Guide to free netbooks

If you're looking to get mobile broadband then you will certainly be looking for a great portable computer to make the most of being able to get online on the go.

This is where netbooks come in. Smaller and more portable than the average laptop, they're custom-designed for working and surfing on the move.

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What is a netbook?

A netbook is a super-small, lightweight laptop designed specifically for carrying around in your briefcase or handbag to give you easy instant access wherever you are.

Netbooks can be used as your main PC, or as a supplement to your home PC for when you’re out and about.

Netbooks are designed with internet surfers in mind, but this does not mean that that’s all you can do with a netbook. You can also carry out all your usual office functions, including word processing, spreadsheets. And you can even access media, allowing you to listen to music and watch films.

So far, netbooks sound just like laptops. However, netbooks differ from laptops in a few very simple ways:

What makes a netbook different to a laptop?

Size: Netbooks are a lot smaller than conventional laptops. This reduction in size means that you get a smaller keyboard.

Keyboard size: A netbook keyboard is usually around 82 per cent of the size of a standard keyboard. This can take a little getting used to, but is generally considered a fair trade-off for the improvement in portability.

Screen size: Netbook screens usually come in at between seven and ten inches. If you’re after portability, choose the smallest screen available. However, if you want to watch movies on your netbook, it may be worth you going for a nine or ten inch screen.

Designed for web access: Netbooks have been designed with web-users in mind. Less processing power and memory mean these laptop lightweights are not designed to run resource-intensive multimedia operating systems, such as Windows Vista, but are perfect for browsing and running web-based applications.

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Choosing a netbook deal:

There are many factors to consider when going for a netbook. We’ve highlighted a few of the main things you may want to bear in mind when choosing the mobile broadband and free netbook deal that’s right for you:

Battery life They may be small but standard battery life for netbooks varies between two and nine hours.

The main factor affecting the battery life of your netbook will be screen size and brightness. Another factor will be the storage mode. A netbook with SSD storage will have a longer battery life than one featuring HDD.

Storage Type Netbooks generally use three types of storage: SSD, NAND and HDD. SSD and NAND are a great way for manufacturers to cut down the price of netbooks, but they also offer more limited storage space (between 1GB and 8 GB only).

Getting a netbook with HDD means increased storage space and performance, but much lower battery life and higher price tags in comparison with those using SSD or NAND.

Operating System Not all netbooks use a Windows operating system. Another way manufacturers have been able to make netbooks cheaper is by using open source operating systems like Linux.

The Linux OS, though unfamiliar to many, is quite simple to use. It's minimalistic and easy to navigate even for non-techies.