Korean Job Discussion Forums

the dakota kid · Joined: 20 Jul 2004 Location: Not in Seoul...

I am thinking about getting an ultraportable PC, as traveling with my regular 17 inch notebook/beast is a pain.

I have been reading about the kohjinsha-sx3, Dell Mini 9, Asus EEE pc's(whichever variety), Acer ??, and quite a few other.

I don't plan on using it for my memory intensive PC activities, but mainly surfing, emailing, ebooks, blogging, etc.

Any suggestions? Any definite "do not buys"? I would like to keep it under 400 USD?

TIA,
tdk

If anyone has a used one to sell, please PM me as well...

OneWayTraffic · Joined: 14 Mar 2005

First: Make sure that there's enough computing power for your needs. They are small and cheap for a reason. Not a problem if all you are doing is Internet,Skype and Office.

Second: It's hard to buy a bad one. Most of them have the same basic specs, with just a bit of variation in battery life, screen size and so on.

IMO: Dell Mini 9, MSI Wind and EEEPC 900 and 901 are all good choices.

The Kohjinshjas may be more expensive but will have a tablet mode and touchscreen for you to use.

tfunk · Joined: 12 Aug 2006 Location: Dublin, Ireland

The prices on the ASUS eee dropped dramatically in Ireland because a few months ago it was the only real cheap laptop of its size on the market and now there are a few, with bigger screens more RAM etc. (including new models in the ASUS eee range).

You might be able to pick an 'older' (around March, I think) model at a cheap price but be warned, the screen size is quite small.

If you are a touch typist, then the keyboard is also another important factor, it can be too small on some of the models.

If you plan on using it for more than 20 minutes at a time then I recommend getting a bigger than 9" screen.

Check out:

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=132854

OneWayTraffic · Joined: 14 Mar 2005

One more thing. Aim for a 1000*600 screen at a minimum. 800*480 will give you headaches from time to time on XP as some dialog boxes will run off the bottom of the screen. The original EeePcs had 800*480 as does the first Kohjinsha and my Raon Digital Everun. Some of the newer netbooks (HP mininote) have 1280*768.

The higher resolutions may require you to resize the icons and so on to avoid eyestrain.

joeheckel · Joined: 13 Oct 2008 Location: Seoul

Of the three models the OP mentioned, the Dell gets the best battery life. If you plan on using it on the road often this will likely make it the best choice. In my opinion the Acer Aspire is also a really nice unit. Sounds like for your use any model out there will accommodate your needs. I guess it depends on whether you require Windows as your OS or not as far as what models will fit your budget.

Here is a PC World article that is pretty helpful although they left out Dell in their reviews:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/146984/the_minilaptops_of_summer.html

bassexpander · Joined: 13 Sep 2007 Location: Someplace you'd rather be.

There are some nice deals to be had at the Myongdong SONY store, of all places. They have a floor model of one of their super-light VAIO VGN-CR355 laptops for just over 1 million won. Those things are as light as paper. That's the display model price... but the display model is only about 4 to 5 months old, according to the manufacture date.

Might be worth peeking at the Sony store here, if you're looking for a laptop around 1 million. The VGN-CS13L model (not ultralight... average 14.1 inch size) is 999,000 won. Sony tends to be a bit higher-priced than others, but these prices put them in the ballpark. Sure beats the jack-up I"m seeing around town on notebooks.

Join Me · Joined: 14 Jan 2008

Most of the "Netbooks" have now come out with 6 cell batteries that last up to 5-6 hours. Most of the first generation netbooks only have 3 cell batteries which last 2-3 hours at best.

A2T · Joined: 09 Oct 2008

I'm surprised no mention for the Acer Aspire One? I know the quality of Acer's other products doesn't inspire much confidence, but anyone in this market should try using it before purchasing a competing netbook. The price is low, the specs are basically the same as any other netbook right now, and it's well constructed.

DCJames · Joined: 27 Jul 2006

DCJames · Joined: 27 Jul 2006

otto · Joined: 10 Oct 2008

One of my friends is planning on buying on Samsung NC10 soon. Its one of four samsung laptops that is being released in the US this month. The price she was quoted is 640,000 won. It recieved a really good review from Laptop Magazine, check it out here:

http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/samsung-nc10.aspx?page=1