i wun suggest for a net book cos,
1) value depreciate fast
2) once lcd/led panel break(which is very common) replacement will cost a bomb
3) if die die want, why not take a walk in sim lim and consider second hand?
not a personal attack, but any laptop will depreciate in value, and this is not a house or car where u hope to sell it off in the future and minimize loss. Considering that a netbook cost only about 600, the absolute lose in value when u do decide to trade-in is at max 500? A 2nd hand laptop cost how much? 3-400? or even more for a good recent model, I would rather pay 200 more for a new netbook. unless u r telling me I can get a macbook air at 3-400, I will buy that instead then
And of course, it hope u dont imply that lcd or led in netbook is more fragile than that of laptop. It cost a bomb for any laptop, netbook or monitor when it breaks. And its not common that it breaks, I have used laptops for more than a decade and hands on multiple models, only 1 cracked, and its my own fault.
MrSamo's suggestion is good too. A tablet using core 2 duo that is small and light and cost less than 800 is a very good option too. The last time i saw a similar acer tablet with touch screen capabilities is only 900+ too. However,Asus is using the new atom n550 duo core too to assist multi-tasking, it might work relatively well but i doubt as faST as a core 2 duo.
However, a word of warning, samsung seems to be the only netbook at the moment to stretch resolution to 1024 by 768. The rest are fixed at 1024 by 600. Browsing and using most programs are alright, but adobe raw cannot work here (cant see the last row of options and ok button), most pple wont use raw in a netbook anyway. I always bring my netbook out with me, browsing the net in a cafe, checking for important info in excel or typing email etc. Not as cool as those using a ipad, but definitely stylish enough and light enough to be brought around.