Recommend a laptop / netbook / tablet please

TakeThis

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

I am sorry, I don't mean to be rude, but I am laughing out loud here.

64gb is nowhere near enough for a main laptop!

To start with, my camera takes a 4gb sd card and it is not unusual for me to fill it in one day - you obviously don't shoot on RAW!

My portable hard-drive is 500gb and 75% full, carrying a full back-up from my laptop.

I agree, that is much more capacity than OP has suggested that her son needs, but with a laptop he will be able to do so much more than on a tablet, for a lot less money.

Ugh... like my girlfriend. I dread her taking her camera out on holidays. Tens of Gigabytes of compressed material each time.

Humphrey10

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

64gb is nowhere near enough for a main laptop!

You said you couldn't find a tablet that had enough storage for when you are away from home, I assumed by this you meant that you couldn't find one with enough storage for the files you are currently working on. I didn't mean to suggest 64gb would be enough for your entire media collection.

Humphrey10

TakeThis wrote: »

I used to hate sending text messages before I used the BlackBerry Qwerty keyboard. So I imagine the iPod offers something in between that a a normal keyboard.

It's no worse than the keyboard on a small netbook, and it's a QWERTY keyboard.
It's also, since iOS 5, got a freaky split keyboard option, where the keyboard splits in two so you can hold the iPad up and type with your thumbs. I find this mode almost totally unusable though.
The autocorrect is very good, it almost always corrects typos to the word you intended them to be.

But not cheap, no. Apple tax and all that.

Bean_Counter

closed wrote: »

Can't he continue to use what you've got?

Fair point, but the laptop is on its way out and other members of the family want to use the main computer. Also he doesn't like anyone else in the room when he is watching something such as on iplayer, where he will turn the volume right down and watch the subtitles (which he can't read!)

So something that can be occasionally moved around would be fine.

TakeThis

Bean_Counter wrote: »

Fair point, but the laptop is on its way out and other members of the family want to use the main computer. Also he doesn't like anyone else in the room when he is watching something such as on iplayer, where he will turn the volume right down and watch the subtitles (which he can't read!)

So something that can be occasionally moved around would be fine.

What's wrong with the laptop? Perhaps we can extend it's life until a suitable bargain appears. It may just need a Factory Restore or similar.

Surely he will want another 17" screen? Budget around £250 minimum for that.

Bean_Counter

TakeThis wrote: »

What's wrong with the laptop? Perhaps we can extend it's life until a suitable bargain appears. It may just need a Factory Restore or similar.

Surely he will want another 17" screen? Budget around £250 minimum for that.

Thanks but it has already two factory restores and a new hard drive courtesy of the IT guy at work and seems to be heading for another go slow, so really now planning ahead rather than have to react when it does eventually die.

TakeThis

Bean_Counter wrote: »

Thanks but it has already two factory restores and a new hard drive courtesy of the IT guy at work and seems to be heading for another go slow, so really now planning ahead rather than have to react when it does eventually die.

Make and model if you please. If it's 'going slow', it's software or not enough RAM.

Do you do regular clean-ups?

edgex

Bean_Counter wrote: »

Hi,

I know that there have been some other threads on this recently, so please bear with me, but I wanted to post up my own specific details.

I am looking to buy my son a laptop / netbook / tablet for his Christmas. He is autistic and spends a reasonable amount of time online so need to get him something that is fit for purpose and not worried about brands etc. Of course with this being MSE I need some thing that will not break the bank, ideally under £200.

He mainly uses the computer on the BBC and ITV websites for watching iplayer etc and also playing the games on these sites. He is also on sites such as Club Penguin and Moshi Monsters. Hence I presume that the machine must be Flash compatible.

The computer will have no other use apart from internet browsing.

Thanks in advance and of course let me know if you need more information.

you wont get a decent tablet for £200

as its only for basic use, its worth looking at used laptops, ask relatives/friends/work if theres any going, especially after christmas


how old is he?
you say it wont have use except for web & games, but what about in 2 or 3 years time?

fwor

Bean_Counter wrote: »

Thanks but it has already two factory restores and a new hard drive courtesy of the IT guy at work and seems to be heading for another go slow, so really now planning ahead rather than have to react when it does eventually die.

If it really is only used for browsing, another interim solution could be to install a version of Linux on it.

I've got a Compaq Evo that's around 7 years old, and it boots quicker and performs better running Linux than XP. Linux is also much less prone to slowing down over time than Windows, as the equivalent of the Windows Registry is more efficiently implemented.

zzzLazyDaisy

If you want a tablet, Curry's Outlet Store on ebay has refurbished advent tablets for £130 with warranty

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Advent-Vega-Refurbished-Internet-Tablet-/120799059414?pt=UK_iPad_Tablet_Accessories&hash=item1c202f5dd6