Lidl Laptop

Lump

Has anyone got any info on the important specs of this laptop. I'm in the UK, but my dad is looking to buy it. I think it's decent, but don't want to advise him, with out actually knowing!

Link: http://www.lidl.ie/ie/index.nsf/pages/c.o.oow.20050808.p.Notebook

Thanks,

John

CTU_Agent

Spec is as follows:

Model
Targa Traveller 826T 3000+
Processor
AMD® Turion® 64 MT32 with AMD PowerNow!® technology
Software
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition*
Microsoft® Works Suite 2005*
Microsoft® Plus! package*
Pinnacle Studio SE*
Cyberlink Power Cinema*
SAD Audio Jack*
Ahead Sipps* VoIP internet telephony
Ahead NERO 6 OEM Suite*
eTrust Antivirus*
DivX Co
RAM
1024 MB DDR-RAM, extendable up to 2 GB, in total 2x 200 Pin SO-DIMM slots
Display
15,4" WXGA TFT (16:10 format)
Physical resolution: ergonomic 1280 x 800
Graphics
ATI® Mobility® Radeon® X700 - 128 MB DDR memory
DirectX 9 compatible, Powerplay functionality, DVD playback hardware decoding, supports pixel and Vertexshader 2.0
Hard disk
80 GB hard disk Samsung® with 5400 RPM

PIONEER® Double Layer Multinorm DVD+R DL, DVD+R/RW, DVD-R/RW and CD-R/RW drive
Write:
4 speed DVD+R DL
8 speed DVD+R
8 speed DVD+RW
8 speed DVD-R
6 speed DVD-RW
24 speed CD-RW
24 speed CD-R
Read: 24x CD, 8x DVD, 6x DVD+R DL, 2 x DVD RAM
Audio-System
AC 97 compatible, 5.1 6 channel Dolby Surround Sound through optional SPDIF
Stereo loudspeakers
PCMCIA
PC card standard compatible, Card Bus support, 1x Type-II-PC-Card
Bus types
4 x USB 2.0, 1x Firewire (IEEE 1394), Mic-In/ Speaker-Out, 1 x 15 pin external monitor, 1 x S-Video Out,

Modem (RJ11), LAN (RJ45), 1 x PCMCIA TYP II, 4-in-1 Card Reader
Communication
Bluetooth, WirelessLAN** MSI Mini PCI 802.11g 54 Mbit incl. antenna, 56K V.90 modem, 10/100 MBit LAN

(prepared for network and DSL)
Keyboard
19 mm keys, Windows® keys, splashproof contacts
Pointing device
Capacitive, wear-free touchpad with scroll surface
Optical USB mouse
Power supply
100-V to 240-V power pack (90 Watt) with automatic voltage adjustment, intelligent Li-Ion rechargeable

battery, mains independent operation: up to 2.5 h (depending on the application)
Energy management
APM 1.2 & ACPI 2.0 Suspend / Resume Modus
Dimensions (WxHxD) mm
355 x 31 x 255 mm
Weight
2.8 kg including rechargeable battery
Scope of delivery
DVB-T digital and analog TV card with radio tuner, antenna, remote control, stereo headset, USB

mouse, power pack, DVD software drivers with recovery function, practical service manual, lithium ion rechargeable

battery, modem cable + adapter, SPDIF adapter, scart connection cable, PCMCIA compact flash adapter for CF1, CF2

and IBM®/Hitachi® Microdrives®
Accessories (optional)
SO-DIMM modules: 512MB and 1 GB, additional lithium ion rechargeable battery, additional power pack, ext.

floppy drive
Warranty
2 years incl. pick-up and return service (6 months on the rechargeable battery)
Security
Two-level password, Kensington lock

The above information is not legally binding. The technical data is according
to the dealer's specifications. No liability and guarantee for erroneous
entrys and images.

snappieT

I don't think anyone will be able to surpass the info in that post.

Did you mention it can add 1+1?

Stephen

Looks very good indeed - in fact very similarly specced to the Aldi one from May (i bought one of those). Most of the parts are equivalent -
Lidl Targa vs Aldi Gericom
Lidl AMD Turion 3000+ vs Aldi Intel centrino 1.73ghz
Both with 1 gig of ram
same size screen
Lidl ATI X700 128MB vs Aldi nVidia 6600go 128MB
Lidl 80gb HD vs Aldi 100gb HD
both have card readers, dvd burners, bluetooth, integrated 10/100/1000 LAN, modem, wireless, usb, firewire, cardbus DVB-T cards, 2 year warranty etc - same price too.

