Time to replace my old HP

[edresearcher]

In December my custom HP laptop will be 4 years old and it shows. The 40g HD is nearly full. The computer gets very warm VERY quickly compared to before. Applications take forever to load up, including the wireless, and the battery life is maybe an hour compared to the 6 it had brand new...thus for the PHD student on the go, this needs to change...

Currently have a 14.1", debating between the 12" and 10" netbook for replacement (how much smaller is the keyboard compared to what I am used to?)

It will be just used for traveling between conferences (work at airports and on plane (hate when people lean back and I can't do work)) as well taking notes in lecture and working in the office with research. Any heavy program usage outside of office will be on the current laptop or my desktop...

Looking for something lightweight, good on battery life, and durable... and I don't have a lot of time to look up what's available, thus I turn to you all. Thanks for helping make my graduate work life a little easier..

 

[ssshjp]

Well it depends on your budget.

In general, the buttons of keyboard on 10'' netbook are 92% size of full size keyboard which a 12'' laptop should have.

A dual-core ultraportable laptop might be Ok for you such as Acer Aspire 1551. It is a balance among size, performance and battery life.

 

[edresearcher]

Just got back from Best Buy, finally found someone that was actually experienced there! (must be a new store ) He informed me that the mobile processor (atom) is really just a rename of the pentium celeron chips? I was planning on being able to have a few browser pages open, along with microsoft excel and onenote without losing too much performance. Can this not be done with these new "wonderful creations" called the netbook? Also, I want to spend no greater than 500.00 if possible.

 

[edresearcher]

Just checking to see if anyone saw my update to this thread...