Some people have a real use for the power contained within today's laptop/netbook, but we all know that the majority use them for very minor purposes. These tasks are dominated by surfing the net, writing email, minor document production along with mobile entertainment purposes such as watching movies, listening to MP3s or playing a simple game to pass time while on the road.
As for my use of a laptop, it is a crucial portable item I require to stay in touch with my administrative duties here on Tweaknews while still using it for enjoyment when I need to kill some time. But an overwhelming problem I have developed lately is I am just dreading lugging my standard 15.4" laptop from place to place in order to stay productive. Although 5-6 lbs initially seems like a very small amount of relative mass, when it is carried through three airport terminals, four hotel rooms and lugged onto numerous airliners, it tends get a little irritating and feels a lot heavier than it actually is. Does anyone else have one shoulder that tends to hang lower than the other for a couple weeks after an extensive traveling voyage? Is it really worth it to lug this thing around the world only to temporarily looks like Igor for a couple days? To be honest, for most, it isn't. To aid in this plight, a never ending barrage of netbooks have been flooding the market with smaller portable computing options that are much smaller than the standard laptop, but still offer a powerful punch to get the everyday tasks accomplished in short order.
Take for instance, right at this moment I am in the cruise ship terminal in Naples, Italy on my Asus 1000HE 10.1" netbook which I purchased because of this journey. I needed something that I could easily transport from my home in Canada half way around this world and still have the functionality to keep a busy site up, running and monitored. Not only that, I burdened this small machine with keeping me occupied during my two eight hour flights with movies, had it store all my photos during the trip and be a hub for my ipod while on the road....errr...I mean while at sea.
Because of that, I needed functionality, battery life, capacity, decent performance, ease of use and most of all, effortless portability. Seeing this is my first netbook, I will admit that I have limited experience, but that is until now. What I can say is that I have extensive experience with my lead filled laptop and that is a relationship that I will hopefully extinguish with this one purchase. Read on to page two..
