Netbook for a college senior

[krtzer]

1) Budget less than 400 (this price does not include a RAM upgrade or SSD drive, this is the base price for the netbook alone)

2) Screensize: less than 11.6 inches

3) Resolution: doesn't matter too much…

4) Portable (looking for a netbook here)

5) Battery life is the most important aspect so as long as it can be.

6) This is not a gaming build.

7) I want this to use as a remote desktop to a Macbook pro. I also want to use excel and word on this.

8) Harddrive: <= 250. I am also considering a SSD because of the weight it takes out. I have heard mixed reviews on battery life from SSD. Some say it improves it while it's running, but it saps a lot of juice in sleep mode.

9) Sites are the usuals, amazon, newegg, tigerdirect, etc.

10) Length of use: I think this can last a while since it's more of a portal to other computers so it shouldn't need amazing specs. I want this to last a while.

11) Optical drive: Doesn't need an optical drive, i can figure out how to install windows 7 pro or ubuntu from a flash drive.

12) Brand loyalty: I haven't had luck with dells (various hardware failures), or HPs (same deal, and customer support was awful) in the past few years.

13) Country of Residence: United States

14) I am an engineering student going into my senior year, which means senior design. I want this netbook so I have access to my main laptop, a summer 2008 macbook pro (intel core 2 duo 2.4, 4 gigs ddr 2 ram, and whatever video card it has). I think Ubuntu would be the best operating system to do this but i haven't looked too far into specific programs. I do not want to pay for software to do this.

Thanks

 

[krtzer]

So I've gathered a list here and decided that I'm going to install ubuntu on it:

Toshiba NB 305
Asus Eee PC 1215P
Asus Eee pc 1015PN
Asus Eee pc 1015 PEM
Samsung NF 310

I'm still trying to figure out what size screen would be best and most portable, while being able to see everything (excel graphs).

 

[jaguarskx]

The best way to figure out which screen size is best for you is to go to a computer store and tryout some netbooks. Personally I would go for something in the range of 11.0" - 12.1". The larger screen size allows for easier viewing and easier typing since a smaller netbook's keyboard would be more cramped. Of course the trade-off would be a heavier netbook.

Of the ones listed, I would probably go for the Asus Eee PC 1215P since it is 12.1" and it has received pretty good reviews. At about 3.2lbs or 3lbs 3oz. it is only approximately 6oz. heavier than the 10.1" Asus Eee pc 1015PN.

 

[krtzer]

So after looking around a bit more, I've come to a decent compromize that gives me a good battery life and power and size. I went to the store and do find the 10 inch a little too small, so I looked into 11.6 inch models. the two models which came up were the lenovo x120e and the hp dm1z. Their hardware is nearly identical, the main point where they differ is the cost. The hp dm1z is a better deal, but I haven't had good experience with HP and I really like the lenovo design (despite the battery that sticks out). Anyone have any suggestions regarding the HP dm1z vs the x120e? Any other suggestions would be appreciated.