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The Set-up:

You’ve got $400 or so burning a hole in your pocket and you’d like to pick yourself up a new tech toy.  You want something really portable, but not lacking in features.  You have narrowed it down to a netbook or the Amazon Kindle 2.  They’ll both eat up the burning $400 in your pocket and be easy to carry around, so, which one do you get?  Let’s take a look at both and their features to see which one you should pick up.

1. Functionality

The Kindle’s main function is to be an e-reader and it does that job very well.  Reading off the Kindle’s screen produces little to no eye strain.  It will let you read books, magazines, newspapers, blogs, webpages, and other converted documents.  That’s all. 

A netbook’s main function is to serve up the internet and handle simple tasks like word processing in a very portable package.  You’ll be able to do everything you’d do on the Kindle on a netbook and more.  However, a netbook’s screen won’t be as kind to your eyes as the Kindle.

2. Design

The Kindle, both thin and light, has a 6” screen with a 600 x 800 resolution showing only greys and a cellphone-like keyboard.  The size definitely makes it portable and the screen is adequate for reading comfortably (I’d like to see a bigger screen in the next model).  The keyboard is meant to enter search terms and wouldn’t really be comfortable enough for typing full documents.

A netbook is designed in a similar vein: thin and light, small screen size, and less than full size keyboard.  However, you have a lot more choice when it comes to netbooks.  Almost every manufacturer has at least one netbook model from which to choose.  What do they have in common?  Many have 90 to 93% full-sized keyboards, 8.9 to 10” color screens with 1024 x 600 resolution, and weigh 2 to 3.5 lbs.  So, compared to the Kindle, a netbook will be easier to type full documents on, view color documents and photos, and still be relatively easy to carry around (though it will seem a bit heavy next to the Kindle).

3. Internet access

Both a netbook and the Kindle will offer you internet access.  The difference is how they do it.  A netbook will offer you an Ethernet port and a wireless card to connect to an available network that you or someone else has paid for.  The Kindle will offer you 3G cellular internet access . . . for free . . . for life.  Of course, Wi-Fi or Ethernet internet access is usually faster than most cellular internet networks.  Still, hard to beat free access.

4. Battery life

The Kindle has some amazing battery life.  With one charge you can get 4 days of use with wireless access on or 2 weeks with wireless off.  Yes, I said weeks.  I don’t think I’ve seen a netbook that can offer weeks of use on a single charge.  At best, a netbook with an extended 6-cell battery can give you 7 to 9 hours of use from one charge.

The Crux:

I had to make this very same decision and I went with a netbook.  For me, it all came down to functionality for the price.  For the limited function of the Kindle, an e-reader, it costs a bit too much.  The netbook, even as a limited PC, offers a broader range of activities for the same price as the Kindle.  However, if you’re a really avid reader, the cost of the Kindle and its content may be a better fit for you than a netbook.  Now if you had $800 burning a hole in your pocket, that would be another conversation altogether.