Netbook Scoop» Netbooks Archives – Netbook Scoop

Deal of the Day – 12/9/09 – Fujitsu M2010: $289.99

Tom Greer — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 08:41:00 +0000

While supplies last, J&R Computer World is offering a super deal. They have slashed the price on the Fujitsu M2010 netbook, which lists for $399.99, down to $289.99.

Fujitsu laptops are highly regarded for the robustness of their build quality. Their products normally are priced accordingly, above the average price of competitors – which makes this an especially, special deal.

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Study: 5.8% of Netbooks Fail During First Year

Tom Greer — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 22:30:10 +0000

Square Trade, an independent warranty provider, has published a study on laptop failure rates. The study, which includes netbooks, concludes that netbooks fail at a rate of 5.8% during their first year. They say that this is is about 20% higher than the laptop failure rate during the same period.

I am always a bit skeptical when a study is published by a company who stands to benefit from the conclusions. After all, if Square Trade can make the failure rates sound scarily high, then they can sell more warranties. So let’s look at this in more depth.

After reviewing the study, I couldn’t find any obvious bias when comparing netbooks to laptops – or when comparing failure rates between manufacturers. In other words, even if the failure rates are inflated, they would be inflated across all categories.

The study was based on new laptops computers covered by Square Trade warranties. The study dataset included more than 30,000 laptops.

Comparison of Netbook and Laptop Malfunction Rates

The chart to the right (click to enlarge) compares netbook malfunction rates to two groups of laptops: entry-level and premium laptops. (Malfunction rates do not include accidental damage caused by users which account for 1/3 of all failures.)

The chart passes my common sense test. Here is why:

Premium laptops ought to be more reliable – that is one of the reasons they are more expensive.
The study does not separate business vs. home laptops, but the largest portion of laptops sold are business-grade, which have more durable construction. I would expect these to fail less often.
Most people do not buy a netbook to use as their primary computer, while many full-size laptops users do. As a result, netbooks spend much more time on the road, where they are under more stress.

OK, so netbooks fail during the first year at about a 6% rate compared to laptop’s 4-5% rate. Got it.

So, out of a hundred buyers, 1 (maybe 2) additional netbook buyers have to return theirs for free repair during the warranty period. Big deal.

One last observation: The study is based on laptops and netbooks covered under Square Trade warranties. This is not a random sampling of the total population – and therefore, the study results are most likely not statistically accurate.

I’ve had three netbooks that I have used extensively over the past several years. Here are my reliability results:

Asus Eee PC 4G Surf – no problems while I used it – I passed it on to one of my sons – still in use with no problems.
Acer Aspire One A110 – worked fine until I dropped my briefcase in the airport from about 3 feet – after which, the glide pad was hosed.
Dell Inspiron Mini 12 – hard drive developed a lot of bad sectors – currently in to Dell for repair.

Drop a note below and describe your personal netbook and laptop reliability experiences.

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Buy.com giving away Samsung N310

Steve Greer — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:45:35 +0000

Are you interested in the Samsung N310? I was out on Buy.com today and noticed that they are giving away a Samsung Go. The offer expires on October 16, 2009.

Samsung N310

Just click on the link below to see more details.

Win a new Samsung Go from Buy.com!

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Acer Aspire One AOD250 Unboxing Video

Steve Greer — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 01:01:25 +0000

A few weeks ago Tom finally got his chance to do his first unboxing video. I apologize for the delay in getting it posted. Check out the video and see the Acer Aspire One AOD250 for yourself.

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Falling Netbook Prices – 8/20/09

Tom Greer — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 10:06:51 +0000

Today, we have just one netbook to report in our Falling Prices column..

BuyDig.com has cut their price on the HP Mini 110 160GB 6-Cell XP WWAN by about $10 to $419.00 with FREE shipping. This is the model that has the broadband cellular access built-in.

The deals in the above widgets are updated automatically. So if you visit us a few days down the road, the prices displayed may not match the article. That means you got here too late. So, why not subscribe to our RSS feed and stay up to date.

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How Do You Use Your Netbook?

Tom Greer — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:05:05 +0000

Over the weekend, we downloaded and played with a bunch of netbook operating systems (OSs). We will be posting articles over the next several days to tell you what we saw (or didn’t see) and give you our opinions.

But the process of evaluating these new operating systems naturally leads to the fundamental question, “What do users expect from a netbook operating system?” Or more succinctly, “What tasks will netbook users expect their OS to perform?”