I'd buy one if I didn't get the Aldi one in May tbh.

Lump

Thanks

jm2k

Don't know if the specs are the same but there's a laptop in lidl for ~€1300 in the north, anyone have any more info on this?

http://www.lidl.ie/ie/index_ni.nsf/pages/c.o.oow.20050808.p.Notebook

woody

checked in newry tis the same one for 200 less we defo live in rip of ireland

bogman

That will be 300€ cheaper in Germany, interesting to see the NI price, might be tempted
Charles

Stephen

The different VAT rates between here and there may have something to do with it.

Alun

Stephen wrote:

The different VAT rates between here and there may have something to do with it.

For the UK it's 17.5% versus our 21%. It makes a small difference, but not that much.

woody

Stephen wrote:

The different VAT rates between here and there may have something to do with it.

That would make a marginal difference but not 200 or 300 Euro's.

It is true we are ripped off even at Aldi/Lidl compared to elsewhere

The_Bullman

Would lidl in Newry take euro's or would I have to get sterling? They don't take credit cards do they?

As I'm a newb to lidl - is there a limited stock in store? If so how early would I have to get in the queue before the store opens?

woody

sterling dude, best to go up and check

mmm12

but is 1499 good value for the laptop ?

Stephen

Yeah. Try to spec out an equivalent one on the Dell site (i know they don't do AMD's but pick, say, a centrino 1.7ghz) and see what it comes to.

I just did it there, and it cost over €2200 with a much lesser graphics card (ATI X300), and all other specs as close as possible to the Lidl one.

mmm12

good stuff. and is there any diff between the amd and intel processor ? think i might buy, although the brand name is unknown ?

Celticfire

http://www.targa.co.uk/

ghost26ie

have a targa pc and laptop and neither have givin me single day of hassle. great spec for such price. agree with stephen, try and spec it anywhere else and see what price u get.

savemejebus

also have targa laptop from LIDL, low battery life (hour and a half) on mine but other than that no problems. Great machine (shame i don't use it more)

The_Bullman

People have been saying that the laptop in lidl in the north is cheaper. I checked this out today but it is a different laptop and a slightly lower spec. The one for sale in Newry is a targa 811 3000+

johnnyboy4711

899.00 GBP
United Kingdom Pounds = 1,299.08 EUR
Euro
200 to be precise!!!
what u reckon?
johnnyboy4711


apologies not same spec!!!!

Phibsboro

Hi,

I recommended this laptop to my dad and he bought one on Sat. I went to set it up for him lat night and the keyboard doesn't work! The machine will turn on and go through the initial XP set up, but the keyboard is dead - can't type anything into the setup screen (for example when you are asked for the user name) and caps lock/num lock do not toggle the led indicators. All very annoying!

So, the question - the yoke came with details to do a pick up under warranty but given that it is only 2 days old I am tempted just to return it to the shop for an immediate replacement - anyone know what my rights are here? Can I ask for a replacement?

Thanks,
C

cormie

I think Lidl and Aldi operate a very good returns service, go back to the store and there should be no problem, I returned my faulty Aldi laptop 7 months after I bought it to Aldi, they said they would give me a refund 30 seconds into me telling them about it :eek:

Stephen

Yeah, their return policies are usually brilliant. One thing though, which I have noticed with Dell Latitude laptops: We use a lot of these in work, and sometimes when booting (usually just after we install Windows on them), it may take a while for the keyboard to actually do anything once it gets to the login screen. After 30 seconds or so of sitting there at the login screen, it just... works.
Maybe its something similar with the Targa?

Phibsboro

I fear not, unfortunately. I was staring at the thing in amazement for several minutes plus of course numerous re-boots, reading the manual from back to front etc. etc. So it back to the shop this evening - wish me luck

cormie

Good luck! Could you pick me up some grapes and a pint of low fat milk while your there please?

Phibsboro

So, they wouldn't exchange it (or indeed refund it!). A most peculiar situation. A very nice guy called Anthony (who actually remembered my Dad buying it off him on Saturday) explained that their policy was that I had to call Targa to get a replacement. This effectively meant replacing it under the warranty with what may be a repair, may be a new laptop. I wasn't happy with this for a two day old 1500 euro laptop that was DOA so I told the guy that if he couldn't replace it for me now I wanted an immediate refund. He happened to be on the phone to one of the other managers (a whole chest of chickens had been left on defrost all day - someone was in for it ) and the other manager told him to call what I presumed was an area manager. The area manager could not be contacted and eventually I agreed that Anthony would take my number and call me when his manager got in touch. No word pre 9pm closing time so I assume I wouldn't hear anything until the morning.

