"mini" laptops/notebooks - please advise!

Astrowife

Hola moneysavers!

I would be so grateful for your advice - I have done several searches here and on other sites, but I'm still confused!

I need something to do my writing on (short stories and novels) and due to lack of space it needs to be a laptop/notebook rather than a desktop machine.

Unfortunately I know nothing about computers and am confused about the difference between "mini laptops" and "notebooks" - if there is one!

All I want is something to word process and save my work on and it would be a bonus if I could get on the internet with it. I want to spend as little as possible and have seen Dell Inspiron 1010s on their outlet website for under £200 but really don't know if they are suitable for my needs.

Any help would be much appreciated

Mrs D xx

alanrowell

Netbooks have their place - if you want portable computing.

For writing the Great British Novel you'd do better with a "full sized" laptop. It doesn't matter how powerful it is as word processing doesn't make much demand on a computer

Astrowife

Thanks!

Would you recommend a laptop purely on the grounds of screen/keyboard size? I'm guessing the sort of files I'll be saving don't take up much room?

PlutoinCapricorn

Astrowife, my tiny netbook is great, but not for working on for many hours at a time. I love these cute "liliputers", "netbooks", "mini-laptops" or whatever they are called, but only for taking out or moving around at home to check emails, make notes, have a quick surf. I paid £179 for a basic model that can store only a few documents.

You will get bad backache and eyestrain if you use them continuously. Some people do clever things such as connecting them to the TV and using a separate keyboard, and getting models with more storage.

There is a lot of choice out there, you need to visit stores and see which ones you are comfortable with then try to get the best price - often this is online. There is something called a Samsung NC10 that gets good reviews.

Astrowife

Thanks for that, I will check out some machines "in the flesh" to get a feel for the right size etc.

What are my chances of finding something suitable with my budget, which is about £200 max? I'm looking at refurbs and the like.

grumpyoleteacher

Hi Mrs D

Before you start looking ask yourself two questions?

Does it need to be mobile? i.e. how likely are you to want to use it in the middle of a field, on the beach, on a train? If so then yes a netbook is useful because it is light in weight and small for carrying. In which case check the battery life, the longer the better and well worth the money. I have the Samsung NC10 with a 7 hour battery life for such computing. But it only has a ten inch screen, so can be annoyning when you stare at it for longer than an hour.

Will you be using it for several hours at a time? i.e. how important is the screen width and size, for extended periods of writing? If so then get a laptop which is usually a better sized screen for long periods - but then you need to decide on if you want wide screen or normal screen. The most common size screens are 15-17 inches. But the advantage is the better memories of 3 GB for multi-tasking. I have a Toshiba A300, which allows me to have several programmes open at once.

Word processing? The netbooks rarely have a CD/DVD drive so you can't install typical software, but you can download open source software.

Surfing the Internet? Most new netbooks and notebooks have inbuilt wireless capability and can easily be set up to connect to a wireless router with your home provider or wi-fi on the move i.e on the train or in cafes or get a dongle and have a wirefree system approx £15 a month.

So decide on the size first - a netbook with a 10 inch screen or a notebook with a 15-17 inch screen.

Then decide on the battery life? if you want it to be mobile then get a long battery life usually only netbooks.

Then decide on the running memory power? The GB used whilst mutiltasking - 1GB is common but if you use multible programmes then 3GB is the new standard.

But based on what you specify - word processing with a little bit of internet - then the bigger screen is probably the best so go for a notebook.

Hope this helps. I have purposely tried to decipher the jargon, I taught adults in FE how to use computers for 15 years and this was the most common question I had from students if only for a £ everytime I have been asked.

Leopard

You might want to consider buying a laptop with a 17" display.

It's handy. when writing, to have other panes open on the screen so that you can pull in bits of text and put them into the main body of your text. Or to consult information stored elsewhere.

I'd hate to write a book on a 15" screen.

As alanrowell rightly points out, the things you envisage doing with it don't require a lot of computer power (by today's standards). Shops are always remaindering newly obsolete stock and a 17" need not cost you a lot if you look around.

