I'am looking for a netbook for my son for Christmas, can anyone recommend one ?

I've looked at all the retail outlets and online but don't know which to buy or what
I'm looking at.

What are the Dell Inspiron Mini 1018 or the HP Mini 10 like ?

Please help times running out.

I have a Samsung N220 netbook and it is superb, both for build quality and in use with a battery life exceeding 6 hours.
Just bought my wife a Samsung NF210 "stunning new design if you're into that kind of thing" with a dual core processor and it knocks spots of my N220. Better processor, faster memory, a faster hard drive and even longer battery life.
A bit more expensive than the similar spec'd Acer/Asus models, but well worth the extra for the build quality in my opinion.

http://www.cclonline.com/product-info.asp?...ha-blk024s

good spec and battery life, the kids have them and cant recommend enough  freelander 2 SE black and beige - now sold

Hi - i would recommend spending a bit more and going for a lap top - my 11 yr old has one and finds moving round the screen very annoying - net result - he doesn't use it and spends more time on the home PC. There's always a way forward!

2008 Freelander Td4 GS - Stornoway Grey - Now Gone - Sob
2011 Freelander Td4 GS 150 - Rimini Red - in its place - Better x far x 4!!

Drowned Rat's correct. You need a screen that has a standard depth in pixels otherwise windows have a habit of being too deep to get at the ok/apply/cancel buttons of many applications and the lack of a cd/dvd drive can be a pain as well.

We've found the same restrictions with our Acer Aspire.
The lack of CD/DVD drive and spare USB ports is a real pain. Although it might suit your son for now, in the long term it might be better to get him a laptop now.
You'll most probably have to get him one anyway in the not to distant future!! Another member of the failed FL2 clutch/DMF club, twice.

I would agree that a laptop is a better investment, I was looking at netbooks as I liked the concept, being compact, etc

but on closer inspection I realised the lack of memory, small screen size, etc would not compete with a laptop for similar cost, so I bought am Acer Aspire 5542 laptop and it is super.

Iain

It all comes down to what he expects to be doing on his netbook and if he already has access to a laptop/desktop?
If he is after something for browsing the internet, sending receiving email, storing documents, photos or other files while away from a main computer, or while travelling and using services such as Skype for cheap communications then the netbook is ideal.
If he will be expecting to run any kind of processor hungry applications that he cannot already run on another computer, i.e. if he doesn't already have a desktop/laptop or if he intends to be doing any kind of university studies on it, then a laptop/desktop will be of far better use.
He couldn't expect to run anything other than the most rudimentary of games on a netbook either, but as already mentioned, a netbook is for portability and extended battery life in situations where even a laptop is considered bulky.