Buying a lightweight laptop
Discussion
Chaps,
I am about to shell out some hard-earned for a new laptop. Budget about £1000-£1200 inc VAT, I need to be able to word process, use Email, surf and not much else. Not fussed about sound quality or wi-fi or bluetooth or anything like that. Currently I am sweating it out with a very heavy HP, and have sworn never to buy another one on account of their dire customer service.
A couple of questions.
1. Does anyone have any experience of lightweight laptops, and if so, what do you recommend buying or avoiding?
2. Where is a good cheap place to buy? Price comparison on kelkoo.co.uk seems pretty good to me.
3. Given our current strong pound/weak dollar situation, is it worth trying to import from the US at all?
Oli.
P.S. Mods, I'd appreciate it if you would leave this in General Gassing, as I think it will get looked at more than if it is in the computer section.
I am about to shell out some hard-earned for a new laptop. Budget about £1000-£1200 inc VAT, I need to be able to word process, use Email, surf and not much else. Not fussed about sound quality or wi-fi or bluetooth or anything like that. Currently I am sweating it out with a very heavy HP, and have sworn never to buy another one on account of their dire customer service.
A couple of questions.
1. Does anyone have any experience of lightweight laptops, and if so, what do you recommend buying or avoiding?
2. Where is a good cheap place to buy? Price comparison on kelkoo.co.uk seems pretty good to me.
3. Given our current strong pound/weak dollar situation, is it worth trying to import from the US at all?
Oli.
P.S. Mods, I'd appreciate it if you would leave this in General Gassing, as I think it will get looked at more than if it is in the computer section.
Hi Mate
How you doing? We still need to mkeet up for that beer.
Oli, if you deon't need all the applications etc and size / weight are the most inportant criteria....are you better off with a notebook?
Also, if you spend £1000+, you're buying stuff you just don't need. Pop along to PC World or similar and have a browse.
Hope all's well Mate
How you doing? We still need to mkeet up for that beer.
Oli, if you deon't need all the applications etc and size / weight are the most inportant criteria....are you better off with a notebook?
Also, if you spend £1000+, you're buying stuff you just don't need. Pop along to PC World or similar and have a browse.
Hope all's well Mate
Mr Furlonger,
Car still going. Beer still owing!
Thanks for your comments, but they do lead me to a very stupid question. What's the difference between a laptop and a notebook? I thought that they were the same thing - I am wrong! If I can save on the budget that can only be a good thing, but I don't want something that I will regret buying in a year or so.
Trooper, thanks, but I think I need a PC. Much as an iBook would be lovely ...
Portability is a large part of the decision. Can't be too big, I need to be able to carry it without much difficulty. The current HP is very old and very primative, and very heavy to lug around.
Oli.
Car still going. Beer still owing!
Thanks for your comments, but they do lead me to a very stupid question. What's the difference between a laptop and a notebook? I thought that they were the same thing - I am wrong! If I can save on the budget that can only be a good thing, but I don't want something that I will regret buying in a year or so.
Trooper, thanks, but I think I need a PC. Much as an iBook would be lovely ...
Portability is a large part of the decision. Can't be too big, I need to be able to carry it without much difficulty. The current HP is very old and very primative, and very heavy to lug around.
Oli.
zcacogp said:
Mr Furlonger,
Car still going. Beer still owing!
Thanks for your comments, but they do lead me to a very stupid question. What's the difference between a laptop and a notebook? I thought that they were the same thing - I am wrong! If I can save on the budget that can only be a good thing, but I don't want something that I will regret buying in a year or so.
Trooper, thanks, but I think I need a PC. Much as an iBook would be lovely ...
Portability is a large part of the decision. Can't be too big, I need to be able to carry it without much difficulty. The current HP is very old and very primative, and very heavy to lug around.
Oli.
Laptop = notebook = portable. All the same thing, depends on the vendor's terminology. Some are more portable than others though
Dell Latitude X300s are small & light - even with the docking station attached it's lighter than my HP NX9000. Screen size is small at 12" - saves weight and aids power conservation - for connectivity there's two USB ports, SD card slot, PCMCIA slot, external monitor out; no onboard CD/DVD - but there is in the docking base. Just bought 20 for the company and they've gone down a treat - especially with the users that are used to IBM ThinkBricks...
Stephen,
Currently running a fairly decent spec desktop, which does what I want it to do. This is used for all of my work at home, but I need something to be able to use elsewhere.
The requirements aren't huge, but it needs to be able to run powerpoint presentations and run an Email client. Also, the usual Word and Excel spreadsheets and so on. If things go to plan then a change in job may mean that I will use it more than the current laptop, and the portability aspect will be more and more important. I am happy to use a plug-in mouse (never got on with touchpads or pushing a little rubber bobble in the middle of the keyboard) but I don't want a keyboard which is too naff (I am told that some of the smaller laptops have keyboards which are tiresome to use, although can't vouch for this.)
Drives-wise, I could cope with an external CD drive and/or floppy drive. If this made it smaller, and meant that I was leaving things I don't use at home, it would be a good thing.
Not too fussed about battery life. I anticipate using it in an office most of the time, so I would have access to power.
