Laptops In Limerick

frank gallagher

Hi all, im looking for a laptop for my mum, it doesnt have to be superfast or
have mega memory, just something she can browse the web with and write her stories (a netbook would be too small for her screen wise) seen one in Harveys
for €350, http://www.harveynorman.ie/toshiba-amd-e1-laptop-c850-100.html

is this the best deal im going to get at this price ?

5uspect

If she just wants a web browser and a text editor consider a tablet, A Nexus 7 or even an ipad. They're ridiculously easy to use compared to a fully functional computer and there is less that can go wrong. You don't need a PC to get a tablet up and running any more.

If your mother is getting like mine and her eyes are suffering with age, the screen on the tablet will be probably much sharper and vivid.

Berty

This is a good price.

€479, sitting in a Dell Warehouse in the UK waiting to ship over here. Comes with Microsoft Office worth a lot of money included.

http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=n00i1440&model_id=inspiron-14z-5423&c=ie&l=en&s=dhs&cs=iedhs1

Newer and more modern than that Toshiba. There are cheaper ones on Dell but this one is proving popular over on the Bargain Alerts thread.

5uspect

That's a Student Edition of Office, there may be requirements to activate it as such.
But all she wants is a web browser and a text editor, many types of both are freely available.

Berty

5uspect wrote: »

That's a Student Edition of Office, there may be requirements to activate it as such.
But all she wants is a web browser and a text editor, many types of both are freely available.

Nope, it's not a Trial. I bought a Dell yesterday and MINE is a trial but this is a mini office, Word, Outlook and Excel only. Thats all most people need, at home at least. Already activated.

5uspect

I'm not saying it's a trial, I'm saying there might be requirements, as in you might have to prove you're a student to activate it. Anyway why spend money on the frankly awful modern versions of MS Office when LibreOffice is free?

But I reiterate my point. Does the OP's mother really need a fully fledged computer?
Netbooks are dead, the tablet has killed them. Modern Tablets, like the Nexus and the ipad are truly magnificent web browsing devices and okayish for typing. You can get bluetooth keyboards for them if typing is important.

Compared to Windows machines the ARM CPUs they use are more energy efficient and can provide better battery life. The simpler operating systems should be easy to use for any age - have you had the pleasure of explaining to a parent over the phone how to press ctrl-alt-del? Or better yet ask themdo an operation over skype where they can't begin to comprehend that multiple windows can occupy the same screen at once and that minimising Skype won't end the call or make the PC explode?

MarkR

Back on to laptops, Harvey Norman, PC World, and Curries all have a good selection of laptops. As a starter laptop, you can probably go for one with a celeron processor. 4gb of memory would be a minimum, but they should be easy enough to upgrade. Hard drive space is unlikely to be an issue.

Some of them have no cd drive. Wouldn't bother me, but it's a point to note. Screen size, weight, and battery are a couple of other things to consider. A 15" is a reasonable size. Toshiba and Lenovo would be the ones I would be looking at.

I was shopping around recently, and the staff were all helpful. Don't go on a saturday though, they'll be very busy and you won't get the time you want to look at them.