I need a laptop/netbook

[Nami nom noms]

Hello all,

Since I am doing a lot of word-processing at the moment, but also a lot of travel, It would help me to have a laptop/netbook in order to kill two birds with one stone.
However, I am no good at choosing good technology so I thought the Escapist Community might be able to help!

So here's what I'm after:

1. Microsoft word.
2. Microsoft Excel for the bf.
3. Some kind of wi-fi.
4. Fairly small on my lap (not like those massive dell laptops ive seen.
5. I don't mind if its second-hand but im looking for something cheaper then £200 preferably.
6. 4+ Hours battery life.

Things I would like it to have:
1. Backlit keyboard (so I can work in bed)
2. Decent-ish screen size so I don't strain my eyes too much.
3. Quiet keyboard (need to avoid loud clacking noises )

Thanks everyone

 

[Speakercone]

I own an Asus Eee PC 1001px which I use as a glorified typewriter on the go.

Pretty solid build quality, fairly lightweight though I carry it in a backpack, so a bit of extra weight wouldn't kill me. Overall it's a pretty decent machine. No backlit keyboard though. Keyboard noise is not something I'm overly concerned with, but I've never had any complaints from the people around me.

It has a 10.1" screen, which I find is a bit on the small side. If I had to choose a new workhorse, I'd likely go with something a bit larger, say 13". The screen real-estate is worth the extra size and wight in my opinion.

It cost me £230 new last year, which I was quite happy with.

Honestly, I probably wouldn't buy the same type of computer again just because of the screen size, but in terms of processing power and general features it works a treat.

I hope that was helpful. Feel free to ask me further questions if you'd like to know more. I'll respond as quickly as I can.

 

[Aitur]

Eee's are cute but as Speakercone said I wouldn't want to work on one for any length of time, but the cuteness does make up for the size

Spoiler: Spoilered to avoid a wall of text

1 & 2 - Excel & word might come on a secondhand laptop, however unless they specify differently shops will supply a 60 day trial so bear that in mind when pricing up. You can however get OpenOffice [http://www.openoffice.org/] free, same with virus protection, shops will give you a 60 day trial but there's plenty of free ones Avast [http://www.avast.com/en-gb/index] / AVG [http://free.avg.com/gb-en/homepage]

3 - I'd be shocked to find a laptop without built in wifi these days, if your going for secondhand and it's a really old model doublecheck that it does, otherwise you can pretty much take for granted any laptop / netbook will have wifi.

4 - Avoid 17" (not likely on your budget anyway), a 15" screen should be plenty, my personal laptop is 15" while my work laptop is 14", honestly I'm hard pushed to notice the difference however the work (14") is far easier to fit into a briefcase.

5 & 6 - For that budget it might be best to look at a shop refurbished laptop, the trouble with secondhand laptops is they're very hit or miss (mostly miss - ebay) and it's rare to find one with a battery that'll work for longer than 15 minutes (so far I'm the only person I know that takes the battery out while my laptops (work and personal) are plugged into the mains for a period of time, my personal laptop is 7 years old yet still has 90% of it's battery life, but anyway...).
Netbooks generally have a longer battery time due to the smaller screen.

Other points -
1 - A backlit keyboard tends to be reserved for the higher end market, however some laptops do come with keyboard lights (which I find useless as of course your hands block the light, being able to touch type does solve all problems though )
2 - determined by the size of the laptop as covered above, as Speakercone mentioned you'd probably want a minimum of a 13" to avoid straining your eyes and 14" max for portability/lap comfort.
3 - laptops and netbooks tend to come with scissor action keys (low profile) so noise is generally at a minimum.

Alot of people say avoid the Acer, Advent and other cheaper brands but it's mostly personal opinion rather than a rule (I say it depends entirely on how well you look after the laptop that determines reliability rather than what brand), however ASUS tend to be fairly well built and I've never had a problem with HP/Compaq.