No heavy graphics/processing/sound/gaming requirements. (Yet!)
On an aside, I have had the use of a Fujitsu machine recently, and was deeply underimpressed. It seemed VERY flimsy - the current owner has had it about 1 year, and it looked worn out. The screen struggles to stand up without being propped up, and I don't want whatever machine I have to be in this state in 12 months time. Is this typical of small laptops, or is Fujitsu just crummy? The current HP is built like a brick - the up-side of this is that it is very rugged, if heavy.
I have been told that IBM make very good laptops, but don't know how true this is. They do seem to be small and lightweight, which is a plus.
Oli.
Currently running a fairly decent spec desktop, which does what I want it to do. This is used for all of my work at home, but I need something to be able to use elsewhere.
The requirements aren't huge, but it needs to be able to run powerpoint presentations and run an Email client. Also, the usual Word and Excel spreadsheets and so on. If things go to plan then a change in job may mean that I will use it more than the current laptop, and the portability aspect will be more and more important. I am happy to use a plug-in mouse (never got on with touchpads or pushing a little rubber bobble in the middle of the keyboard) but I don't want a keyboard which is too naff (I am told that some of the smaller laptops have keyboards which are tiresome to use, although can't vouch for this.)
Drives-wise, I could cope with an external CD drive and/or floppy drive. If this made it smaller, and meant that I was leaving things I don't use at home, it would be a good thing.
Not too fussed about battery life. I anticipate using it in an office most of the time, so I would have access to power.
No heavy graphics/processing/sound/gaming requirements. (Yet!)
On an aside, I have had the use of a Fujitsu machine recently, and was deeply underimpressed. It seemed VERY flimsy - the current owner has had it about 1 year, and it looked worn out. The screen struggles to stand up without being propped up, and I don't want whatever machine I have to be in this state in 12 months time. Is this typical of small laptops, or is Fujitsu just crummy? The current HP is built like a brick - the up-side of this is that it is very rugged, if heavy.
I have been told that IBM make very good laptops, but don't know how true this is. They do seem to be small and lightweight, which is a plus.
Oli.
I am an old hand at laptops.
Had several IBM thinkpads, a good number of Toshiba Porteges and Satellite Pros, and more recently HP and then Compaq. Worked for megafinance corporation who changed IT every minute with seemingly limitless budget...
What do I use now that I work for myself and it is my money?
A Mac Powerbook with OSX and Microsoft Office.
The Mac is far and away the finest laptop I have ever used. And I have used and abused quite a few !
Had several IBM thinkpads, a good number of Toshiba Porteges and Satellite Pros, and more recently HP and then Compaq. Worked for megafinance corporation who changed IT every minute with seemingly limitless budget...
What do I use now that I work for myself and it is my money?
A Mac Powerbook with OSX and Microsoft Office.
The Mac is far and away the finest laptop I have ever used. And I have used and abused quite a few !
Topps,
Will a mac come in within budget, be fully connectible with my desktop and any other networks I may want, will I be able to load any peculiar software I may want to run onto it?
I too am a big fan of Macs in principle, but have never owned one and am cautious ...
Also, where would I buy one of these beasties from?
Oli.
Will a mac come in within budget, be fully connectible with my desktop and any other networks I may want, will I be able to load any peculiar software I may want to run onto it?
I too am a big fan of Macs in principle, but have never owned one and am cautious ...
Also, where would I buy one of these beasties from?
Oli.
I have experience using IBM thinkpads for work - can't fault them, although maybe a bit heavy. The new models in the X series are supposed to be excellent.
I use a Vaio TR1MP for personal stuff - it's excellent. Don't play many games but do plenty of documents, spreadsheets, internet browsing, photo editing etc. and it works very well. Small and very lightweight. Also use it on the train for DVD viewing, screen is excellent. Slightly outside budget but well worth a look in my opinion.
Cheapest place to get most laptops seems to be tax-free dixons at airports, if that's a possibility. I got mine from John Lewis, who price matched Dixons
I use a Vaio TR1MP for personal stuff - it's excellent. Don't play many games but do plenty of documents, spreadsheets, internet browsing, photo editing etc. and it works very well. Small and very lightweight. Also use it on the train for DVD viewing, screen is excellent. Slightly outside budget but well worth a look in my opinion.
Cheapest place to get most laptops seems to be tax-free dixons at airports, if that's a possibility. I got mine from John Lewis, who price matched Dixons
Chaps,
Thanks for the recommendations. Interesting that you point me in the direction of the Sony Vaio's ... I had heard slightly iffy things about them, but the guy who said them didn't seem to know the details. I rather got the impression that he didn't know what he was talking about ...
I have come across the Dell Latitude X300, which seems to fit the bill as well. More here:
http://commerce.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config/frameset.asp?c=605&n=3715&b=50306&m=gbp&cu=ukbsd&l=en&s=ukbsd&store=ukbsd&sbc=ukbsdlatit&v=d
Anyone have any comments to make about this? I have heard good things about Dell, and this seems to fit the requirements and the budget.
Oli.
