Help!! Laptop for bf's birthday

XDivaX

Hello boardies,

I'd say you're pretty fed up with those asking for help in choosing laptop!
I usually do my own research in deep detail but this time it is for my boyfriend!
Would need a male view of point- he hinted that he want something "different" and "stylish" whatever that means!

Was gonna get him this
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/dell-inspiron-1546-black-04927895-pdt.html

And I know it is nothing exciting. But he likes my laptop.
Then he saw those "mini" laptops in carphone shop and was so blown away by them saying they are so cool. I was like yeah be useful for travelling etc and he said it'd still be good for all time.

So now I'm stuck!!

A bit worried that small laptop won't be comfortable for him with smaller keyboards etc and he isn't exactly a good typist!

Any advice would be appericated! :rolleyes:

Oh and he doesn't need anything overly techy as all he want is something he can use to surf internet with and save few photos etc.

Thanks in advance!

XDivaX

Oh please come on! I'm desperate for male view of point here!

M.J.M.C

Hi

Things to watch out for are, often these mini laptops don't have a dvd drive on them for playing movies etc, hence the smaller size.
So if he plays dvd's on your laptop that could be an issue

The laptop you linked to, 4gigs of ram is plenty and its a 15"
Id love a new laptop myself and 15" is what id be aiming for, the mini's just get too uncomfortable to use after a while

Komplett.ie might do a better laptop (they dont do dells) but if 469 is within your budget you're good to go.

XDivaX

M.J.M.C wrote: »

Hi

Things to watch out for are, often these mini laptops don't have a dvd drive on them for playing movies etc, hence the smaller size.
So if he plays dvd's on your laptop that could be an issue

The laptop you linked to, 4gigs of ram is plenty and its a 15"
Id love a new laptop myself and 15" is what id be aiming for, the mini's just get too uncomfortable to use after a while

Komplett.ie might do a better laptop (they dont do dells) but if 469 is within your budget you're good to go.

Cheers!! :D

Yeah I'm aware of that, he never watch dvds unless I pop it on so that ain't a concern so far.

Yep just don't know whether he wants a dell one because there are few people in his house with similar ones!
So you reckon the mini would be too uncomfortable to use with male hands/fingers as well?

Will have a look through komplett.ie

Any "stylish" or "cool" ones you would buy or want your gf to buy you??:cool:

M.J.M.C

Yeah the mini ones get too uncomfortable after extended period of time..
Some of them don't even have a mouse pad to use your finger on, right pain in the swiss.

That dell one looks good to me.
Might be worth having a look on the dell site, same laptop might be cheaper.

Personally im not a fan of pc world, if they had their way they will sell you a laptop bag, printer and all this other jazz
I use AVG free anti virus, rather than buying anti virus for 70 odd quid, pc world might try push that on you, but bar that he should be delighted with this laptop..

Alanstrainor

M.J.M.C wrote: »

Yeah the mini ones get too uncomfortable after extended period of time..
Some of them don't even have a mouse pad to use your finger on, right pain in the swiss.

99% of netbooks have a mouse pad to use your finger on. In fact the only one i can think of that doesn't is the sony P series, which is ridiculously small, and expensive so i would avoid anyway.
And as for netbooks getting uncomfortable this really is a personal preferance, i could type on my 10.1" netbook all day tbh.

M.J.M.C

Alanstrainor wrote: »

i could type on my 10.1" netbook all day tbh.

I couldnt tbh

XDivaX

M.J.M.C wrote: »

Personally im not a fan of pc world, if they had their way they will sell you a laptop bag, printer and all this other jazz
I use AVG free anti virus, rather than buying anti virus for 70 odd quid, pc world might try push that on you, but bar that he should be delighted with this laptop..

Either am I, No way I'm buying all stuff off them!lol Will get all that online for a lot less
Yeah I use AVG myself only I was wondering if Norton is any good.

Alanstrainor, I would be happy on mini ones all day myself but he isn't a good typist and it would be his first own laptop.

I'm trying to find slim 15" laptops and I have found Acer Aspire Timeline 5810TG so far which basically fits my list only some of reviews slightly set alarms off for me as they said it kept freezing and programs won't boot at all.:eek:

M.J.M.C

I'd say go with the one you posted here above.

If my gf bought me that, id be delighted.

AVG free does the job, no need for anything else if your fairly computer savy enough and dont click on them "you've won 10 million euro" emails etc
used it for years and years, never had any infections.

Best of luck, im sure he'll be delighted.

XDivaX

M.J.M.C wrote: »

I'd say go with the one you posted here above.

If my gf bought me that, id be delighted.

AVG free does the job, no need for anything else if your fairly computer savy enough and dont click on them "you've won 10 million euro" emails etc
used it for years and years, never had any infections.

Best of luck, im sure he'll be delighted.

Despite the reviews?? :rolleyes:
Cheers for your help! Its useful to have a male perceptive!

I'm trying to find another slim 15" laptop so if anyone come across any give me a shout please!

ED E

Some of the samsungs has 90+% keyboards, very easy to type on.

Or there is the Acer Ferrari One...does he like cars?

