5 Reasons You Might Not Want to Buy a Netbook

So your thinking about getting a netbook. They're small and perfect to travel with but with their small size you need smaller expectations. Why might you not want to buy a netbook?

Windows 7 Starter edition

Most netbooks comes with a version of Windows 7 called Starter Edition. This is an edition you can't really go out and buy at the store, or would really even want to. It is one that comes included in some computers, mostly netbooks. Windows 7 Starter Edition is really limited in comparison to any other Windows edition. You can't play DVD movies or even do something as simple as customize your desktop background. It is a stripped down version of Windows7 and if you are coming from any other version of Windows 7 to a Starter Edition you may be very surprise at your limitations.

Too Small for Webpages

Yes, a netbook you would think would be for surfing the net, but the average small netbook (like a 10") is too small for some web pages. You will end up having to scroll, not only up and down, but back and forth on some websites just to view them on your smaller screen. The plus side is not all web pages are so unaccommodating to netbooks.

Small Screen

You know a netbook is small and it is probably what attracts you to it, but keep in mind how much you plan to use it, what you plan to use it for andhow good or bad your vision is. With a small computer comes a small screen and even smaller font. You can always enlarged the font on the screen but it may cause you to have to scroll the screen in different directions more often. If you are going to use your netbook more often than occasional travel you might want to keep in mind how often you want to deal with that.

No Optical drive

Netbooks do not have optical drives (CD or DVD.) You will have to purchase an external optical drive if you need one. If you want to put software from a CD you have onto your new netbook you will need an external optical drive or you will need to find a way to get the software onto a USB drive. Don't even worry about getting an external DVD player for movies because you can't even play DVD movies on Windows 7 Starter Edition.

Keyboard

Netbooks have small keyboards in comparison to computers or larger laptops. Some brands have enlarged the keys to make typing easier but there is no way around it, they are still smaller and organized a bit differently. If you want to use your netbook as a mobil word processor too, test out the keyboard to see if you can comfortably type for long periods on a more cramped keyboard.

Source:

Windows Team Blog - Lets Talk About Windows 7 Starter Edition
How Stuff Works - What's the Difference between notebooks, netbooks and ultra-mobile PC's?