Thread: Netbooks - built in broadband

Hi All,

Has anyone bought a netbook recently with built in mobile broadband that you add your broadband sim card to?

If so, what did you buy and what do you think?

Cheers,

Boney

Originally Posted by boney_m

Hi All,

Has anyone bought a netbook recently with built in mobile broadband that you add your broadband sim card to?

If so, what did you buy and what do you think?

Cheers,

Boney

i found it easier to just have the USB dongle stickied to the back of the screen, along with the WD Passport 160gb external hard drive

with the screen up for viewing its not noticeable and can be removed in a few seconds for travel/storage

i've seen a few hacks where the 3G module is modded into the case itself but not brave enough to attempt that yet

The LG X110, according to the LG website, has the broadband modem built in. It would appear from looking at Amazon that people have bought the model based on this and find that it isnt.

I'm not against having a dongle, but like the idea of just bunging the sim card into a slot on the laptop and leaving it there.

Read a review recently that slated the battery time on the LG.

Originally Posted by monkeyspanker

Read a review recently that slated the battery time on the LG.

I've read similar reviews for the epc's, the Samsung NC10 and i've personal experience of VAIO batteries being tonk (not that i can afford a VAIO). A mate has an NC10 with the high capacity battery in it and can watch 2 full DVD's back to back which i think is fair enough.

Are you out yet or has civi street deferred your application?

Out mate, and have been for 6 months now.

Congrats btw for making it to the top of the tree!

I am thinking of getting a Notebook, anyone any recommendations?

Am looking for SSD, as mainly want to use it for travel, so music/films etc are important as is WIFi and e-mail also intend to use for internet radio access around the home as I don't live in the UK.

Major problem though is what operating system to go for, I am familiar with XP but have no idea about Linux/Linux Lite or UBANTU from what I have read you have to be careful so you don't get a OS that is difficult to upgrade.

Any thoughts? (hopefully not from the Naafi Bar)

06FA56

i use a Toshiba NB100, with a T mobile stick and it rocks, the only fault is the lettering on the keys , does not stand out very clearly, but as I live in a good WI-FI area the WAN_LAN realy takes off. About three and half hours batt time and weighs in at about a kilo, fits into my inside coat pocket, and I have even used at the top of Pen y Fan

I picked up a HP Mini Note 2133 just before xmas for less than £200.

Main reason was that the build quality on these is great.

It came with SUSE Linux on it... and was replaced by XP Pro in about 3 nano seconds!

Battery life isn't great with the standard three cell, so I got a six cell one of ebay for less than £30. Using both of them gives me about seven hours use.

I'm currently using it with T-Mobile pay as you go, which is £2 per 24hr usage.

edited to add: It also has a full size keyboard, which is great for my banana fingers!

I know that this isn't a netbook, but it looks pretty good for the money.

Linky

The Linux distributions I've seen shipped with netbooks are unique to the manufacturer and are aimed at the nervous user. They make doing the basics simple but can be frustrating for power users. My wife uses hers for email, messaging, browsing and so on and is happy with the original Linux setup. I've installed Ubuntu Netbook Remix (UNR) on mine, partially because I can and partially because it's more capable. Upgrades depend on the Linux distro you choose, but generally both manufacturers distros and Ubuntu are straightforward.

XP is XP, but that means you have to stay on top of the flood of security patches MS churn out. There's no upgrade path, Vista will make your netbook choke as it requires a hell of a lot more system resources.

As to XP vs Linux, it depends. You can do all you say you want on Linux and have several alternatives for each task (eg video, browser, music etc). However, if you simply have to access a particular site via IE, or have to run a Windows programme, it's less hassle to stick with XP.

SSDs are generally smaller than the equivalent HDD, and what you want for music/video is more capacity not less. Personally I'm not convinced they're worth the premium yet.

And as for connectivity, it's going to have WiFi whatever you do, but if I was buying one now I'd look for the ability to plug in a SIM card for a built in data modem as well.

Think though about how you're going to use it. If you're going to want to rip DVDs and CDs direct onto the netbook iyou'll need a separate optical drive - maybe trading up to a laptop with that built in will cost the same. You then get a bigger screen. I use mine as a portable (very portable !) adjunct to my main PC. I'm not sure I could cope if it was my only computer.

Currently running an eeepc, batt life isn't too bad. Excelent picture quality on streamed movies and it's wifi, so you can unplug the dongo and latch onto McD's or KFC or any open connection in most large towns/cities.

Edited to add that it only runs Microsoft works which is pants.

I've put ms office on it and everything runs fine allow one problem I'm having is that when opening a word doc it tends to open it with the ms works word processor, any ideas how to stop this happening? I know there is a way, just can't bloody remember!

Right click on a .doc file and chose "Open with".

If it's not listed, browse to the Word .exe within Program files.

Select the always open with option to do it every time.

Cheers MS, knew there was a way.

Currently running a Samsung NC10, no complaints so far. A good capacity 160GB hard drive and the supplied battery lasts about 6 hours, although a little on the pricey side compared to others I think it's worth the additional expense