Bear in mind that even though space is a factor in your case, you can attach an external monitor to a laptop (even a netbook) and flat panel displays don't take up much room. Some you can pivot, which means that you can turn them through 90% and look at a tall, thin screen, instead, which is good for writing.

PlutoinCapricorn is also correct; you can do major damage to your spine by hunching over a laptop screen for extended periods of time. It's better to put them on a stand, such as this, and plug a keyboard and mouse (ideally wireless) into them.

Astrowife

Thanks so much for that:D. I find the jargon totally hateful, no sooner do I think I understand something than the world turns again and all my hard-won knowledge is obsolete!

I do want it to be portable, and I'm a bit of a munchkin myself and struggle to carry the laptops we have at work so size is a consideration. The size of the screen doesn't bother me too much as I don't actually read as I type (didn't have a computer as a student and had to hunch over borrowed laptops) - plugging in a screen is a very attractive possibility for the future but unfortunately don't have any room for one!

Should I revise my budget? (It's frustrating as it's taken me nearly a year to get to the point of spending £200, and unless I buy a computer to work on I can't really get enough done to make any extra cash)
I can't afford to make an expensive mistake and would rather pay a bit more for something suitable than buy the cheapest thing and have it die on me.

We have a nice IT guy here so I will research the options you guys have suggested and then have a chat with him before I jump in.

I really appreciate folks taking the trouble to reply, it all helps shine a bit of light into the dark Luddite world!

Mrs D

PlutoinCapricorn

I was in a similar position myself in 2005: I decided that I could no longer go without home computing. I went through everything systematically and analytically, with help of course, and only bought when I knew what I wanted. I visited many stores just to see what was out there and how much it cost. I am not the sort of person to be influenced by salesmen of course. Here are some general, non technical points in my words for you to consider: you will find that hearing them from a variety of sources will help the information to 'stick'.

The first decision was Desktop versus Laptop. I knew that the latter cost more, and if the keyboard is at the right height the screen will be too low etc. and that Desktops are getting smaller and cost less, but portability was very important. Note that portability can apply mainly to the home: my laptop is too big and heavy for me to take it out unless absolutely necessary. If you are going to carry it around a lot, then it needs to be smaller and lighter.

Screen size was the next decision: 15.4" seemed adequate. You can get between 7" and 19" I think. My little netbook is 8.9".

Storage: well, if you are going to download music and films you will need a lot more than you would for documents, but the operating system e.g. Windows XP, Vista or LINUX is a factor too.

Memory and processor: you need more power if you are going to play games and run certain operating systems, less for document writing.

Internet connectivity: built in WiFi is very useful, most of them seem to have this as standard now. There will be several USB ports, useful for mobile broadband if you are out and about.

Battery life: this depends on how long you plan to use the laptop when away from home. That Samsung NC10 has had a lot of good reviews.

Your budget of £200 does seem rathew low: my Acer Aspire One netbook cost £179 and the price has dropped, but it is not designed for continuous use. What about needing an all-in-one printer/copier/scanner too?

kwikbreaks

I'll guarantee that you won't want to spend long periods typing on a netbook size machine.

£200 is a pretty low budget for a new laptop or netbook. You should probably expect to pay £300 for even a low end machine (which is all you'll need if all you want it for is word processing).

Leopard

grumpyoleteacher wrote: »

Word processing? The netbooks rarely have a CD/DVD drive so you can't install typical software, but you can download open source software.

Most netbooks have at least one USB2 port, so, you can attach a (borrowed briefly, if necessary) standalone DVD/CD drive to install software.

It isn't necessary to spend £15 a month for light use of mobile broadband. You can buy a plug-in USB2 stick that works on a Pay-as-you-go basis or you can use your mobile 'phone to connect to the Internet, either by USB lead or wirelessly by Bluetooth.

It's possible to achieve what you want on a budget of £200 but you are likely to be dissatisfied with the result. Moving up to £350 or £400 makes much more possible: the extra investment is worth it.

When at home, I plug a 19" Samsung (matte!) LCD display into my netbook. That's not an expensive setup and it works well. It could be a good solution for you if you would find a conventional laptop too heavy and unwieldy.