Laptop - Postgrad

sarahchristinem

Hi, Im looking for a basic laptop (office, wireless, reasonable battery life) at a reasonable price for study and in-office training over the next 3 years. I will be carrying it around a good bit too. I've been looking at Dell and Sony and here is what I have found;

1) http://www.elara.ie/products/detailsfull.asp?productcode=ECE1751877

2) http://www.laptopsdirect.ie/Sony_VAIO_NS30E-P_Laptop_VGNNS30EP/version.asp

3) http://www.laptopsdirect.ie/Sony_VAIO_VPCW11S1E-W_Netbook_in_White_VPCW11S1EW/version.asp

4) http://www.elara.ie/products/detailsfull.asp?productcode=MME558E352&productID=S6834829

5) http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/laptop-inspiron-10?c=ie&cs=iedhs1&l=en&s=dhs

Can anyone recommend any of the above/the best value/most reliable or point out any advantages/disadvantages of any of them? Or has anyone any other suitable recommendations?

Thanks,

Sarah

Effluo

Right well first things first....

That Dell and the two cheaper Sony's are in fact "Netbook's"
This means that it's very small(you may have noticed them around) and has no dvd drive.
So you can't play cd's and other such on it...

The other two are normal laptops.

What you must ask yourself is if you need a dvd drive.
Netbooks offer a lot as they are easier to carry around, are cheaper and have a much longer battery life than most laptops.
In terms of power if all you'll be doing on them is a bit of word processing and web browsing then they would be a good choice.

However some people do not like working on such a small screen "all the time" so it's another question you must ask yourself.

This is generally seen as the market leader in Netbooks
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/150183 at around 350 delivered it's also a very cost effective option.

If you find that you would prefer a fully fledged laptop then you could get that pink sony(if you could live with the shame) it's the same laptop except in a different colour and quite a bit cheaper.

Or if you don't want to spend so much money just get this
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/159354# in terms of performance maybe the one i linked to would pip it due to it's higher clocked processor it's cheaper again but not pink... but it still is pretty classy, with it's silver back

Get open office for free instead of paying for MS office
And Avast Anti Virus or AVG for free...

sarahchristinem

Thank you very much, very helpful! I didnt realise the difference between a netbook and a laptop, thanks! I dont think a cd drive is really necessary, so maybe that would be a better option. Does open office allow you to open word attachments?

avalon68

sarahchristinem wrote: »

I dont think a cd drive is really necessary, so maybe that would be a better option.

If you will be using the laptop for your post grad then a cd/dvd drive will be useful. Even if you only need to install software such as endnote. Plus it will be handy for making backups etc.

KStaford

op

Just bear in mind that netbook keyboards are a little cramped and function keys such as page up/down can be a little offset from the conventional (even the nc10). Also the pad mouse on them tends to be tiny and a little awkward. If you are a student, chances are you will be doing lots of typing, if so go for a conventional laptop with a 15" screen. So they are a little heavy - good exercise

EDIT: Go into any PC World and try out the netbooks for yourself, then you will know if you can live with the size or not.

Elara: Kin

As KStaford says have a look at a Netbook if you can. They might be too small to be your primary computer, then again some people find it perfect. You do have a lot more options in Netbooks now as most companies have caught up in battery life. Asus, Lenovo, Tosh all make pretty decent Netbooks now. If I had to pick on it would still be the NC10, for us they outsell other netbooks about 5-1.

Effluo

KStaford wrote: »

op

Just bear in mind that netbook keyboards are a little cramped

This was a big problem with some of the original netbooks but has since been pretty much eradicated.
Most models now have keyboards 95%+ of the size of normal laptops.
Although you are right with certain keys not being where they should be...
And the small trackpads too, this is usually deemed as the only thing that could be better with the nc10(structurely)...

And yes open office can open and alter word documents and also save in the .doc format.

Really the exact same.
(includes powerpoint, publisher, etc.....)
Except for free.
The civil service run off this now too

sarahchristinem

Thanks for the replys, much appreciated!

sarahchristinem

I still havnt made a decision yet, but also came across this and and have been told it is a good buy.

http://www.elara.ie/products/detailsfull.asp?productcode=RO10350

Anyone have any opinions?

Thanks

Alanstrainor

sarahchristinem wrote: »

I still havnt made a decision yet, but also came across this and and have been told it is a good buy.

http://www.elara.ie/products/detailsfull.asp?productcode=RO10350

Anyone have any opinions?

Thanks

It's a pile of junk. Don't touch it!

sarahchristinem

Thanks again for all your help - its a great help! Just wondering if anyone has any other suggestions, for something similar (price, size and features) to the Samsung NC10 but which has a CD Drive? I'm a bit reluctant to get the Samsung, just in case there is anything that i will need to install or use via the CD Drive!

polyfusion

You could get something like an external USB DVD or CD player/writer for the times you'd need to install something from a disk. There are ways of making an image of the disk, putting it onto a USB memory stick, and making the netbook think it's like a CD or DVD, but you'd also need a PC to do it, and it may be a bit complicated for some.

Or with a network cable, it's also possible to link to a PC, and share the DVD drive through the cable - again, maybe a bit advanced for some, but definately possible (and cheap).

sarahchristinem

Would you be able to do that to install software too? e.g. Office

polyfusion

sarahchristinem wrote: »

Would you be able to do that to install software too? e.g. Office

With the 3 ways I described, you should be able to install any software, including Office, using any method (within the scope of your licence of course).

There's loads of info, easily got with google, for example, type "install office on netbook with usb stick" into a search, and you'll get the relevant info, or substitute "usb stick" with "external drive" or "over network", and you'll get more.

Netbooks are great, the difference in portability compared to a laptop, even a small one, is huge, especially if you're using public transport or cycling. You really need to check them out first-hand in a shop though, see if you like the feel and size. As an only computer, maybe better to go with a slightly larger laptop, but if you have a normal PC, the netbook is great as a companion if you need a portable as well, I think.