My First & New Netbook

I just bought a new netbook last Saturday. This is my first netbook ever and I will bring it for my next trip as I will use it during my language course. At first, I thought that I would bring my (office) 14.1" notebook weighing almost 4 kg. I had no intention to buy netbook at all. But then, I was worried about the weight and space the notebook would take in my bag.

So, after researching about the current netbook techonology and options in the market for 3 days, including going to many stores for 2 days to check them out myself, I finally decided to buy Toshiba NB520-1000U (brown color) at South Asia Computer at Funan Digital Mall. The staff was very knowledgeable, nice, and helpful.

It costs S$ 539, plus S$ 59 for 2GB DDR3 memory upgrade. It's lightweight, only around 1.3 kg, so it's easy to travel around with, and the battery life is supposed to be quite long for normal usage.

The technical specification is:

• 10.1" display with 1024x600 resolution
• Intel Atom N550 dual-core 1.5GHz processor
• 1GB of DDR3 RAM (upgraded to 2GB)
• 250GB hard drive 5400 rpm with shock absorbers
• Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3150
• 6 cells battery
• Harman Kardon speakers
• 1.3MP webcam and microphone
• Bluetooth 2
• WiFi 802.11b/g/n
• SD/MMC card reader
• Windows 7 Starter (32-bit)
• Office 2010 Started
• 2-month subscription of Norton Internet Security 2011

I also got some free gifts when purchasing the netbook:

• Toshiba DVD-RW drive
• Targus USB optical mouse
• Toshiba soft case
• 12-month subscription of Norton Internet Security 2011

Some people are asking why not buying a tablet (like iPad) instead. Well, the reason I was even initially planning on bringing laptop in my trip is because I will need something that can store a lot of my files/documents/photos and that is easy to use for typing or browsing for information in the internet for my language course and travel. Despite being lightweight, a tablet is not really suitable for that. So, a netbook is a wise choice for the balance of weight, usefulness, and ease of use.

And here are some pictures of it.