I don't have advice for you, but I sympathize with this problem. There are just SO many choices out there. Most look pretty neat--but, how does one make use of netbooks? I can't really say I have much need for something less than a full-scale laptop, but more than a iPhone/iPod Touch-like device. The utility of a netbook increases if it has a 3G wireless card, but even then I struggle to find times to use one.

My girlfriend has an MSI Wind netbook - she needed a lightweight computer that she could take with her for working in the library (an ordinary laptop is just too heavy for her to lug around). Several months later, it still seems to be the best option (at least around here): the keyboard, although not as comfortable as a full-size one, is quite decent (even I can type on it), the hard drive is pretty large and the boot-up time is simply impressive. The screen (10'') is big enough as well - and I wouldn't really recommend anything below this. The only fault I can find with the Wind is the small battery: it only lasts for about two hours.

If you live close to a big Best Buy, go in and try out the keyboards of any they have in stock--my sense is there's more variation among netbook keyboards than among those of regular laptops. I found the Eee to be thoroughly frustrating (the shift key placement is weird) but the MSI and HP much better.

I really want a netbook but am trying to hold out until someone comes up with a tablet version (running XP Tablet, not a touchscreen). And with at least six hours of battery life. Less than 2.5 lbs, less than $400. Me and my credit card are standing here waiting, computer manufacturers....

I think the Lenovo one looks pretty nifty, but they might just be coasting on my fondness for Thinkpads.

My wife has an Acer Aspire that she likes a lot. I haven't really used it much but it seems very well built.

I have an MSI Wind as well, and really, I love it more than any laptop I have ever owned before. I prefer small laptops, my last being one of the tiny powerbooks while they were still on the PPC architecture. Anyway, I haven't used other netbooks, but I did do a lot of searching before I decided on the Wind. I wanted something small, light, a good battery life, and able to run Linux. The Wind fit all these requirements but did take some work on my part. For proper Linux support, I swapped out the wireless card to a fully supported Intel card, and added an extra gig of RAM while it was open. It is the easiest laptop I have ever worked on. While I want to put an SSD into it, I am waiting until the current drive goes bad or something as it works fine and if it isn't broke why fix it. I currently run the latest version of Kubuntu with no issues. It happily runs kdevelop and monodevelop along with all my extras like irc client, email, firefox, IM, etc. with no problems.

The battery life mentioned upthread isn't really an issue anymore. They ship with larger batteries (6 cell instead of the old 3 cell), and I work on mine with battery power for hours at a time. The keyboard is smaller than a regular notebook, but it didn't take too long to learn to move my fingers shorter distances. It has a builtin camera which if you use is good. For me it's just something to mess around with but never gets any real use. One thing that I have been really happy about is the screen is bright. Really bright. Bright enough I can sit outside and still see the screen. This is a first for any laptop I have had and it is great.

My one gripe is the trackpad, and this really is only an issue if you aren't using Windows. They changed the trackpads from the synaptic pads in the initial versions to some other trackpad that has no drivers on Linux (well, they were promised so there might be some available now, I haven't checked recently) so you can't turn off the touch-click "feature" which I find so very annoying. You can turn the trackpad completely off, though, which is helpful especially if you use keyboard shortcuts a lot.

So, in conclusion, I highly recommend the Wind from my own experiences with it.

Pips got one recently, didn't she? If she doesn't see this thread, email her and ask her to peek in.

I want to say she got an Aspire, but I'm not sure.

After reading a bunch of reviews and roundups and whatnot, the Aspire is starting to grow on me. It's a little smaller than most of 'em.

Pips got one recently, didn't she?

I did indeed. Nearly drove myself crazy researching the things. I did settle on the Acer Aspire, too. It is a nice little machine. Very lightweight (about 2.5 lbs.), with nice battery life (5-6 hours with a 6 cell battery), pretty good internet, a decent size keyboard, and a nice screen. And the price was right, at $379, before taxes. I bought it through Amazon, but really it was Buy.com, linked to by Amazon. I liked Buy.com very much -- great selection and price, and they even courteously and promptly answered my email, exceededing expectations.

