10-13” mid-range netbook to run Ubuntu on

Hardware Hub Laptops & Netbooks
1

I’m looking to purchase a netbook to use for university (note taking, pdf editing, LaTeX, browsing) so looking for something around the AUD$500 mark. Can anyone recommend any netbooks that they have been able to run linux on without any real issue around this price point? Only real requirements are that it’s portable (10-13") and has 4GB of RAM (2GB would probably do it but i’d rather have the 4GB)- I don’t need a 2-in-1 touchscreen deal (although it seems most of these netbooks have touchscreens now).

I know the Dell XPS13 is a good machine to run Linux on, however, I don’t really want to go paying AUD$1800 to muck around with pdf documents and browse the net…

Thanks for your help

Edit:
I just got back from a few stores where I tried to boot Ubunutu 14.04 LTS x64 on the Acer R11, HP x360-11 and Lenovo yoga 300 without any success. After disabling UEFI, I could get the normal install/try ubuntu screen but when booting, I would get the error
Error: [0.000000] tsc: Fast TSC calibration failed
and sometimes a second error about hardware on every machine. The boot would then just hang… I’m guessing this may have something to do with the touchscreen.

2

An Old thinkpad with some kind of i5/i7

3

Thanks- I was thinking along those lines but will have to look at the second hand market. I don't think I really need i5 level power thoough. I'm using an old lenovo 10" ideapad (circa 2011) with only a single core intel Atom processor and although a bit slow, it still does what I need. I think the new celeron n3050 would be more than adequate and would bring price down a lot- I'm really just looking for a long battery life and a newer machine that will run a bit quicker than this old POS (ideapad S10-3) lol.

4

Ya the old thinkpad wouldn't have much if any of a battery life, otherwise, just anything really in that price range, just make sure it hopefully has 4gbs of RAM

5

These look pretty nice (would replace HDD with SSD):

However, after my foray this afternoon and little success with getting the bootable usb to run, I'm a bit scared I'd order it and have to spend forever getting it just to boot haha.

6

Well like, are ya sure the USB works on other PCs?

Also
"14.0" HD (1366 x 768) LED"

Get something with an 800p or higher display, preferable 1080p, but you'd have to go used for that

7

Good point.... I'd prefer not to have 14" but might not be left with much option.

I used the usb to install the system I'm posting from but I'll shutdown and check it again- maybe it's been corrupted or something along the way (I put some files on it the other night).

8

Currently posting from my desktop running from the bootable usb I tried at the shops this afternoon.... nothing wrong with the USB...

Also just noticed the link I posted above is from the US Lenovo site- that computer is AUD$1200 :(

This actually looks alright- might be the way to go but I'll have to look around and see if it runs ok with linux:
http://www3.lenovo.com/au/en/laptops/thinkpad/11e-and-chromebooks/11e/p/20DA003FAU#tab-tech_specs

Edit:
Apparently the thinkpad 11e does run ok with Linux: http://all-geo.org/volcan01010/2015/07/installing-linux-on-lenovo-thinkpad-11e/