Cheapest way to use Skype and web email

ppshay · 07-12-2012 7:38pm #1

I'm looking to get something for my mother so she can email and Skype family members abroad. She'll probably use the internet a little too. She's a pensioner so something basic and intuitive to use and doesn't require any messing about under the hood. Probably tablet or netbook?

hearny · 07-12-2012 8:00pm

Whats the budget.

Ipad mini, Google nexus 7, Samsung Galaxy

hearny · 07-12-2012 8:49pm

I find that less technical people figure out the Apple stuff pretty quickly if your budget can stretch to it.

lemon_remon · 07-12-2012 11:46pm

hearny wrote: »

I find that less technical people figure out the Apple stuff pretty quickly if your budget can stretch to it.

That would be a horrible overkill just for a "simpler" UI.

Maybe a Chromebook might be a good idea? They are pretty much impossible to infect with malware and have a very simple UI. However, I don't think Skype is available as a Chrome app currently.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-Chromebook-Wifi-Latest-Model/dp/B009RF0AQ8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354923744&sr=8-1

Alfred Borden · 07-12-2012 11:48pm

Probably best off with a Netbook

ppshay · 10-12-2012 4:02am

Thanks for the replies. I'm annoyed with myself because I don't have much to spend but would love to get her something as she misses her sons. One is in China so phone calls are out of the question. She had one of those discount call cards but the code plus the number was so long for her that she kept entering it wrong and wasting her money on wrong numbers! One Chinese man got annoyed with her and told her to stop calling him.

When I told her about Skype she lit up! She never had a phone line in the house but is going to sort this out, and broadband.

I was thinking I could stretch it to €200. Maybe there just isn't anything that isn't rubbish for that price? It's looking like a seven inch tablet but I'm wondering if that might be too small for somebody of seventy years of age?

areyawell · 10-12-2012 4:05am

Does your mother have the internet or are you planning on using 3g?

T-K-O · 10-12-2012 4:12am

A few lads in work picked up the Blackberry playbook. It's less than 200 and the guys were impressed with the build quality.

ppshay · 10-12-2012 4:14am

areyawell wrote: »

Does your mother have the internet or are you planning on using 3g?

She's planning to get the internet in just for this.

PS. I have no Thanks button for some reason. Don't know why.

areyawell · 10-12-2012 4:14am

Id just buy a second hand desktop off adverts or a netbook. Get a netbook for 200

GreenWolfe · 10-12-2012 4:28am

T-K-O wrote: »

A few lads in work picked up the Blackberry playbook. It's less than 200 and the guys were impressed with the build quality.

There isn't any Skype app on the Playbook, unfortunately.

T-K-O · 10-12-2012 4:31am

EarthlyPangaea wrote: »

There isn't any Skype app on the Playbook, unfortunately.

That's a shame. It seems a great price

hearny · 10-12-2012 9:56am

Nexus 7 is €179:
http://www.vikingdirect.ie/a/pb/Google-Nexus-7-Android-41-Tablet-PC-16GB/pr=QDD&id=6409359/

Samsung Galaxy 7 Tav is €189 with €30 Cashback.
http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/5088735/Trail/searchtext%3ESAMSUNG+TAB.htm

The hardest part would be finding them in stock:
Argos stock checker is here:
http://checkargos.com/StockCheckPage.php?productId=5088735

Viking says the Nexus is installed but I would contact them as soon as possible as they flew off the shelves at that price everywhere else.

Cheapest way to use Skype and web email

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