Lidl Laptop - Monday Jan 31

Stephen

Targa Notebook Traveller

* Limited Availability: Ticket System in place
* Processor of the future generation 3000+,With Hyper Transport-Technology (AMD64)
* Graphics Card: One of the fastest, mobile graphic chips worldwide!, ATI Mobility Radwon 9700 with 128 MB DDR-RAM
* Pioneer DVD -Multinorm and Dual Layer Technology for up to 8,54 GB
* Memory Card Reader
* Hard Drive 80GB, Working Memory 512 MB
* Modem and Network connection
* Music and Audio with DJ-Audio-Fuction
* Accessories included, Optical Wireless Mouse, 64 MB USB-Memory Stick, Multifunctional Remote Control, Notebook Bag, Scart Connection Cable, Huge-OEM-Software Package
* Price per item

It has a 3 year warranty and Windows XP home included too. 15.4in WXGA widescreen TFT. Also has 802.11g wireless lan, ethernet and modem. Comes with laptop bag too.
All for €1499.

The only thing I can't find out is the battery life and weight of the machine. Anyone got any ideas?

Stephen

Found 'em... weight is approximately 3.6 kilos (including battery), battery life is about 2 and a half hours.

I'd buy one had i €1500 to spare!

Considering an equivalent Dell Inspiron (only with a P4 3.0ghz instead of the AMD64, no card reader and no laptop bag and single-layer DVDRW, similar warranty option - 3 year collect and return) costs €2104, this is a pretty good deal.

conical

Targa Notebook Traveller

With Hyper Transport Technology, 3D-Now-Professional-Technology, 128 kB first Level Cache, 1024 kB Second Level Cache, 100% performance while at the same time 30 % longer battery time. AMD's unique AMD Power Now with dynamic performance adjustment!, Graphics Card: - No limit graphics with DirectX 9.0 Support, Detailed playback with optimum 3D-Quality, DVD and Video with cinema quality, All current displays connectable. Memory Card Reader:- SecureDigitalCard, MultimediaCard, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, Compact Flash TypI, Compact Flash TypII, IBM Microdrive. Modem and Nework Connection: Integrated 56 K V.90 Modem analog, integrated 10/100 Mbit Controller, (RJ45-Anschluss), Network and DSL ready!(External DSL Modem necessary. Ports: 1 x PCMCIA Typ II, 1 x FireWire(IEEE 1394), 1 x Headphone (incl. Adapter on SPDIF= optical port), 1x Microphone, 4x USB 2.0, 1x TV OUT(SVHS-Video incl. Adapter on Composite), 1x RJ45 (Network), 1 x RJ11 (Modem). Wireless Network and Internet Connection: Mini PCI-Wireless-LAN-Card, IEEE 802.11g (54 MBit/s). Accessories included: Optical Wireless Mouse,64 MB USB 2.0 Memory Stick, Multifunctional Remote Control, Notebook Bag, Scart Connnection Cable, Huge-OEM-Software- Package. 3 Year Manufacturer Guaranty, pick up and Hotline-Service included

Silent Assasin

I bought one of these laptops the last time they were out Just before christmas and I am very happy with it...

The only problem I have had so far was when the Wireless Network Card kept droping the connection but a Driver Upgrade sorted that out.

Anyone wanna know anything about them let me know !

DingChavez

Battery life? Weird Problems? Proformance with games?

DingChavez

Also, do you know why is it 1500 here and 1250 in Germany?

lomb

the targa i have they put the screen on wonky and has cracked near the hinges ......twice. i sent it for repair to germany. it took 2 months to return. and cracked within a few weeks (no doubt due to the wonky chassis. if u need one for business AVOID , good for consumers though who have a spare desktop lying about in case of warranty repairs. also these are geared towards consumers with heavy chassis and graphics cards and not great battery life.

