Buying a laptop advice needed

nat71985

Hi, i'm looking to buy my nanna a laptop for christmas. She hasn't used one before so it doesn't have to be a really good one but its got to last. Preferably a 15" screen not a net book as the screen is too small but also not to heavy for her to lift. Would rather buy from a store and not on ebay in case it breaks

I don't have a clue what i'm to look for so any advice would be a real help.

Thank you in advance.:j

Natalie

gonzo127

whats your budget?

although saying that to be honest any modern (new) laptop should do her if she is just going to be learning i doubt she will be stressing the system or using advanced programs

nat71985

Thanks for your reply, probably £300. I don't want to buy her one an she likes it but it's not great or there's no software on it and she'll have to buy it like word etc

Knarf44

This refurbished Toshiba L450D from Currys is a fairly basic spec but would do for internet/email usage. To add MS Office to it though you would have to purchase the software and install it. If you are a student or have a family member that is you could buy MS Office 2010 cheaply at Software for Students or Pugh Computers

Alternatively, you could download and install the FREE Libre Office (by the people who were developing Open Office)

Don't forget to add a FREE antivirus program such as Microsoft Security Essentials, Avast 5 or Avira Antivir.

nat71985

Thank you for your help

JamesK10

Office won't be free, but check if the price of one version behind (2007) will be cheaper - the three user version cost me £70, meaning you could put it on hers and have two installations left for yourself. A lot of laptops will have a trial lasting a month/30 Days from when she first starts the programme, so you can hold off spending that money until she knows what she's doing - unless she's ever used any other version of Office before.

If you want it fairly robust, the Toshiba that one of my rellies bought had a treated lid which was one down from a proper metal back - cheaper Dells will have tacky plastic lids that leave fingerprints all over and they're a pain to clean.

A laptop's always going to be a balance of power and capability, the rellie's Toshiba had a Core 2 chip (the standard to high model in the old generation) but that means that when streaming a programme from BBC iplayer on the Battery, it'll last less than an hour. Ordinary Windows use on maximum economy settings will make it 1hr40, 2hrs at most.

Acer Aspire Timeline were the rage in 2009 for long battery lives but they removed all but the USB and modem ports to do it - even if it's a learning laptop it depends whether it will stay self-contained or whether it will ever be connected to anything else, in which case a HDMI port would be useful.

Of those free Antivirus Programs only Antivir hasn't suffered the curse of the bad version yet, though when you download it, it will be the new version 10.

Network cards are wireless as standard so if your Nanna's already online it should (hopefully) pick up the connection without needing a wire - or if it wasn't wireless, it would need just another cable plugged in.

nat71985

Thank you that is a lot of useful information for me to use. I'll get looking now i have a bit of an idea as to what i'm supposed to look for, it's daunting when your not sure!

G_M

Increasing numbers of new laptops now come with Office 2010 loaded. It has a free 'Office Starter' package (Word and Excel) which would probobly be fine for your gran, + the option to pay to activate the full Office suite if wanted later.

Not all retailers even realise that Office Starter is free and pre-installed, so if they try to sell you Office, check the computer first. It might be there!