa9013: Additionally, I try to avoid criticizing the writers on blog sites like this; but seriously? An oxymoron of a question and a one sentence explanation of the poll?
@bpapa9013: Your anger issues aside, the point you made is extremely valid. Obviously netbooks appeal to some segment of computer users. I got a 14" widescreen HP laptop which I thought might be too small. Now however after using it for a while I've grown to appreciate it's size. When I have to engage in more serious computing activities I either go with the desktop or my PowerBook. To each his (or her) own.
My 12" Toshiba Satellite is as small as I'm willing to go. The trackpad on it is small to the point of causing pain when I use it. I can't imagine a netbook having a much bigger trackpad.
I'd rather go with thin-and-light than with a netbook.
I think the main problem is running operating systems designed for normal-sized computers. They should come out with operating system versions specifically designed for smaller screens, something closer to smartphone UIs. (yes, I know Ubuntu's working on this, etc.
A more difficult problem is that websites are by and large designed for bigger screens, and after a point it's just going to be either too cramped or a lot of scrolling.
Yes, dammit. I have big mitts and typing on those things is like texting on a cell phone. Sure I can do it but it's also the reason all my texts look like this:
@Lite: No, that was used with some degree of poetic license. I'm probably one of the few idiots who actually types out entire words when I text, with proper punctuation and capitol letters to boot.
Having said that however, netbooks still rank pretty high on my 'It Sucks' list. Just too damn small for me.
12/13/08
Quit yer bitchin'
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*dream*
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As for the sheer size all around, I think that they're damn near perfect. If you were planning on doing lots of typing, then you may have been better suited with a full sized laptop. To me, a netbook is something that I use for internet browsing, which does not actually require a great deal of text input, just enough to have moderate comfort when doing searches.
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They could do a DS style MacBook and shrink the keyboard by making it like using an iPhone keyboard. Granted, the computer would cost a fortune.
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[gizmodo.com]
and then markets them for students will make some big bucks. Why isn't there some sort of multi-media prototype out with school mind?
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Oddly enough though I kind of liked the Folio at first, but I don't dig netbooks.
How weird!
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1) 11" 1280x720. These weigh at most 3 pounds, take the footprint of a piece of paper (sometimes smaller) and STILL have enough space for an optical drive, something I feel that to this day is a must, even for a notebook
2) 13" 1366x768
3) 15" 1600x900
4) 17" 1920x1080
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But honestly this is all up to user preference, why does the existence of small form factor laptops seem to piss so many people off?
No one is holding a gun to your head any demanding that you type 100wpm on it...
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Second, this is Giz - we say TFSU.
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Next question: Are Blog sites too Bloggy?
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On the bright side, even if it's an angry day it's still Friday. You'll feel better after a couple of days off.
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I'd rather go with thin-and-light than with a netbook.
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A more difficult problem is that websites are by and large designed for bigger screens, and after a point it's just going to be either too cramped or a lot of scrolling.
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It's all about pixel density NOT outright size.
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Srsly dud, wat wrng wif my typn?
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Having said that however, netbooks still rank pretty high on my 'It Sucks' list. Just too damn small for me.
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