Laptop vs Notebook vs ?Pad

[TravelGal]

My OOOOLD laptop waits for me when I visit TravelMom. It has no sound. And is so slow that most pages take a long time to load because they have so many graphics and/or videos embedded in the opening page.

What to buy? Budget is $400 preferably max but could a bit higher. I use this thing a few times a year but time is at a premium when I'm with Mom so it has to work faster than its 8 yo cousin is working.

I see a Lenovo on newegg for $449. Seems like steal but do I need a full laptop. Would less memory or whatever lower the price and still be better than what I'm using? I'm constrained by an average RoadRoad connection at her place. A Notebook? A NETbook? :confused:

Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit (I have 3 other Lenovos with 32-bit systems)
Optical Drive Type: DVD±R/RW; Resolution: 1366 x 768; Memory Speed: DDR3; WLAN: 802.11b/g/n Wireless LAN; Webcam: 0.3MP; Battery: 6-cell lithium ion

[Ripped]

I haven't looked recently but Overstock.com usually has some great deals on computers/laptops. If you aren't real particular about all the details they may have something that would work for you at a great price. Just a thought.

[KLang]

If you just want to check email and surf a bit I think a NetBook would do just fine. A quick look a Best Buy's site shows quite a few for $350 or less.

You could also go the iPad or Android tablet route but if you only use it a couple times a year it might not be worth it to learn a new Operating System.

[cameraman]

And speaking as an iPad owner the total lack of Flash support on iPads & iPhones can be annoying as hell. There are plenty of websites that absolutely require Flash. You really don't want it to be your only method of accessing the net.

[TravelGal]

I haven't looked recently but Overstock.com usually has some great deals on computers/laptops. If you aren't real particular about all the details they may have something that would work for you at a great price. Just a thought.

Ripped: Looking at overstocked, they have some refurbished for great prices. Do you think getting one of those would be wise?

KLang, I do need Word and Excel and printing capabilities in addition to surfing and reading. It might be smart for me to learn iPad or android on the tablet so I would have a running start at a decent phone but the learning curve while under stress doesn't sound like a good idea.

CM: Good heavens. Had no idea. OK, no iPads for me. Too many travel websites require flash

[dando]

Check the Dell Outlet on Dell.com for deals on refurb laptops. I've bought several laptops, desktops and an all in one over the past decade and they have all worked great and were much less expensive than the new models.

http://www.dell.com/us/dfh/p/laptops

And yes, stay away from the tablets...iPad w/o Flash support is bad, and Android still has issues. I have a G-Tablet and it's flaky...the apps I installed previously no longer work, and I can't find them on the app market now. :saywhat: Now I need to find time to flash it back to factory settings and re-install everything. :irked:

Apple also has a refurb outlet if you want to spend more. :\

-Kevin

[dando]

Also, mobile Flash is doomed, which makes me wonder about the future for Flash in general.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-57322873-92/steve-jobs-prevails-over-adobes-flash/?tag=mncol;1n

-Kevin

[KLang]

Not once have I missed flash on my iPhone or iPad. I seldom have a need to open the browser any more as there are apps for nearly everywhere I go.

TravelGal, Office should run just fine on a NetBook as long as the spreadsheets are not terribly large or complicated.

[Ripped]

Ripped: Looking at overstocked, they have some refurbished for great prices. Do you think getting one of those would be wise?

KLang, I do need Word and Excel and printing capabilities in addition to surfing and reading. It might be smart for me to learn iPad or android on the tablet so I would have a running start at a decent phone but the learning curve while under stress doesn't sound like a good idea.

CM: Good heavens. Had no idea. OK, no iPads for me. Too many travel websites require flash

I agree with everything everyone has contributed so far to this. I have bought one refurbished laptop from Dell and haven't had a single problem. That is all I have to go on there. I like Dell's service agreements too. They have always done me right if I had to have something fixed.

I don't know anything about tablets. They have always struck me as unnecessary but recently I've seen some promise for them in the work place.

[High Sided]

what about the new kindle fire at only $200.? isn't that basically an ipad without cameras?

[extramundane]

Check the Dell Outlet on Dell.com for deals on refurb laptops. I've bought several laptops, desktops and an all in one over the past decade and they have all worked great and were much less expensive than the new models.

http://www.dell.com/us/dfh/p/laptops

And yes, stay away from the tablets...

Seconded. I really like my iPad, but it's a media consumption device first and little else second. I'd be homicidal (well, even moreso) if I tried to use it to do any real work. You can pick up some 14" Inspiron laptops for well under $400 at the Dell Outlet.


what about the new kindle fire at only $200.? isn't that basically an ipad without cameras?

