Netbooks. All the rage, I think we can all agree – but if you’re planning to buy one, you could spend a ridiculous amount of time trying to figure out which one is best for you. My advice is the same that I would give to anyone planning to buy a notebook computer – try to touch one before you buy it. That way you get a feel (pun completely intended) for what the device feels like under your fingers, how it behaves during regular use, and how you feel when you use it. You can read as many reviews as you like, but there’s no real replacement for actual use.
That being said, one other good thing to have is personal experience from others who have used the same models that you have – you could search out customer reviews, but over at Lifehacker one of the regular features is called the Hive Five, where the editors poll the community for their favorite app, product, device, or other item in a given category. In this case, Netbooks.
The community weighed in, and there are a number of unsurprising entries, but a few that I wouldn’t have predicted. For example, I would be surprised if the Dell Mini 10 didn’t make a list of top netbooks, but I was definitely surprised to see the Samsung NC10. For the rest of the list, head on over to Lifehacker to read all about it, and some pros and cons of each product.