I think if it wasn't for the guy's calm and reasonable way of handling the situation, I would have hit the roof. It is a complete cop out to tell me to call Targa for a DOA unit - that policy is fine if its 6 months down the road, but not two days. Also, when I mentioned I wanted a refund he said the store wasn't able to do cash refunds of that size - it would actually have been a laser refund. Given that they only take cash/laser I'm not sure what would have been involved in me actually getting my money back. I guess I'll find out tomorrow if they can't come up with a replacement unit.

So, at the moment I regret having recommended this to my father. I think the store should do an exchange given they have other ones in stock and to be honest, I think they will do this tomorrow. And if this is the case, they should have every duty manager authorised to do it and not let down some customers because the area manager couldn't be contacted.

More tomorrow

C

cormie

Interesting, when I went to Aldi with mine (7 months after I bought it) I walked in with the laptop on, formatting the HD to erase my info, the laptop was on and the manager who didn't really know allot about computers just came out and I just had to say I've been having a few problems with it and out comes €1,300 cash, I paid €1,299.99 for it, profited a cent too. Great service from Aldi. Hopefully Lidl will sort you the same way. I got a doa laptop, I'm using it now but it still has a sound problem and I have to go to the manufacturer:(

OFDM

Phibsboro wrote:

So, they wouldn't exchange it (or indeed refund it!).

If you are sold faulty goods then you are entitled to a refund. Smack them with the small claims court if you have to.

jor el

Exactly, you were sold a faulty product so you are entitled to a refund or replacement immediatly, no BS from the manager should be accepted. Since they still have some left (what store is this, I thought the laptops usually sell out pretty quickly) there should be no reason why they don't replace it right now.

On a side note, did your dad pay for this in cash or by Laser? I only ask because I know my Laser card has a maximum transaction limit of €300 for some reason, which wouldn't be much use if I was trying to get something like one of these laptops.

cormie

I posted a thread on this issue, I got my laptop and the sound was dodgey, after links to different parts of the law. The conclusion is that Lidl do not have to replace it until it is confirmed by the manufacturer to be faulty. This means it has to go back to the manufacturer to be declared faulty, you are then entitled to a refund/replacement. It would be easier and probably quicker to get on the phone to Targa and see what the story with returns/repairs is and then see what time frame Lidl give you, I haven't got around to arranging it yet, but my laptop will be going directly back to the manufacturer for repair. They offer a collect and return service which is handy, still though, I'll be without the laptop for about 3 days. Something I really don't want to do :mad:

It was declared that anything more on the part of the retailer is just "better" customer service than they are liable for. Hopefully you will get sorted by them though without having to go through to the manufacturer.

deadl0ck

As far s I know, your contract is with Lidl (as they sold it to you), not Targa, so legally it's Lidl's responsibility to refund / repair it.

Click here for the Office of consumer affairs, a particularly interesting/relevant section here :

A shop insists that consumer deals with the Manufacturer of goods which turn out to be faulty ?

* The consumer's contract is always with the seller of the goods.
* In this case, if the consumer paid money to the retailer, contract is with the retailer and it is up to the retailer to deal with the situation.
* However, this does not stop the consumer from contacting/dealing with the manufacturer themselves if they so wish.

You can also ring the ofice of consumer affairs for free advice:
402 5555 (01 area), 1890 220 229 (outside 01 area)

Hope this helps you and keep up posted on your progress !!

cormie

Yes that's right, the shop will deal with it if requested, but it is quicker for you to deal with the manufacturer direct rather than going to the shop. So it's either you drop it int Lidl and pick it up about 2 weeks later, or get Targa to collect it and get it back 3 days later. Well I'm not sure what Targas policy is but that's Acers anyway.

Phibsboro

I take the point re discussion of calling targa but the reality is that its a DOA 2 day old €1500 laptop - I don't want to get this fixed on a warranty, I want a replacement or my money back.

No word from Anthony yet - I decided to try and call him before I made another trek out to the store (the store is near my father but not near me ). Turns out that Lidl do not list any individual numbers for their stores. There is one customer service number. When you ring this you get a announcement that the extension xxxx is busy and then a voice mail message welcoming u to Lidl customer service and asking you to leave your name and address! So Lild customer service is one line! I dialed 0 during the message and get through to Noelene on reception of what appears to be Lidl headquarters. I explained my situation to her and asked her for the coolock branch number. She said she couldn't give that number out and offered to put me through to the customer service line. I explained this was a single extension that appeared to be switched to voice mail and what I really needed was to speak to the store manager directly to find out if I should call out this evening or not. She still refused to give the number. I asked to speak to her manager and she put me on hold for a few seconds before coming back to say I could either be transferred to customer service or call in to the store in person. I again queried this and asked to speak to her manager directly at which point she just transferred me to the customer service line! So, I left a message on that line asking for help but I am not currently holding my breath...