DingChavez

Yeah, I'm hearing about these *cracks* everywhere. That's why I'll prob stay clear....

savemejebus

no cracks with mine (bought last april) lcd was faulty when i got it but they collected it, installed a new lcd and had it back to me within a week. (thats good seeing as they are sent to germany)

Cal

I got an early one year+ ago. Using it now. Not a problem with it since day 1. Not the lightest of laptops but a fully loaded unit for the price.

Cal.

Silent Assasin

No cracks or anything on mine either no weird problems with it either, Just the Wireless card kept dropping the connection till I updated the drivers. ( I got the Drivers from the Manufacters website rather than Targa's)

Hopefully I stay trouble free.

ozmo

Silent Assasin wrote:

No cracks or anything on mine either no weird problems with it either, Just the Wireless card kept dropping the connection till I updated the drivers. ( I got the Drivers from the Manufacters website rather than Targa's)

Hopefully I stay trouble free.

Bought one 1+ year ago with the 1024x768 display (2500+ AMD). And I found that the screen wasnt near as good as a Dell and miles from the Sony I used to have. Kinda washy colour with limited viewing angles. Res is up on this one - anyone know if display is good?

Also my one not great for games as it frezes/stutters for half second every 15secs exactly, in counterstrike. odd. Total reinstall with xp pro and latest drivers didnt solve it.

Also power supply buzzes and I had to have it replaced.

Otherwise well loaded pc. Not too heavy. Bat life good - but runs slower when not plugged in (half speed - no option to stop this feature).

note: this latest pc in advert says this pc is exempt from their normal returning it for no reason within a month if you dont like it...

condra

People often say "you get what you pay for".

From my experience, most of the times I bought cheap electronic goods, I regretted it. The fact that the same problems seem to be arising with these laptops makes purchasing one a gamble not worth taking.

I got a good deal on a cheap Packard Bell a couple of years ago and it never let me down, although I often wished I payed the extra couple of quid for something with a nice graphics card and firewire.
As far as desktops go, Dells are so cheap now I find it hard to understand why any consumer wouldnt get a Dell desktop.
Laptops have become viable alternatives to desktops for most people, making desktops suddenly seem kinda old-skool.
Soon as I have 1500 quid, Im gonna save that little bit extra for a good solid laptop.

AlanG

Having worked in Compaq and HP, approx 30% of all laptops by any brand need repair within a year and 50% within three years so these problems are not unusual with any brand. Lots of Compaq machines suffered with cracking screens also. If you are buying a laptop expect it to need repair and never buy one with only a 1 year warranty.
If the unit has a three year guarantee can’t be too bad even if you have to wait a month – try owning an apple ibook if you want to know what a bad warranty service really is even though it would cost twice the price of the Lidl unit.

savemejebus

womoma wrote:

People often say "you get what you pay for". From my experience, most of the times I bought cheap electronic goods, I regretted it.

I wouldn't call this laptop a "cheap electronic item". Fair enough, we aren't overly familiar with the brand, but when you look at the main components you generally find that they are usually name brand stuff, siemens ram, pioneer optical drives, toshiba hdd, ati 9700 gfx cards. Also the guarantee is fantastic for the price. Oh and the reason that the one month return to shop if you don't like it is out is because smart arses started taking machines home, taking out the components and then returning the cases saying they weren't happy with them/that they were broken. Lidl got stung a few times with this so decided to go with a manufacturer only gurarantee.

womoma wrote:

As far as desktops go, Dells are so cheap now I find it hard to understand why any consumer wouldnt get a Dell desktop.

probably because if you get a cheap dell, that is exactly what you get, cheap. No agp on motherboard, no SATA, lack of upgrade options and god only knows what brand stuff is going into it. Dells are great for business and for people with modest aspirations for their computers but if you want a good dell it's hard to get one cheap

Regarding the screen and games, after the LCD hiccup I had in the first week, everything has been great, no viewing angle problems. I did notice some colours seemed flat at first but honestly i don't notice now, and I've had no problems with games at all. Far cry looks beautiful on it, even though it's a 9600 and doom 3 ran fine. (in both xp-home and pro)

lomb

AlanG wrote:

