ASUS Eee PC 1005HA-PU1X-BK 10.1-Inch Netbook - 10.5 Hour Battery Life
* Up to 10.5 Hours of Battery Life and Free Sleeve Case Included
* Intel Atom N280 Processor 1.66GHz
* 1GB DDR2 RAM, 1 x SODIMM Slot, 2GB Max; Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
* 160GB SATA Hard Drive (5400 RPM) and 10GB Free Eee Storage
* Windows XP Home Operating System, 10.1-inch WSVGA 1024x600 LCD Display
Samsung NC10-14GB 10.2-Inch Netbook - Up to 8 Hours of Battery Life
* 10.2" Wide, 1024 x 600 WSVGA , 220 nits
* Intel Atom processor N270, 1.6 GHz, 533 MHz Front Side Bus, 512 KB Level 2 Cache
* 160 GB, 2.5" SATA HD, 1 GB DDR2 800 MHz
* Intel 945GSE shared, 802.11 b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, 10/100 BaseTX LAN
* 6-Cell Lithium Ion, Genuine Microsoft XP® Home with Service Pack 3, 1.3 Mega Pixel webcam
Acer Aspire One AOD150-1920 10.1-Inch
* 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor
* 1GB RAM
* 160GB Hard Drive (without operating system), Integrated 802.11b/g, Wi-Fi Certified
* 10.1" Display, Includes Acer Crystal Eye webcam
* Windows XP Home with SP3, 6 Cell Battery (6 1/2 Hours of Battery Life)
1. The first thing should be to decide what you want from the notebook? Do you want a device for internet access or do you need to edit videos and play games on it. It would be unwise to go for a laptop if you need a notebook.
2. Choose a notebook with a screen of 8.9 inch or larger. A small screen will result in a cramped display. A larger screen will make it easier for you to view the web page. Scrolling up and down is acceptable but scrolling left and right can be annoying. The weight for the 8.9 inch screen notebook is nearly the same as for a notebook with a 7 inch screen. However, a 10 inch screen is better but will add weight to the notebook.
3. In a portable device battery life is imperative. Make sure that you get a 6-cell battery for the notebook. You may have to pay extra for it but it gives you more run time without a charge. Some devices come with a 3-cell or 4-cell battery but if you want a 6-cell you will have to pay more.
4. Ensure that the keyboard is right for you. Keyboard with flat keys and little or no space between them may look good but they are difficult to use. But keyboards that are raised with lot of space between them are simple to use. However, the recommended keyboard for use in the notebooks is HP’s Mini-Note.
5. Do see which software comes preinstalled with the notebook. It is recommended to use a Linux OS in your notebook. There are two reasons to check the software. First some dealers have held back on including software’s in notebook on the pretext that users can easily download them. Secondly Linux boots up a lot faster than Windows XP and Windows Vista. There are also Linux based software’s available such as Google Apps, web-based software, and word processing programs such as Open Office.
6. Price: it is better to look for a regular notebook computer if it costs more than $500. Laptops have far more powerful microprocessors than notebooks. Nevertheless there are no DVD drives on notebooks. If size and weight is a concern then it is preferable to go for small full-featured laptop such as Apple’s lightweight Mac Book Air.
7. Portability may not be important to you. Therefore there is greater need to decide what you want to purchase, a notebook or a laptop. Technology will continue to evolve, but devices such as Asustek's Eee PC 1000H, Lenovo's IdeaPad S10c, Asus's N10JC, Dell's Inspiron Mini 9, HP's Mini 1000, and MSI's Wind U100 have been highly rated by PC World because of their specifications.