5 Reasons Why Low Cost Netbook is the Best Lap Tops Notebook Computer For College Students

Back in the early nineties, I was in college. Miami Hurricanes was the best football team in the NCAA. Dan Marino was still the quarterback for the Miami Dolphins. Windows just came out. Students rarely require extensive use of a computer. Except those in the engineering and computer courses, of course. We had programming assignments that require constant use of computers. While there were ample terminals over at the computer lab, it was not conducive for me since I live off campus. Don't really want to stay too late in the computer lab.

Thus, I bought myself a 286 machine. Shared the cost with another student friend. Yes, we both didn't have to stay cooped up in the college computer room to complete our computer assignments. We did it all at home. Many of the other computer students also bought their own computers to enable them to complete their assignments at home. Basically, back then, students rely on computers at home. Notebooks? Yeah, it's the paper kind which we write on with pens and pencils.

Fast forward to the present day. The year 2008 saw the emergence of a new breed of notebook computers. ASUS was the first to bring about the Eee PC. A notebook which is small in many ways - price, size, weight, and features. It was the first sub USD$500 notebook.

The other hardware vendors stayed away from the market. However, they kept a close look at it and paid attention to the market growth. Before you know it, many more hardware players joined in the bandwagon as the market for the sub USD$500 machines boomed tremendously. Today, we see the big players like HP and Lenovo making their presence felt in this fast growing market segment better know now netbook. Low cost netbooks have made its way into the main stream and making headlines.

A student's life these days require that they are equipped with a computer. Assignments are now basically done on computers. No more passing of a handwritten documents. Everything needs to be neatly done in a word processor, spreadsheet, or presentation.

Today, we see students carrying laptops and notebooks everywhere in their college campus. How many of them can really afford a full fledge notebook? I'd say many can't afford one. To those parents who've sacrificed to get a notebook for their children in college, I absolutely bow my head to you. I know it's a big sacrifice, especially in Malaysia, where I live. The minimum cost of a basic low end notebook is about MYR2500. That's a lot of money for most parents over here in Malaysia.

This brings me to the first and probably the most important reason why the low cost netbooks make for the best lap tops for college students.

1. Low Cost

A basic netbook, currently costs around USD$300. That translates to about MYR1300 in the Malaysian market. This means, parents and college students could save about MYR1000 if they get themselves one of these low cost netbooks instead of a regular notebook.

That's a huge savings. For parents who've got two children in college, they can basically get two netbooks for the same price of a single basic low end notebook. Thanks to these cheap netbooks, more students can now own a computer. If only they can somehow bring it even lower. How about below MYR1000? That would mean, a sub USD$200. I do think it's possible. Maybe in a couple of years or so.

2. Light Weight

I am very familiar to the burden of having to carry a notebook around day in and day out. Yes, I am a notebook backpacker, and proud of it too. Every once in a while, I would have to like do some spring cleaning of my notebook backpack. Yes, after a few weeks, it'd be filled with papers and notes which I don't really refer to nor do I actually have a need for them. They are just there in the backpack, piling up after so many days at work.

The backpack alone, with the required paddings and what nots weighs handsomely. Add a notebook (3kg), a group of CDs and DVDs (0.5kg), and the above mentioned load of paperwork, I'd say I'm carrying around a good 5kg to 6kg of weight on my shoulder every single day.

At first, you don't really notice the heaviness of that 5kg. After a while, your shoulders and your back starts to ache and you begin to wonder why. Only then do you realize that it's probably caused by the sheer weight of that extra 5kg which you have to carry around daily.

The netbooks of today weighs in at about 1.5kg. Some would probably weigh more depending on the battery it's installed with. Not a lot more, however. A netbook with a 6 cell battery weighs in at about slightly less than 2kg. Still way better than a standard notebook.

College students, especially the ladies, would certainly benefit from the netbooks being light weight. Being as light as they are currently, college students can surely carry them around as they commute around the college campus from one class to another. No worries of a shoulder or back pain as the netbooks are very light indeed.

3. Small Footprint

When sitting in a lecture hall, there really is not much space for a college student to use. The seats are normally equipped with a small flexible table. Setting up a standard 14inch or 15inch notebook on these small table tops would be a hassle. There will not be any room left for anything other than the notebook.

Here lies the beauty of a netbook. Netbooks are size at a mere 10inch, some even smaller. They just fit in nicely for a lecture hall environment. Set one up on that small flexible table, and you probably would have a tiny bit of space left to put anything small. A small Post It Notes perhaps? An MP3 recorder perhaps?

The sheer small size also means that the netbook need not be carried in a notebook backpack. Ladies can probably just dump the tiny unit into their handbags. Of course, it's not going to fit if they use those tiny little handbags that really can't fit anything but their facial makeover items.

A standard (is there such a thing) coach handbag will certainly fit a 10inch netbook nicely. No one would even suspect that there is computer in the handbag.

4. Communication Features

Almost all netbooks currently are configured with a handsome lot of communication features. It's got speakers, cameras, wifi, and bluetooth for a start. These components are already good enough to allow users to communicate with ease over the internet.

Social networking? Chatting space? Skype? Yahoo Messenger? Google Chat? FaceBook? MySpace? Video conferencing? Just name it. Even the most basic low cost netbook is more than capable of allowing its' users to utilize all the above mentioned communication channel. That is why a netbook, even the most basic ones are already more than capable to allow college students to communicate with their peers from wherever they are.

5. Style

Have you seen these low cost netbooks? Don't they look awesome? One thing is for sure, the manufacturers are really putting in their effort to make these tiny units look exceptionally good. The finishing they've put on these netbooks are simply pleasing to the eyes. A true eye candy, I might say so myself. They come in multiple choice of colors. You name it, they come in orange, blue, red, yellow, gray, black, green, and many more.

Now wouldn't you agree that the low cost netbook makes for the best lap tops notebook computer for college students? I certainly think so. Why not? Well, of course, its not going to be suitable for all college assignments. As long as the student understands the limitation of the Atom CPU, it would be just dandy. Surely they can't expect the small netbook to be capable of rendering 3D motion graphics for them. It would also not be suitable to compile really complex engineering calculations and large programming compilation jobs.

I'd say that netbooks will be the must have gadget for college students pretty soon, if not already. You wouldn't be cool without one.

Hadee Roslan is a Computer Systems Engineer. He blogs about Current Events in Computer Technology.

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