All very frustrating! I think its definitely money back time this evening.

C

Celticfire

Why don't you just call Targa? They might be able to help you a little better, you won't know till you call them .........Find out what they can do

cormie

You are entitled to a refund replacement as long as there is something wrong with the laptop which Targa have to confirm first. Lidl don't have the experience to qualify the machine DOA so to them, you could just be bringing it back because you don't want it. They must send it to Targa to confirm it's kaput! Here is the thread I started on the same kind of probelm, there are allot of consumer rights quotes etc, it's basically what I've been telling you here.

Edit: you made me think of a good bartering tool there. Since we both have the right for a replacement/refund after unit is confirmed to be faulty, we could demand the refund/replacement or else if the unit can be fixed, for it to be fixed but for them to also upgrade the ram or some other form of compensation perhaps. I'm going to chance my arm for the 3 year extended warranty and more ram if I choose to keep the repaired one instead of getting a brand new one

Phibsboro

Interesting thread I have always wondered how Microaid do their returns - I have had dealing with them before and found them to be very helpful but have never had to return anything. I had always assumed they are just a shop front for one of the big UK distributors (you can usually tell by the way the catalogue is laid out) and any returns would be handled directly by the UK - I was obviously wrong

My main issue in this case is that given that the laptop was broken straight out of the box (no question of a software issue, I work at this kind of thing and the keyboard is knackered, presumably the connection to mb has come loose), I am entitled to a full refund and can then walk in and buy another one. I don't want to get into a situation where the laptop is taken away by targa and possibly repaired - I want to be sure I get a new one. I guess if I approach it tonight asking for a refund I may well still end up having to give it to Targa and wait for them to ok the refund. Unfortunately patience is a virtue I am not overly imbued with...

C

BTW, the machine has 3 year warranty and 1gb ram so I'm not sure I want anything extra - just a new one that works!

Raiser

This thread is scary - Before reading it I would definitely have bought a Laptop from LIDL.

They shouldn't be selling laptops unless they can handle the odd inevitable faulty product.

A €1500 faulty laptop is THEIR headache in my book - NOT anyone elses - at the end off the day they sell all these electronics etc. to promote the value in their outlets, by the same token they run the risk involved re. some stock being s*i*e.

Ring that consumer helpline or citizens advice bureau - I'd say you might need to be a bit difficult and assert yourself......

P.S. Shouldn't powering up a laptop with a dead keyboard prove that its defective? I bet that the area managers laptop has keys which produce letters, numbers etc. when they are pressed.

Not impressed LIDL.

ba

i hear this aldi lappi is great but i dont know a lot about computers. anyways...all i wanna know is if it runs AutoCAD & Photoshop. i basically need these programs for college. ill get it if it can run new versions of these.
i hear it runs Counterstrike CS - brilliant. but would it run Farcry?

ba

oops, sorry, wrong thread

told ya i didnt know much.

Phibsboro

So, the saga continues...(apologies for the multi posts on this, but I know I always like to see all the interactions when I read a complaint post like this)...

Yesterday afternoon the area manager for Dublin Lidl called me - it appears he was alerted via my customer services message rather than via Anthony. Anyways, he said what has been said on this thread already - I need to call Targa to get them to agree that the unit is defective. He used to be in computers himself apparently and accepted that it sounded like the machine was DOA.

So, yesterday evening I rang the dublin number given for targa inside the laptop package. After holding for 33 minutes (!) I got through to Jonas (in Germany), who went through some basic checks with me (mainly to do with trying to get the bios page to come up). Eventually he accepted that it was kapupt and said he could get it picked up for repair. I pointed out that I only bought it on Saturday and a repair wasn't acceptable. Instead, I wanted him to authorise Lidl to do a replacement (the area manager had indicated that this is possible). He said he wasn't authorised to do that and I would need to ring back during normal working hours to get a technician who in turn could contact Targa - turns out the crowd I was talking to were not acutally Targa, they were a 3rd party working on behalf of Targa. So, I called back this morning (got straight through this time thank god!) and spoke to a technician. He listened to my tale of woe and said he would get it picked up for repair. I pointed out that this was not acceptable as the unit was DOA etc. He put me on hold for a sec while he checked with his collegues and came back to say that the only thing he could offer me was a repair. I pointed out in Ireland that was not legal, which threw him a bit. He said I would get a call back in the coming days - coming days?! I was begining to lose the rag now. I said I wanted a replacement or a refund today - he said he would get someone to call me.

