What I don’t need: superfast, super-anything, big hard drive, fancy pants graphics, big screen.
What I will be doing with it: Internet and word processing.
What I won’t be doing with it: Gaming, plotting the downfall of western civilization… okay, maybe that last one, but only through 3. Internet and word processing.
My current laptop no longer stays on and is starting to get on my last nerve. I have a desktop for anything that requires more power, so the laptop is more of a plaything.
If it’s really a plaything and long battery life is big deal get a netbook. If you plan on doing serious typing you need a full sized screen and keyboard. The price differential between a 320 netbook and a 420 cheap notebook is fairly small. Staples and Best Buy deals on sale are among the better deals out there on notebooks. I’ve noticed (for whatever reason) brick and mortar stores do not typically have great netbook deals, try Tigerdirect and Newegg for those.
Re net vendors for laptops and netbooks Tigerdirect and Newegg are who I use.
There is also a new class of machines that are trying to bridge the netbook-notebook divide.
I’d concur on the netbook recommendation. However, as astro mentions, if you plan on typing for long stretches, the keyboard will begin feeling cramped pretty quickly.
That said, I have a friend who bought an MSI Wind bottom-line model for $300 and was quite happy with it - if you are primarily concerned with portability and battery life, there are a lot of options on the $300-400 price range.