nc20 for writing

I'm close to buying an NC20 for one purpose - writing.

My only concern is that the combination of screen size and resolution will be too small for comfortable work for 3-4 hours at a time.

Any comments?

Note: actually getting a look at an NC20 is impossible given where I live.

Thanks.

 

The ThinkPad X6x might be worth consideration. In addition to getting a keyboard that is better than almost any other, bar none, the standard screen is taller and therefore easier to read.

 

1280 x 800 @12.1" is OK and much better than the standard netbook screen.

As Zaz has noted, a standard 4:3 aspect is better for handling documents but, unless I am mistaken, the X6x series is only 768 vertical pixels.

The NC20's keyboard is as good as can be obtained in the netbook price range (but not up to Thinkpad quality) and is wider than the X6x series.

John

 

The X6x series was also available with a 1400x1050 screen as well. Though you would have to have pretty good eyes to be able to take advantage of that much resolution at 12.1 inches. You also had to give up multitouch on the tablet version if you went with the higher resolution screen.

 

I have previously tried the Asus eee 1000H, and found it much too small for daily use. I sent it back and ate the shipping charge. I also ordered a Dell mini 12, but cancelled that order when I found that it has an undersized keyboard as well. I bought an NC20 from NewEgg the day they were made available in the US, and have been very pleased with it.

The keyboard is full-sized (though slightly nonstandard, with the tilde key moved next to the space bar). I own and use two Thinkpads, I love their keyboards. I think the keyboard on the NC20 is very good in comparison to them. When I first used it, I wondered if the NC20 keyboard might even come from the same supplier(s) used by Lenovo, it uses the same colors and the keys have a similar feel. However, it does have a subtle difference in keystroke feedback that probably makes it slightly inferior to the Thinkpad keyboard. The difference seems minor to me.

The NC20's display is clearly brighter than those on my Thinkpads (including the much-vaunted Flexview in my R51), but the viewing angles of the NC20's LCD are naturally worse. This is mitigated by its display being of such small size (less of a viewing angle difference between the top and bottom of the screen). The WXGA resolution is a must-have, for daily use...the 1024x600 resolution of the Asus eee 1000H was way too low for me. That said, you might find a standard 4:3 aspect ratio screen preferable for document work. I love my R51's 1400x1050 Flexview screen, partly due to its 4:3 aspect ratio. But this is apples and oranges...my R51 is also a much larger notebook, not nearly as portable as the NC20.

If you *really* desire the portability of the NC20, I think you'll find it a real pleasure. If you want a no-compromises notebook ideal for writing, and don't care about the portability as much, I'd recommend considering a used Flexview-equipped Thinkpad (try http://forum.thinkpads.com (seems to be down right now), which is where I got my gently-used Thinkpad R51 with a new Flexview for about $280, with shipping), or as the previous authors in this thread suggest, an X6x series notebook.