Aldi Netbook

iisollie

10'' Netbook Medion Thursday 15th July
www.aldi.ie/ie/html/offers/special_buys3_13463.htm
More here www.aldi.medion.com/md98370/ie/

New Intel® Atom™ processor N455
Genuine Windows® 7 Starter
LED backlight display
Integrated Bluetooth® 2.1
250 GB hard drive
6-cell Li-ion battery
Integrated 1.3 MP webcam with microphone
1 GB DDR2 SDRAM
Latest wireless LAN

Looks like a bargain -
I have a few questions -

does the 6-cell Li-ion battery guarantee long battery life? What is the difference between the N455 and N2xx or N3xx

Doodlebug

It looks like a nice price and a decent spec.

Anyone here using "Windows 7 Starter" already?

Just wondering how cut-down it is from the big boy versions - had a look at a comparison chart here but not sure if these features have much of an impact on day to day use?

Eemia

I was using windows starter for a while when i got my netbook and main thing that annoyed me was you couldn't change the desktop background at all. I didn't notice much else just upgraded and its grand now

Ghost Train

Spec all looks good for a netbook, slightly better new atom, no features missing except hdmi out, 3 year warrenty

Sue Rocks

im tempted

madmoe

Would go for it if there was HDMI out!!

TerrorFirmer

Eemia wrote: »

I was using windows starter for a while when i got my netbook and main thing that annoyed me was you couldn't change the desktop background at all. I didn't notice much else just upgraded and its grand now

Seriously? You can't change the background? Even WindowsCE supports that. Can someone else confirm that?

Ghost Train

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

Seriously? You can't change the background? Even WindowsCE supports that. Can someone else confirm that?

surprised by that too

does confirm it here

It is important to note that Windows 7 Starter still includes only a subset of the features offered in the higher editions of Windows 7 such as Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional and above. Windows 7 Starter does not include:

* Aero Glass, meaning you can only use the “Windows Basic” or other opaque themes. It also means you do not get Taskbar Previews or Aero Peek.
* Personalization features for changing desktop backgrounds, window colors, or sound schemes.
* The ability to switch between users without having to log off.
* Multi-monitor support.
* DVD playback.
* Windows Media Center for watching recorded TV or other media.
* Remote Media Streaming for streaming your music, videos, and recorded TV from your home computer.
* Domain support for business customers.
* XP Mode for those that want the ability to run older Windows XP programs on Windows 7.

beanhead

the processor suppoort ddr3 but it comes with ddr2, is there anything stopping an upgrade to ddr3?

also the hard drive speed could be better, price on medion site is £329 so yes bargain

BrokenArrows

this guy does a bit of a review

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caIvO3ZM9TI

BrokenArrows

beanhead wrote: »

the processor suppoort ddr3 but it comes with ddr2, is there anything stopping an upgrade to ddr3?

also the hard drive speed could be better, price on medion site is £329 so yes bargain

here is a ram upgrade tutorial for this netbook

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhjJ-KILTJg

peckerhead

Brief review here, too.

This looks like it might be worth getting up early for. Three years warranty is not to be sneezed at.

TheDriver

Sounds an excellent buy if your in the market, most are still lower atoms and 1 year warranty for the same thing.
W7 Starter is standard for this and its ill advised putting W7 proper on it as it will struggle.

mach1982

Shove Ubuntu URN on to it and you'll have pretty goo machine good machine .

TerrorFirmer

Windows 7 Starter sounds abysmal for any sort of 'normal' use outside of browsing the web. No DVD playback? No WMP? I know you can get alternative players but it's the principle. You can't even change your background? No support for older games and emulators that require XP compat? No thanks - better off installing Linux or XP on this I think.

Amalgam

Ram upgrade is not for the timid. This caught my eye because of the CPU used, not the garden variety Intel 450, but the 455.

I also presumed this was a rebranded MSI, apparently it is not.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhjJ-KILTJg

Odd internal layout.

TheDriver

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

Windows 7 Starter sounds abysmal for any sort of 'normal' use outside of browsing the web. No DVD playback? No WMP? I know you can get alternative players but it's the principle. You can't even change your background? No support for older games and emulators that require XP compat? No thanks - better off installing Linux or XP on this I think.

no dvd player on it hence why they don't bother with the dvd playback. I think one must remember this is a netbook and not a laptop and put into perspective what you want to use it for

TerrorFirmer

TheDriver wrote: »

no dvd player on it hence why they don't bother with the dvd playback. I think one must remember this is a netbook and not a laptop and put into perspective what you want to use it for

The issue is with Win7 starter, not the actual netbook - Win7s is the only OS I've ever seen that's so crippled at such a basic user level as to not allow you to even change your desktop background. Even ancient versions of WinCE for pocket devices allow you that!

Can't change backgrounds, no media playback as standard (at all, forget about DVD) as standard - these are features of an OS from pre Windows 95 to be honest.

Again I'm sure as a machine this is fine, but I'd be sticking a version of linux or XP on this instantly.

peckerhead

TheDriver wrote: »

W7 Starter is standard for this and its ill advised putting W7 proper on it as it will struggle.

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

I'm sure as a machine this is fine, but I'd be sticking a version of linux or XP on this instantly.

DD has a Dell Mini 1011 with the Atom N270 1.6GHz processor (533MHz, 512KB), and only 1GB RAM, and it runs W7 Pro without any "struggle".

This looks to me to be comparable to the Samsung N210, but with a three-year warranty and no posting it back to the UK if something does die.

danjo-xx

The specks might be good but what about the quality..... Alba is not a make that I would have considered good.

iisollie

danjo-xx wrote: »

.. Alba is not a make that I would have considered good.

Huh?

Ghost Train

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

The issue is with Win7 starter, not the actual netbook - Win7s is the only OS I've ever seen that's so crippled at such a basic user level as to not allow you to even change your desktop background. Even ancient versions of WinCE for pocket devices allow you that!

Can't change backgrounds, no media playback as standard (at all, forget about DVD) as standard - these are features of an OS from pre Windows 95 to be honest.

Again I'm sure as a machine this is fine, but I'd be sticking a version of linux or XP on this instantly.

Doing a quick search looks like there's third party software that would switch the background. And VLC should still play any media

makes sense to leave out the dvd playback codec to reduce to OS price, the locked background is a bit mean though

TM

iisollie wrote: »

Huh?

Perhaps they meant to reply to this post/thread?

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=66766336&postcount=21