Why You Should Love a Netbook

Netbooks have been the big tech breakthrough of the year with millions of these fantastic little devices being sold to many happy customers around the world.  However there are still many cynical people out there who just don’t get the point of these ultra portable mini PCs, some have even gone to great lengths to discredit this emerging market on their blogs.

However we here at SammyNetbook.co.uk are going to dispel some of these myths and give you an overview of just what a netbook can do for you and explain why you need to buy one!

Here you can find out:

• What a Netbook is really capable of
• The best models available here in the UK
• The advantages of owning one of these much talked about products

How a Netbook Could Change Your Life

I purchased my first netbook, the Samsung NC10, back in 2008 expecting it to be a handy little tool for occasional use.  I thought it would make a good machine for checking emails and browsing the web around the house but was pleasantly surprised by how many different uses I found for my new gadget!

The Samsung NC10 exceeded all of my original expectations and was easily capable of running all of the day to day applications that I loaded on and even some professional software too.

The following outlines some of the many things that I now regularly use my netbook for:

• Watch Internet Television: If you were like me, you probably watched the occasional television programme on iPlayer in front of your desktop PC whilst wishing there was a way to easily view your favourite TV directly on your living room telly.  Well the netbook easily solves this problem.  A standard feature of these computers is a VGA out socket that can be plugged into any modern television that possesses the correct input socket (which should be most recent models!).  You can now stream TV straight from these services over your wireless Internet connection.
• Stream Internet Radio: Of course you can connect it to your HiFi too and stream internet radio services such as Spotify direct to your living room too without the need of a large desktop tower cluttering up your space.
• Internet Access:  This may sound obvious but I found owning a netbook changed the way I accessed the Internet.  In the past, going online to check out a train timetable or pulling up a map would involve heading upstairs, powering up the desktop, waiting a minute or two to get going before being able to find the information I wanted.  But with my netbook I can be in the kitchen, by the front door, in the garden, and will have booted up and be on the right site in less than sixty seconds.  Suddenly, for the first time, I am seconds away from any piece of information I could possibly want to know!
• Social Browsing:  Following on from the previous point, I also found that our netbook helped unite the family.  The old ways involved heading off up to the PC, sitting on my own in a distant corner of the house whilst everyone got on with what they needed to in family areas of the home.  But with a netbook, a quick check of email can be done from the sofa, an amusing website can be passed around and shared, computing becomes far less of a solitary activity.
• Portable Computing: And another key reason why many have fallen for these great machines.  They really are truly portable PCs.  Sure laptops have been with us for many years but in reality they are heavy beasts that are really not suited for carrying with you on your backpacking trip, or even on a daily commute.  Netbooks weigh in at around 1kg, they are small in size and they can be used for hours away from a power socket.  At last we have fully functional computers to use on the go!

Is a Netbook a Real PC?

Of course it is!  Unfortunately some of the first models in this new age of computing were underpowered, featuring poor CPUs, slow disks and under specced components.  But as the genre started to expand the main manufacturers were quick to update and improve the specifications of their netbook models.

It is true that these mini PCs are not as powerful as top line desktop machines.  You wouldn’t want to be running multi CPU intensive software, or try to run lots of applications at once and there are some professional applications that won’t run very well at all.  A further problem is that these machines have small screens which can make manipulating tight work spaces tricky.

However the above problems will not be an issue for the majority of home users who just want to browse the web, listen to some tunes, or type up a document.  But even hardcore computer users will find a netbook makes a perfect companion to a primary desktop machine.

Which Netbook Should I Buy?

Well this site champions the Samsung Netbook range due to their exceptional quality and variety of models which ensures there is something for everyone.  However we do also mention some of the other leading competitors for completeness.   There are a few other models that you might want to consider, however it is worth noting that many of the netbooks out there at the moment are inferior clones – so pick carefully!

What next?

• Find out which Netbook is right for you?
• Check out Netbooks at Amazon