NetBook - Which one to buy ? Confused !!

[alokbharti]

Get the X340 eyes closed. I got it for my FIL and he cannot be more happy. For a demo, drop in.

thanks blasto.. already bought it.. got an excellent deal on ebay..
19900/- and then i applied icici coupon to get further discount for 1000/- ..shipping was free..

wife is extremely happy with the looks and it performs better than Atom netbooks..

 

[BLASTO]

thanks blasto.. already bought it.. got an excellent deal on ebay..
19900/- and then i applied icici coupon to get further discount for 1000/- ..shipping was free..

wife is extremely happy with the looks and it performs better than Atom netbooks..

Well looks like our gadget list is gonna be same.. TV, Notebook and now A/C.. hyeah:

I got it for 20,500 with free shipping during deevali.
E-bay had free gifts and I opted for a swatch model watch which MRP is 6k but I would pay 1.5k for it.

All in all a great notbook for the price. I still cannot believe they packed so much stuff in to this 1.3Kg notebook..

 

[alokbharti]

yeah.. i was also surprised by the weight.. 1.3 kg including 4 cell battery..razor slim..comparable to macbook air..

not just hardware config (HDMI port, 320GB HDD, 2 GB Ram) but I liked the software as well..it came with win7 home basic..not win7 starter edition unlike atom netbooks..

 

[BLASTO]

yeah.. i was also surprised by the weight.. 1.3 kg including 4 cell battery..razor slim..comparable to macbook air..

not just hardware config (HDMI port, 320GB HDD, 2 GB Ram) but I liked the software as well..it came with win7 home basic..not win7 starter edition unlike atom netbooks..

I upgraded to Win7 Ultimate (which is kinda free for me ). The graphics and stuff are still better. Screen is great to view with the glass effects in untimate.

 

[corElement]

Id only buy a netbook the day i3 makes it into one of them

 

[deba]

......but the X340 has a screen size of 13 inch and a core 2 duo processor...it cannot be termed as a Netbook but a laptop/Notebook.

Core Processors have much higher TDP ratings then Atom........

 

[alokbharti]

......but the X340 has a screen size of 13 inch and a core 2 duo processor...it cannot be termed as a Netbook but a laptop/Notebook.

Core Processors have much higher TDP ratings then Atom........

deba,

you are right.. it is not a netbook.. it is 13 inch notebook with intel core 2 solo ULV processor.. ULV stands for ultra low voltage.. intel claims that it reduces power consumption up to 4 times compared to normal core2duo..

x340 falls in the same price range as netbooks.. and the portability factor is almost same since it weighs only 1.3 kg with 4 cell battery.. it is lighter than many netbooks out there..I find the bigger screen as advantage only.. My wife needs to read lot of PDFs and compared to 10 inch screen, 13 inch is less stressful..

BTW..on netbook front, I had shortlisted Dell mini 10 with 6-cell winXp (16.7 K shipped).. canceled the order in last minute when I saw ebay offer on X340..

 

[psychotropic]

the X340 sounds great, the grouses seem to be about the keyboard, construction quality and the performance vis-a-vis the big boys. But that sounds churlish considering this costs only slightly more than a netbook.

But how bad is the keyboard and the construction?

 

[alokbharti]

the X340 sounds great, the grouses seem to be about the keyboard, construction quality and the performance vis-a-vis the big boys. But that sounds churlish considering this costs only slightly more than a netbook.

But how bad is the keyboard and the construction?

overall construction is good.. but keyboard is really bad.. by the look only you will realize it is cheap.. keyboard has lot of flex.. and it is not responsive at times..

x340 is cheaper compared to netbooks with 2 GB RAM, 320 GB HDD and HDMI port..

 

[BLASTO]

But how bad is the keyboard and the construction?

Pasting the content I sent to another group...

