Netbook/Mini laptop advice

Tenger · 10-12-2008 1:56am #1

The missus wants a laptop for work. She is a secondary teacher. She will use it for email,web browsing,the odd download form Dept.of Ed website,maybe itunes and watching DVDs. Mainly she needs it for MS word (all dept documents are in MSWord)and doing research and printing for class work. A DVD/CD drive would be needed. She isn't a computer person so she would need a normal version of windows XP/Vista rather than the Linux/Cusom version some have.

I saw these new (well to me) mini laptops and thought they would be great for her. Easier to carry around which is a factor. There is the Asus EEE PC, Dell inspiron Mini 9 and ACER Super Compact.(purely examples I saw....do not have a preference for any manufacturer)

Are they any good? The Acer one is EUR265 in DID,I like the price of it! I had thought of a budget of approx EUR400. Are they worth it or should I go for a 'proper' laptop. As i said above she will not need a lot of computing power. An added bonus for her if would be that I wouldn't try to install any of my games on it!

Is netbook the correct term..I am going by wikipedia.

Thanks

ytareh · 10-12-2008 2:19am

Samsung NC10 is THE laptop to have right now .

ongarite · 10-12-2008 2:20am

The netbooks you have mentioned above are all perfect for your needs except for one crucial area. The netbook/mini laptops don't have a CD/DVD drive built-in to keep the size and cost down.

A well-spec'd netbook with 10" screen costs the guts of €400 and probably another €50-70 for external DVD drive.

I would look out for a cheap laptop instead, even a decent 2nd hand one.

agentgreen · 10-12-2008 12:19pm

ongarite wrote: »

The netbooks you have mentioned above are all perfect for your needs except for one crucial area. The netbook/mini laptops don't have a CD/DVD drive built-in to keep the size and cost down.

A well-spec'd netbook with 10" screen costs the guts of €400 and probably another €50-70 for external DVD drive.

I would look out for a cheap laptop instead, even a decent 2nd hand one.

Could you recommend a cheap laptop to fit these spec?

I am looking for the exact same for my sister and was considering the above with an external drive, but still might be a bit heavy for her.

Alanstrainor · 10-12-2008 12:46pm

I doubt it'd be too heavy, you're talking machines that are in and around the 1kg mark.

Brian · 10-12-2008 12:51pm

Any of the 10"ers would suit well if coupled with a slim USB dvd drive. LG do a nice one that's powered by USB, not sure what the name is but LG Slim DVD drive should find it..

ongarite · 10-12-2008 1:04pm

Baza210 wrote: »

Any of the 10"ers would suit well if coupled with a slim USB dvd drive. LG do a nice one that's powered by USB, not sure what the name is but LG Slim DVD drive should find it..

I asked Santa for this LG slim USB powered DVD burner. Looks class and matches my black NC10
http://elara.ie/products/detailsfull.asp?productcode=ECE1593504&productID=S5791455

Brian · 10-12-2008 1:05pm

LG GSA E50L.. i think. Have a look around on msiwind.net

bringitdown · 10-12-2008 1:18pm

G/F has an Acer Inspire One ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspire_One

Think this is the Acer one you mention.

Absolute Gem but runs a little hot.

She loves it and uses it for similar items you mention.

No DVD/CD drive on it obv. I find myself a wee bit jealous of it!!! She has to get it off me when she brings it around!

Tenger · 10-12-2008 2:54pm

ongarite wrote: »

The netbook/mini laptops don't have a CD/DVD drive built-in to keep the size and cost down.

A well-spec'd netbook with 10" screen costs the guts of €400 and probably another €50-70 for external DVD drive

Am sure she could manage without a inbuilt CD/DVD drive........I was thinking of watching movies and loading music. I could just transfer music via USB stick from my laptop. And as you say we could have an external drive in the house if she did need it. And the LG one comes reccomended already.

Just looking at the DID specs and it only has 8GB hard drive.............no wonder its cheap.............my USB key is that size! The Currys and PCWorllds websites are both 'under construction'!! Can I assume that the UK site will have similar items? Are Peats any good........I know they are expensive but I have vouchers that work in DID and Peats.........not PCworld/Currys though.

