How to Choose the Right Ten-Inch Netbook

Netbooks are becoming a more popular choice for portable computing needs. Netbooks come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but which netbook is right for you? If you are planning to make a netbook purchase that you will need to examine your needs and try to match them up to the various models out there. Most netbooks offer a fairly small screen and limited computing power. Netbooks vary in size from about 7 inches all the way up to 12 inches. A good mid point size for a netbook is 10 inches. You get decent portability, and processing power with a 10 inch netbook. Yet, the keyboard and screen are not too small.

If you are looking play games, or watch videos, then a higher ended laptop should be considered. However, if all you are looking to do is surf the Internet, check email, and do a little word processing, then perhaps a 10 inch netbook is all that you need.

There are several factors to consider when choosing which netbook will cover your portable computing needs. Will you be using it for productivity? Watch movies on a plane? Writing? Or will it just be used to check email once in a while?

Netbook Battery Life
Depending on their size, netbooks come with either 3 cell or 6 cell batteries. Slightly larger version can carry up to a 9 cell battery. Battery life and the expense of the netbook will depend on the number of cells that are included in the battery. Other factors that affect battery life include the type of CPU, size of the display, and speed of the disk drive. There is about a $50 dollar price tag for every three cells that you add to battery size. For example a netbook with a 3 cell battery will be about $50 cheaper than a netbook with a 6 cell battery.

The number of cells that your 10 inch netbook carries will affect price and the number of hours you can go between charges. A 3 cell battery is the cheapest option, but will only last two or three hours between charges. Barely enough time to watch a movie. A 6 cell battery will work between five and seven hours between. Some manufacturers even boast up to ten hours between charges on a 6 cell battery. This means that you will be able to use the netbook for just about the entire day before having to charge the battery.

Netbook CPU
Most netbooks are driven by an Intel Atom processor. There are any number of variety of Intel processors to choose from. They include the: N270,N280, N450, N530, etc. In general, the N270 processors are older and a little bit slower than the other models. They also consume a smidgen more power. Models with higher numbers will be faster, but in some cases may also consume more power due to the faster processor speed. The latest Intel offering for many 10 inch laptops is the Atom N450 processor. This processor has improved video processing and offers a good trade-off between speed and power consumption.

Netbook Keyboard Size
If you expect to do a lot of writing on your netbook, then the keyboard type and size will be an important factor to consider. The differences between keyboards on netbooks appear to be quite subtle. These subtleties can make your typing experience comfortable, or a cumbersome experience. Most netbooks, especially those that are 10 inches or smaller, have a compact keyboard. Some manufacturers, like Dell and Toshiba are able to utilize the entire key pad to get nearly a full size layout. Other companies do not use the full space that is available and come up a little short.

The best way to test if the keyboard is right for you is to try a few models that are on display before you make your purchase. You can also look at photographs. Pay particular attention to each edge of the netbook along the keyboard. If there is a gap along the edge of the netbook, and the keyboard, and the full space is not available, then you may be looking a netbook that is not offering the best keyboard size.

Netbook Operating Systems
There are a number of operating systems that are being offered for 10 inch laptops. The choices include Windows 7 Starter Edition, Windows 7, Ubuntu Netbook Remix.

Windows 7 Starter packs seems to be a popular offering among the the many netbook manufacturers. However, Windows 7 Start Edition offers the least amount of features out of any of the three major choices. Windows 7 Starter Edition only allows a certain number of applications to run at a time, and you are not able to adjust many of desktop settings.

According to the NY Times, Microsoft only allows manufacturers to install Windows 7 Starter Edition on netbooks with a maximum of 1 GB of memory. This is why there are so many netbooks are being offered with only 1 GB of memory. There is no upgrade option being offered by most manufacturers. If you want to have a netbook with 2 GB of memory, you will have to do the memory upgrade yourself. You will also need to spend extra money to upgrade to a full version of Windows 7.

Recently, netbooks with 2 GB of memory are appearing with a full version of Windows 7. You will need to spend a little extra money to get a productivity suite, like Microsoft Works, or Microsoft Office. A free alternative is to use Open Office or Abiword for your word processing needs.

A third option is to use Linux. A popular Linux based operating system is called Ubuntu Netbook Remix. Companies like Dell and System76 offer Ubuntu based netbooks, with options to upgrade the memory to the full 2 GB. With Ubuntu all of your productivity tools are included with the operating system. There is no cost to purchase extra Office Suites or publishing programs.

You may also install Ubuntu on any netbook that does not officially support Ubuntu. In most cases the netbooks work just fine. If you wish to pursue this route, just be sure to do your research to see if your model will work with Ubuntu.

The wide variety of netbooks that are on the market today may seem like your choices are endless. Prioritize what your needs going to be when you are out on the road with your netbook. Narrow down which model will fit those needs.

Other Sources-Netbook Offerings from:
http://newegg.com
http://amazon.com