[Resolved] Recommend a $200 laptop please...

[tom vilsack]

Is 11.6" a laptop? Always kinda think of it as a netbook.

At walmarts $198 ya can't really go wrong...the c-70 with the HD 6290 is a heck of a lot better then a intel atom netbook,so you should be good to go for your basic needs.

I kinda like the bright color...

[tom vilsack]

Got me thinking...if you just need a simple netbook size basic computer and don't mind using android you could try buying a cheap one from aliexpress (sub of alibaba...think of it as china's amazon...ship all over world...good rep)

You can easy find a 7" $50-70 android netbook (check free shipping box)

note: if you do buy....make sure it has android and not win ce (which is all but useless)

http://www.aliexpress.com/category/7...Type=price_asc

example: $69.99 android 2.2 support to market (skype ect)

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/CHEAP...554511625.html

[Orange Furball]

Originally Posted by tom vilsack

Is 11.6" a laptop? Always kinda think of it as a netbook.

At walmarts $198 ya can't really go wrong...the c-70 with the HD 6290 is a heck of a lot better then a intel atom netbook,so you should be good to go for your basic needs.

I kinda like the bright color...

Image

Not sure how i feel about the color yet... Its a Christmas present (my parents had no idea what to get me so i told them to just buy it off me and give it to me for Christmas )


I'm gonna stick 4gb of ram in there, put my extra SSD in there, and triple boot Chromium OS (If this doesn't work them I'll be sad...), Android 4.0 (if this doesn't work, Ubuntu it is) and Windows 8. That gives me a little bit to choose from.

Originally Posted by tom vilsack

Got me thinking...if you just need a simple netbook size basic computer and don't mind using android you could try buying a cheap one from aliexpress (sub of alibaba...think of it as china's amazon...ship all over world...good rep)

You can easy find a 7" $50-70 android netbook (check free shipping box)

note: if you do buy....make sure it has android and not win ce (which is all but useless)

http://www.aliexpress.com/category/7...Type=price_asc

example: $69.99 android 2.2 support to market (skype ect)

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/CHEAP...554511625.html

I was thinking about that, in fact I had one in my cart, but then I saw this deal and figured;

A) Name brand that I trust (My sisters Acer laptop from 2007 is still going strong)
B) The ability to get Windows 8 and almost any OS that runs on X86
And C) its a bit bigger. While I didn't want a huge laptop, 7" is a big small

[Orange Furball]

Well I got it. It's really a nice little laptop. It's the perfect size to bridge the gap between my nexus 7 and my desktop. The keyboard isn't amazing but it works, I'm using it now so if there are typing errors it's the keyboards fault. The build quality is good too, you can feel flex when you try to bend it but it's not falling apart in your hand. Battery life is decent, 3 and a half hours of web browsing today on one charge, though a RAM upgrade is recommended (4GB is max, I only payed $13 for my 4GB DIMM)

I didn't realize this has USB 3.0 but it does have one port for it. Its thin and light. This seems to be the Windows version of the Acer C7 Chromebook, I tried Chromium OS earlier and the touchpad didn't work, though I didn't look into it too much. I'll fiddle with Android later too. For now I'll stick with windows.

The color looks brighter in pictures. It's a nice red that compliments the colorful "Modern" Windows 8 look.

So for $198 at Walmart it's a good deal. Even at $250 I'd recommend it.

I hope everyone had a merry Christmas!

[shoulin333]

I would check Ebay. You can find laptops in near new condition that you can install win 8 in yourself. You could find a Core2Duo with 2gigs ram and standard hard drive for $200ish. You might have to put up with scratches or scuffs on the lid but there are always skins for that.

[Orange Furball]

Originally Posted by shoulin333

I would check Ebay. You can find laptops in near new condition that you can install win 8 in yourself. You could find a Core2Duo with 2gigs ram and standard hard drive for $200ish. You might have to put up with scratches or scuffs on the lid but there are always skins for that.

Thanks but I already got one!

