Buying a new NETBOOK, EEE, etc. want some opinions and experiences etc

Forums › Laptops and mobile computers › Buying a new NETBOOK, EEE, etc. want some opinions and experiences etc

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#249377 21-Aug-2009 12:03

I'm not saying it isn't a good deal, I'm tempted myself but I don't think it's a saving of $500.

bazzer

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#249378 21-Aug-2009 12:07

I'm honestly wondering if there is a better deal around than that, otherwise I'll get it. You said $699 was a pretty regular price, so which netbook would you recommend for that price?

hellonearthisman

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#249412 21-Aug-2009 13:16

I liked the HP but found it doesn't have a dual touch, touch pad. That's put me off the HP machines.

Ragnor

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#249456 21-Aug-2009 15:33

bazzer: I'm honestly wondering if there is a better deal around than that, otherwise I'll get it. You said $699 was a pretty regular price, so which netbook would you recommend for that price?

To be fair the Tech Ed deal is still the best option right now, so I guess I will have to take back what I said.

The other brands have not pumped out stock 2GB / 320GB models yet and you might not be comfortable with taking your netbook apart to add 1GB of ram or upgrade the hard drive like I did to my older model.

bazzer

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#249478 21-Aug-2009 16:14

I would, but then I'd be paying the same price and I'd still have to buy the upgrades...

bcourtney

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#249486 21-Aug-2009 16:52

bcourtney: By this time next week I should have received my new HP Mini 5101. Will have the following specs:

- 80GB SSD
- 2GB RAM
- Atom N280 CPU
- 10.1" 1366x768 screen
- Wireless a/b/g/n (draft)
- 3G WWAN
- 2MP camera
- Win XP Pro and Vista Business Licence (although will install Win7 no doubt)

Can hopefully let you know more about it next week. They're a nice machine though

Well this bad boy has turned up and I've installed Win 7 RTM. Everything works a treat except for the inbuilt 3G. May have another stab at this tonight but am off to Raro in the early morning so may have to wait.

Runs remarkably well and I LOVE the keyboard. Used a few netbooks' keyboards and this is the best in my mind, hands down.

Great resolution too. Nice screen. Not so sure about the glassy touchpad - but then I'll use an external mouse 99% of the time.

heretohelp

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#249512 21-Aug-2009 18:05

bazzer: I'm honestly wondering if there is a better deal around than that, otherwise I'll get it. You said $699 was a pretty regular price, so which netbook would you recommend for that price?

i thought it was US$$

Hu? did i do that?
16Mb (EDO RAM), K6-II processor, 2Mb of onboard graphics. 32k dial up modem. 12 speed CD ROM. 5¼-inch floppy drive. 500Mb HDD.

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Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

bazzer

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#249961 23-Aug-2009 23:53

Nope.

breese

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#251585 29-Aug-2009 17:41

Anythings a bit tricky when you dont know what your doing but

http://www.zdnet.com.au/reviews/hardware/laptops/soa/Dell-Inspiron-15/0,2000065761,339297999,00.htm
http://www.zdnet.com.au/reviews/hardware/laptops/soa/Toshiba-Satellite-L500D/0,2000065761,339297982,00.htm

I wonder whether do buy at toshiba on special for $999 with $100 cash back - or hang out for dell to get their act together. I do like the ability to have some say in what I want in the machine

My feeling is to carry on looking at dell - also googling dell discount vouchers saves another 50 bucks - we will see what the put together for after 3rd September

Ragnor

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#251964 31-Aug-2009 14:25

The HP 5101 Atom 280 with 2GB and 320GB HD has started showing up on pricespy from regular online sellers at ~$1000 recently.

Presumably since it's new it will fall further over time but right now I think that puts the Tech Ed deal at a saving of ~$300 + whatever value you put on the Tech Ed version coming with W7 ($0 for me since I already have access to whatever OS I want to put on it).

Still a good deal methinks.

rova1

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#253276 4-Sep-2009 17:33

bcourtney come back from Rarotonga?
I'd love an answer to the 64K question will an XT simcard work in the HP5101? Talked to Telecom and it's a maybe. Trying to talk to someone at HP that knows hard information on a product sold in this market - yeah right - that's a bit of a Tui Billboard. Left a message with one Nigel at HP who clears his mailbox every couple of days. I'll report if I am pleasantly surprised.
Anyway living dangerously and ordered the HP5101 with 3G. This machine seems like the best netbook so far.
Anyone want a Lenovo S10e low miles?
The 5101 with 1366 x 768 res, (I hate 1024 x 600 - try Windows Mobile sync - aarghh!), a fully touch typable keyboard. I'm in heaven. Well maybe I would with a 6 cell battery. 4 cell has to be better than 3 cell though - right? XP Pro and Vista Business and I'm led to believe a $29 upgrade to Windows 7 later in the year.
I'm running Vista Business on my Lenovo with 2GB RAM and it's fine for my use. Sleep on Vista with lid close is a killer feature that no one seems to mention!

bcourtney

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#253277 4-Sep-2009 17:41

Yep back.

THe machine is a beast. Surprised just how well it goes. Got it running Win 7 Pro RTM and it is running very sweetly. Keyboard is great and screen is one of the best I've seen on a netbook - very usable all round.

No reason that this shouldn't work with XT - the hardware supports their frequency. Haven't played too much with the 3G side of things yet. Have put my SIM in it and the software can see the VF network (and even pops up the VF logo for me :)) but it won't connect. Although this could be more a software issue - running the XP/Vista compatible software on Win7 when HP doesn't explicitly state that it is compatible. I'll give it more of a burl in the weekend if I remember (although VERY limited VF coverage at home so may have to buy an XT SIM...

Overall - blown away by it. Getting 5 hours out of the battery - although I imagine the SSD has much to do with this. I'd imagine the 320GB SATA drive model would eat battery as it's running at 7200RPM too!

lchiu7

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#253408 5-Sep-2009 16:52

I bought a bunch of these for corporate use

5101

Screen resolution is very high but a bit hard to read but given that all users are using external monitors this isn't a issue except when they go mobile. 320GB HD is a bit OTT since we would prefer users store data on the network but we normally map My Documents to the network anyway.

Not sure about the wireless card in them - have never tried to connect to a mobile network.

Biggest pain was they came with Vista Business and I had to get the IT staff to downgrade them to XP Pro (but it came with a XP Pro disk anyway). Once that was done it was easier enough to image that and put them on the rest of them (they can boot from the network).

We also have a few of the Toshiba NB200 which are also quite nice. Screen isn't as high resolution but easier to read on the road. Only one complaint - they don't have BT in them which for mobile users, is a minor annoyance.

Once again can't talk about pricing but got quite aggressive pricing from our supplier.

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.

Ragnor

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#253605 6-Sep-2009 19:20

Why did you have to downgrade them to XP, legacy applications?

lchiu7

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#253630 6-Sep-2009 21:36

Ragnor: Why did you have to downgrade them to XP, legacy applications?

Not so much legacy but back level releases of current software. But will be fixed in the next month or so whereupon we will upgrade to Win7 since these Netbooks came with Win7 free upgrades (having been purchased with Vista Business during the free upgrade period)

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.

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