small laptop choice

[tismehi]

i'm thinking of picking up another little laptop, (having got rid of the elonex onet+), and i'm torn between these two cheapies.

 

Acer Aspire 150b or the Compaq Mini 700.

 

 

i'm only thinking of a small book as i'm in work daily without broadband connection and i do get some free time to check emails, shop, etc.

 

these two beauties are available with my mobile network provider at a reasonably decent price with modem.

 

anyones thoughts would be most welcome.

[Guest Wolfeymole]

The Compaq for me Joe without even thinking about it mate.

[Jelly Bean]

Hello there.

 

I certainly would not choose the Acer so if that was the only two choices included in the diffrent contracts I would be with Wolfey on this one and choose Compaq.

 

However is there diffrent branded netbooks or laptops included in diffrent packages?

 

If you post more information maybe we can look at the best deal with the best prices and netbook for you?

 

Who were you thinking of going with?3G?

 

To be honest most of them deals (netbook+dongle) from 3G and Talk Talk etc are well over priced I looked into these some time ago.

 

I would much rather as I did save the money and buy a netbook of my choice.Lots of netbooks if you buy the correct one connect to the internet free of charge via WIFI.No need to have a USB dongle and a contract.

 

To sum up the usage of the USB dongle you do not get that many hours of surfing time and downloading also reduces your hours online.If you go over the usage limit you maybe charged the extra usage via your bank.

 

I know a friend who went over the usage limit and was charged £5-00 per day which was duely removed from her bank account.So I would look into the small print before purchase.

 

My best advice is to save and buy a netbook of your choice.

 

Then only purchase the USB dongle as an extra and look into the best option,3G is pritty good on prices and hours at the moment.

 

This would work out much much cheaper in the long run for you.

 

Most contracts are 12 months or 18 months or 24 months if you add up what you would be paying over the contract period and the actual prices of netbooks on offer you will see you realy are being over charged.

 

But it is your choice and which way you wish to go.

 

If you wish further advice please feel free to ask as I am sure we can find you a better deal.

 

JB.

Edited June 20, 2009 by Jelly Bean

[RandyL]

Excellent points Jelly Bean. You covered a lot of information.

 

Tismehi are you aware of the differences between a laptop and a netbook?

[Jelly Bean]

I checked the netbook packages on 3G and I see the listed netbooks are from there.

 

The Acer is FROM £17-50 per month but did you note the data is only 1 gig?That is not a lot of usage.If you want more data usage or more hours online you would have to go for a higher priced package.

 

The Compaq mini is FROM £30-00 per month with 5 gig data transfer.

 

Here are prices just for the USB dongle purchased on its own:

 

3 Store - Mobile Broadband

 

It shows trariffs for Pay as you Go,1 month contracts and Pay Monthly.

 

Note on pay monthly 15 GB of data which would give you a fair bit of hourly usage is £15-00.Ok that doesnt include a netbook or laptop.Aagin your hours would be reduced if you download items.

 

Ok to purchase a netbook or laptop seprate means you would have to have the funds to do so,however there are always choices on how to buy such as Argos card which gives you a certain amount of months to pay for an item and if payed for within a certain time limit no intrest is added.

 

There is also a catalogue which you or a family member may run,they are a little over priced but you appear to of still be saving money.

 

I did do a search and found this:

 

Free Laptop deals - Contract Mobile Broadband - Tesco Telecoms

 

You can actualy build your own deal and compare prices,you will note the network choices are Orange and 3G.

 

I am not trying to put you off paying for this sort of deal just trying to give you more options so you can hopefully get a cheaper better deal.

 

Have you tried BT dongle with 1 GB data?If you have BT wireless broadband you maybe able to get this dongle for free.The 1 GB dongle will be yours for the duration of your contract with BT wireless.Phone BT and see if they can do you a deal.

 

This would then mean only having to purchase a netbook or laptop with no monthly contact to get online.

 

Netbooks and laptops if they have a wireless card or WIFI card can connect to most free WIFI hot spots.They can also connect free to works wireless networks and other peoples home networks.

 

I hope this has helped?

 

JB.

 

Note:

 

A majority of netbooks come supplied with the Intel Atom 1.6 ghz CPU with Hyper Threading.If people can hold out a little while Intel plans to upgrade the Atom from 1.6 GHZ to 2.0 GHZ with Hyper Threading.

Edited June 20, 2009 by Jelly Bean

[tismehi]

thanks guys for your time and effort.

 

my situation is this:

 

i have a 17" laptop which is a bit bulky travelling in and out of work. i have no unsecure wireless networks near my work. there is no bt fon near me either. i'm a bt total broadband customer and have 500mins of openzone time allocation each month, but this dissapears fairly quickly so i was thinking of a smaller machine, ie a netbook, (which i would only use for emailing, shopping, etc), and i think that as a three mobile customer i get a discount from any deal.

this pointed me to the three website where i saw netbook deals from £17-50 pm and i was attracted.

[Jelly Bean]

Hello again.

 

Oh I was not trying to say not to go with the offer,just thought a few ideas on what you could possibly go for.Its always good to have choices.

 

As I said I was not trying to put you off.

 

I to had a older laptop and boy carrying that everywere with my Bodyglove full of disks,mini tool kit etc was heavy and cumbersom.

 

I then bought a netbook and sold my old beloved laptop.What a diffrence in weight,much easier and lighter to carry.

 

A netbook is very convienient.

 

I would advise you though to buy a good quality netbook bag.I bought a Tech Air one.It is brilliant,plenty of pockets and I did drop it once when my netbook was inside it.It protected my new machine brilliantly.

 

Many netbooks when external pressure is applied to the lid will show as pressure marks on the screen.They are not as robust as a laptop this is why I also advise a good quality protective bag.

[tismehi]

hi jellybean,

 

thanks for all your research and for your thoughts and suggestions.

 

i appreciate that these may not be the best ever deals and maybe buying a netbook is the best option.

 

i think a 5gb monthly allowance would be sufficient so i might give three a call soon and haggle - this usually works for me when my mobile phone contracts are due to finish as i always get money off contract prices.

 

cheers for your advice on the bag - something i overlooked.

 

joe.

[Jelly Bean]

Haggle is good as your already with 3G you may get a good deal.

 

Your very welcome,if you need any other help on a diffrent subject myself and the guys will be very pleased to help you.

 

JB.

Edited June 21, 2009 by Jelly Bean

[tismehi]

i tried twice today already and failed - for the first time.

the deal is for 24mths at £25pm for 15gb data and includes the compaq mini 700. they assure me i will not find anything close and i think i agree as i have been searching for a week before i tried three.

[Jelly Bean]

Darn,but at least you tried.

 

I just hate to pay such a high price.

 

If my finances look better after christmas I may go for the £15-00 dongle myself.