Since the Netbook exploded onto the market a while back almost all manufacturers wanted in on the action. Those that didn’t, such as Apple, just stood on the sidelines throwing insults like “a netbook is just a cheap laptop”. Whatever.
For those of us who like full PC functionality on the move weighing around 1kg then netbooks are the way forward and so cheap.
But which one should you buy? Netbooks tend to have roughly the same spec for roughly the same price, so other factors that are perhaps more personal come into play. I took advice from Netbook Showdown and bought their top netbook of that time (Sept 09) – the Toshiba NB200.
It is a great netbook:
It has a great keyboard
It has a fantastic battery life, even compared to newer rivals
It has built in Hard-drive protection
A good screen
But my one had one problem. It stopped working, and it wasn’t going to be covered by the warranty. The fact of the matter is, a netbook is a laptop and that means you should be able to use it on your lap. But if you do then it gets hot.
Through perfectly normal and legitimate use I managed to fry my mainboard. Now, if I try and turn my Toshiba on, all i get is a few seconds of whir from the hard-drive and a green power light, no post and no boot.
I could buy a new main board but once I’ve had it fitted it will cost the same as a new netbook, so that is what I will buy next – haven’t decided which on yet. Any ideas or recommendations please leave me a comment!