----------

Pros:

Win 7 runs smooth.. Better than XP on a netbook..
Keyboard is very similar to my sony vaio sz (chicklet keyboard) and is pretty good.. Dunno why it got bad reviews in the net..
Performance is much better than netbooks and screen is pretty good 720p.. It also has a HDMI out to connect to HDTV.. (Not tested)
2GB Ram, Bluetooth, Webcam, Intel Core2 Solo, Thin with 1.3 Kg Weight, HDMI port, SD card reader, Wireless 802.11b/g/n..
With 75% battery, It showed 3.5 Hrs remaining.. For normal use, It should be >4hrs.. Battery is like paper thin and does not stick out..


Cons:

I am not used to single mouse button which can be clicked for both left and right clicks.. It needs kind of getting used to..
The trackpad is so big that sometimes we lose track of the cursor as more than one finger contacts the trackpad..
No DVD drive.

Currently using a cheap wireless mouse and cannot be more happy.. I recommend this to anyone looking for a netbook..


--------------------

IMO, Keyboard and build quality are good.
The notebook is wafer thin and so the screen can skew if bent.. But why would you do that??
Other than that there are no complains..

 

[alokbharti]

BTW.. I am more of a keyboard guy who likes to do everything with keyboard shortcuts..I use mouse buttons and trackpad minimally.. so in my view this keyboard is not good..

 

[psychotropic]

otherwise it sounds like a steal for the price, but the keyboard could be a dealbreaker for a lot of people. Some of the netbooks like the NC10 and the other samsungs have very good keyboards. Does anyone know if the Thinkpad X200 (or its newer version if any) is available in India and how much it costs?

 

[BLASTO]

otherwise it sounds like a steal for the price, but the keyboard could be a dealbreaker for a lot of people. Some of the netbooks like the NC10 and the other samsungs have very good keyboards. Does anyone know if the Thinkpad X200 (or its newer version if any) is available in India and how much it costs?

Lenovo has the best keyboard overall and NC10 and the new samsungs have the best keyboards in the netbook category.

It all depends on usage. For netbook kind of usage, X340 fits in sufficiently.

 

[deba]

deba,

you are right.. it is not a netbook.. it is 13 inch notebook with intel core 2 solo ULV processor.. ULV stands for ultra low voltage.. intel claims that it reduces power consumption up to 4 times compared to normal core2duo..

x340 falls in the same price range as netbooks.. and the portability factor is almost same since it weighs only 1.3 kg with 4 cell battery.. it is lighter than many netbooks out there..I find the bigger screen as advantage only.. My wife needs to read lot of PDFs and compared to 10 inch screen, 13 inch is less stressful..

BTW..on netbook front, I had shortlisted Dell mini 10 with 6-cell winXp (16.7 K shipped).. canceled the order in last minute when I saw ebay offer on X340..

.........but the msi website states the processor as core2 duo.
link below:

MSI Global Computer, Laptop, Notebook, Desktop, Mainboard, Graphics and more

 

[alokbharti]

Deba,

I received it with intel core2solo ULV 3500 processor with win7 home basic and 4 cell battery..

It looks like the configuration is different on MSi website..or may be updated recently..or may be you can choose different configurations for x340..

The one shown in website is definitely costlier and battery wont last long unless its is 8 cell one..

rest all of my configuration is similar as shown on website..

BTW it came with WiMAX Wireless Module installed.. that was a good surprise.. The technology is too advanced to be launched in India for the next 2 years at least..

 

[deba]

It is just like HP Mini 210 which comes in endless configuration and sometimes its very confusing for the end customer to decide the model for purchase.......

 

[AniruddhaJain]

Dear All,

Just planning to buy a Netbook but really confused which one to go for. It will mainly be used for Net Surfing and emailing / Writing Letters and Spreadsheets / Listening Music and SIMPLE Image and Audio Editing.

Please suggest any model.

Thanks.

I own Asus netbook and I'm happy with it...battery last about 5-7 hours, depending on what I do (less when watching movies). 160GB harddisk means a lot of space for movies, music and backups of my photographs. Even editing photos is possible although display is a bit small (10 inch, 1024x600pixel).
A real keyboard, which is important for me, I don't like touchscreens.
Weight is still ok (1.2 kg).