Quote:
Originally Posted by netbooking
That said, I wouldn't see it as a problem for a travel netbook. Then, again, that is just my opinion. Our OP is on a budget and paying for another OS seems unnecessary to me.
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But all netbooks are travel netbooks. The whole point of a netbook is to be ultra portable which means it's very easy to travel with.
Also, as I mentioned, if the original poster is forced to look at machines with Windows 7 Starter edition, he/she should ALSO take a few minutes and look at the iPad. The iPad's only real drawbacks (
from a netbook point of view) are:
- The "applications" you can run on it are only the ones from the iTunes store...so you will NOT be seeing your normal, full fledged apps like MS Office, Adobe Acrobat, AOL IM, Firefox, etc.
- Inability to save documents (like MS Office stuff) on the iPad
- No USB port...which means you will not be plugging a camera or printer into it...nor could you use the USB port for a possibly power charging solution if you don't have your AC power adapter handy.
- No USB port also means no plugging in a 16GB or 32GB Flash drive for added storage and/or easy transfer of files
- No memory card reader means no ability for added storage and/or easy transfer of files
- 9.7" screen...kinda small these days when everything else is 10"-12"
- No protective cover/case for the glass screen. I'm not talking about a carrying case, I'm talking about how all laptops/netbooks have a nice hard plastic shell on the back of the LCD monitor so you can "close" your netbook and not have to worry about the screen getting knicked or scratched or bumped.
My general feeling about the iPad is that it is a glorified iPod Touch meets the iPhone...if you do not currently own a laptop/netbook AND you do not currently own an iPhone 3GS or an iPod Touch then the iPad is for you unless you have a very specific use case that really demands a full netbook/laptop...see my list above for examples.
I really would like to try out the iPad later this year...but unless something really makes me go wowsers, I think it's just a nice-to-have toy for me since I own an iPhone 3GS and already have a nice netbook. Remember,
the barebones iPad is $500...it's not like it's $199 where I might be more inclined to "blow" some money.
-Eric