All preliminary reviews peg it as the most refined and intuitive Android tablet out there, but that's still Tallest Midget territory. Either way, it's still primarily for consumption rather than production, so I don't see it as an alternative to a laptop. But I'll let you know tomorrow- supposedly I'll have one in my hands by lunch.

[KLang]

Kindle Fire would be a good way to sample the tablet experience.

[G.]

Black Friday.

Laptop.

[TravelGal]

Black Friday.

Laptop.

LOL. Thinking that too. But, have a friend visiting from Sydney and I don't think she wants to spend her last day in a Best Buy. Or, maybe she does?

Pretty much decided to do the laptop thing. I already have a small notepad for travel (actually forgot I had it when I first posted) and a netbook it out. Looking at Dell now. Always avoided them but if the cognoscenti here were satisfied, it's good enough for me. Refurb makes it even better.

[Indy]

Two thoughts:

1) A netbook is best if small size and weight are your TOP priority, otherwise even a slow notebook has way more power for a little more money.

2) If you like Lenovo keyboards (the best, IMO), you will be disappointed with other brands.

You might check woot.com. They are constantly emailing me deals on refurbished i3/5/7 notebooks at what appear to be really good prices.

[SurfaceUnits]

Staples usually has better deals than bb


here's a maxed out Lappy froom woot

http://www.woot.com/?utm_source=Daily+Digest&utm_campaign=e2f70b7eb4-Daily+Digest+-+20111109+-+Woot&utm_medium=email#tracked

[Gnam]

here's a maxed out Lappy froom woot

http://www.woot.com/Blog/ViewEntry.aspx?Id=20202

I done updated this here link. That's all I have to say about that.

[TravelGal]

I done updated this here link. That's all I have to say about that.

Dagnabit. I missed it. Had to go out to a dinner last night. Geebers that was some PC! :eek:

Field trip today. Tried the different keyboards based on Indy's comment because I love my Lenovo keypad. What I saw today is WAY different from what I have. BUT now I know I have to have a look at a physical specimen before buying online. THANKS for the heads up I didn't even know I needed.

[Ankf00]

my tablet + bluetooth keyboard experiment is going well so far, mobile as netbook w/ more functionality

[extramundane]

my tablet + bluetooth keyboard experiment is going well so far, mobile as netbook w/ more functionality

Which tablet? I've got a BT keyboard for the iPad, but there are so many niggling little things (sometimes takes forever to pair, still have to use screen to send message, etc) that I barely fool with it.

On another note, my first impression of the Kindle Fire is that it's going to be a great seller as far as e-readers go (and possibly as far as Android devices go), but nobody's going to buy it instead of an iPad. The pricepoint is low enough that it should make a fun platform to modify and hack at. I'm a little disconcerted by the fact that it arrived already registered to someone else, though. :saywhat:

[TravelGal]

Decided to pull the trigger on this one. Toshiba website says $531. Best Buy sold it for $399 with $20 discount off a MS Office Suite 2010, which I actually wanted. I was using an "industrial" copy of 2003 that was becoming increasingly suspect.

Toshiba L755-S5306
Processor* Intel® Core™ i3-2330M processor
Operating System* Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit), SP1
Graphics Engine* Mobile Intel® HD Graphics
Graphics Memory* 64MB-1696MB dynamically allocated shared graphics memory
Memory* 4GB DDR3 1333MHz memory
Hard Drive* 500GB HDD (5400rpm)
Optical Drive* DVD-SuperMulti drive (+/-R double layer)
Display Size 15.6" widescreen
Display Type* HD TruBrite® LED Backlit display
Display Resolution 16:9 aspect ratio, 1366x768 (HD), Supports 720p content
Audio Microphone jack (mono), Standard stereo speakers, Headphone jack (stereo)
Webcam Webcam and microphone built into LCD bezel
Wireless LAN* Wi-Fi® Wireless networking (802.11b/g/n)
Bluetooth --No (No Antenna)
Modem* No Modem port
LAN 10/100 Ethernet LAN
AC Adapter 65W (19V 3.42A) Auto-sensing, 100-240V / 50-60Hz input
Battery Li-Ion (48Wh, 6-Cell)
Battery Life* Up to 5.7 hours

Thanks for your help everyone. It makes it so much easier to surf the web and look through the stores when I have OC at my back.

[Andrew Longman]

FWIW the kids just gave me an iPad for my birthday. I'm using it now. Simply great IMO. I'm not convinced yet but I'm hoping to have it replace my laptop for business travel. An external keyboard my be the only thing stopping me.

