Netbooks are like the tea-cup chihuahuas of the computing world. Mini-laptops, they're designed to be light-weight (in the most literal sense) tools to help you connect to the Internet and accomplish lightweight (figuratively speaking) tasks like browsing, email, word processing and watching streaming video (Standard netbooks don't come with optical disc drives for CDs/DVD's, those things bring the weight up.) That's it.

To emphasize and summarize: Don't expect these little darlings to do what they're not specced for. Netbooks are secondary computers, with limited capabilities that come locked in with the feather-weight status and the extreme portability. That's why they're called net-books. You connect to the internet, watch a few vids, and do light-duty computing. Period. They're aides, not partners. At least for the moment.

Ahem. To continue: On the outside, there appears to be a lot of variation in netbook models: glossy covers vs. matte, sea-shell configuration, chiclet keyboards vs. traditional, etc. As a group, however, because of the common size and weight constraints they come with basic specs and similar hardware.

Case in point: current netbooks usually come with a 1.6GHz Intel Atom or VIA Nano processor (the most recent incarnation is the Pine Trail processor series), integrated graphics, 1GB of RAM (expandable to 2 GB), and a conventional hard drive (or a smaller solid-state drive).

Hard drive space today is a far cry from the 8 GB of the very first netbook, the Asus Eee PC 701 in 2007, with some of today's netbooks hitting 250-320 GB. There are some difference, of course, but with the ultimate aim of long battery life, a 3 lb. limit, and current processing power, the variations aren't that big. But still, you need to find out how netbooks fit you to see if they fit your needs. Now:

Where do you do the most work? At the keyboard.
Where will you see the work? The screen.

How are your touch-typing skills? Your visual acuity? Any previous overuse injuries to your wrists? Test a few netbooks out if you can, borrow one from a good friend if they're cool with it. It doesn't really matter which models, just as long as you try out watching your work on the screen, doing the usual browsing on your fave sites and seeing how the screen and keyboard can measure up. See how much scrolling you need to do, and how you adjust to the set up when you're typing.

Screen-size: Netbook screens range from 8.9 inches up to 12 inches, though the 10-inch size is the most common. 10-inch systems usually have screen resolutions of either 1024 x 600 or 1024 x 576 pixels. 11- and 12-inch systems usually either have resolutions of 1280 x 800 or 1366 x 768.

For your viewing pleasure, aim for the biggest screen you can get within your budget. Screen size ties in with overall size, of course, so this brings the weight up a little, but really now. Compared to laptops? And bought up against eye-strain prevention, scrolling like mad and ease-of-work, you could stand to invest a little more. You'll need to balance the most workable screen size for you vs. your purchasing power.

Keyboard and touchpad: Netbooks are smaller, so it follows that their keyboards and touchpads are smaller as well. Look for a near full-size keyboard  with a layout that copies that of a traditional notebook (see borrowing suggestion above). For people with big hands, heck even with regular sized hands, a netbook with a cramped keyboard can really throw you off your typing, especially one with odd placements of the right Shift key next to the Up/Down, Left/Right arrows. The slightest stray shift can brush against an unintended key and result in a howl of anguish. Test type for a letter's worth, or an email's worth. A poem, a short anecdote. Really try it out.

Try out the touchpad and mouse buttons as well to ensure they're of a good size and easy to use. Good netbooks have separate left/right buttons directly beneath the touchpad. If you can, a touchpad that supports multi-touch gestures for zooming, scrolling and dragging is great.

Battery: Netbooks usually come with either 3 or 6-cell batteries. Three-cell systems usually get around 3 hours of life , while 6-cells can last between 6 and 9.5 hours. The strongest contenders trumpet battery lives of 10-12 hours. For peace of mind, go for the bigger battery. Even if all you do is use your netbook at home, at the very least you can tote it around without having to worry much about the charge. The price difference between the batteries can pay for itself in the lifespan of the unit.

Processor: The majority of netbooks have either 1.6-GHz or 1.66-GHz Intel Atom processors. However, some still have the relatively slower Atom 1.2-Ghz CPU. And a very small number have VIA processors. Don't settle for anything slower than a 1.6-GHz Intel Atom.VIA Nano processors  also offer dependable performance.

RAM: Most netbooks come standard with 1GB of RAM (don't settle for anything less. Your OS will thank you.) and are expandable up to 2GB. 1GB should be plenty for running Windows XP, but  for Windows 7 or Windows Vista you'll need another gig.

Operating System: Windows XP Home is the most common OS used in netbooks today. Now, Windows 7 Home and Windows 7 Starter (a bare-bones version) are slowly taking over XP's share in netbook OS.

Hard drive / SSD:  There are a few systems that come with low-capacity solid state disks (SSD's), but the majority still come with standard hard drives.  While many recommend SSDs because of their increased performance, the kind of inexpensive SSD that comes pre-installed in a netbook can actually be slower than most hard drives.

Don't settle for anything slower than a regular 5,400 rpm hard-drive. Speed matters; any slower and your system will hang, thereby driving you nuts. 160GB is currently the most common size. With external portable hard drives and bigger thumb drives' prices going down, you can always buy more space, plus have these as back-up, which is always a good thing.

Optical drive: Netbooks don't come with internal optical drives, so unless you can't live without DVDs, it's ok. Just go back to your laptop. Or your home entertainment system. In any case, there are also external optical drives on the market  for $50 or less.

Wireless and internet connections: All netbooks come with everything you'll need to get online: built-in Wi-Fi, ethernet and modem ports(newer models also support the newer 802.11n standard.)  Many netbooks also support Bluetooth for connecting to wireless headsets or syncing with your phone and other Bluetooth capable devices.

With all this information at your fingertips, what next?


Focus on the specifics, not the specifications.

WHO: Who is the intended end-user? Netbooks are prime tools in the educational sector. In a wired culture, children with access to technology and sources of information very quickly learn the means and ways of living a 21st century life. Older students can use netbooks for note-taking and research in class, in school and on campus, and then use it as a supplemental device to a more powerful system at home, whether it's a laptop or a desktop. Also, with Googledocs, Dropbox and all sorts of file-sharing and storage online services, there's no lack of combinations and configurations you can personalize to fit your needs and build on your netbook's capabilities.

WHERE: Where do you intend to use it the most? A consumer survey found out that 60% of netbook users never take theirs out of the home. And you? Where do you usually do most of your computing work? Clicking at the cafe? Typing on the 90-minute, one-way commute on the rails, or enjoying the cool afternoon out on the porch, balcony, by the pool (bad idea) or in the stairwell on a smoke-break?

Think about your routine. A tool is supposed to integrate into it and make it easier. How will a netbook do this for you? Some things like checking email and viewing videos can already be done by smartphones, and those are even smaller than netbooks.

HOW MUCH: Aha! Now we're getting down to business. Just as there are laptops with prices that can get you a more powerful desktop, there are netbooks that cost as much as a really cheap laptop (of which there are few, but with bargains, bundled sales and refurbished laptops available, you don't have to look very far.) The premium is for portability, and everything else this entails are sub-benefits.

So, know your habits, know what you do, and know what this requires. Find the best fitting netbook to establish a good working relationship. (And always back-up your data.)