Is the price too cheap for a laptop?

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Just find this ASUS Eee PC.

I need suggestion, Is the price too cheap for a laptop?
Has Anyone had good experience with this netbook?
 
itisaniceday said:
Just find this ASUS Eee PC.

I need suggestion, Is the price too cheap for a laptop?
Has Anyone had good experience with this netbook?
Click to expand...
That depends on what you need the laptop for. The specifications on it are pretty bad, but if you just want to use it to browse the internet it should be fine.

reviews.cnet.com/best-netbooks/

reviews.cnet.com/laptops/asus-eee-pc-900/4505-3121_7-33698105.html?tag=mncol;lst
^ the specific one you linked

If you want a laptop to do more than browse the net, check out some of those: reviews.cnet.com/laptops/

Also this site is very informative: forum.notebookreview.com/index.php
notebookreview.com/
 
This price isn’t too cheap for the laptop you’re looking at. (I’ve seen eeePC models sell for as little as $105.) However, the laptop is small and very slow. It’s designed to be a super-small laptop that you can carry around with you (in your purse or bookbag), like you would carry around a cell phone. It’s fast enough to handle word processing and web browsing (although many websites will load slowly because websites are getting more and more complicated.)

The laptop wasn’t intended to be someone’s primary PC and it may not stand up to heavy use. I’m getting one and I’m planning on taking it on international trips (where I don’t want to bring an large and expensive laptop), and to run map programs to use in the car.

Beware that the laptop does not have a CD or DVD drive, which might not be a problem anyway because it doesn’t run Windows so you won’t be able to buy any software for it.
 
We bought a netbook a while back and are thrilled with it. The specs are a good deal better than the Asus in the original post, however, and the price was only about $50 more. I’d personally shop around and get something with a little more horsepower. As a supplementary/backup PC, though, I’m exceptionally pleased with ours.
 
I have the Lenova mini-laptop. It is great, very durable for its size. It also comes with the camera built in so it is great to Skype on.
 
Some thoughts for you -

Yes, a netbook with these specs will run slow. But if you are just doing email, general web browsing, it will be tolerable if you are patient.

Some “heads up” stuff…make sure you have at least 2 USB ports on this. Maybe missing it, but I don’t see those listed in the specs.

Alot of students at the university where I used to work had ASUS and Acer laptops. They liked them, but there weren’t too many with the netbooks.

For the wireless internet connection - be aware that if you have an old wireless router in your house, you may have to update the router. We have a westell 327w with verizon DSL. I first got an HP mini netbook (beautiful, beautiful computer) - that wouldn’t hook up to the wireless. HP couldn’t help me troubleshoot it - after 8 hours of tech support over 3 different calls - so it got sent back.

The Dell inspiron mini I ended up with is also nice - but would have preferred the HP. (kicking myself). When the Dell arrived, it wouldn’t connect to the router either. I looked up Dell’s tech support site, and there was a page there with directions for updating our wireless modem. Dell’s tech support site was head and shoulders above HP’s. It only took 2 min to find the problem and solution on Dell’s site - and within 15 min the router was updated and ready to go - and now I can connect using my little Dell.
 
My friend told me that dont get anything smaller than 12" if i want a “laptop”. is that ture?
 
itisaniceday said:
My friend told me that dont get anything smaller than 12" if i want a “laptop”. is that ture?
Click to expand...
The Eee PC, is not a traditional laptop–it is a netbook. Netbooks are not meant to have the same functionality as a laptop. They’re meant for people who only want to do simple things on the go (internet, wordprocessing, etc.) So, it would be unwise to get a netbook and think that it will perform as well as a bigger laptop. Netbooks also have smaller keyboards, no DVD/CD drive, and they have slower processors and less RAM.

Now, if you don’t understand any of that above, your friend’s rule of thumb is probably good. The smallest laptop that you will find will be around 13"… otherwise it’s probably a netbook.

Take a look at some manufacturer’s websites rather than going bargain hunting first. You can locate the laptop you want on the manufacturer’s webpage and try to shop around for a low price. 👍
(To keep your laptop up to date, I would suggest getting something with at least (bare minimum) 2 GB of RAM and 2 Ghz processing speed.) If you have anything specific you will be using the laptop for, post it, and I’ll try to make some better recommendations)
 
itisaniceday said:
My friend told me that dont get anything smaller than 12" if i want a “laptop”. is that ture?
Click to expand...
Personally, I would never buy a netbook when I can get a true laptop for only a few hundred more.

My 14 YO son purchased a very nice Compaq laptop (with his mowing and babysitting $$) at a big box retailer for around $350. It has a 15.9 inch screen, 160 GB hard drive, etc. He has been using it all summer, daily, and it is great!

bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp;jsessionid=4168F9A87D44AE0548435F4822A43381.bbolsp-app01-09?skuId=9168143&type=product&id=1218041995463
 
Costco has Acer netbooks with an Intel Atom for $300.

1.6 ghz
1.0 gig RAM
120GB
8.5 inch
2 pounds
wifi “g”
3 usb
no cd
XP
 
Dell has some really great deals on laptops right now. We have two at home and use them at the office at well (different models though).

I got my wife a Mini 9 (refurbished) when she gave birth to our 4th son and she loves, battery life is great and it’s more than fast enough for surfing the web, word processing etc… the keyboard is small though as it’s a netbook. We also have a 17" that’s we just love but is a little too big to wag around or hold in your lap while breastfeeding, heh.

Many people don’t realize dell also has an outlet site with refurbished system. These still come with a year warranty and usually if something is going to break, it’s going to break in the first year unless it just wears out. If you are on their site you can see dell outlet store where you can search for what models you want. They go quick though so you have to refresh often but I got our 17: (1720) for about $700 when they were selling new for $1500 (with discounts) for the exact same system.
 
itisaniceday said:
It uses Linux, not XP/Vista, is it ok?
Click to expand...
For a netbook, Linux will do. What that means is that it will not come loaded with Internet Explorer, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook, etc. These Microsoft products will not run under Linux without additional translation programs such as CrossOver. Instead, it will probably come with Firefox for web browsing (way superior to IE), Thunderbird for e-mail and Open Office for word processing, spreadsheets, etc.
 
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