What to Seek in an Older Subnotebook?

cyclomedia writes "I'm looking to buy a subnotebook. For those who think that this form factor was created by the Asus EEE (as, seemingly, does Wikipedia) it might interest you that the current forerunner in my search is a 190MHz,64MB,640x480 256 colour beastie known as the Psion Netbook, circa 2001-ish. Basically, I have a desktop, a server and an Xbox and so truly only want it for surfing, email and the odd bit of SSHing home on weekends away. The aforementioned Psion is, however, of the StrongArm processor variety, which nudges it down on the desireability meter, but the fact that there exist Wi-Fi cards for its 16-bit PCMCIA slot does score it extra points. So, anyone here got any suggestions of what to look out for on ebay? So long as I can play Doom II on it too, that is." Any other suggestions for wireless capable subnotebooks with better battery life than things like the EEE or HP's 2133 Mininote?

Re:Budget...

[Anonymous Coward]

only want it for surfing, email and the odd bit of SSHing home on weekends away

iPod Touch

What I look for in an older subnotebook...

[mrbluze]

• Likes to talk, humorous, friendly.
• Likes movies, walks along the beach at sunset, and recharging by an open fireplace.
• Likes cooking.
• Has own job.
• Light enough to carry with one hand.
• Happy with all positions, including upside-down and backwards.
• Color is not important to me, but dress sense is.
• Looking for casual to long term commitment. Emphasis on fun.

Huh?

[pjt33]

When did lynx acquire support for CSS?

Re:Budget...

[Anonymous Coward]

N800

There, fixed that for you.

Re:why?

[ozmanjusri]

So where's his goatse then?

You owe him a goatse.

What to Seek in an Older Subnotebook?

[keeboo]

Parts.

Libretto's all the way

[PhotoGuy]

I've always been a big fan of Toshiba Libretto's.

The first one I had, circa 1999-2000, was the size of a VHS casette and fairly competent for its day

A couple of years ago, I upgraded to the newer 100CT, with a couple of gig of ram and such. It's a nice machine. Definitely takes getting used to the keyboard, but for portability, it can't be beat. And just throw a bluetooth or USB keyboard and external display on it when you're tethered.

But when you're on the road, tossing it in a small camera bag, having 5 hours of battery life for the long flights, having room for your laptop and a drink and not worrying about being crushed by the seat in front of you, is very liberating. Similarly, fitting into a small camera bag (honestly, it's not a purse), it goes with me everywhere; I pop it out at the pub or a restaurant or on the road.

Despite the fact I happened to snag one at Future Shop (ugh), in general subnotebooks are something the public doesn't even seem to know exists. I get a lot of comments from people just fascinated by it, thinking it must just be a Windows CE machine at first, and being blown away when they realize how powerful it is.

There is one downside: one time on a flight, the female flight attendant saw it, pointed down towards my lap, and said loudly, "wow, that's the smallest one of those I ever saw!" With the ensuing laughter, she turned many shades of red...

I just tell people that with such a small laptop, I'm clearly not trying to compensate for anything :P

Re:What I look for in an older subnotebook...

[Timothy Brownawell]

• Likes to talk, humorous, friendly.

BonziBUDDY pre-installed.

• Likes movies, walks along the beach at sunset, and recharging by an open fireplace.

No fans/vents for sand to get in.

• Likes cooking.

Poor thermal design, or maybe overclocked.

• Has own job.

Part of a botnet.

• Light enough to carry with one hand.

Not a "desktop replacement".

• Happy with all positions, including upside-down and backwards.

Solid-state disk, so there's nothing to break when you drop it.

• Color is not important to me, but dress sense is.

Thinks its a Mac.

• Looking for casual to long term commitment. Emphasis on fun.

Compatible with most off-the-shelf (and under-the-table) games.