Having worked in Compaq and HP, approx 30% of all laptops by any brand need repair within a year and 50% within three years so these problems are not unusual with any brand. Lots of Compaq machines suffered with cracking screens also. If you are buying a laptop expect it to need repair and never buy one with only a 1 year warranty.
If the unit has a three year guarantee can’t be too bad even if you have to wait a month – try owning an apple ibook if you want to know what a bad warranty service really is even though it would cost twice the price of the Lidl unit.

in fairness i wouldnt touch a hp or compaq or apple laptop for that matter with a bargepole.
hp and compaq are the most talked about laptop for problems. dells lattitudes are very very good my father has several. the toshibas are also excellent.
however none of these have advanced graphics cards and are business machines.
ie these are for people who rely on their machine and have rapid warranty turnaround in the very few cases that it is needed.laptops are very delicate and if you need a pc for home use a desktop is the only way to go for sustained reliable high performance.

l337

just in case you dont want to queue outside lidl... you can buy a very similar targa laptop here

http://www.notebook-shop.de/main.php?section=shop&group=174&lang=en

... and for about the same price too

kenny

Is this is the same as the one in Lidl apart from the size of the HD?

Jes Computers

Its about €150 cheaper incl. delivery to Ireland.

kinkstr

"Limited Availability: Ticket System in place"
Whats the story with this, can anyone explain it to me?

RE*AC*TOR

Elara €1,353
Amilo A 1630 - AMD Athlon 64 3200+, 512MB RAM, 40GB HDD, 128MB ATI Mobility Radeon 9700, DVDRW, WLAN 802.11g, Work suite 2004, adobe Photoshop Elements, Win DVD, Nero CD maker, XP Home SP2

beezkneez

kinkstr wrote:

"Limited Availability: Ticket System in place"
Whats the story with this, can anyone explain it to me?

It means that there is only a limited supply of these laptops in each of the lidl branches. if you arrive on the morning of the laptop deal (usually there is a q for these laptops) they will give you a ticket for a laptop on a first come first served basis.

embraer170

the targa i have they put the screen on wonky and has cracked near the hinges ......twice. i sent it for repair to germany. it took 2 months to return. and cracked within a few weeks

2 months, you cannot be serious! I bought one back in Nov and the screen hinges started to crack pretty quickly but haven't had the time to sort it out (and don't imagine I will until the summer and even then??). I thought it would be fixed in a few days or a week max, but 2 months??

If that's the case, couldn't I just return it instead? When a product is faulty, doesn't the consumer have the choice between a) repair b) replacement c) refund. If I can, I damn well feel like opting for that last one.

dubal

Aldi I know have a 1 year no quibble return policy... probably Lidl too

garthv

kinkstr wrote:

"Limited Availability: Ticket System in place"
Whats the story with this, can anyone explain it to me?

Yeh due to limited stock of certain items lidl will hand out tickets for the laptop and you go up to the cash register and purchase your laptop. In my experience when deals like this come out theres ques and ques of people waiting outside for the item(there was the last time lidl released a laptop)

embraer170

Dubal,

I doubt that will work. In Lidl it used to be a month, and even that doesn't apply anymore.

I believe that under the under the Sale of Goods Act and Supply of Services act 1980, I'm entitled to a refund within a 'reasonable' period of time (now is 3 or so months 'reasonable'?)

lomb

embraer170 wrote:

2 months, you cannot be serious! I bought one back in Nov and the screen hinges started to crack pretty quickly but haven't had the time to sort it out (and don't imagine I will until the summer and even then??). I thought it would be fixed in a few days or a week max, but 2 months??

