Entry Level Laptop Recommendations ?
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Entry Level Laptop Recommendations ?
Am looking at moving into the world of "portability" and there are SO many choices out there. Can you recommend a solid, user friendly, entry level laptop around the £1000 mark.
Intentions are to use it for word processing, data storage and retrieval etc. I will not be running a business etc, purely for private use. I hope to scan many of my "aviation documents" and consolidate all my information at one source.
please post or email me, thanks.
Intentions are to use it for word processing, data storage and retrieval etc. I will not be running a business etc, purely for private use. I hope to scan many of my "aviation documents" and consolidate all my information at one source.
please post or email me, thanks.
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You won't go wrong with a Dell. I've had a few, and never had problems.
Resist the temptation to spend money on state of the art sound and video facilities, memory and processing power you'll never use.
Just a bit more for this, and just a bit more for that, soon adds up!
MS Works which includes the MS Word processing programme comes included. You don't need the full MS Office suite for your purposes, and can always add later if you want to do spreadsheets etc.
I've got a cheap Umax scanner and it does all I want.
The Epson Stylus 680 is on sale at a number of places for £65 (eg Staples). Obviously being sold off to make way for the 780 but fantastic value for money. Large Tesco stores have the Epson 580 for £50, but the extra £15 is much better value.
The small computer names are cheaper than than the likes of Dell, but I've never taken the chance. Dell has a good helpline and after sales service in the unlikely event of you needing either.
[ 27 October 2001: Message edited by: virgin ]
Resist the temptation to spend money on state of the art sound and video facilities, memory and processing power you'll never use.
Just a bit more for this, and just a bit more for that, soon adds up!
MS Works which includes the MS Word processing programme comes included. You don't need the full MS Office suite for your purposes, and can always add later if you want to do spreadsheets etc.
I've got a cheap Umax scanner and it does all I want.
The Epson Stylus 680 is on sale at a number of places for £65 (eg Staples). Obviously being sold off to make way for the 780 but fantastic value for money. Large Tesco stores have the Epson 580 for £50, but the extra £15 is much better value.
The small computer names are cheaper than than the likes of Dell, but I've never taken the chance. Dell has a good helpline and after sales service in the unlikely event of you needing either.
[ 27 October 2001: Message edited by: virgin ]
My daughter has been using her own Toshiba laptop at University for about a year now. So far, it seems to be standing up well to the rigours of 'student life'. Perhaps a little heavier than some, but good build quality.
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To add my 2 bobs worth, the machine and brand are largely irrelevant as far as laptops go.
Fact #1 is that laptops fail and will need major repairs during your ownership period.
Fact #2, there is nothing that can be fixed in a laptop without major surgery.
The main criterion for purchase is the dealer. Buy the dealer, and let the rest follow. I've been buying Dell now for a while and will keep on doing so because they are strong in Oz on support for their product. However you could just as easily find an IBM or Toshiba dealer close to where you live, and as good. I'd suggest that you don't buy from an electronics discount store, because they can't give the same level of backup.
I look for a quality certification (ISO 9000) certificate on the wall - no idea why it helps computers, but the computer dealer that's impressed me the most had one. Funnily enough the car dealer that impresssed me the most also had one. Both industries are rather unrelated to ISO 9000 I would have thought. But I know it's hard work to get the ISO 9000 piece of paper, and they must have wanted awfully hard to do things right.
Fact #1 is that laptops fail and will need major repairs during your ownership period.
Fact #2, there is nothing that can be fixed in a laptop without major surgery.
The main criterion for purchase is the dealer. Buy the dealer, and let the rest follow. I've been buying Dell now for a while and will keep on doing so because they are strong in Oz on support for their product. However you could just as easily find an IBM or Toshiba dealer close to where you live, and as good. I'd suggest that you don't buy from an electronics discount store, because they can't give the same level of backup.
I look for a quality certification (ISO 9000) certificate on the wall - no idea why it helps computers, but the computer dealer that's impressed me the most had one. Funnily enough the car dealer that impresssed me the most also had one. Both industries are rather unrelated to ISO 9000 I would have thought. But I know it's hard work to get the ISO 9000 piece of paper, and they must have wanted awfully hard to do things right.
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OverRun: ISO9000 is relevant to any industry.
