Hunchback netbooks

prowla

I've been looking for a Netbook, and liked the look of the HP/Compaq 110c, but was put off by the short (2 hr?) battery life due to ts 3-cell battery.

I spotted the Lenovo (on Tesco Direct) with a newer processor and a 6-cell battery offering a much longer life, so I ordered one.

Well, when I collected it and took it out of the box, the battery was an extra cylinder running across its back at a 45 degree angle to the body of the machine, converting the "less than an inch thick" slim handy netbook into a hunch-backed monstrosity!

It's not what the pictures showed, and it's going back.

But now my issue is are all netbooks the same? Do you have a trade off between a slim convenient netbook and one with a usable battery life that entails having a tumerous growth attached to it's backside?

Not pleased at all...

Esqui

I have a 6-cell battery on my Dell, it makes a nice stand.

timbim_2

If you want better battery life, you need a bigger battery, and that has to go somewhere!

lfc321

Yes. 6-cell batteries are just bigger. Have never seen a netbook with a 6-cell that doesn't stick out.

I have two batteries for my Acer Aspire One - the normal 3-cell which comes with it and I also bought a 6-cell which makes it a 'hunchback'. If I'm travelling I tend to sling the 6-cell in my bag too and switch over if/when necessary. 90% of the time I find that the 2hrs+ I get on the normal battery is enough. If it isn't the 6-cell gives me another 5-6 hrs.

So that's my answer to the trade-off between battery life and a slim notebook - get an extra battery, either an extra 3-cell if you're really bothered about it being slimline, or an extra 6-cell if you need that length of power. Depends on how you plan to use it.

-TangleFoot-

Very few netbooks include a high-capacity battery that sits flush with the chassis. The few that I know of are all made by ASUS and the only one that could possibly be described as 'slim' is the Eee PC 1008HA with its non-removable lithium-polymer unit.

If you want long life, you're going to have to compromise somewhere.