AllFine 7" Mini Netbook/Notebook Your Thoughts Please

paulofessex

Have been looking at this item, currently £89.99. Thinking may be ok for partner usually just uses the pc for emails and general surfing, no downloading, no movies or music etc.

Also l'm not sure what Operating System Microsoft Window CE.

It seems very cheap indeed, l understand you cannot upgrade it etc

Here are the specs, any comments welcome

- Ultra lightweight
- Stylish black finish
- Weighs under 1kg
- SD card reader
- Wireless supported
- RAM 128MB

Ideal for surfing the web, checking emails, word processing and spreadsheets. Perfect for travel with built-in wireless technology.

Specifications:
Storage drive type - 2GB SSD
System RAM - 128MB
Operating system - Microsoft Windows CE
Processor - arm 920 32-Bit Processor
Card socket - SD card socket
Mouse control - Touchpad
Keyboard - Standard 80-key UK layout
I/O ports - *1 USB - U-Disk, *2 USB - Peripherals, 1 earphone/line-in socket

Display:
Display type - 7" LCD TFT
Widescreen - Yes
Max resolution - 800 x 480 (WVGA)

Networking:
Other COM options - 10/100MB Ethernet port
Wireless LAN - Built-in Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11b/g)

Audio:
Audio output power - Dual speakers
Power:
Technology - Lithium battery (max. 3-hour)
Power supply - AC charger/power supply

Product Dimensions:
Weight - 650g
Size - 222 (L) x 165 (W) x 29.5 (D) mm

Software:
Microsoft Windows CE, Web Browser, Word Processor, YouTube, Spreadsheet, PDF Viewer, Email Client, MSN Messenger

Please Note:
- No upgradeable RAM
- No iTunes/iPod support
- No external hard drives or hard disks
- No 3D and UMTS support
- No Connection and external monitors
- No other operating system can be installed

elvch01

I would not touch that with a bargepole. Windows CE is an embedded OS designed for mobile type devices and it is difficult to find software that will run on it. Your partner will quickly become frustrated with the lack of extensibility of this device

paulofessex

elvch01 wrote: »

I would not touch that with a bargepole. Windows CE is an embedded OS designed for mobile type devices and it is difficult to find software that will run on it. Your partner will quickly become frustrated with the lack of extensibility of this device

Thanks for that, you know what its like you see something and you think should l, shouldn't l, you know you get what you pay for etc. The OS is a major factor isn't, so l will no doubt pass on this one.

kerryhillbilly

I'm interested in this one as my father in law has just emailed me asking what I thought on it. Given that he would only use this for checking emails and web browsing I wondered if the only problem is whether he would need to find WiFi hotspots to browse when out on the road. He's got next to no other software on his desktop at home and extendability wouldn't be an issue. Even the lack of memory wouldn't be that big a deal. His son is of the opinion that a smart phone would do the same job, but even then you're looking at a minimum pay as you go of £10 a month and at £90 this netbook would be paid for in 9 months.

Snooze

elvch01 wrote: »

I would not touch that with a bargepole. Windows CE is an embedded OS designed for mobile type devices and it is difficult to find software that will run on it. Your partner will quickly become frustrated with the lack of extensibility of this device

Completely agree with all this. Especially the bit about the OS. 128 meg of RAM won't even run Windows XP so it's technically useless as you won't find any programs to run on it. Linux could be a possibility but I have strong doubts. I'm not familiar with the Linux OS so maybe someone else could comment here?

kwikbreaks

There are quite few variants of these machines around. They should all be treated as non-upgradable. The browser will probably not support flash - it may not even support javascript either and if not lots of sites wouldn't work correctly.

Anybody buying one has to either be certain returning it would be easy if it doesn't suit their needs (I think Maplin sell one and they take stuff back without too much quibbling) or be prepared to use it as a very expensive pocket calculator (assuming it can do that).

Paid for wifi hotspots can be very expensive.

JasX

kerryhillbilly wrote: »

Given that he would only use this for checking emails and web browsing I wondered if the only problem is whether he would need to find WiFi hotspots t

its basically a pocket calculator with a big screen, don't expect to be able to browse the internet (and have anything using flash or other basic plugins that power the majority of the web work), or receive anything bar the most basic 'plain text' emails.

so other than not being able to browse the majority of the web or receive a majority of emails you might get its just fine

sillygoose

Questions about these machines come up almost daily, previously I have posted this:

I actually had one of these! looked quite neat in white. Died after 3 weeks, hardware failure. On the plus side, mine came loaded with various office type clone software, pdf viewer etc and was quite usable for a bit of work, it connected on the net OK via wifi, screen was fine and battery lasted a long time. Had a usable simple email client onboard.

However! it runs subset windows CE which is near impossible to find software that will install let alone run (unless you know how to hack the cab files). Browsing websites is agonisingly slow, even Yahoo can take SEVERAL minutes to load (processor lacks power, actual pages were displayed quite well!).
I had hoped to get one of the other browsers running that render the page on the server to solve the problem but they are written for Windows Mobile rather than CE.

It cannot run video bigger than about half screen size, but did have an application that worked ok to use Youtube as it wont work in the browser.

Windows CE has no support for printers so even though it has USB its impossible to print out.

In the end you cannot cut corners, I am typing this on a fantastic Samsung N130 netbook I got recently that works brilliantly and is worth the £200 or so 10 times over the Ebay cheapy, save your money and buy the real thing. You can get good as new refurbished proper netbooks from major suppliers like Argos on Ebay for around £150 - £200.

almillar

Excellent posts above, and just in case anyone hasn't got the message yet, NO, they're not ' GOOD ENOUGH' for ANYTHING, even at £90!

kwikbreaks

almillar wrote: »

NO, they're not ' GOOD ENOUGH' for ANYTHING,

That's a little harsh - they would make a good paperweight or.... or.... err... well they'd make a good paperweight.

Ddraig

Cant believe I found this thread the second day into trying to mess about with 2 very pants windows ce embedded 7" netbooks.By the time I paid customs ,could have also got it as cheap here.£160 il never see again,ggrrr.