blawson

I wonder if somebody could offer me advice - out with my comfort zone.

I live in the UK and visit the US 3-4 times per year. While I am away I probably use web cafes 3-4 times per week to access the internet to catch up on e-mails, sport and of course flyertalk ;-) I am looking at buying a cheap netbook to allow me to avoid going to web cafes - but instead do it from my room or hotel lobby.

I saw some very small and light netbooks in a local store which I took a fancy to.

Most of the hotels I stay in have free WiFi or your able to connect your PC to a high speed connection in the room at a cost. If not - the local starbucks will have.

Will any netbook I buy off the shelf do this? Is there any ongoing costs?

Will any I buy in the UK work in the US - I assume they come with a tranformer for power issues. I assume that any wireless connection in the UK works exactly the same in the US.

How does the free wireless in hotels work - do you click on the wireless icon on my netbook and select the hotels wireless connection?

I don't require spreadsheets, games or even word.

It will only be used for internet access and maybe for listening to mp3's.

Any advice would be appreciated.

redtraveler

My husband and I just purchased a Dell Mini for a screaming deal. If you don't know about my other favorite website besides flyertalk, check out this link.

For what your needs sound like-any netbook will do.

yes, when you get to a hotel, search for networks and your good to go. We love ours. We travel overseas for a few weeks every year and some other assorted travel so we'll be very interested in it.

We did buy a refurb one and the total was only $310 shipped.

Good luck-let me know if you have any questions!

kingalien

For me, the decision points were screen size (must be 10.2" instead of 7 or 9 inches), RAM upgradeable to 2GB, and to a lesser extent, battery size (3 or 6 cell). Thus I went with a Samsung NC10.

Since you will mostly use just for internet and music and nothing significantly more you can look into the Linux/Ubuntu models (as opposed to Windows XP) which would be more than adequate and your only decision point would really be what screen size you want.

Zarf4

Agree that most any netbook is just fine for surfing & mp3s. I went with the 10" Asus eee just because it was the only one I was comfortable with touch typing. The spacing is a tad cramped but nothing like a 8-9" one which feels like it should come with a stylus.

Tummy

If you don't need word or "office" type applications, it sounds like even an iPod Touch will do what you are looking for.

http://www.apple.com/ipodtouch/features/

Braindrain

Yes. Any ongoing costs are related to internet service, not the netbook.

Yes, the netbooks should have have international voltage/wattage power supply. Wireless connections work the same anywhere in the world. The only problems you might come across is the Draft-N protocol. Hence, the name.

In a nutshell, yes, but I suggest you ask one of your mates or the store clerk to show you.

Then you maybe don't even need a netbook. An iPod, Nintendo DS, Sony PSP, etc all can do what you're asking.

The best advice is to go out and try as many as possible. What works for one doesn't work for everyone.

antichef

i have got a samsung nc10 for just this purpose, when i dont want to lug the normal laptop. £283 brand new at dixons in T5 LHR before xmas, not sure what price now! mains power with normal adapters for overseas use. has about 5-6 hours on a full charge.

copied itunes music to it, and connecting to the net via wi-fi or with data dongle.

the iphone/touch or smartphone option is another way to go, but the hotel must have wireless, not just ethernet wire connection in the room - because these devices dont have the plug socket for the network cable.

feel free to pm me if you want more info

brp

In the OP's case, internet browsing will not benefit much from a RAM upgrade, so that aspect should not be a priority.

Cheers.

TAHKUCT

I have just recently acquired an Acer Aspire One with 160gb hardrive. Pretty sleak machine. Does well with internet browsing and movie watching. You can even uopgrade RAM, however not that simple.

cheepneezy

I love my iPod Touch but I would never want to use it for typing more than 2 sentences in an email. And I've found the Touch's wireless capability pretty spotty compared to my laptop.

Braindrain

That's the understatement of the year!

Tummy

I think it really depends on what you are use to. Also, if you are primarily authoring content, or just browsing.

The high school age kids we know type text messages everyday on their regular phones, thousands of texts a month, really very fast. I rarely type out full emails on my iPhone, but still am able to get 35 wpm typing emails.

I have only used a touch briefly, but the wifi worked just fine and Wifi on the iPhone has always worked well enough that I've never noticed a problem.

OverThereTooMuch

The keyboards in these units are generally unique configurations.

Your best bet is to hit a local store and give them a try yourself.

I've got an HP Mini 1000. I haven't used it too much so far, but a lot of reviews online have mentioned that the kbd is better than that on most others. I know it's mainly personal preference there, but it was a common theme in many different reviews. The keyboard seems fine to me (obviously a lot smaller than a notebook, but not as small as others...good for my fat fingers ). I think one of the knocks against the Dell Mini has been the size of the keyboard.

Oh, and 2GB of RAM is ALWAYS better than 1GB For those of you in the US, you can get amazingly cheap deals at Fry's quite often. I think my 2GB stick will be < $20 after a rebate.

TAHKUCT

Here is a guide if anybody actually wants to do it:

http://www.aspireoneuser.com/2008/08...e-one-netbook/

sbm12

I've done it twice now (mine and Mrs. sbm12's). The first one was a bit slow but the second one was less than 15 minutes start to finish. Certainly not as easy as it could be, but really not too bad. It helps that I have the mini screw drivers needed readily accessible.