ISO9000 is about quality management and what a company does to ensure that its products (or services) meet customer requirements. It is tough to gain ISO9000 approval (many written procedures must be in place - yes, including those for handling complaints) and any company worth its salt (including Dell, IBM, ... and their distributors) go out of their way to conform to the standards. It is no surprise that some car dealers follow the standards, too.
By the way - see also BS5750 in UK. Same idea, but a British standard. The above companies are also BS5750 approved.
I disagree with "Fact 2" as it happens. It may not be cheap to fix a laptop, but I have had many repairs done to my IBM T20 ThinkPad, including a cracked screen (leaned on it!), keyboard (spilled Coke on it!) and internal modem+ethernet combo (I think it committed suicide after seeing my treatment of the other components), all of which took less than a day (each) to fix... In fact the modem/ether chip replacement took around 5 minutes. Hardly what could be termed major surgery. They are designed to be fixable (and in most cases upgradeable), even though they may not look like it
[ 29 October 2001: Message edited by: sanjosebaz ]
ISO9000 is about quality management and what a company does to ensure that its products (or services) meet customer requirements. It is tough to gain ISO9000 approval (many written procedures must be in place - yes, including those for handling complaints) and any company worth its salt (including Dell, IBM, ... and their distributors) go out of their way to conform to the standards. It is no surprise that some car dealers follow the standards, too.
By the way - see also BS5750 in UK. Same idea, but a British standard. The above companies are also BS5750 approved.
I disagree with "Fact 2" as it happens. It may not be cheap to fix a laptop, but I have had many repairs done to my IBM T20 ThinkPad, including a cracked screen (leaned on it!), keyboard (spilled Coke on it!) and internal modem+ethernet combo (I think it committed suicide after seeing my treatment of the other components), all of which took less than a day (each) to fix... In fact the modem/ether chip replacement took around 5 minutes. Hardly what could be termed major surgery. They are designed to be fixable (and in most cases upgradeable), even though they may not look like it
[ 29 October 2001: Message edited by: sanjosebaz ]
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I know no-one will take the slightest notice of this but I'm looking at my notebook now.
Presently plugged in are:
Graphics pad, cordless scrolling mouse, two printers, flatbed scanner, speakers, headset and microphone, shared hard disk, ethernet, phone connection, digital camera, hi-fi and a second monitor.
No IRQ's /interupts, no settings, there aren't aren't any for you to adjust in the first place. It just works.
Internet (2 browsers), email(2 separate systems) complete wp/database/spreadsheet/graphics package built in along with music editing and full stereo digital video editing. Unix operating system opening a seperate kernal for each program.
The machine above comes for a list price of £890 before any bickering and bartering.
Mac iBook - there I've spoiled the dream now for most of you even though it very happily runs (ugh) Windows in a seperate kernal..........
Regards
Rob
PS - Not the usual Mac evangelist: I've built an average of 20 PC's a year for ten years. Switched to Macs because they're now using normal priced PC industry components and a unix based operating system.
Presently plugged in are:
Graphics pad, cordless scrolling mouse, two printers, flatbed scanner, speakers, headset and microphone, shared hard disk, ethernet, phone connection, digital camera, hi-fi and a second monitor.
No IRQ's /interupts, no settings, there aren't aren't any for you to adjust in the first place. It just works.
Internet (2 browsers), email(2 separate systems) complete wp/database/spreadsheet/graphics package built in along with music editing and full stereo digital video editing. Unix operating system opening a seperate kernal for each program.
The machine above comes for a list price of £890 before any bickering and bartering.
Mac iBook - there I've spoiled the dream now for most of you even though it very happily runs (ugh) Windows in a seperate kernal..........
Regards
Rob
PS - Not the usual Mac evangelist: I've built an average of 20 PC's a year for ten years. Switched to Macs because they're now using normal priced PC industry components and a unix based operating system.
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Excellent replies so thanks to all. Could I conclude then that £1000 OR less could in fact provide a most adequate set up for my personal needs. Now that is encouraging.
Could I go as low as £800 (incl. Vat ) ??
Could I go as low as £800 (incl. Vat ) ??
