Netbooks / Tablet PCs

[Colonel]

Can anyone recommend a good one for around £200 or so? My Dad's after getting one, doesn't need anything fancy, just something to take notes at meetings and run everyday software like MS Office etc, and get on the net when abroad.

I know nothing about this area to be honest but I told him I'd ask around…

Thanks in advance,

Adam.

[F.E.I.S.A.R]

I'm not too sure,but does Lenovo sell the Ideapad S10-3 convertible netbook in Great Britain?

[mic-dk]

I have an Acer Aspire One. After approx 1 year of normal use the battery capacity was down to 52% of the original capacity. I am not impressed. Still, it ticks on and it is fast approaching its two year birthday. Besides the wonky battery its a nice little machine.

Personally I wouldn't want to run anything MS Office on it though, since 4-5 tabs in firefox is enough to give it a small heartattack :p

[Sausehuhn]

If he’s really just browsing the web and typing down documents, I for one don’t see the need of a netbook.

A tablet is probably more intuitive to use and you can’t mess up the whole operation system – just in case one is not an computer expert. You don’t need any virus scanners installed and don’t have to worry where your files are, as apps organize your files for you.
There are tablets running Android (though I don’t know if there’s an office program available for that platform) and the iPad, which can run Apple’s office suite (and is compatible with a bluetooth keyboard if you really need one – though I was pretty surprised how good a touchscreen keyboard can work!). The iPad goes far beyond your price tag, though.

That may be the only problem in the end anyway: Compared to netbooks, tablet PCs still seem pretty expensive.

[Amorbis]

I've got an Advent Milano netbook, which I've been using for just over a year. It was £250 when I bought it, but is now around £200 if you can find one. The battery is still usable and lasts around 3 hours on 75% back light if you're doing some typing, but not as long if you're going to use it for multimedia purposes.

I don't have any complaints apart from the keyboard which sometimes doesn't register when I press the keys. I'd get a new one, I got mine from PC World but they always try to sell you extra rubbish that I have thus far not needed. If you're only using it for Office then I wouldn't worry about the specs on it, any Windows machine is capable enough for that.

I don't know what to make of a tablet as I've never used one, but there are plenty of reviews for both netbooks and laptops on YouTube. It really depends on if you need to to type or not.

[Colonel]

Thanks for the help guys. From what I gather tablet PCs may be prohibitively expensive, and a bit OTT for what my dad needs, but Sausehuhn makes a good point about their ease of use. I'll have a scour of the internet but if anyone has any further advice I'd be glad to hear it.

Cheers.

[Aeroracer]

dell streak...its small and is a phone to..and its android so everything is free..

you can get whatever you want on it.

you can get it on contract from 35 a month form o2 oxfrd street..

best thing about it is its got nothing to do with apple either

[Nutcase:259]

Deleted, damn phones!!

[Nutcase:259]

Msi netbooks aboot 199 cheapest i can find in argos, maybe you could try sites that sell refurbished ones? There cheaper arnt they?

[UB3R~JKP]

I use a G-node superpad tablet PCand its great for basic use....one hundered and thirty pounds!

[BulletWraith]

I say get a cheap netbook and just make sure it has a good keyboard and battery life, the other specs don't really make much difference if he's just mostly using it for notes
and +1 for Acer they make great net books and don't pump them out like asus do

I'd be a bit weary of the streak, lost interest in it awhile ago so I don't know the facts, I just remember it shipped with, think it was Android 1.6 and they were slack up dating it + the on screen keyboard has(had?) a number pad on the right hand side so your thumbs would be slightly off set
heard its got a pretty good battery though + I love the form factor :D

zer:donut