New laptop/netbook

[Nutcase]

Even though I've patched Em's laptop back together it's time to think about replacing it as it's a few years old now and rather battered. We've decided we'd prefer something smaller and lighter than a laptop, but having borrowed a netbook for a few days, we want something a bit bigger, ~13" screen with reasonable performance. But I can't find anything :(

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Toshiba-Satellite-T130-170-13-3-inch-Processor/dp/B00336EG6W/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1312118317&sr=1-1

would be about right, but it's only available used. Can anyone suggest anything? Doesn't need a DVD drive.

Ta :)

[Flibster]

Have you checked Dell's outlet site?

Just got a new laptop for the other half off there.
17.3" screen, 2.53ghz i3, 4gb ram, 500gb hdd, 1gb Ati Mobility, bluray for ~£450

http://www.dell.co.uk/outlet

[Del Lardo]

I bought Miss DL one of these (http://www.dell.com/uk/p/inspiron-m301z-amd/pd) for Christmas and she is very happy with it. Only minor niggle is that the fans kick in quite a lot and can be a bit intrusive.

[LeperousDust]

Not sure if this helps but this is superb for £299 i think :) Maybe too "laptopy" for you though?

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/hp-probook-4320s-399-delivered-less-100-hp-cashback-299-saveonlaptops/980960/?page=5#post11853642

Bought it myself but yet to use it... :)

[Nutcase]

Thanks peeps :) Still looking but it looks like the medium size screens have fallen out of fashion as there's very limited choice so back to looking at full size laptops.

[Mark]

Asus UL if there's an up-to-date version still around. I can vouch for the strength of the screen hinges at least (yes, I did pick mine up by the top of the screen, and it was switched on at the time - though I wouldn't have tried that had I not swapped out the hard disk for an SSD).

Try somewhere other than CPW though. There was a motherboard fault on mine when I got it (more a niggle than a problem), but it took CPW three attempts to get the swap right.

[Zico]

Not sure if this helps but this is superb for £299 i think :) Maybe too "laptopy" for you though?

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/hp-probook-4320s-399-delivered-less-100-hp-cashback-299-saveonlaptops/980960/?page=5#post11853642

Bought it myself but yet to use it... :)

Interested in what you think of it after a little use.

The HP looks like an ideal to replace my father's failing Samsung NC10.

[Nutcase]

Not sure if this helps but this is superb for £299 i think :) Maybe too "laptopy" for you though?

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/hp-probook-4320s-399-delivered-less-100-hp-cashback-299-saveonlaptops/980960/?page=5#post11853642

Bought it myself but yet to use it... :)

This was a very good option - except it "looks so dull" ;D

So we got one of these:

http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/sol/shop/technology/best_sellers/121735441_samsung_rv511_a09uk_intel_core_i3_3gb320 gb_156_blue_notebook.html?source=phd&gclid=ppc&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=phd_new_tech_test

Similar spec, was £380 minus about £20 in nectar points and then 3% cashback so not all that far off the cheaper one :)

[Mark]

Bit heavy for my personal liking (used to lug around a laptop of similar weight but have now gone lightweight and my back doesn't want me to go back). Other than that, I like the look of that deal (and of the laptop too). :)

[Nutcase]

Fortunately it doesn't really go anywhere - on holiday occasionaly and then it just sits in the hotel safe ;D It should really be called a "sofatop".

I see they've whacked the price up again :shocked:

[kaiowas]

Interested in what you think of it after a little use.

The HP looks like an ideal to replace my father's failing Samsung NC10.

We've got a whole bunch of them at work, seem like nice enough bits of kit although the trackpads on them drive me up the wall. The buttons are part of the trackpad area so if like me you use one finger to track and another to click it's easy to find that if you move your finger a tiny amount whilst left clicking the cursor whizzes accross the screen and you end up with no idea what you just clicked.

Not clever when you have "domain admin" rights :shocked:

[LeperousDust]

I find that i can do a lot of tapping instead of clicking, it's multi touch as well, so i never really need to use the buttons themselves, which means i just get more trackpad space :)

Still haven't properly sat down with this laptop, but it seems very very nice to me, two things missing are a backlit keyboard and the ability to install at WWAN card (but for £299 i can't complain!)

The laptop has a space for a WWAN card but no aerials installed nor space on the chassis for a SIM. You can add the option on the HP website though its just not a simple aftermarket job :(

Looking for a cheap 9 cell battery now as well... Battery life is fairly standard, nothing amazing, but long enough for a "real" laptop. It runs cooler and quieter than my Horrid Dell XPS (christ i never though i'd have so much trouble with ANOTHER XPS - i've finally given up even though i want to love them!)