Still not sure about it....there is not rush as she is still on maternity leave. May try to get one after xmas for her Birthday in April......she might like a Garmin satnav for xmas.

Thanks for the advice.

Brian · 10-12-2008 6:33pm

Most 10" laptops have 80 or 160GB harddrives. The Aspire One has a flash chip similar to your USB stick.
You should be looking at the Advent 4211, ASUS Eee 1000H, MSI Wind, Samsung NC10. All have very similar specs, but you get what you pay for in terms of the small differences.

Best place to buy from is Elara.ie, in my opinion.

Alanstrainor · 10-12-2008 6:53pm

Baza210 wrote: »

Most 10" laptops have 80 or 160GB harddrives. The Aspire One has a flash chip similar to your USB stick.
You should be looking at the Advent 4211, ASUS Eee 1000H, MSI Wind, Samsung NC10. All have very similar specs, but you get what you pay for in terms of the small differences.

Best place to buy from is Elara.ie, in my opinion.

I have the advent 4211, great little machine, but purely for the far superior battery life i'd recommend the samsung, going to buy one for my Dad for christmas, he can't keep his hands off my Advent!

Tenger · 10-12-2008 10:33pm

Thanks for all the advice gang.

Think I'm gonna get my sister to pick me up one in Belfast on Tuesday. Both PCworld and Currys have the Advent 4211 for EUR311, 4213 for EUR366, or the Eee PC 901 for EUR321.

Have the weekend to think on it.

BoB_BoT · 10-12-2008 10:46pm

I'd recommend going for one with a SATA drive, the Solid State Drives are major bottlenecks when it comes to XP. Linux is configured nicely on the Netbooks to not slow down as much but it's still slower than it should be. The Advent looks nice. Best to look around for reviews by people that own one though, best way to find out about it. There's one in Aldi this week, tomorrow actually, comes with a 3 year warranty. Medion brand, clicky, bit more expensive, probably paying extra for the warranty. Same specs as most other netbooks.

Das · 10-12-2008 10:49pm

Get the EEE and use Ubuntu-EEE with it

http://www.ubuntu-eee.com/

BoB_BoT · 10-12-2008 11:08pm

they want a netbook with xp. so no point getting an eee pc and using ubuntu

Brian · 11-12-2008 2:09am

Bramble wrote: »

Thanks for all the advice gang.

Think I'm gonna get my sister to pick me up one in Belfast on Tuesday. Both PCworld and Currys have the Advent 4211 for EUR311, 4213 for EUR366, or the Eee PC 901 for EUR321.

Have the weekend to think on it.

The 901 is a 9" screen and keyboard, a bit too small to be practical.. at least from what I've experienced. Does the 4211 have a 6-Cell battery? If it still comes with the 3-Cell it's not worth your time, the battery life is about 2 hours.

gandalf · 11-12-2008 11:08am

I went with a Samsung NC10 for travelling and am extremely happy with it. I use a USB key or a NAS on my wireless router to transfer files etc but given DVD Burners are cheap that would be a great option for it. The battery life is excellent and it performs well enough for simple tasks like WP, Picasa and the Internet.

I'd have no hesitation in recommending one.

Tenger · 11-12-2008 1:20pm

Das wrote: »

Get the EEE and use Ubuntu-EEE with it

http://www.ubuntu-eee.com/

How different is that to normal windows XP? My wife (and indeed myself) are not too comfortable with other OS. Had thought an EEE PC with XP would be a better buy.Mates had Linux before and I didn't like my initial impression,Im very much a Nokia man with mobile,can't get used to any others!

