LJ Genie to the Rescue?

[d_aulnoy]

Okay, so let's say there was a lazy girl out there who haaaaaaaaaaaaated lugging her laptop places, but nevertheless occasionally needed to do work on the road.  Which tiny miniature typing machine ought she to consider?

I'm, a) cheap, and b) REALLY lazy, so the smaller, the better.  Something 4 lbs or less would be awesome.  The damn thing would be used for nothing more taxing than writing essays and maybe surfing the 'net.

Any suggestions?  
 

Comments

[via friendsfriends]

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

ASUS EEE PC, but then again I'm biased.

I've got the 901, but the 1000 series models are apparently also very good, and will very readily do word processing and Net surfing with a minimum of fuss.

Re: [via friendsfriends]

[d-aulnoy.livejournal.com]

Thank you! This is v. good to know.

[savageseraph.livejournal.com]

I just got an Asus netbook last month. It's not as powerful as a laptop, but it's very, very portable. Like carrying a hardcover book. And it lets me online and lets me word process, which is all I need.

[d-aulnoy.livejournal.com]

This sounds like exactly what I'm looking for ....

[savageseraph.livejournal.com]

It's the EEE PC the first poster mentioned. I got the one with the 9-inch screen, and I like it. I have an external HD, so the lack of storage on the netbook or lack of optical drive doesn't bother me.

[glvalentine.livejournal.com]

I have an Acer Aspire - nice big screen, amazingly responsive yet sturdy keyboard, weird mousepad that takes a minute to get used to (the left and right clicks are on each side of the mouse pad, not underneath). Good speakers. If you went this route, I'd hit up either the big-battery 8.9" or the new 10", still under four pounds but with a much longer battery life.

[d-aulnoy.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the tip(s)!

[http://users.livejournal.com/_swallow/]

the keyboard is the best! but mine has wacky sleep/wake/turning off for no reason issues.

[rosefox]

ktempest will gladly talk your ear off on this topic. Ask her.

[d-aulnoy.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm planning to. :)

So far, I've settled for trolling her back entries.

[moonlightalice.livejournal.com]

I just bought an Asus EeePC 1000HE about two weeks ago and so far I love it. It has the Mac/Vaio-style chiclet keyboard.

Here's the skinny: the Samsung, EeePC, and Aspire all have the same specs--same processor, same RAM, same HD space, same onboard graphics and sound. The Samsung and the EeePC are upgradeable to 2GB of RAM whereas the Aspire is only upgradeable to 1.5 GB of RAM. The EeePC has the best rated battery life but all are quite good.

So aside from those two issues, it's ENTIRELY a matter of a) your comfort with the keyboard and b) which one is aesthetically more appealing.

I suggest playing with the different models at a store and seeing which you're most comfortable with. Personally I found the tiny mousepad area on the Samsung obnoxious, and I really wanted a matte screen instead of a glossy one. But those were my prefs.

[d-aulnoy.livejournal.com]

Oh, you are MARVELOUS - thank you for laying this out so clearly!

Next stop, some electronics store in the city for reconnaissance, I suppose. :)

[moonlightalice.livejournal.com]

Oh, I should note--this was in reference to 10" models across the board. The big reason I went with the 10" over the 9" (aside from just "it's bigger") is that the 10" actually has a normal-ish screen resolution--1024x600. You don't have to scroll side-to-side to view any given webpage or doc. If you get the 9" ones it's a funkier resolution and you'll have to do a lot of side-to-side scrolling in addition to the length-wise scrolling. Lots of people don't have a problem with that at all but it's something to be aware of.

[(Anonymous)]

I just conducted research into the same matter. Last night I purchased a 10 inch Acer for $328. There was also a 10 inch ASUS available for $285, if you sent in the rebate coupon before June 30th. These were both through dealnews.com by the way. My extensive research led me to believe that both were perfect for what I wanted them for--light, fast for what they did--internet and word processing, webcams, etc. etc.

[lapsedmodernist.livejournal.com]

sorry that was me--computer must have logged me out?

[lapsedmodernist.livejournal.com]

p.s. the latest public post in my livejournal asks this very question, and people weigh in on Asus vs. Acer vs. Lenovo etc. so if you want more reviews...

[d-aulnoy.livejournal.com]

Excellent, thank you! Will pop over to check out the dissenting opinions now. :)

[lapsedmodernist.livejournal.com]

I meant penultimate...but I am sure you will find it :)

[squirrel-monkey.livejournal.com]

For writing, I love my MobilePro 900. Cannot be beat at 1.5 lbs and $80 (used).

http://www.amazon.com/NEC-900-Mobile-Pro/dp/B00009QH41/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1245994319&sr=8-4

[d-aulnoy.livejournal.com]

I ... am impressed! Is yours wireless compatible?

P.S. - Just *asking* that question took all my tech-savy.

[squirrel-monkey.livejournal.com]

It has accessories and all that that can make it so, I believe. I prefer to write without internet access, so mine doesn't, but capacity is there, I think.

[fjm.livejournal.com]

I like my HP mini-note.

[penmage.livejournal.com]

I love my Acer Aspire One. It's superlight and portable, and basically overall wonderful. The only downside is the weird mousekeys (right and left instead of underneath) that someone else mentioned, but you get used to it pretty fast.

[ecmyers.livejournal.com]

Ditto recommendations for the Asus Eee PC. I have the original 7" 701 model (which you can probably find dirt cheap), but the newer ones seem nice as well.