The MSI Wind was my second choice. A little bigger screen and a little better internet reception, but somewhat heavier at 3 lbs., and somewhat less battery life claimed. And a bit more expensive, at about $429. Still a nice machine, though. And some of the reviews said the keyboard was a bit more comfortable, too. Both have the 160 gb hard drive and 1 gb ram. The slightly bigger screen on the MSI Wind might be nice; my 8.9" Acer could be a bit squinty.

But as I mentioned in By the Grace of God's thread, who's also thinking of one, the new Lexus of netbooks, just introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show, has got to be the Sony Vaio P. This thing is gorgeous -- 1.5 pounds, lovely mac-like keyboard, even sharper screen, 2 gb ram, great internet, though only 60 gb hard drive at the lower end price. Price, unfortunately, is the one sticky sticking point. $899 to start. Ouch and double ouch, but still alluring. If you can part with the dough, go for it.

Have fun deciding, in any case... I found the YouTube reviews of the various netbooks helpful.

(Battery life's not the greatest on the Sony, though. But you could get a second battery for an extra $100 or so.)

None are perfect. Depends what's most important to you.

Happen to be browsing... this is the one I got, and 50 bucks cheaper, to boot. Truly a nice little machine. And it comes in pink.

The Dell minis are rather nice, too, especially the 12 inch. Pricier than the Aspire or Wind, but not as much as the Vaio P, with great screen resolution and battery, and still lightweight (less than 3 pounds).

(I seem to be getting obsessed again...)

Yeah, and the Dell supposedly runs OS X really well. And it's fanless, and therefore silent w/a SSD. But the Wind also supposedly runs OS X well. And, really, what do I care about OS X? It seems like it'd be a fun project to impress nerds, that's all. But it's hard to impress nerds with a Dell.

The Aspire is smaller and equally functional, which seems like the point of the whole thing. The Lenovo has, supposedly, the best wireless reception. And the best build quality. But the HP has an aluminum case.

Vaio's out of my price range, though--$900 is somewhere between twice and thrice what I'd like to spend on this thing.

(Obsession? I can relate. Part of it is that this is a pretty big purchase for me (I could count all the new computers I've ever owned on one hand), and it'll be among the most expensive things I own (a netbook would show up somewhere on my second hand). Another part is that I hate buying new mass-produced stuff that won't last forever.)

Have you upgraded anything in your Aspire? How's it sound? Will it play HD videos?

Geez, that btgog thread was, like, last week.

Yeah, netbook discussions seem hot lately...

As for mine, I haven't upgraded anything, but I believe it is possible to go from 1 gb of ram to at least 1.5, if not 2. With XP, the 1 gb may be enough for general use, though (and I think the do-it-yourself upgrade voids the warranty, if that matters to you). I also don't know about HD videos, I'm afraid. Of course, since is has no CD/DVD drive (none of the netbooks do), you'll need another way to load the video material, like through an external drive or network or digital download.

I'm not the most tech savvy, but I'd say it depends what you might want to use it for. As an extra, ultra-portable machine for general word processing and internet, it's great. But if you want something more heavy-duty and versatile, the regular Dell Inspiron laptops may give you a lot more bang for your buck (250+ gb hard drives, 3 or 4 gb of ram, cd/dvd rw, vista...), if you don't mind lugging around 5 to 6 pounds. They start at about $400-$500, I believe. You pay a lot for the lighter weight, it seems. And the keyboad size of the netbooks may be a problem for extended use (I have small hands, and the keyboard on my Acer feels a bit cramped. I find myself going back to my old mac for home use. But again, if you don't do a lot of typing, it may not matter.)

In terms of the Acer Aspire, though, I found this video particularly helpful in showing the various applications it's capable of.