You pay for style though http://cgi.ebay.ie/Ferrari-One-Netbook-2GB-250GB-Windows-7-LX-FRC02-005-/290450108267?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_Computing_Laptops_EH&hash=item43a02cef6b

writhen

Just bought a Acer 4820T in Pcworld two days ago.

Very pleased, Nice spec (i3 chip, 3gb ram, 14" hd screen, DVD drive, 4USB ports, HDMI out etc.) - €699

XDivaX

Lethal_Bullet wrote: »

Some of the samsungs has 90+% keyboards, very easy to type on.

Or there is the Acer Ferrari One...does he like cars?

You pay for style though http://cgi.ebay.ie/Ferrari-One-Netbook-2GB-250GB-Windows-7-LX-FRC02-005-/290450108267?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_Computing_Laptops_EH&hash=item43a02cef6b

Yeah he is very much in cars but doubt he would want that though, his taste in cars change too often.


writhen, is it one of timeline laptops- no freezing or programs not booting?

XDivaX

Anyone know slim toshbia laptops??

fret_wimp2

Recently picked up a Dell 13z for a whisker over 600 euros(inc 3% company discount). its a very portable and well spec'ed little laptop:

13" screen
Dvd burner
4gb ram
320gb hard disk (7200rpm)
built in graphics
black in color
wireless
bluetooth
extended battery

with standard usage (surfing, writing docs etc) the battery lasts 6+ hours. Its an absolute corker of a machine and would recommend one to anybody. twice the machine of the macbook at less than half the price (if you spec the MB up to with 4gb ram and 320gb HD).

Plus, in my experience, dell support are awesome nowdays(totally My own opinion).

If you spec out the 13z for a decent, basic spec it comes in at 579, and if you ring dell up, you might get a few quid off that again. thats just my opinion, but if i was geting another portable laptop, it would be the 13 z

writhen

XDivaX wrote: »

Yeah he is very much in cars but doubt he would want that though, his taste in cars change too often.


writhen, is it one of timeline laptops- no freezing or programs not booting?

Yes it is.
Acer Aspire Timeline X 4820T

Go-Go-Gadget

NO! Acer is a terrible brand on whole. They break after about a month and trying to get Acer to follow the warranty agreement is a nightmare. Save yourself the money and hassle, stick with the likes of Dell, Asus, Toshiba or Sony.

Alanstrainor

Go-Go-Gadget wrote: »

NO! Acer is a terrible brand on whole. They break after about a month and trying to get Acer to follow the warranty agreement is a nightmare. Save yourself the money and hassle, stick with the likes of Dell, Asus, Toshiba or Sony.

Care to elaborate a bit? You've been saying the same thing a bit around these parts without backing it up.

Go-Go-Gadget

I'm currently in the process of taking Acer to the small claims court in order to receive a refund which I have been chasing for the last month. Since I got the laptop in november its been in the repair centre for 4 months (one month and now 3 months). Constantly told by acer I will receive a call to finish the details in 3-4 days. I never get the call and have to call back. I've spent about a hundred euro on calling them because they use a charge line, they actually earn money by people complaining. Since this occurred I've taken more interest in finding out what peoples thoughts and experiences with acer were. I found out of my friend 5 have or had acers and all except for 1 swear they would never get one again, the 1 that has had no problem got it 2 weeks ago.

Even by googling around I can see their poor service being reviewed and complaints against their business practices and quality.

Jaafa

Have to agree. My experience with Acer's personally and from friends who own ones has been largely negative. Im sure you can find some decent Acer's but just not worth it IMO.

dazzday

TBH i have been finding acer alot better to deal with recently in thier customer service department.

Easy to find out current warrenty status via their website, they dont redirect you 100 times to a call support centre in India like Dell or Hp, very easy to sort out a pickup for repair centre etc

Poor build quality might have been true a few years ago, but acer have upped their game seriously in the last few years. The Timeline X range is arguably the best ultraportable range out there for the moment...both cost wise and bang-for-buck. Look at serious notebook forums such as notebookreview for user opinions and you'll see how good they truely are.

Sigh if only they would sell the 3820TG with German config over here

Go-Go-Gadget

dazzday wrote: »

TBH i have been finding acer alot better to deal with recently in thier customer service department.

Easy to find out current warrenty status via their website, they dont redirect you 100 times to a call support centre in India like Dell or Hp, very easy to sort out a pickup for repair centre etc

Poor build quality might have been true a few years ago, but acer have upped their game seriously in the last few years. The Timeline X range is arguably the best ultraportable range out there for the moment...both cost wise and bang-for-buck. Look at serious notebook forums such as notebookreview for user opinions and you'll see how good they truely are.

Sigh if only they would sell the 3820TG with German config over here

Completely disagree with every point you just made but this thread isn't about acer. I gave my opinion you gave yours Up to the OP to pick the laptop

XDivaX

Now I'm a lot more fazed than I was at start!!lol

Originally set my sights on acer timeline laptop(based on experience of using friend's) only I'm slightly put off by those posts about poor customer service!!

So my choices would be;
Dell Inspiron 1546
Toshiba(Any slim 15"??)
Acer timeline 4...ish

He "hinted" about sony vaio because he thought it looked cool in advertisement. Only it seems to be too expensive for me!!