I use mine as a second PC that I take with me when I travel. At home, I have a desktop with two big flat screen monitors attached.

I use my netbook to maintain this web site, to read email, to tweet and to post updates on my personal social networking pages. Once in a blue moon, I may do some word processing or spreadsheet work.

I have some applications that I have installed on my netbook. I have TweetDeck, GIMP (think PhotoShop for Linux), NetBeans, MySQL server, and a whole bunch of different browsers for testing (yes, even Internet Explorer 6 running on Linux).

I don’t ever listen to music on my netbook. I use my iPod. I do watch YouTube videos on occasion. But I have never watched a movie on my netbook. And I have never used the VGA port on any of my netbooks for anything.

I know that I am not the normal netbook user.

To get a better understanding of how people use their netbooks, we thought we would ask. Please help us by completing the poll below. You may select as many choices as you would like.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Please use the comments below to tell us about any ways that you use your netbook that we have not listed.

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Falling Netbook Prices – 8/16/09

Tom Greer — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 05:52:49 +0000

Here is today’s list of netbooks where the lowest price has dropped by $5.00 or more in the past day or so. And it is a great list. It contains some of our most popular netbooks.

First of all, we have the super-slim and really sexy-looking Asus Eee PC 1008HA. BuyDig has reduced their prices on all of the different colors to $399.95.

BuyDig has also cut their price on the Asus Eee PC 1005HA-V to $319.00. This model has the same Seashell design used on the 1008HA (above). However, it is not as thin, but still quite attractive.

There are two different versions of the 1005HA. This one has the less powerful six-cell battery.

The Asus Eee PC 1008HE is yet another version of the popular Eee PC series. B&H Photo has trimmed their price for both colors to $358.95.

Last of all, we have the Gigabyte Booktop M1022, which is the netbook that plugs into it’s docking station standing up.

One of the Amazon Marketplace merchants has slashed their price to $498.00.

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Falling Netbook Prices – 8/14/09

Tom Greer — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 10:51:17 +0000

Today we have two netbooks and a nettop on today’s Falling Prices listing of products where the lowest price has dropped by $5.00 or more.

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Falling Netbook Prices – 8/13/09

Tom Greer — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 05:19:48 +0000

Here is today’s list of netbooks where the lowest price has dropped by $5.00 or more in the past day or so.

Please remember that the prices in the widgets are updated automatically. So if you visit us a few days down the road, the prices displayed may not match the article. That means you got here too late. So subscribe to our RSS feed and stay up to date.

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Unboxing of the Gigabyte TouchNote T1028X

Steve Greer — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 23:56:30 +0000

Brad Linder from Liliputing received a Gigabye TouchNote T1028X netbook today. Brad does a nice job covering the Touchbook and going over some of it’s features.

The Gigabyte TouchNote T1028X comes with the following features:

10.1 inch (1366 x 768) display
Swivel screen that can be used as a tablet PC
ExpressCard/34 slot
3 USB ports
802.11b/g/n wireless card
160GB Hard Drive
Intel Atom N280 1.6GHz processor
Windows XP Home

The TouchNote T1028X comes with a sharp 10.1 inch (1366 x 768) display. This is a step up to your typical netbook 10.1 inch display that usually only supports 1024 x 600.

Check out the video below and see the Gigabye TouchNote T1028X for yourself.

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Fujitsu M2010 10.1" N280 160GB 6-Cell XP
	10.1" Display (1024x576), 1.66 GHz Intel Atom N280 Processor, Intel GMA945GSE, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, 1.3 MP Webcam, 802.11b/g, 6-Cell Battery, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, 2.8 lbs.	Today's Best Deal Red $289.99 Go!
	Comes in: Red (FPCM22311 ) - from $289.99

CompareHP Mini 110 160GB 6-Cell XP WWAN
	10.1" Display (1024x576), Intel Atom N270 1.6 GHz Processor, Intel GMA 950, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, 802.11b/g, un2400 Mobile Broadband, 6-Cell Battery, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, 2.89 lbs	Today's Deals From $319.00 To $479.99 At 8 Stores See All Deals!
	Comes in: Black Swirl (110-1050NR) - from $319.00

