Netbook for my aged parents?

sarahs999

I'm thinking about a christmas present of a netbook and mobile broadband for my parents (I guess I would pay the monthly fee for the first few months, or something). Can anyone suggest a good one/best place to go?

Their history is that they used to be online when I lived abroad but have let it slip completely; their big old rubbish computer now couldn't cope with broadband and they haven't used email etc for about six years. Ideally I would give them my old but perfectly adequate desktop but I know my dad would muck about for ages and never get it set up properly. I think a clean start with an easy to understand solution would be best.

What I don't know is - do netbooks come with DVD drives? Do they have any kind of storage capcity for things like photos (this is mainly what my mum would want to use it for - surfing and emails and downloading pics of her grandson)? What amount per month is reasonable assuming they're getting a free netbook?

Thanks
Sarah

Gordon861

Aim for a laptop rather than a netbook.

Netbook - small screens/keyboards, and unlikely to have a DVD drive.
Laptop - bigger screen/keyboard with DVD, and probably a similar price.

Also if they are only going to use it at home you might be better off just getting them a normal broadband package and using wi-fi, probably cheaper.

Edit : if they used to be online, does the new PC have to be portable or could you get a better deal with a proper PC ?

asininity

Generally no dvd drive, some amount of storage (relatively low compared to modern capacities). I'd personally not recommend mobile broadband. Actual broadband is better and cheaper and you say they're old so the small keyboards that come with netbooks wont help. Maybe a cheap normal laptop with proper broadband.

sandiep

Net books are dead fiddly, and have no built in DVD.
You can get a laptop as cheap.

Rikki

I agree with Gordon861. I think a laptop with the bigger screen and keyboard, with a dvd rive would be better. Along with a broadband package.

fitzroy

I bought an Acer Aspire Netbook at the end of May and having great fun with it. It doesn't have a disk facility but I manage well without - at least so far. I do most things such as email, surf, store photos of my grandchildren, write letters - am using Word for the trial period which ends in a few days time then going to download OpenOffice which is free and very much like Word I understand.

I bought mine in John Lewis with 2 yr guarantee and first 3 months free telephone support (24 hours I think). I use 02 for broadband - see their website for any deals. The 02 technical support were very good for setting up the router and connection etc and the J. Lewis computer helpline was brilliant. That was my experience.

HTH

almillar

Burdening your parents with a long contract and paying the first few months for them, even with a 'free' netbook doesn't sound much like a present to me, though your heart's in the right place. I think part of the definition of a netbook (and it's pretty hard to define!) is that there is no DVD drive. Also, the keyboards are smaller than standard (what size are your dad's hands?) and so are the screens, as well as lower resolution. This makes them more difficult to view, and also means more scrolling is required to get around webages/ spreadsheets, photos etc. Some come with very small flash memory instead of a hard drive so wouldn't be great for storage.
A refurbished 2-3 year old laptop from a reputable seller on eBay for £100-£200 would be a much better option for them in my opinion...