If that's the case, couldn't I just return it instead? When a product is faulty, doesn't the consumer have the choice between a) repair b) replacement c) refund. If I can, I damn well feel like opting for that last one.

lidl for all their targas have had a policy of no return since 2002. i know because i bought the first ones back in 2002. what happened in my case was the laptop was shipped to germany via courier then they shipped it but to lidl where i bought it, then lidl rejected it and shipped it to germany then they shipped it to me. to avoid this tape a note to the outside of the screen and underneath it aswell and on the box u send it in. i failed to do this. tbh it will crack within 10 opening and closing again so there is no point in just sending it without any note. it should b back to u in say 2 weeks. i think the reason some crack is over tight hings and the screen not sitting true on the chassis. my advice is write a brief note that u want the hinges loosened and the chassis straigtened as tell them u had another targa laptop and it cracked again within a few weeeks. this should sort it out.............

Bateman

I'm not much of a gamer, will buy a laptop because of lack of space in house, it won't really leave the house that much, and will mainly be used for net and music storage, but won't have the money this time round. Hopefully there'll be another Targa within the next cople of months, because weighing everything up, I'd be inclined to take the gamble.

Stephen

Reactor - you're not comparing like with like there - that Fujitsu has a smaller hard drive (only 40gb), the DVDRW is + only, and single layer too. Elara's site quotes the battery life at 1.5 hours, which is not great. Plus you don't get all the extra bits and pieces you get with the Targa - laptop bag, remote, wireless mouse, memory stick etc.

Granted it has a slightly faster CPU, but I think the Targa in Lidl is the better deal.

garthv

Bateman wrote:

I'm not much of a gamer, will buy a laptop because of lack of space in house, it won't really leave the house that much, and will mainly be used for net and music storage, but won't have the money this time round. Hopefully there'll be another Targa within the next cople of months, because weighing everything up, I'd be inclined to take the gamble.

Then just order it from their site when you have the money....

lomb

Stephen wrote:

Reactor - you're not comparing like with like there - that Fujitsu has a smaller hard drive (only 40gb), the DVDRW is + only, and single layer too. Elara's site quotes the battery life at 1.5 hours, which is not great. Plus you don't get all the extra bits and pieces you get with the Targa - laptop bag, remote, wireless mouse, memory stick etc.

Granted it has a slightly faster CPU, but I think the Targa in Lidl is the better deal.

also the targa has a 3 year warantee thats worth 250+euro over the other one.

savemejebus

GaRtH_V wrote:

Then just order it from their site when you have the money....

just don't forget to take into account the german os and keyboard that you might end up with ordering from germany. Although i have heard of one site (can't remember the name now) that sell them with english keyboards (although they rip you off by trying to screw you for an english os)

wild_eyed

what time does lidl open at? does anyone here use the monaghan lidl?

Capt'n Midnight

embraer170 wrote:

Dubal,

I doubt that will work. In Lidl it used to be a month, and even that doesn't apply anymore.

I believe that under the under the Sale of Goods Act and Supply of Services act 1980, I'm entitled to a refund within a 'reasonable' period of time (now is 3 or so months 'reasonable'?)

I'd doubt it - AFAIK it's repair/replace/refund and it's thier decision not yours as to which option they will go for. Even Argos don't do a 16 day return on christmas decorations.. Also once you have accepted the software license agreement then the OS is bound to the supplied HW. (cf. windows refund day / the case of the guy in UK who bought a PC world return and Police found porn had been downloaded on it before he bought it :eek: )

Also it seems it's excluded from the one month return (read the flyer) , having seen the returned junk that PC world used to flog as managers specials with bits missing I can understand it, especially since Lidl arent' a PC superstore

Not very portable, more a luggagable but has just about every thing the average punter would want built in. Very few 15" screen laptops are that protable anyway. And three year cover isn't cheap from any of the competitiors. If you don't take it out of the house every day it makes a great desktop replacement.

As for germany being cheaper, different VAT rate, transport (german warranty) and rip off ireland effect.

lomb

http://notebookforums.com/showthread.php?t=50908

http://notebookforums.com/showthread.php?t=25140&highlight=hinge

emachines and targa are one and the same. no wonder my hinges are cracking to bits...........