is this bargain laptop any good?

magoogy · 10 November 2005 at 9:46AM

Medion Celeron 350 Notebook -

Non Variant

RRP: £999.99

PRICE: £499.99

YOU SAVE: £500.00

Description

A truly portable laptop from Medion, the Celeron 350 Notebook Computer features inbuilt wireless networking allowing you to connect to the internet without cables. With a multi-format DVD re-writer, 1.3 GHz celeron mobile processor, 15.4" widescreen TFT display and Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900 it has everything you'd expect from more expensive machines at a market leading price.

Supplied software includes Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition SP2 and much more. You even have a choice of 5 movies to download absolutely free (internet connection required, unlock code valid until 31st December 2005).

Features

# 15.4 TFT anti-glare WXGA widescreen colour display (16:10 screen is perfect for watching DVD Movies)
# Intel Celeron Mobile 350 Processor
# Dual Layer Multi-format DVD Re-Writer
# Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900 (up to 128MB shared memory)
# Wireless 802.11 g/b Networking
# 40 GB hard disk drive 5400 RPM
# 256 MB DDR II RAM superfast memory
# 3x USB 2.0 ports and 1 x FireWire (IEEE-1394) port
# Choice of 5 Movies: S.W.A.T., Spider-man, Charlies Angels Full Throttle, Men In Black II, Stuart Little 2
# 16-bit Sound and 2 inbuilt stereo speakers

Technical Specifications

# Intel Celeron M 350 Mobile 1.3 GHz
# 256MB DDR II 533MHz RAM, expandable to 2048MB
# 15.4" TFT Widescreen Display, 1280x800 resolution
# 40GB HDD 5400RPM
# DVD-Writer/-ReWriter
# Read Speed: 8xDVD-ROM, 24xCD-ROM
# Write Speed: 24xCD-R, 4xCD-RW, 10xhigh Speed CD-RW, 8xDVD-R, 2xDVD-R DL, 4xDVD-RW, 8xDVD+R, 2.4xDVD+R DL, 4xDVD+RW
# Graphics Media Accelerator 900, 128MB shared memory
# S-Video TV out
# 56 K V90 modem
# 54Mbit/s inbuilt wireless networking
# 16bit stereo sound
# 2hr 15min battery life
# VGA monitor out port
# 3 USB 2.0 ports
# 1 1394 IEEE Firewire port
# Ethernet LAN port
# PCMCIA type II

this is down from £999.99 to £499.99 - is it worth it?

mike_paterson · 10 November 2005 at 10:04AM

IT is ok.
I recently got a better spec one for the mother-in-law from Dell

Celeron M360 processor
60GB hard drive
Dual layer DVDRW
512MB Ram
Wireless onboard
etc

all for £419 inc VAT delivered.

They had a free delivery offer on at the time (2 weeks ago) and the deal is not available at present.

The Dell sales rep did tell me that they will have great deals for Christmas - so might be worth waiting another 3-4 weeks before making a purchase.

Edinburghlass_2 · 10 November 2005 at 10:10AM

Sounds like the Woolies advertising?

All of their computer deals seem to be half price

magoogy · 10 November 2005 at 11:49AM

yes it is woolworths - i dont know whether to get this one or the one i chose earlier from comet at £600 but with 525mb......cant get from dell as im using choice vouchers....

thanks

Edinburghlass_2 · 10 November 2005 at 11:55AM

Woolies were doing this "half price" advertising the same time last year and and in fact have carried it on throughout the year.

I haven't been looking so sorry can't really advise but for Woolies I would forget the half price bit and concentrate on if the spec is worth the price they are currently asking.

My local Tesco had a load of pc and laptops instore last night, have you looked there?

troubled_buyer · 10 November 2005 at 10:37PM

Mike,

Your Dell sounds very interesting.

Could you please provide any more information so I can watch for it coming up again?

Thanks.

mike_paterson · 11 November 2005 at 9:21AM

Yes - it is the Inspiron 2200 the same spec as the one with this e-value code UKDHSONL-N11226It is currently £549 less 10% - which makes it about £495 inc Vat and delivery (if you delete the massively expensive support contract).

As I said I got the one for the mother-in-law for £419 all in and they are likely to have similar prices in the run up to Christmas.

Just hang in there !

Pulse · 11 November 2005 at 9:33AM

I wouldn't touch the Medion for the life of me. I won't say any more than that, but please please bear in mind that I used to work on the helpdesk and they have so many problems. They've not had a product yet without a problem (half of which they will not admit to)

Mr_Skint_2 · 11 November 2005 at 9:50AM

Pulse wrote:

I wouldn't touch the Medion for the life of me. I won't say any more than that, but please please bear in mind that I used to work on the helpdesk and they have so many problems. They've not had a product yet without a problem (half of which they will not admit to)

Above statement is not 100% true.

Medion have excellent repair and user service reports, there equipment
is Made in germany with a robust and sturdy design especially
the Mid2020 laptop, User parts are some of the same parts fitted into
the sony Vaio.

I will say though there are problems with a few dead pixels on the screens
this however they will sort out pronto unless bought via Toys "R" Us which
have there fingers up the a**es any way.

At least they are not selling Second Hand Used PCs and passing
them off as New, Unlike Dell of recent weeks...

C-3P0 · 11 November 2005 at 9:55AM

I used to work for Medion in Germany and I will say there user support
was top notch just like the PCs, Price taken into consideration mind you
And Mr Skint is correct about them Having a few dead pixels on screen
bear in mind that was a suppliers fault as the screens were outside sourced.

Pulse · 11 November 2005 at 1:05PM

Mr Skint, I understand that you may have been one of the lucky people to have a good experience with the company, but a LOT of people are not that lucky. For example, Medion sold a PDA with GPS. There was a problem with the software, and instead of sorting it before they sold it, they just whacked it out there and hoped for the best. When it came back with loads of people saying the software was useless, Medion had one line: "We didn't make the software, so we won't help you". Medion made no effort to contact the supplier of the Software, and the issue was never resolved (at least for the time I was working there), which left a lot of people out of pocket. Hardly sounds like good practice to me.

Also, you should note that while I have quoted a PDA, you have problems with the PCs and Laptops aswell.
One laptop was sold with a TV card, which would only pick up 1 and 3 initially. Now I don't know about you, but I would prefer that when I buy something, it works straight out of the box, instead of sending it back, or waiting for an upgrade for the software, which never seems to come! Especially if (this time of year) you are buying it for a christmas present, then you are royally screwed.

Anyway, I won't say much more on the matter, as I think no more needs to be said, but no matter how 'robust' the laptop or workstation may be, the fact remains the same, they are ignorant to the issues they have with their machines, and they never want to do anything about them. (Take this from someone who had a LOT of upset customers for christmas!)

is this bargain laptop any good?

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