You might want to go into pcworld or somewhere with laptops on display and play around with them, see which make and size you prefer (they all have different feels, so you might find it easier to type on one than another). Once you find something you like check around the refurbished departments of the online stores and see if you can find a close match.
Alternatively, if your not in any hurry keep an eye on places like HotUKDeals.com [http://www.hotukdeals.com/] for laptops in clearance sales, the good thing about the deal websites is people will review the deal on whether it's a decent spec or not.

I can have a hunt around and try to find something if you want, however it's all well and good looking at stats and saying "buy that one" but it's you who has to live with it so you need to find something that fits you, although if I do see any good deals I make sure to let you know.

And no I'm not stalking you, you just seem to have all the interesting threads ;P

 

[Nami nom noms]

*snip*

Yes I have to admit such a small screen-size could be a problem though I could put up with it with a back-lit keyboard. However it seems back-lit keyboards are hard to come by on netbooks for some reason.

Anyway I'll have a look at prices these days since a glorified typewriter is all I'm after really!

Eee's are cute but as Speakercone said I wouldn't want to work on one for any length of time, but the cuteness does make up for the size

Spoiler: Spoilered to avoid a wall of text

1 & 2 - Excel & word might come on a secondhand laptop, however unless they specify differently shops will supply a 60 day trial so bear that in mind when pricing up. You can however get OpenOffice [http://www.openoffice.org/] free, same with virus protection, shops will give you a 60 day trial but there's plenty of free ones Avast [http://www.avast.com/en-gb/index] / AVG [http://free.avg.com/gb-en/homepage]

3 - I'd be shocked to find a laptop without built in wifi these days, if your going for secondhand and it's a really old model doublecheck that it does, otherwise you can pretty much take for granted any laptop / netbook will have wifi.

4 - Avoid 17" (not likely on your budget anyway), a 15" screen should be plenty, my personal laptop is 15" while my work laptop is 14", honestly I'm hard pushed to notice the difference however the work (14") is far easier to fit into a briefcase.

5 & 6 - For that budget it might be best to look at a shop refurbished laptop, the trouble with secondhand laptops is they're very hit or miss (mostly miss - ebay) and it's rare to find one with a battery that'll work for longer than 15 minutes (so far I'm the only person I know that takes the battery out while my laptops (work and personal) are plugged into the mains for a period of time, my personal laptop is 7 years old yet still has 90% of it's battery life, but anyway...).
Netbooks generally have a longer battery time due to the smaller screen.

Other points -
1 - A backlit keyboard tends to be reserved for the higher end market, however some laptops do come with keyboard lights (which I find useless as of course your hands block the light, being able to touch type does solve all problems though )
2 - determined by the size of the laptop as covered above, as Speakercone mentioned you'd probably want a minimum of a 13" to avoid straining your eyes and 14" max for portability/lap comfort.
3 - laptops and netbooks tend to come with scissor action keys (low profile) so noise is generally at a minimum.

Alot of people say avoid the Acer, Advent and other cheaper brands but it's mostly personal opinion rather than a rule (I say it depends entirely on how well you look after the laptop that determines reliability rather than what brand), however ASUS tend to be fairly well built and I've never had a problem with HP/Compaq.

You might want to go into pcworld or somewhere with laptops on display and play around with them, see which make and size you prefer (they all have different feels, so you might find it easier to type on one than another). Once you find something you like check around the refurbished departments of the online stores and see if you can find a close match.
Alternatively, if your not in any hurry keep an eye on places like HotUKDeals.com [http://www.hotukdeals.com/] for laptops in clearance sales, the good thing about the deal websites is people will review the deal on whether it's a decent spec or not.

I can have a hunt around and try to find something if you want, however it's all well and good looking at stats and saying "buy that one" but it's you who has to live with it so you need to find something that fits you, although if I do see any good deals I make sure to let you know.

And no I'm not stalking you, you just seem to have all the interesting threads ;P

ok so I guess I've got a real-life mission for the weekend then

Yeah that would be great if you could keep me updated lol! It's good advice though too.

ok thanks for the responses and sorry for the lack of text in my replies but I'm writing this on my 3DS.