Looking at Netbooks, need opinions.

[Realityshift]

Hey guys, im looking for a decent netbook for my girlfriend to use for school and on trips. I have sort of narrowed it down to 2 models right now, the MSI wind U100 6-cell or the Asus EEE PC 1000HA 6-cell. She has a dell laptop now thats about a year in a half old and she doesnt like how heavy it is to lug around and would really like something with more then a max 3 hour battery life.

This will be used primarily for word processing, web browsing, MSN, and maybe music. No gaming at all but she may want to watch some non HD videos on it (480i).

So does anyone know much about either of these models or their makers? Im not to sure how Asus and MSI have been doing lately in the Customer service/support areas. We have already messed around with the Acer Ones but dont like them much, the keypads need work and as does the touch pad. I know the 1000HA\HEs have the dual finger touch pad thing but from what ive read they run a tad slower because of this option.

Anyways any opinions would be great guys =)

[Scart]

I would also be interested in opinions as I may get one for school next year

[gingerbee]

wife got the acer and luv's it to death getting. the new one as soon as she can

[bushwhacker]

My son bought the M635 (MS1029) a few years ago and has had nothing but grief! Turned out to be a $2500.00 piece of crap that gives us grief to this day. MSI doesn't build a quality product, doesn't support by updating drivers beyond a year or so, and expects you to toss it within a couple of years.

[Realityshift]

Yeah im a little concerned with MSIs customer service and products, im leaning alot more towards the asus 1000HA, looks like a half decent unit from what ive read about it.

[grinder]

asus warranty is second to none. You wont be disappointed. I recommend Asus laptops to all my clients.

[Toronto122]

Hey Reality...

Well, I've had the Acer Aspire One and I now have the Asus Eee PC 1000HA

I gotta say, I love my Asus. The screen is amazing. It has LED backlighting and it's easy to view from any angle. The screen is also a matte finish so it's easier to see in bright light than my Acer was.

The keyboard layout is great, even with my big mitts.

It plays 720p video without any hiccups and looks great doing it.

So far I've only found two negatives with it....

First, the touchpad buttons are right at the front of the unit, and what happens is sometimes it leans against your body and you hit a left or right click button, but this is very minor.

The second thing (a bit more major for me) is that it only has an SD card reader. I have a Sony DSLR and I can't plug my cards straight into it. I have to carry a card reader along with me (or the itty bitty Sony USB cable which I'm scared to lose!).

BUT, the incredible battery life makes up for these two small shortcomings on this netbook. I'd almost say it's an ultraportable except for it's lack of optical drive. But you know, I never miss not having it.

If I'm going on a trip, I just load a bunch of movies onto my 2.5" portable drive, and then load them to the Asus. No big deal.

My advice though, don't get black. It's hard to keep looking good. It picks up fingerprints very easily.

Good luck and keep us posted!

Oh, and for the mouse pad issue (I hate the things) I accessorized my Asus with a VX Nano mouse! Best thing ever!

It also has wireless N. This makes browsing FAST (at home and work I have N Networks)

[Mattu]

I picked up the MSI u100 last week at NCIX's surprise sale. It came with a free 9-cell battery as well as a 6 cell. So far i love this netbook. It weights a total of 1.5 kg with a 9 cell and about 1 kg with the 3 cell - the 3 cell lasts over 2 hours and the 9 cell lasts upwards of 8 hours web surfing at medium brightness (which is really bright).

The keyboard is rather large, quite easy to type on (regardless of it being bilingual), and very comfortable.

The only other netbook i can compare to is the 7" eee pc. I simply cannot use that netbook

Anyway, make sure to check NCIX tonight and see if they have the MSI wind for $420 again.

[TimTheEnchanter]

Has she bought anything yet, Reality?

If not, here's some feedback for the the Asus EEE PC 1000HA 6-cell i've had for a week.

First of all, it is awesome. I've had it at a good price, take a look at Staples, i was surprised to see their low price for it.

I agree with all what Toronto122 said about it, too.
Here is my major problem with it though : The touchpad is close to the space bar and i very often endend up clicking somwhere i didn't want while i was using Word. It makes text writing a little problematic, but it ain't that bad. The touchpad is still very cool, with the 2 fingers options, 3 fingers, rotation, stectching, really impressive what this thing can do. I didn't have the feeling it slowed down the computer neither.

The performance is good, i've installed Vista Inspirat and other apps that take some RAM and didn't notice any slowdown.

As for transporting it, it came with a nice little case (although it doesn't really protect it...) that allows you to put it easily in a school bag. The case isn't big enough to put the power chord in, though. However I've been able to put a mice inside.

For playing movies, i cannot tell. But it runs SNES emulation just fine!

It is the kind of thing you need for school, university especially. Easy to transport, fast for small apps like Word and Internet browsing, fast startup and good battery life.

Keyboard is billingual indeed, which is for me, a good thing.

Like Toronto122 said, if she doesn't mind other colors (like white), it makes the computer look way less dirty. Fingerprints all the time. Personnally i didn't want the white one cause i'd look like having a Mac

[JD]

My mom has the 8.9" Aspire One w/ 6-cell and XP. Runs fine and she likes it, though the touchpad is way too small and the buttons are stiff, so I got her a Revolution VX Nano mouse (has a tiny receiver so it doesn't stick out). Keyboard is one of those fail bi-lingual things which is utterly annoying and it's also a bit too small.

Depending on your budget, maybe look at the newer 10/11" models since then you should get a better sized keyboard and also a 9" screen can be hard at times since rather tiny.

I guess what you should do is find the models in store and let your GF try them out to make sure she can adapt to the keyboard/touchpad.