posted 06-01-2005 04:49               

I am wanting to get a laptop for use while traveling to timeshares and/or hotels. the primary purpose would be email and surfing the net, down loading pictures, paying bills, and my wife like to play games on the internet. We have AOL at home, that we can use as high speed or dial up. We also have a gmail account.

In your opinion based on your experiences what would be the recommended features on a laptop so that we could do the above?

Thanks.

posted 06-01-2005 08:30               

JS0K84R588C7FZ $750 off purchase of Inspiron $1899+ (expires 6/2/2005 7:00:00 AM)
and 6Z?2PWLKGRH33L $600 off purchase of Inspiron $1499+ (expires 6/2/2005 7:00:00 AM)

posted 06-01-2005 10:54               

quote:

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Originally posted by capekong:
Do you think we need a phone modem, cable modem and wireless connections to cover the various bases at timeshares?

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For the comparatively small cost it would seem a sensible thing to do.

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Regards

posted 06-01-2005 11:58               

We have owned several laptops over the years. My last laptop was a noname one that weighed in at 7 1/2 pounds. The one just before was a Sony Viao which was about 3 pounds or so. After owning the Sony, which has a limitation in screen size, I decided to go for the noname which has a larger screen.

I concluded that the only time you had to worry about transporting a relatively heavier piece of equipment was in transit. Once situated at your temporary location, be it a hotel room or a resort condo, the issue of transporting heavy equipment no longer existed. Hence, I settled on a heavier laptop that had more power.

Was I ever wrong! When you travel, you must always travel light. Even when it comes to picking laptops based on weight. Even though we only needed to get from home to the destination and from the destination back home, the extra 4 pounds I needed to lug around was problematic, but it became onerous when the laptop itself needed peripherals. We found we could operate better with a printer, so we picked up a tranportable printer that weighed in at 6 pounds. We needed longer phone cords because some timeshare units located their dial up phone outlets at the most inconvenient places (at the kitchen counter and not at a work space) that weighed in at less than a pound. We needed batteries for the laptop which weighed in at 2 pounds. Then a few sheets of paper. A few cd-rw disks, some emergency recovery disks for software, a usb port, a cable lock for the pc, etc., etc.

I found myself buying a rolling knapsack just for the laptop and its peripherals. I weighed the knapsack and found it to be a bit under 25 pounds.

When getting a laptop, get the lightest one. The stuff you buy to support that sucker is going to add a lot more weight.

Now, I'm looking for a resale on eBay for a Sony or a Dell 3 pounder.

posted 06-01-2005 19:25               

Good deals can be found on it by watching for coupons through either Dell Home or Dell Small Biz on dealcatcher.com

For example, from Dell Home, $600 off Dell Inspiron over $1499 base price: http://forums.dealcatcher.com/m_353466/tm.htm

I would configure it with:

- Upgraded SXGA+ 64M graphics
- XP Pro
- 512M memory (1 Dimm)
- 60G Hard Drive
- CDRW/DVD Combo Drive
- Intel 2200b/g wireless mini-pci card.
- MS Works Suite

Base price (with no discounts): $1589
After coupon 6Z?2PWLKGRH33L: $989 including free shipping.

This is a great notebook at a great price. It has a built-in modem and wired ethernet. With the mini-pci wireless card, all the bases are covered.

-David

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Visit our Kauai and Maui home page at http://www.flex.com/~dmk/tug/

posted 06-01-2005 22:37               

It's lighter because it has less features. Onboard graphics rather than a separate graphics chip. No optical drive, unless you buy the docking station, and then if you travel with the docking station and optical drive, you might as well buy something like the 600m.

Other lighter options include only 12" screens.

You have to decide what your main priority is. The 600m is a reasonable weight and full featured and at less than $1000, is a really good buy. But if weight is your priority (as in under 4 pounds) you'll have to look elsewhere.

-David

posted 06-02-2005 07:38               

quote:

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Originally posted by capekong:
... and my wife like to play games on the internet.

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What kind of games does your wife play. If she's involved in serious and intensive games then the new machine will need to be sufficient to meet those demands. If not, you don't need all the associated graphics, video, speed and memory capabilities of a "gamer machine". This will thereby allow you to get a much lower end computer.