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Very affordable 9-12 inch laptops?
xenchu
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I'm looking for a cheap-as-can-be machine that I can take around when I don't feel like lugging around my 15.4" ASUS G series that I use for gaming.
I'm not sure how much performance I'm looking to sacrifice for portability, which is why I'm sketchy on something like the Acer Aspire One or a flavor of the Eee.
This would primarily be used at friends houses while collaborating on some side-projects we have, at home on the couch or in bed, in coffee shops, etc. I'd mostly be surfing the web - so a decent resolution screen is important. I'll also do some minor coding in Visual studio, so a comfortable keyboard (i.e., not the thing on the 7" Eees) is important, as is a fair-sized hard drive to install Visual studio on. Processor speed isn't super important, as I can compile any code on my home computer or other laptop - but I do want something that doesn't run painfully slow.
It also needs a webcam, for video conferencing, but that seems to have become a standard feature.
So right now I'm looking at:
As a last resort, I'm considering buying a cheap ass 15.4" laptop, and just not being as anal as I usually am about taking care of laptops (I have a 7 year old Compaq in perfect physical condition, the battery doesn't charge at all anymore though), as it's pretty easy to find a dual core machine with 2 gigs of RAM for under $500 these days. The weight would be something of a downer though.
The HP is the most expensive on the list so far, but the larger touchscreen makes that worth it as far as I'm concerned. Ideally I'd like to spend under $650, though I can stretch to $800 for a perfect solution.
One last note, whatever laptop I go for needs to be available immediately - I don't want to wait till October to get my hands on a 6-cell MSI Wind
Any other suggestions? Comments about the ones I'm considering?
I'm not sure how much performance I'm looking to sacrifice for portability, which is why I'm sketchy on something like the Acer Aspire One or a flavor of the Eee.
This would primarily be used at friends houses while collaborating on some side-projects we have, at home on the couch or in bed, in coffee shops, etc. I'd mostly be surfing the web - so a decent resolution screen is important. I'll also do some minor coding in Visual studio, so a comfortable keyboard (i.e., not the thing on the 7" Eees) is important, as is a fair-sized hard drive to install Visual studio on. Processor speed isn't super important, as I can compile any code on my home computer or other laptop - but I do want something that doesn't run painfully slow.
It also needs a webcam, for video conferencing, but that seems to have become a standard feature.
So right now I'm looking at:
- An Acer Aspire One w/ HD (instead of SSD) for $400 + the cost of upgrading to 2GB RAM
- An HP tx2500z Tablet for $742 (2GB RAM, 160GB HD, Radeon 3200, 12.1" LCD, Gigabit ethernet)
- An Eee with an Atom processor, preferebly a model with a bigger keyboard (I heard the 901's keyboard was larger than the 900's?)
As a last resort, I'm considering buying a cheap ass 15.4" laptop, and just not being as anal as I usually am about taking care of laptops (I have a 7 year old Compaq in perfect physical condition, the battery doesn't charge at all anymore though), as it's pretty easy to find a dual core machine with 2 gigs of RAM for under $500 these days. The weight would be something of a downer though.
The HP is the most expensive on the list so far, but the larger touchscreen makes that worth it as far as I'm concerned. Ideally I'd like to spend under $650, though I can stretch to $800 for a perfect solution.
One last note, whatever laptop I go for needs to be available immediately - I don't want to wait till October to get my hands on a 6-cell MSI Wind
Any other suggestions? Comments about the ones I'm considering?
xenchu on
0
Posts
pick two.
And if the battery is the only issue on the Wind you could get the current version now and upgrade the battery later.
Also, if you are just going to be editing code and compiling it later, you sure as hell don't need to install Visual Studio. Notepad++ should do the trick.
The other issue with the Wind is that it's pretty impossible to find right now, at least from a reputable place.
Can Notepad++ work with Visual Studio Team Foundation Server?
Edit:
Newegg 8GB SSD, 512MB RAM, white
CDW 8GB SSD, 512MB RAM, blue (According to the person I spoke with on the phone)
CDW 120GB HD, 1GB RAM, blue (according to the phone dude again)
These tiny laptops seem to be such a niche product right now anyways, few stores are carrying them. All the stores near me that carry ultra portables (Eee's) won't even take them out of the box, I guess the profit margin is too slim and they don't expect to move a lot of them.
Closest you'll probably get for awhile is going to be videos on Youtube.
Wow I haven't even heard of the Aspire One. That thing have a full size keyboard?
Also, if you need source control I would just use the standalone TFS client
Notepad++ is just a text editor.