I was looking for two things when I got my netbook: 1) great keyboard, 2) great battery life. By virtue of it being a netbook I figured it would already be relatively small, light, and cheap. I think the Samsung netbooks have the right formula.
My NC120 has an awesome keyboard, battery life that seems to stretch forever (8 hrs, and I have a second battery!), and it was only $400 at Amazon (+ $90 or so for the extra battery). It's not ridiculously light like some of the other netbooks out there, but light enough that I put it in my bag and forget it's there. Light enough that I can carry it around town like a spiral notebook and not feel fatigued.
Really the only issue I have with it is that the screen is glossy and I personally prefer matte. Also the windows key is on the right side for some reason. Whatever, it's still great - the screen doesn't bother me that much (still would prefer matte) and the windows key thing is totally invisible to me now. Also I've found that when I'm out at a coffee shop or something people stop me left and right to ask about it. It's interesting who asks - retired folks and middle age folks.
My wife and I took it on vacation and watched movies and TV the entire flight off of iTunes. It was the slightest bit jerky at times but certainly not enough to be bothersome. As a random addition, the NC120 contains a subwoofer. Ha! Not that you can really tell.
I know I'm gushing. I'm going to stop. I don't work for Samsung, but the NC120 is truly great (I'm sure it's sister models are good too). It hits the magic keyboard/battery life/weight/cost sweet spot that makes it just feel awesome!
And yes, I can totally code, write long reports, and respond to emails, browse HN, etc on it to my heart's content. I got a little portable mouse which I rarely use, but sometimes pull out when I'm using it for a long time.
Ok, I'm stopping now. Hope it's helpful to someone out there!
My NC120 has an awesome keyboard, battery life that seems to stretch forever (8 hrs, and I have a second battery!), and it was only $400 at Amazon (+ $90 or so for the extra battery). It's not ridiculously light like some of the other netbooks out there, but light enough that I put it in my bag and forget it's there. Light enough that I can carry it around town like a spiral notebook and not feel fatigued.
Really the only issue I have with it is that the screen is glossy and I personally prefer matte. Also the windows key is on the right side for some reason. Whatever, it's still great - the screen doesn't bother me that much (still would prefer matte) and the windows key thing is totally invisible to me now. Also I've found that when I'm out at a coffee shop or something people stop me left and right to ask about it. It's interesting who asks - retired folks and middle age folks.
My wife and I took it on vacation and watched movies and TV the entire flight off of iTunes. It was the slightest bit jerky at times but certainly not enough to be bothersome. As a random addition, the NC120 contains a subwoofer. Ha! Not that you can really tell.
I know I'm gushing. I'm going to stop. I don't work for Samsung, but the NC120 is truly great (I'm sure it's sister models are good too). It hits the magic keyboard/battery life/weight/cost sweet spot that makes it just feel awesome!
And yes, I can totally code, write long reports, and respond to emails, browse HN, etc on it to my heart's content. I got a little portable mouse which I rarely use, but sometimes pull out when I'm using it for a long time.
Ok, I'm stopping now. Hope it's helpful to someone out there!