First laptop for 11 year old daughter

NiftyDigits

OP asked about a Laptop, not a Netbook. Really pointless to buy something less capable unless portability is essential.

duncan32

Thanks for all of the replies everyone. Yes, really thinking of sticking to a laptop. How does this one look? http://www.thelaptopcentre.co.uk/cheap-refurbished-laptops/dell-latitude-d620-intel-core-duo-166ghz-2gb-ram-80gb-hdd-141-widescreen-dvdrom-wi-fi-windows-xp.html

I like the idea of refurbished and getting a quite good laptop for a low price. Do people have experience of refurbished?

Thanks.

Duncan

duncan32

Me again. It seems that I may not even know the difference between a laptop and a netbook!:rotfl: What I thought was a laptop (from my work) seems to be classed as a netbook! Confusing, but perhaps shows that a netbook would certainly do. I think she would love a pink one, how does this one look: http://www.cheaplaptopcompany.co.uk/pink-dell-d600-laptop

Thanks!

Duncan

NiftyDigits

You've already been shown the best stuff for the money. If you prefer to ignore the recommendations in order to buy a load of old carp, why bother to ask?
Have you ever heard of a 'false economy'?

duncan32

Ok mate, point taken. It must be annoying to have guys like me coming on asking for help and being so wayward with deciding. Sincerely meant. :beer:
I have had a look at the netbook link you posted and it does seem to offer a lot more than the pink one I linked to, I agree (although I am not an expert by any stretch of the imagination).

Thanks again to all.

Duncan

iammumtoone

Perfectly understandable that the OP would be temped by a pink one its for his 11 year old daughter, she would love it in pink. It does however make sense to get a better spec model rather than go for colour. I suggest purchasing a netbook skin sticker to customise it for her, just do a search for them on ebay you will find loads.

NiftyDigits

duncan32 wrote: »

Me again. It seems that I may not even know the difference between a laptop and a netbook!:rotfl: What I thought was a laptop (from my work) seems to be classed as a netbook! Confusing, but perhaps shows that a netbook would certainly do. I think she would love a pink one, how does this one look: http://www.cheaplaptopcompany.co.uk/pink-dell-d600-laptop

Thanks!

Duncan

This is not a Netbook. It is a horribly outdated laptop.

So I'm confused as to whether you want a laptop or a Netbook. Perhaps you are getting confused with a Notebook(another name for a laptop).

Clarify and let us know. Unless she has to carry it around and it's likely to be too heavy for her, stick with a laptop.

NiftyDigits

Here is a pink Netbook for £123.94.
But they are under-powered in comparison to a laptop. But if it is what you want for your daughter, then at least it's a good price and has a full warranty and will be 'as new'. It will certainly be easy to carry around.
You can up the RAM to 2GB to help with multi-tasking.

Cornucopia

A netbook is a smaller, lighter, less powerful version of a laptop.

So, in many respects ideal for a child, especially since the one drain on the machine's resources (gaming) the OP has specifically ruled out.

One aspect of buying a Netbook is that they mostly follow a particular set of standards - this makes it relatively easy to choose.

I would suggest this sort of thing: http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/laptops-netbooks/laptops/laptops/packard-bell-n600-10-1-netbook-purple-and-white-20927465-pdt.html

By comparison, for many people, a standard laptop will be too heavy, too big, unnecessarily powerful, with unnecessary interfaces/drives, too short battery life...

...unless you go for something extremely expensive that uses hi-tech to address the size, weight and battery life issues.

NiftyDigits

Cornucopia wrote: »

A netbook is a smaller, lighter, less powerful version of a laptop.

So, in many respects ideal for a child, especially since the one drain on the machine's resources (gaming) the OP has specifically ruled out.

One aspect of buying a Netbook is that they mostly follow a particular set of standards - this makes it relatively easy to choose.

I would suggest this sort of thing: http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/laptops-netbooks/laptops/laptops/packard-bell-n600-10-1-netbook-purple-and-white-20927465-pdt.html

By comparison, for many people, a standard laptop will be too heavy, too big, unnecessarily powerful, with unnecessary interfaces/drives, too short battery life...

...unless you go for something extremely expensive that uses hi-tech to address the size, weight and battery life issues.

Has battery life been mentioned as being important?? £200 for a Packard Bell Netbook? What is 'money saving' about that?
Unless portability and battery life are of the essence, why pay a laptop price for a Netbook, which is inherently inferior?
The child appears to use the parent's laptop at home, so weight may not be an issue. Neither will size.