----------

Originally Posted by joepunk

Walmart has (in store only I think) an Acer Aspire One 11.6" 2GB 320GBHD #A0725-0687 laptop for $198

I think it's got an AMD dual-core C70, Win 8 64-bit, HDMI out and a webcam.

Holy crap... Didn't even see this post! I'm sorry! Thank you for your suggestion though, its a great machine!

[Orange Furball]

Well after 3 months the screen randomly cracked. Don't drop it or anything. Oh well, nothing is immune Murphy's Law.

[js81]

Originally Posted by Orange Furball

Well after 3 months the screen randomly cracked. Don't drop it or anything. Oh well, nothing is immune Murphy's Law. Attachment 401152

This is why I don't, as a tech guy, ever recommend these cheap laptops from Walmart. I've repaired no less than 3 identical screen damages in the last 6 months or so (and I don't have a business; just word of mouth). Problem is there is literally NO support frame for the LCD other than two thin aluminum bars on the left and right edges. The damage comes from "torque-ing" the LCD by opening it from one corner - with no middle support, the LCD can't stand the pressure and cracks. So far I've repaired several Acers and HPs that are guilty of this sin; all were ~$300 Walmart specials. Thus the reason I always recommend a used, higher quality laptop to my budget-shopping friends.

There is a tiny bit of good news, though - apparently they're aware that this is common; the LCDs for these laptops are insanely cheap. Look on eBay or Amazon - you'll probably find the exact model you need for $60 or so, new. If you can install it yourself you're set; if not, try to get a friend... if not, well, it's probably not worth it. The last one I did that wasn't for a close friend I charged $75 for the swap and the LCD ended up costing about $92. To me, that's not worth it - buy a new laptop, unfortunately.

[Orange Furball]

I'm not too sad about it, i can always just buy a tablet. I'm done with pretty much all my reports and stuff for school. I'm just selling it for parts or not working on eBay and whatever i get, i get

[r0k]

Originally Posted by Orange Furball

I'm not too sad about it, i can always just buy a tablet. I'm done with pretty much all my reports and stuff for school. I'm just selling it for parts or not working on eBay and whatever i get, i get

I have an older Acer Aspire 1 available. I have Ubuntu loaded on it. If a Linux netbook meets your needs, PM me and we can talk about a price (basically to cover shipping).

My iPad fills this need these days and it's a sin to have this unit sitting unused in a drawer rather than being used. It has a 160 GB HDD and is late 2009 vintage. I got it at Christmas 2009. It was my "road machine" I took with me to Barack Obama's first inauguration. It served me well at the time but it was replaced by my iPad 1 on 4/3/2010.

There is no Windows CD. Acer offered me a free one and I arrogantly turned it down. Later when I decided it was time to sell, I realized that without an XP CD I had no way of putting Windows on the thing for somebody that might want it and to make matters worse, MS put an embargo on XP so even Acer couldn't provide me with anything.

No worries if you aren't interested in mine. I can always tinker with it. You could easily find similar working units on ebay. Just remember not to never open the display from the corner again!

[Orange Furball]

Originally Posted by r0k

I have an older Acer Aspire 1 available. I have Ubuntu loaded on it. If a Linux netbook meets your needs, PM me and we can talk about a price (basically to cover shipping).

My iPad fills this need these days and it's a sin to have this unit sitting unused in a drawer rather than being used. It has a 160 GB HDD and is late 2009 vintage. I got it at Christmas 2009. It was my "road machine" I took with me to Barack Obama's first inauguration. It served me well at the time but it was replaced by my iPad 1 on 4/3/2010.

There is no Windows CD. Acer offered me a free one and I arrogantly turned it down. Later when I decided it was time to sell, I realized that without an XP CD I had no way of putting Windows on the thing for somebody that might want it and to make matters worse, MS put an embargo on XP so even Acer couldn't provide me with anything.

No worries if you aren't interested in mine. I can always tinker with it. You could easily find similar working units on ebay. Just remember not to never open the display from the corner again!

Pm sent!