CompareAsus Eee PC 1008HA 160GB XP
	10.1" Display (1024x600), 1.66 GHz Intel Atom N280 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1, 1.3 Mp WebCam, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition	Today's Deals From $330.00 To $435.95 At 16 Stores See All Deals!
	Comes in: Pearl Black (1008HA-PU1X-BK ) - from $330.00 Pearl Blue (1008HA-PU1X-BU) - from $339.95 Pearl Pink (1008HA-PU1X-PI) - from $364.99 Pearl White (1008HA-PU1X-WT) - from $359.99

CompareAsus Eee PC 1005HA-V 160GB 6-Cell XP
	10.1" Display (1024x600), 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, 802.11b/g/n, 1.3 Mp WebCam, 6-Cell 48Wh Battery, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition	Today's Deals From $299.00 To $380.99 At 19 Stores See All Deals!
	Comes in: Black (1005HA-VU1X-BK) - from $307.00 Blue (1005HA-VU1X-BU) - from $304.99 Pink (1005HA-VU1X-PI) - from $314.95 White (1005HA-VU1X-WT) - from $299.00

CompareAsus Eee PC 1000HE 160GB XP
	10.2" Display (1024x600), 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N280 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, 6-Cell Battery, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition	Today's Deals From $389.99 To $426.81 At 6 Stores See All Deals!
	Comes in: Black (EPC1000HE-BLK005X) - from $393.99 Blue (EPC1000HE-BLU002X or EPC1000HE-BLU005X) - from $399.95

CompareGigabyte Booktop M1022 (1024x600) 160GB 6-Cell XP
	10.1" Display (1024x600), 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, 802.11b/g/n, 1.3 Mp WebCam, 6-Cell Battery, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition	Today's Deals From $599.00 To $599.00 At 1 Stores See All Deals!
	Comes in: White (M1022M/G) - from $599.00

CompareSamsung N110 160GB 6-Cell XP
	10.2" Display (1024x600), 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, 802.11b/g, Bluetooth, 6 Cell Battery, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition	Today's Deals From $349.00 To $414.91 At 8 Stores See All Deals!
	Comes in: Black (N110-12PBK) - from $349.00

CompareMSI X340 Slim 320GB Vista HP
	13.4" Display (1366x768), 1.4 GHz Intel CULV SU3500 Processor, 2 GB RAM, 320 GB Hard Drive, Intel GMA 4500MHD, 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth, 4-Cell Battery, Microsoft Vista Home Premium	Today's Deals From $599.72 To $899.99 At 13 Stores See All Deals!
	Comes in: Black (X340-021US) - from $599.96 White (X340-023US ) - from $599.72

CompareMSI Wind Nettop CS120 Atom 230 160GB XP
	1.6GHz Intel Atom 230 Processor, 1GB RAM, 160GB Hard Drive, Intel GMA950, DVD-Writer (DVD-RAM, ±R, ±RW), 4-in-1 Card Reader, 802.11b/g, Gigabit Ethernet, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition	Today's Deals From $308.99 To $360.15 At 7 Stores See All Deals!
	Comes in: Black - from $308.99 White (936-6496-033) - from $321.99

CompareSamsung NC10 160G 6-Cell XP WiMAX
	10.2" Display (1024x600), 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 1.0 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, WiMAX, 802.11b/g, 6 Cell Battery, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, 2.9 lbs.	Today's Deals From $470.99 To $506.33 At 7 Stores See All Deals!
	Comes in: Black (NC10-12PWBK) - from $470.99

CompareSamsung NC10 160G 6-Cell XP
	10.2" Display (1024x600), 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 1.0 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, 6 Cell Battery, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition	Today's Deals From $361.99 To $500.00 At 7 Stores See All Deals!
	Comes in: Black (NC10-14GBK) - from $500.00 Blue (NC10-14GB) - from $361.99 Pink (NC10-11GP) - from $366.99 White (NC10-14GW) - from $364.95

CompareMSI Wind U100 160G 6-Cell XP
	10" Display, 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, 6-Cell Battery, Microsoft Windows XP Home	Today's Deals From $299.95 To $391.95 At 3 Stores See All Deals!
	Comes in: Black (U100-432US or U100-843US ) - from $299.95 Pink Heart (U100-001US) White (U100-279US) - from $390.99

CompareHP Mini 1010NR
	8.9" Display (1024x600), Intel Atom N270 1.6 GHz Processor, 512 MB RAM, 8 GB Solid State Drive, 3-Cell Battery, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition	Today's Deals From $307.95 To $599.00 At 3 Stores See All Deals!
	Comes in: Black (FT315UA) - from $307.95