Thanks for the recommendations. Interesting that you point me in the direction of the Sony Vaio's ... I had heard slightly iffy things about them, but the guy who said them didn't seem to know the details. I rather got the impression that he didn't know what he was talking about ...
I have come across the Dell Latitude X300, which seems to fit the bill as well. More here:
http://commerce.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config/frameset.asp?c=605&n=3715&b=50306&m=gbp&cu=ukbsd&l=en&s=ukbsd&store=ukbsd&sbc=ukbsdlatit&v=d
Anyone have any comments to make about this? I have heard good things about Dell, and this seems to fit the requirements and the budget.
Oli.
Just a thought, but you don't need huge amounts of processing power, RAM, etc to run MS Office and W2K - have a look on ebay for an older, but lighter laptop.
I have an HP Omnibook 4100 with a swappable floppy/cdrom bay, 96Mb RAM and a P2 233Mhz processor running RedHat 7.3 (used to be NT4, but got bored and upgraded to XP Pro which strained it somewhat).
I have been using this for the last 7 years, running exceed, MS Office and various other software on as a lightweight portable. It's easy to connect to a projector for PP presentations, etc and is ideal for using when away from home.
It has also been used an Unreal Tournament Server for a few years!
You should be able to pickup a higher spec for a couple of hundred pounds.
I have an HP Omnibook 4100 with a swappable floppy/cdrom bay, 96Mb RAM and a P2 233Mhz processor running RedHat 7.3 (used to be NT4, but got bored and upgraded to XP Pro which strained it somewhat).
I have been using this for the last 7 years, running exceed, MS Office and various other software on as a lightweight portable. It's easy to connect to a projector for PP presentations, etc and is ideal for using when away from home.
It has also been used an Unreal Tournament Server for a few years!
You should be able to pickup a higher spec for a couple of hundred pounds.
Ja, 'tis an idea, but new venture means I can put it against tax and claim the VAT back, so buying new looks quite alot cheaper.
If I buy second hand and privately, I don't think I can claim any VAT back for it. Although I could put it against tax as a business expense if I got a receipt.
Saving cash is always a good idea. But if I am looking at an older machine, it will be bigger and heavier on account of the more primative technology - non? Added to the fact that the battery may be shagged.
Mind you, saving a good few hundred greenbacks. Not to be dismissed in a hurry.
Oli.
If I buy second hand and privately, I don't think I can claim any VAT back for it. Although I could put it against tax as a business expense if I got a receipt.
Saving cash is always a good idea. But if I am looking at an older machine, it will be bigger and heavier on account of the more primative technology - non? Added to the fact that the battery may be shagged.
Mind you, saving a good few hundred greenbacks. Not to be dismissed in a hurry.
Oli.
I bought my first Mac last month (a 12" ibook) and will be severing my PC ties when I sell my old laptop. As you say you basically need WP and internet, what other "peculiar" software would you need?
You say you're not fussed about wifi and battery life, but those things make the biggest difference IMO. Everything on my mac has just worked, battery life easily lives up to claims (and isn't inflated in marketing by quoting times with a hefty "extended" battery pack) and it's by far the most portable one I've had. Near instant sleep and wake means I can just close it, stick it in it's sleeve, into my bag and off to wherever - then just open and be working straight away. Over 4h battery life means I usually work off battery instead of having to hunt round for power.
Apple laptops have just been updated, 12" G4 ibook is really good value at 800 quid, leaves change for a decent memory upgrade and wireless card. Or go to the 12" powerbook for more power, bigger HD and metal case instead of plastic.
May be worth looking at US prices if you're planning a trip over there soon, but don't forget you'll pay local sales tax on top and run the risk of being caught and paying import duty and VAT on the way back (anything over 145 quid is liable for it). Doing it mail order will almost certainly attract the same import duty and VAT, the shipping isn't cheap, and most places are reluctant to do so anyway.
If you do for a PC laptop, I'd stick with IBM, Toshiba or (at a push) Dell and HP. Avoid the rebranded Advent rubbish that PC World sell, and the other cheapo brands.
You say you're not fussed about wifi and battery life, but those things make the biggest difference IMO. Everything on my mac has just worked, battery life easily lives up to claims (and isn't inflated in marketing by quoting times with a hefty "extended" battery pack) and it's by far the most portable one I've had. Near instant sleep and wake means I can just close it, stick it in it's sleeve, into my bag and off to wherever - then just open and be working straight away. Over 4h battery life means I usually work off battery instead of having to hunt round for power.
Apple laptops have just been updated, 12" G4 ibook is really good value at 800 quid, leaves change for a decent memory upgrade and wireless card. Or go to the 12" powerbook for more power, bigger HD and metal case instead of plastic.
May be worth looking at US prices if you're planning a trip over there soon, but don't forget you'll pay local sales tax on top and run the risk of being caught and paying import duty and VAT on the way back (anything over 145 quid is liable for it). Doing it mail order will almost certainly attract the same import duty and VAT, the shipping isn't cheap, and most places are reluctant to do so anyway.
If you do for a PC laptop, I'd stick with IBM, Toshiba or (at a push) Dell and HP. Avoid the rebranded Advent rubbish that PC World sell, and the other cheapo brands.
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