My ASUS EEE pc 901 is now old.

Time to update.

I would like to purchase a light, small (preferably 10 inch) laptop with a larger hard drive. I want one WITHOUT an ATOM chip if possible. Is there such an laptop? My local computer storeclerk mentioned that the difference between netbook and notebook primarily is the chip they use. I think I want a notebook instead of a netbook but it has to be as small as possible.

Is my understanding of the difference correct?

I was just looking for similar requirements, mostly for business use and narrowed the choice to two:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2361870,00.asp PC Mag seems to like this one and it does not have the Atom.

I know it is larger but I'm still leaning towards the MacBook Air, partly because i have been thrilled with the performance on my other Apples on Windows tasks, and the machine is sooo cool http://www.apple.com/macbookair/

I really don't understand the precise difference either, and i keep getting conflicting opinions so I ignore the nomenclature and compare based on performance and features.

Netbooks generally have Intel Atom or Celeron M single core processors. The next step up are the CULV processors like SU7300, typically in a 13" chassis.

How about a ThinkPad X100e with AMD Neo x2 processor? It has a 11" display which is much closer to your requirement of 10" than the other 13" CULV notebooks.

The Toshiba T115D-S1125 meets the suggestions. I have one (using it right now) and it is enormous compared to the 9" NetBook, but still reasonably light.

Look at the Acer Timeline 1810T - it's an 11.6" screen and the chassis is slightly larger than a 10". Get the CoreDuo SU7300 chip one. It's pretty fast (screams compared to an Atom chip) and definitely portable.

Having recently purchased an X100e, I ended up returning it. You could not watch DVD video stored on hard drive without so much herky jerky motion that it was completely annoying. It also took forever to start MS Office applications like Word/Excel.

I ended up buying an X201s and have been delighted with it. Very fast, great video quality, awesome features--but it cost much more than the X100e.

What's your price range? If you want to end up doing computations and actual work, then maybe you should look at the Sony Z series. They're pricier, though. I'm currently eying those. I need to save up.

And why not an ATOM chip? As far as the hard drive, you can upgrade it to a bigger one anytime yourself.

I was hoping to spend >750.00.

It's not my primary machine so I don't want to spend lots and lots of money on it.

As for why I don't want an atom chip. I did find them fairly slow. Its not a hard fast rule but it is a strong preference. I'm I out of line?

As other people have mentioned it really depends on what you want to do. My wife's new Asus EEE PC has the N450 Atom and it is fast enough to use Eclipse and write Java applications (including quick compiles). But try and run the Android Emulator and it doesn't have enough horsepower (lack of memory is my guess). Took over 10 minutes to boot the emulator.

Which is why I have the Asus K50 dual core pentium. And it still weighs in under 4 pounds even though it has a 15.6 widescreen. I travel every week so having to drag this laptop and my work laptop means that the less mine weighs the better it is for me.

I have not tried to watch a DVD movie yet. But I use Slingbox and it works just fine to my DVR at home.

I have the Lenovo U150 (midnight black - higher spec) and love it. 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD, Bluetooth, 802.11n, 1.3GHz SU7300 CULV CPU, 6+ hours battery. Ok so the screen is 11.1 but it is very small, light. Don't let the 1.3GHz CULV put you off, this thing screams compared to an Atom. I looked for a long time for a 10" screen with a CULV and didn't find anything suitable at the time. I got it for $729 with a Lenovo discount voucher a while ago.

- Tim

I assume you mean < $750...

Never understood how to use these things......

Does "<" mean less than or more than? Mean less than.. which ever >< it may be.

I've been looking for a netbook simply to watch movies on. I'd like to just run iTunes and so far in comparing things the HP Mini210 looks decent.

+1

I use the 1410 (mostly the same unit). Its really not that much bigger than the 10.2" and the processor is much faster.