I'm going to buy my first notepad/laptop and need one which is easy to use, which is the best and why?

Question

I'm going to buy my first notepad/laptop and need one which is easy to use, which is the best and why?

Answer 1

Simple answer - you get what you pay for...



Complicated answer - you get what you pay for...



Most laptops now are preloaded with Windows Vista. This makes at least 1GB of ram a "must have", preferably 2GB.



Hard drive space on a laptop is usually limited, but get at least 60GB.



At minimum an optical drive that is a "combo" (DVD-Rom + CDRW) drive or better - A lot of software is starting to come on DVD's, so you'll need at least that.



Im pretty sure just about all laptops now come with 802.11 wireless built in. Make sure you get that at least.



Pre-installed software - this is where most companies make their money. Laptops (and PC's for that matter) now are fairly cheap. But they usually come with "trial" versions of things like MS Office, Norton or Mcafee Security. Do yourself a favor and download OpenOffice. Its a free office suite that reads and writes MS Word and Excel files and Powerpoint presentations. Uninstall McAfee or Norton (they're both garbage and cause more headaches than they're worth), and buy AVG Internet Security - costs less and works much better.



Make sure you get at least a 15.4" monitor - smaller than that gets hard to look at after an hour or so.



Easy to use is a misnomer. It all depends on what you are doing with it.



Which is the best? There is no clear answer here, except - tech support and warranty. Should something go wrong, get broken, etc... you'll need to talk to someone to get it resolved without costing an arm and a leg. Laptops are expensive to fix when things go wrong. No matter what kind you get, make sure you buy every last penny of warranty support you can get. I have been fixing PC's and laptops for many years now, and I'll tell you - warranty warranty warranty....In all the years of selling laptops the best tech support I've ever dealt with was Acer. No hassles, if its broke, send it back, 2 weks later you get your computer back.



Theres a lot to look at with laptops and PC's these days...But simple rules apply -



If it looks to good to be true, it probably is.



Theres a reason you an go to a store and buy a $600 laptop, yet 10 feet away is a $2500 laptop - you get what you pay for.



Call the tech support number for whatever manufacturer you're looking at and feel them out - do they make you feel important or do they make you feel like a paycheck?



Jason

www.onestoptechnologyshop.com

Answer 2

Go for a brand you've heard of e.g. Dell, Toshiba, Sony. I own a Compaq laptop but have reservations about it because I think it overheats too easily.



Aim for as good a specification as you can. Try to have at least 1gb of RAM in the laptop, a big hard drive (60-80gb) and a mobile processor like an Intel Core or AMD Turion. The problem with laptops is that once you buy one, they're trickier to upgrade than a PC. That is what I'd be inclined to look out for more than whose label is on the box.



All laptops nowadays operate in pretty much the same way so none of them will be any easier or harder to use than the other. I think they all use the same sort of touch pad now as a mouse substitute. Other than that, a screen is a screen and a USB port is a USB port.

Answer 3

Macs. Hands down. I've tried them all, and Windows just doesn't cut it. They keep getting viruses, shutting down, slowing down, etc. Macs are sooo easy to use, but people freak out because it's a different design. If you haven't noticed, Apples (Macs) are becoming extremely popular, and for good reason too. I've had mine for years, and it's NEVER had a virus. All the programs are great, and they never freeze up or unexpectedly shut down like Windows does. They hold a lot too, and it already comes with iTunes. So, if you have an iPod or anything, they're just great. The exterior is really classy and slim too. I could go on and on. The only setback is that they are a bit pricey, but you won't have to spend tons of money getting them fixed a few times a year because they rarely tear up. The Macbooks are the least expensive, but my favorite is the MacPro. You can burn Dvds and they have more space. You should get an Apple. Just go to apple.com to see what I'm talking about :D

Answer 4

EVEREX XT5000T AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-50(1.60GHz) 17.0" Wide XGA+ 1GB 100GB Dual layer DVD Burner NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600 NoteBook $699

Very vibrant 17" display. Dedicated Video Card. Dual HDD capable. Upgradeable CPU. Vista Home PREMIUM. Relative Clean Install. CHEAP.



http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Description=XT5000T&x=20&y=35

http://www.everex.com/products/xt5000t/xt5000t.htm

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1174232

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=3405848&sku=E80-XT5000TRB

Answer 5

Are you UK? If so then AOL are doing a free laptop deal. Depending on your area it's a 2 year contract ranging from £19.99 - £34.99 per month which includes broadband, and unlimited anytime calls anywhere in the UK with a free Dell 1520 Notebook. I've just signed up for it. You still have to pay BT line rental.

Answer 6

Toshiba and HP are great. Consider these two.



Here is a good, but low priced machine.

TOSHIBA Satellite A135-S2246 NoteBook Intel Celeron M 430(1.73GHz) 15.4" Wide XGA 512MB DDR2 533 80GB 5400rpm DVD/CD-RW Combo ATI Radeon Xpress 200M IGP - $649.99 (but get more RAM)

http://www.dpbolvw.net/click-2594269-10440897?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.newegg.com%2FProduct%2FProduct.asp%3FItem%3DN82E16834114305%26ATT%3D34-114-305%26CMP%3DAFC-C8Junction%26cm_mmc%3DAFC-C8Junction-_-Notebooks-_-Toshiba%2BAmerica-_-34114305&cjsku=N82E16834114305



Kingston 1GB 200-Pin DDR2 SO-DIMM DDR2 533 (PC2 4200) Notebook Memory Model KVR533D2S4/1G - $28.99

http://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-2594269-10440897?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.newegg.com%2FProduct%2FProduct.asp%3FItem%3DN82E16820144183%26ATT%3D20-144-183%26CMP%3DAFC-C8Junction%26cm_mmc%3DAFC-C8Junction-_-Memory%2B%28Notebook%2BMemory%29-_-Kingston%2BTechnology-_-20144183&cjsku=N82E16820144183

- - -

Here is a top END machine:

HP Pavilion DV9640US(GS745UA) Intel Core 2 Duo 17.0" Wide XGA+ NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GS NoteBook - $1,299.99

http://www.kqzyfj.com/click-2594269-10440897?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.newegg.com%2FProduct%2FProduct.asp%3FItem%3DN82E16834147533%26ATT%3D34-147-533%26CMP%3DAFC-C8Junction%26cm_mmc%3DAFC-C8Junction-_-Notebooks-_-Hewlett-Packard-_-34147533&cjsku=N82E16834147533



Good luck and Happy Computing!

Answer 7

i went from pc to mac and its pretty easy to use. no more viruses to worry about and applications are user friendly. its affordable. the only thing is finding compatibility for programs. they also offer services at the apple store if anything goes wrong with your comp. ive had great experiences there. macbooks are affordable but if you're looking for something nicer, a macbook pro.

Answer 8

it depends how much money you want to spend. go to http://www.moneysupermarket.com/ and compare loads.