[SteveH]

I use mine for business purposes but it cannot replace a laptop, yet. Check out Dropbox to place files in the cloud that you think you'll need. It synchs automatically, a great service. Of course, that means you need Internet access since the files are not resident on the iPad.

[KLang]

My wife travels quite a bit and she only carries an iPad. I don't think she does much content creation, that is taken care of at home or in the office. She bought a keyboard for it when she first bought the iPad but she never uses it.

I switched to an iPad for travel as well but I don't travel for business these days. If I needed to do remote system administration I would carry a Windows laptop.

[SurfaceUnits]

$429 for this beast at Staples + they have $50 off coupons

Get everything done with the HP g7-1260us!

Intel® Core™ i3-2330M Processor (2.2GHz)
4GB installed memory
640GB hard drive
SuperMulti DVD burner
17.3-inch diagonal HD+ BrightView LED-backlit Display (1600 x 900)
802.11b/g/n WLAN
HP Webcam with integrated digital microphone
Digital Media Card Reader for Secure Digital and Multimedia cards
6-cell 47WHr lithium-ion battery; Up to 5 hours of battery life
Dimensions 16.22" (L) x 10.55" (W) x 1.22" (min H)/1.44" (max H) (6.05lbs)
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
1 year warranty
Intel Identity Protection Technology - Stronger, easier online security

[TravelGal]

Can't dispute the i3 vs i7 being better but it's not what I need and I wanted to be able to have it in my hand to set it up before heading back to see TravelMom. Local Staples is not carrying this. Maybe they're just out. I was also a bit skittish about buying HP even though there are assurances that the tech support will continue after the manufacturing ceases. But the deciding factor was that I liked feel of the Toshiba keyboard the best.

SteveH, thanks for mentioning Dropbox. I was going to ask whether the general opinion is it's the best option for "the cloud". The days of lugging files back and forth and reloading, etc. are gone--even for me.

[SteveH]

I use Dropbox on my iPad, a laptop and a desktop. Piece of cake.

[SurfaceUnits]

HP done aanounced they are staying in the PC business

Hewlett-Packard said that it will keep its personal systems group and that it will continue to sell PCs.

The company added that its strategic review indicated that the supply chain and procurement hit was too much. Meanwhile, HP's PC unit performs well.

When Meg Whitman took over as CEO, she promised a quick decision on the PC division. She delivered.

[Ankf00]

Which tablet? I've got a BT keyboard for the iPad, but there are so many niggling little things (sometimes takes forever to pair, still have to use screen to send message, etc) that I barely fool with it.

On another note, my first impression of the Kindle Fire is that it's going to be a great seller as far as e-readers go (and possibly as far as Android devices go), but nobody's going to buy it instead of an iPad. The pricepoint is low enough that it should make a fun platform to modify and hack at. I'm a little disconcerted by the fact that it arrived already registered to someone else, though. :saywhat:

HP touchpad, friend had an extra order come in unexpectedly and hooked it up, for a c-note I figured wtf not, I could figure out how useful a tablet might be for me between my new mobile workstation (i-7 2630QM, 8gb ram (can go 16 or 32 I think), 2gb video) & iphone. Can always give it to dad or nephew or whatevs.

I still use my new laptop 90% of the time at home, but I think much of that is b/c there's a lot of holes in how well the tablet apps cover what I need rather than a laptop vs tablet thing .

Regarding mobility, my laptop's reasonable weight and size, but find myself taking tablet + keyboard w/ me around, and out of, town b/c I don't need moble workstation/CAD/CAE capability with me all the time. Just so much easier to tuck away the tablet + keyboard with my paper notebook.

FYI, bunch of the undergrads in my engineers w/o borders group use ipad pretty extensively,both in our meetings and for their school work, don't see them using the keyboard much if at all though.

Will be interesting to see how the Fire evolves. Maybe the death of the netbook at that price point, better hardware for media consumption than a netbook imo.

[Ankf00]

I use Dropbox on my iPad, a laptop and a desktop. Piece of cake.

check out sugarsync's features, mobile app is slicker imo and more functional, and more functionality than dropbox through the website tools too. more sharing abilities for free I think, and 5gb free (almost 6gb after you do 4-5 tutorials that have like 4 or 5 steps each)

[TravelGal]

HP done aanounced they are staying in the PC business

Hewlett-Packard said that it will keep its personal systems group and that it will continue to sell PCs.

The company added that its strategic review indicated that the supply chain and procurement hit was too much. Meanwhile, HP's PC unit performs well.

When Meg Whitman took over as CEO, she promised a quick decision on the PC division. She delivered.

NOW you tell me. :). Actually, Meg Whitman is a pretty good CEO. I just didn't see her as the guvner of California.