So, I buy a €1500 laptop from Lidl who can't refund or replace it until their supplier gives the go-ahead. Their supplier has contracted out that function and the contractors are telling people that they will only repair a 4 day old unit rather than replace or refund it, which is illegal. I am getting more annoyed with the situation as the days go by...

The area manager is supposed to call me back today to see how I got on with Targa and I'll let you all know how that goes..

C

savemejebus

Man that is a weird story. I know LIDL used to do the automatic refund thing but in one branch (i won't say where) the manager told me that they got stung by guys buying laptops, removing the guts and returning the shell for a full refund. So blame the chancers for this. I guess aldi haven't been stung by this.

As a result LIDL changed their refund rule and switched all warranties to TARGA. *I think* that when i bought mine I had to sign some forms acknowledging as much, am a bit fuzzy on this as it was over a year ago.

EDIT: I don't agree with whats happening with the OP here, (think LIDL should give a complete refund) and am not siding with lidl, just thought the information might be useful

deadl0ck

Why don't you call consumer affairs and talk to an advisor there (It's free) ?

Paddy20

Hey, The Sale of goods acts are clear, and NO Retailer can change consumer protection legislation!. If you purchase an item "Which is not fit for the purpose for which it is intended" and you have the receipt showing when you purchased it.

Then you do not even have to accept a replacement, you can demand a FULL CASH REFUND on the spot. The responsibility rests with the retailer NOT the manufacturer,

or thier agents/service repairers etc.

You paid your money to LIDL, and they are legally bound to offer you an immediate cash refund or replacement if that is what you want.

If it was me. I would refuse to leave the store without a full refund. Tell them to call the Police if they do not like your attitude, you could end up being awarded substantial compensation for the unwarranted suffering you have been subjected too, by gormless idiot's .

P.

cormie

the law is different for electronics. You could force Lidl to deal with it but it's quicker to do it direct with Targa yourself. If they find a fault you are entitled to a refund though

Paddy20

cormie wrote:

the law is different for electronics. You could force Lidl to deal with it but it's quicker to do it direct with Targa yourself. If they find a fault you are entitled to a refund though

Sorry, but the sales contract is with the retailer, not the manufacturer!. An immediate full cash refund from the retailer is due in this case, end of story, and there are no exception's for electronics ! :rolleyes: .

P.

bullrunner

Your contract is with the person you paid money to.In this cash the retailer (lidl).They are obliged by law to refund you for faulty goods. I don't know what the ins and outs are for determining something is faulty ...but would imagine that if it doesnt do what it is suppose to do straight away then this counts as faulty.

If they continue to refuse to refund you, contact the office of consumer affairs. I'm sure they would love to take on a big retailer over something as clear cut as this.

Take no sh*t..demand your money back

rubadub

cormie wrote:

the law is different for electronics.

What law? the one saying you must provide a full cash/cc refund if the goods you buy do not work?

I have never heard of any goods being exempt from this. What constitutes "electronics", most goods that do not work are due to electronic faults...

cormie

I think I'm confusing myself here. Basically, the retailer is well within their right not too issue a refund until the machine is declared faulty by the manufacturer.

Electrical Goods

This Section deals with your rights concerning electrical goods.
Washing machine comes with one years free labour and five years free parts guarantee. Machine develops a fault after three years but Company refuses to supply the part free of charge because the guarantee is dependent on the company supplying the labour as well.

If a Guarantee is subject to terms and conditions (e.g. part will only be supplied on condition that it is fitted by the same company), then this seems to be a valid condition and the consumer does not have a case to have the part supplied free of charge. However, the consumer should examine the terms of the guarantee to ensure that this is in fact the case.

A shop insists that consumer deals with the Manufacturer of goods which turn out to be faulty ?


The consumer's contract is always with the seller of the goods.
In this case, if the consumer paid money to the retailer, contract is with the retailer and it is up to the retailer to deal with the situation.
However, this does not stop the consumer from contacting/dealing with the manufacturer themselves if they so wish.
For further information on your rights under the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act, 1980, or The Consumer Information Act 1978, please see our document section or if you require more answers to your query please check our FAQ section

bullrunner

I think you are referring to when a product develops a fault over time...not when it doesnt initially work or is initially faulty (as is my understanding of the problem)

Paddy20

cormie,

You are confused full stop. Click on :- www.oasis.gov.ie/
and do a little homework on consumers rights !

P.