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Almost certainly; £821 (incl. VAT, £699 excl) gets you an IBM Thinkpad (Celery 700, 64Mb)
http://www.pc.ibm.com/uk/thinkpad_special_offers.html
[ 29 October 2001: Message edited by: Evo7 ]
http://www.pc.ibm.com/uk/thinkpad_special_offers.html
[ 29 October 2001: Message edited by: Evo7 ]
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2XL: you can go as low as you want, but then you will get into "yes, you can for £800 but it'll run like a snail".
Suggest you look through MicroMart magazine or something similar.
Suggest you look through MicroMart magazine or something similar.
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Has anyone had an ACER.
Looking at following config;
* Intel Celeron 800 MHz Processor
* 64 MB RAM
* 10 GB Hard Drive
* 12.1" TFT Screen
* 56k modem
* CD Rom
* Microsoft Windows Millenium Editio
All of above for £799 incl Vat.
Does this seem reasonable ?
Looking at following config;
* Intel Celeron 800 MHz Processor
* 64 MB RAM
* 10 GB Hard Drive
* 12.1" TFT Screen
* 56k modem
* CD Rom
* Microsoft Windows Millenium Editio
All of above for £799 incl Vat.
Does this seem reasonable ?
Everything is under control.
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I use IBM, but see my technically-oriented colleagues use IBMs, Dells and Toshibas in equal proportions.
I like the Sony laptops, but I sense from discussions with their owners that service is a bit more of an ordeal for them.
Relative to dealer support, I have concluded that in the U.S., there is essentially none for IBM laptops. The typical dealer response is "Uhhhhhhh . . .". When there is a problem you call IBM, they express a special box, and you send it in for about a 3-day turnaround. Take it to a dealer and you are looking at a week or more in my experience. (I think a lot of the dealers just send them in as well.) So, look for these types of express-shipping-based service options as well. (And do your backups!)
[ 29 October 2001: Message edited by: Eboy ]
I like the Sony laptops, but I sense from discussions with their owners that service is a bit more of an ordeal for them.
Relative to dealer support, I have concluded that in the U.S., there is essentially none for IBM laptops. The typical dealer response is "Uhhhhhhh . . .". When there is a problem you call IBM, they express a special box, and you send it in for about a 3-day turnaround. Take it to a dealer and you are looking at a week or more in my experience. (I think a lot of the dealers just send them in as well.) So, look for these types of express-shipping-based service options as well. (And do your backups!)
[ 29 October 2001: Message edited by: Eboy ]
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Jusr a word of warning about choosing a laptop.
Checkout carefully the inbuilt pointer device (mouse replacement)
There are 2 types - a little nipple somewhere around the g/h/b keys, or a flat pad you slide your finger across.
I personally find the pad very difficult to use under "stress" conditions, like on the move in a plane or car, and if your finger is at all damp or sweaty you can get double bounce or double click without wanting it.
The niplle I find esier to control. (and this isn't ment to be in jet blast!)
Checkout carefully the inbuilt pointer device (mouse replacement)
There are 2 types - a little nipple somewhere around the g/h/b keys, or a flat pad you slide your finger across.
I personally find the pad very difficult to use under "stress" conditions, like on the move in a plane or car, and if your finger is at all damp or sweaty you can get double bounce or double click without wanting it.
The niplle I find esier to control. (and this isn't ment to be in jet blast!)
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2XL
Take a good look at Toshiba's website, at their Satellite range. Having sworn off laptops after an expensive foray, I'm swinging back again
I've spent ages trolling the web for reviews etc., and was surprised that till recently they're the #1 selling manufacturer.
I too want an all-purpose machine for personal use, and like the look of the new 5005-S504 model (5000-100 in UK). Although over the price you mentioned, it has specs way over more expensive models. E.g. PIII 1.1G/512MB RAM.
Have yet to find the catch
Good luck.
Take a good look at Toshiba's website, at their Satellite range. Having sworn off laptops after an expensive foray, I'm swinging back again
I've spent ages trolling the web for reviews etc., and was surprised that till recently they're the #1 selling manufacturer.I too want an all-purpose machine for personal use, and like the look of the new 5005-S504 model (5000-100 in UK). Although over the price you mentioned, it has specs way over more expensive models. E.g. PIII 1.1G/512MB RAM.
Have yet to find the catch
Good luck.
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I am grateful for all the replies thus far. Could I stretch the question to include comments on screen quality.
What screen type do you have or recommend ?
What screen type do you have or recommend ?