[manic mechanic]

$429 for this beast at Staples + they have $50 off coupons

Get everything done with the HP g7-1260us!

Intel® Core™ i3-2330M Processor (2.2GHz)
4GB installed memory
640GB hard drive
SuperMulti DVD burner
17.3-inch diagonal HD+ BrightView LED-backlit Display (1600 x 900)
802.11b/g/n WLAN
HP Webcam with integrated digital microphone
Digital Media Card Reader for Secure Digital and Multimedia cards
6-cell 47WHr lithium-ion battery; Up to 5 hours of battery life
Dimensions 16.22" (L) x 10.55" (W) x 1.22" (min H)/1.44" (max H) (6.05lbs)
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
1 year warranty
Intel Identity Protection Technology - Stronger, easier online security

yeah.. everything but a numeric keypad (blame Mrs. manic for that one).

Toshiba and Lenovo understand these preferences, but HP doesn't think a user needs one.

I bought the Mrs. a new laptop last season (4g ram, 1/2 terrabyte hdd, smokin' graphics) for $379, and had anticipated better deals this year. I need a new portable pc, but I have criteria (and "should" spend less than last year for more machine) that aren't met yet...

Oh well... Anyone else here go shopping for your own gift on Black Friday??? :confused:

manic

[Indy]

check out sugarsync's features, mobile app is slicker imo and more functional, and more functionality than dropbox through the website tools too. more sharing abilities for free I think, and 5gb free (almost 6gb after you do 4-5 tutorials that have like 4 or 5 steps each)

I use sugarsync. I pull up files often on my iPhone, and I like it better than dropbox.

[TravelGal]

I use sugarsync. I pull up files often on my iPhone, and I like it better than dropbox.

Hadn't heard of it but I like the pricing for small users like me. Might switch over. :)

And, Manic, I think more people shop for their own gifts on Black Friday than shop for someone else. When the competition is fierce and the time is short, it's better to know what you want than to be looking around with vague ideas for someone else. {How'd I do? Is that a good enough justification?}

[Ankf00]

yeah.. everything but a numeric keypad (blame Mrs. manic for that one).

Toshiba and Lenovo understand these preferences, but HP doesn't think a user needs one.

eh, my tosh 16"s had no keypad, my hp from 7 years ago and the new one both do. just depends on the model line

[nrc]

Picked up a Kindle Fire with some Amazon gift cards that I've received. I wanted a reader that could also do a decent job as a web browser. I like it a lot but I'm a bit surprised on a couple of fronts.

First Android is more clunky than I expected, even with (or maybe because of) Amazon's tweaks. WebOS really is much nicer. sigh.

Second, how can you have a reader that supports thousands of books that doesn't provide any way to categorize them into groups or folders? :confused:

[KLang]

Second, how can you have a reader that supports thousands of books that doesn't provide any way to categorize them into groups or folders? :confused:

On the e-ink Kindles you can group things in collections. Looks like that isn't available on the Fire yet. Weird, I can do collections on the Mac app but I don't see it on the iPad app. There really isn't any reason to keep large collections locally anyway, everything is in your archive in the Amazon Cloud.

[TravelGal]

Since this has morphed in the usual OC way, may I ask if anyone uses a "smart powerstrip"? Something about computers always connected so it conserves energy....?

[SurfaceUnits]

Since this has morphed in the usual OC way, may I ask if anyone uses a "smart powerstrip"? Something about computers always connected so it conserves energy....?

It comes with a pedal powered generator so that whilst you are surfing you can generate your own power

[nrc]

On the e-ink Kindles you can group things in collections. Looks like that isn't available on the Fire yet. Weird, I can do collections on the Mac app but I don't see it on the iPad app. There really isn't any reason to keep large collections locally anyway, everything is in your archive in the Amazon Cloud.

I saw that Collections were an option on other Kindle readers so hopefully it's just a feature lag. Whether they're in the cloud or on the device, I still like to categorize my content - technical, fiction, non-fiction. Seems pretty fundamental.

[TravelGal]

It comes with a pedal powered generator so that whilst you are surfing you can generate your own power

I'm beginning to take that "Katmandu" a little more seriously.

[KLang]

I saw that Collections were an option on other Kindle readers so hopefully it's just a feature lag. Whether they're in the cloud or on the device, I still like to categorize my content - technical, fiction, non-fiction. Seems pretty fundamental.

It is an odd implementation though not a feature I really use. No mention of collections when I look at my archive on amazon.com. On the mac app you can import collections from an e-Ink Kindle so the Amazon cloud does know about them. :confused: