I am in the process of looking for a nice looking netbook I can use for development. I have a Mac Mini currently but there's just sometimes when I want to get on my bike, ride to the middle of nowhere, and work so I'm purely focused on what it is I'm doing.
I have an iPad but this doesn't cut it for me seeing as I'd need to carry around a keyboard. Can anyone recommend a netbook? I have my eye on the HP Mini 210 which seems pretty nice.
Don't even bother. Netbooks are now replaced by ultrabooks. Pay the extra 500 bucks for a decent one. You will not regret it.
If you're buying a netbook, I would just go buy any cheap one with an 11"-ish screen (around ~$300). The differences between netbooks are minimal (almost all have the same screen size, same screen resolution, same processor, same amount of storage, etc.). I don't honestly think there's much difference between brands as far as reliability. For example, one netbook we use at work has lasted over a year with only a screen change about a week ago ($50), and is used daily in a machine shop setting (pretty much as dirty as "normal" applications get). No other issues regarding quality.
Or you could blow $800+ on an ultrabook if you want something with a little more power and still need the same form factor. Assuming you're doing web development, I don't know that you want anything smaller than 13" (I personally find it frustrating to use a screen less than 14" for extended periods of time). Of course, if you want a decent ultrabook with a 13" screen you're looking more at upwards of $900 last I checked.
tl;dr figure out how much you want to spend and then just go buy something within that budget
I have a laptop currently, although its a work laptop so I don't want my own projects on it. I want something that's light to carry around but still practical. I was going to get a MacBook Air but already have a Mac Mini which I already find complicated enough to code on with the keyboard layout.
(2012-07-27, 08:48 AM)Stewartiee Wrote: [ -> ]I have a laptop currently, although its a work laptop so I don't want my own projects on it. I want something that's light to carry around but still practical. I was going to get a MacBook Air but already have a Mac Mini which I already find complicated enough to code on with the keyboard layout.
See if any of the ultrabooks work for you. I played with a zenbook yesterday, it was fine. I've heard mehish things from the HP one.
11" MBA is the only netbook you won't end up wanting to throw at the wall.
If you try and use a netbook for development (or any serious work in general) you'll begin to hate it very soon. The screen is too small to be productive, the keyboard is too cramped to be comfortable and it's not powerful enough to do anything serious.
I had one for about a year and a half but found I never actually used it to do any work while I was out, I'd just use it to check my email and facebook and put off doing any work until I was back home on my desktop. If you have to get a netbook then an 11" MBA would probably be the only usable one, mainly because it's a little more powerful than a typical netbook and OSX touch gestures for multi-tasking make it much more efficient to work on a small screen.
Personally I wouldn't get anything smaller than 13" though... It became apparent to me that after the cuteness of the size wares off, netbooks are actually an awful form factor...
Fairly certain good netbook would be considered an oxymoron. There are ultrabooks from $650 I believe. As Tim said, if you're using it for any serious work you'll regret buying something cheap later on.