That Aldi offer looks good,while not a top brand it should work for someone who doesn't require top end performnce.

ongarite · 11-12-2008 1:33pm

Bramble wrote: »

How different is that to normal windows XP? My wife (and indeed myself) are not too comfortable with other OS. Had thought an EEE PC with XP would be a better buy.Mates had Linux before and I didn't like my initial impression

As much as some people rave about Ubuntu, its still no match for the MS Windows PCs we are all used to. If you giving the laptop to someone with basic knowledge of PCs, I would steer well clear of Ubuntu or any Linux distros.

smemon · 11-12-2008 1:59pm

Best place to buy from is Elara.ie, in my opinion.

For a samsung nc10;

elara.ie = €414.27
laptopsdirect.ie = €391

Saving of over €20. I go with the cheapest, regardless of where they're from or where i'm from :cool:

Alanstrainor · 11-12-2008 2:20pm

I would strongly disagree with the above. Laptopsdirect will completely blank you if anything goes wrong and will at the very best fob you off to the manufacturer. I had a problem with a laptop 4 months ago bought from them...im still without a solution now. For the sake of 20e i know who i'd be buying from.

ongarite · 11-12-2008 2:29pm

As above, steer clear of laptopsdirect. They are cheap for a reason, shocking customer service.
Dabs.ie have the NC10 in stock now in all colours & Elara hope to have them in stock by the end of the week.

karlh · 11-12-2008 3:55pm

Hi all,

looking for an external usb dvd drive for an EEE PC - just for dvd playback.

just got the pc is deadly but would like a white drive to match as i got it for someone as as a present.

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=340155&view=detailed#ProductTabs

Will this one do the trick or are there any compatibility issues?

Is it overkill - are there more simple models?

Brian · 11-12-2008 4:05pm

karlh wrote: »

Hi all,

looking for an external usb dvd drive for an EEE PC - just for dvd playback.

just got the pc is deadly but would like a white drive to match as i got it for someone as as a present.

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=340155&view=detailed#ProductTabs

Will this one do the trick or are there any compatibility issues?

Is it overkill - are there more simple models?

It will work fine. It may be overkill if you're just using it to watch DVDs, but to be honest it's difficult to find DVD drives that are read-only nowadays :pac:

draoicht · 11-12-2008 4:28pm

Bramble wrote: »

That Aldi offer looks good,while not a top brand it should work for someone who doesn't require top end performnce.

The Aldi netbook is the same as the Advent 4211, as both are rebadged MSI Winds.
The difference being that the Medion has no bluetooth, less resolution webcam than the Advent but it does have N draft wi-fi.
The major difference of course is the fact that the Advent can be got cheaper in Currys.

Edit Just looked at PC Worlds website and noticed that the Advent has a 120GB hard drive while the Medion has a 160GB one, still dont think the extra storage is worth the extra money.

karlh · 11-12-2008 4:39pm

Baza210 wrote: »

It will work fine. It may be overkill if you're just using it to watch DVDs, but to be honest it's difficult to find DVD drives that are read-only nowadays :pac:

thanks, i've read about some issues with media player, licencing and external drives. Just get this drive and use VLC?

machalla · 11-12-2008 5:03pm

I saw effectively the same drive in PC World liffey Valley last friday for €70. Might be worth a look. It was an LG GP08NU10. If you aren't concerned about colours Elara had a black drive with Lightscribe built in for about €77.

Alternatively keep an eye on dabs.ie who I think deliver light items for about €5. Komplett cost about €13 for delivery.

LiteOn 8xSlimExtUSB2DVDRW+LSWhite €62
http://www.dabs.ie/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=5CXZ&CategorySelectedId=11155&NavigationKey=11155,4294952765,4294959458,40210000

LG Electronics 8xExt.DVDRWSlimlineL/SUSB €63
http://www.dabs.ie/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=5CXR&CategorySelectedId=11155&NavigationKey=11155,4294952765,4294959458,40210000

Some of these drives come with dvd playback software so you should be fine using that. VLC is excellent though and should do the trick.

Brian · 11-12-2008 5:11pm

Yeah, seconded. Don't worry about WMP ; )

karlh · 11-12-2008 5:43pm

The LG from dabs looks perfect - thanks a lot fellas

Brian · 11-12-2008 5:50pm

Cool. Nice work team =P

Netbook/Mini laptop advice

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