This week's reader question is one I hear fairly often so I thought it would be worth sharing on the blog:

Can I play Farmville on a Netbook?

- Kelly

I'm not a Farmville player as I prefer to stick to an Xbox 360 myself; however, my wife is so I did a quick video of her playing Farmville and doing the various tasks in the game all while on a netbook so you can see how well it plays:

So as you can see - Yes you can play Farmville on a netbook. The netbook I am using in the above video is an older generation ASUS Eee PC 1008HA with an Intel Atom N280 processor. So if you really enjoy harvesting crops and needed to know if you could play Farmville on a netbook before deciding to purchase one, now you know!

I recommend these articles if you need some suggestions on what netbook to get for Farmville or just pick up the Acer AO532h for $298:

Best Netbooks of 2009
Best Netbook of CES (a technology conference I went to in January)
Cheap Netbooks

I'll have a new netbook deals post up tomorrow showcasing the great prices on only the best netbooks. Finally, if you have a question about netbooks please feel free to ask and it may show up on this website to the benefit of others.

Netbook vs Laptop - which to buy? In this often discussed battle I've decided to share my thoughts on the differences between the two in an effort to help people better decide which option would be best for them. In fact, I receive emails from readers daily on this exact subject so when I looked back through my past posts I couldn't help but notice I never took the time to actually discuss netbooks vs laptops before so that's why I'm doing it today. These are some easy questions you can ask yourself to help determine whether a netbook or laptop is right for you. If you answer yes to more of these questions in one category than the other then you should have an answer as to which product will work best for you.

Netbook:

Is your budget less than $500?
Do you prefer your device be something small and light weight? (10 or 12 inch screen size? around 3 lbs or less)
Do you plan to use your device for MS office suite, Facebook, email, iTunes, Skype video chat
Do you plan to use your device to play intense games? If so, consider a netbook with Nvidia ION built in
Do you need a battery life that can last a full day without needing a charge?

If you answered yes to most of these questions you should buy a netbook. Every month I discuss the bestselling netbooks and on a semi regular basis I discuss netbook deals (look there as a starting point for which netbook to buy)

Laptop:

Is your budget over $500? Over $1,000? Over $1,500?
Do you prefer larger screens and don't mind the increase in weight? (13 inches up to 17 inches? 4 lbs to 7 lbs [sometimes more])
Do you plan to use your device for tasks that are considerably more processor intensive than using the MS office suite, Facebook, email, iTunes, Skype video chat? i.e. 1080P HD video editing, Highest possible graphic settings in a PC game
Do you need a battery life that can last a full day without needing a charge? (If so expect to spend more)

If you answered yes to most of these questions than you should buy a laptop. I also run Notebook Reviews which focuses more on laptop information. You can also simply check out Amazon's bestselling laptop list to get an idea of what is most popular with consumers.

Conclusion:

What this argument really comes down to is a few key points: what is your budget, what do you need the device to do and does the size and weight of the device matter. It's really that simple. I believe that most people only need a netbook and even if you can afford to buy a laptop why waste the money if all you plan to do is use the Microsoft Office Suite, Facebook, write emails, video chat on Skype and store music for iTunes? Besides I've already proved you can play some intense netbook games as long as you buy a netbook with Nvidia ION inside so why spend considerably over $500 when you don't need to?

Toshiba Mini NB305

The Toshiba Mini NB305 is my selection for the best netbook for several reasons:

1. Intel Atom N450 1.66 GHz processor (improves battery life) and 250 GB hard drive (see full specs)
2. Keyboard is fantastic to type on and the touchpad is still the largest I've seen on any netbook
3. Improved design over the Toshiba NB205 which I reviewed favorably
4. Very solid construction. It just feels like it's made of higher quality materials
5. The price is only $349.99

I was a very big fan of Toshiba's first entry into the netbook market with the Toshiba Mini NB205 and with this new model they managed to improve it in every way. About the only thing I would like to see in a future version is a higher resolution monitor (but most netbook makers aren't doing that now anyway). This netbook is perfect for someone looking to check email, do some office work, play some Facebook games (or other low graphically intense games), listen to music and watch videos online. If this fits your profile then buy it because you will not be disappointed. You can also see my hands on video of this netbook during my stay at CES by visiting this link.

See all Toshiba Mini NB305 models available at Amazon.com

Now because it's so difficult to select just one netbook I've decided to include a few other netbooks I saw as runners up. If you bought any of the netbooks in this list below I'm sure you'll be very satisfied:

Samsung NB30 (not available yet)
Lenovo S10-3 $349.99
ASUS Eee PC 1008P (not available yet)
ASUS Eee PC 1001P $339.99
HP Mini 210 HD $329.99

This post may change as new netbooks are released, but if you aren't sure about which netbook to buy be sure to download the free netbook buyers guide. I'm also available to help you decide which netbook to buy, so just contact me here and I'd be more than happy to help you out.

Reader Question:
What the best netbook for games? - Charles in MI

Answer:
Hello Charles,

The most important thing to look for when you're trying to find the best netbook for games is to buy one with an Nvidia ION chipset inside. To put it simply, the chipset allows the graphics load to be taken off the slow Intel Atom processor and placed on the Nvidia ION chipset which provides stellar graphics capabilities on a netbook. So what you're left with are just a few models that have the Nvidia ION chipset inside which makes my choice of the HP Mini 311 the best netbook for games pretty easy:

The HP Mini 311 is $399.99 or $499.99 if you want a Windows 7 Home Premium and has proven time and again that it can deliver a powerful gaming experience. See our past coverage on the HP Mini 311 here. Netbooks have come a long way and I still find it crazy to see a netbook playing Call of Duty 4.

Pick it up with Windows XP for $399.99 here. Windows 7 price options listed below:

If you don't like to play games be sure to read my other post on the best netbook. That post outlines the best netbook for the common netbook user.