Which Laptop?

[ChipRivers]

At risk at starting a war (I've seen the previous thread where there was a bit of a debate on IT knowledge!), I just want to pick the brains of the IT experts on here.

I am considering taking up one of the mobile broadband deals offering a free laptop and have been scouring the web to see what the best offers are.

Two that I have found are offering the following two laptops...

Compaq CQ60 with 2.1ghz processor and 2gb RAM plus 160GB hard drive

Samsung R519 with 2.16ghz processor and 2gb RAM plus 250GB hard drive

Any comments on either of these models would be appreciaated plus any other suggestions that I could consider. I am looking at deals with a monthly contract of £30 to £35 plus no upfront purcahse cost.

[MrsPWN]

I would be interested too asI need a new laptop and a dongle and there are some similar offers out there.

[CoolioXXX]

you give the processor speed, but it depends if it is DUAL CORE or not!

[CoolioXXX]

Also the HAD DRIVE, doesn't matter that much if you are not storing a lot of movies...

[chapelman]

I would be tempted to go for the Samsung, because of the slightly higher spec, and the fact that I have had 2 Compaq's over the last 5 years and both of them have started to drop to bits quite early. One of them got a screen fault after 2 years, as well as one of the USB ports died, and the other had a hard disc failure, again after about 2 years.

I will happily admit that 2 isn't much of a sample, so I think we probably need the opinion of someone who maybe repairs laptops for a living. Have you tried googling the laptops followed by "review"

[ChipRivers]

Both laptops are dual core I believe.

I have tried googling reviews but didn't really find anything useful

I have also found this one...

HP 6735s with 3GB of RAM but I am unsure of the processor speed. The thing is I googled this one and it seems to be discontiniued. Is this a good model and should I worry about it no longer being available?

[bcmedia]

I'd get a dell with the 3 year on site next day fix if it breaks. The Studio range are nice. That way you have a tip top laptop for 3 years, guaranteed. The Dell Inspirons are cheap and nasty (in terms of finish) and I would avoid.

I work as an IT Officer two days a week at the University of Leeds and to be honest with you I find most laptop designs to be tacky, clunky and uninspired when compared to a decent dell. The only exception is the Macs but they come in at twice the price!

As for spec, I find 3Gb of memory is probably more important than processor speed - we've long since left the arena of every user needing faster processors, especially if all you do is browse the web and type up documents - dvd playback etc has been common place for over 9 years so a good CPU will meet most peoples needs. But Vista is memory hungry. I've never played with a 2GB laptop setup to say if its a good experience but 3gb works like a treat.

[bcmedia]

Scrub what I said, I just seen you wanted the free deal - nothings free & the if the dongle is £30 a month then your paying £540 for a laptop and net access.

I find mobile internet to be of limited use really - I'd rather have a proper connection at home and work & if I really need mobile internet then every phone on contract has had a 3G (and better) internet facility built in.

I'd probably go for the Samsung - its got a bigger HD, it'll be a samsung hard drive cos they make them, the screen is probably better (Samsung LCD flat panels are lovely) and in general Samsung make good products for cheap. You might even find the compaq has a samsung panel and hard drive anyway! lol

[asonda]

I have a friend who took one of these deals.

He was happy with the laptop however he got sick of the dongle paying 30/35 a month that he didn't use much at all and fell into the same old trap! Which he is now stuck with.

Be careful as you don't want to do the same thing.

There are plenty of cheaper laptops about e.g ebuyer etc I can vouch for a HP6735s however there are many specifications in that model line up and I have sold a few of these but with 4GB of RAM.

Having said all this Windows 7 is out next month which I have been testing for some time and it's fantastic!

[MrsPWN]

Thanks for the info, I realise I will be paying over the odds for the laptop but I do need the mobile internet and it will cost me about £25 a month anyway, and I also need a new laptop so it seems to make sense. Having checked out all the providers it looks like I have to go with 3 as they are the only provider where I am :mad:

[ChipRivers]

I have gone ahead with the Samsung R519. This is what appears to be the best deal on the market for the price I have taken it at £35.00 per month with 24 month contract. That includes a pretty decent 15GB download limit per month which also appeared to be by far the best deal availabel for mobile broadband.

I will update on here once I have recieved the laptop and can report on the quality and performance for anyone else interested.

Can anyone tell me (asonda?) if I am buying now with Windows Vista, should it include a free upgrade to Windows 7 once released?

[asonda]

It very much depends on the provider of the laptop. I have access to Vista with the free upgrade, however I do believe some aren't offering it. Especially with laptops due to them coming built and pre-loaded. Be interesting to see if you get the upgrade offer.

[bcmedia]

I really wouldn't worry about the upgrade - I always wait at least 2 years after release before migrating over to a new OS. In fact I set up a laptop this week with XP pro just because it made a better work platform.

Of course, if its simply to muck about then I suppose it could be important to ya :)

[asonda]

I really wouldn't worry about the upgrade - I always wait at least 2 years after release before migrating over to a new OS. In fact I set up a laptop this week with XP pro just because it made a better work platform.

Of course, if its simply to muck about then I suppose it could be important to ya :)

I'd quite agree with you with the step from XP to Vista, however, Windows 7 IS better than Vista out of the box. If you don't want to go W7 after Vista then people need their heads checking.

[bcmedia]

If you don't want to go W7 after Vista then people need their heads checking

Its not really a fair comment - I'd put stability over bell and whistles. Its not just the OS that can be the issue, but all the software that you run as well.

My work flow, well, works, no crashing, no hanging - that's what I want. All my graphic apps run smooth and I don;t want to be wasting time moving over until I know for a fact that these packages will do the same on 7!

I mean, if these issues happen on Macs then you'll forgive my hesitance with Microsoft :)

[asonda]

Its not really a fair comment - I'd put stability over bell and whistles. Its not just the OS that can be the issue, but all the software that you run as well.

My work flow, well, works, no crashing, no hanging - that's what I want. All my graphic apps run smooth and I don;t want to be wasting time moving over until I know for a fact that these packages will do the same on 7!

I mean, if these issues happen on Macs then you'll forgive my hesitance with Microsoft :)

Saying people need their heads checking, was just a joke, a saying and wasn't meant to mean anything narsty. I apologise.

Have you seen, used, tested Windows 7?

After Vista, it is such a breathe of fresh air. Unlike Vista, I will defend W7 and I honestly think MS have released a proper successor to XP. (Hears all the gasps).

W7 from my testing, doesn't need a Space Shuttle to run it and I have tested it out on an AMD K6 350Mhz PC. To my surprise worked OK. Vista crippled it and wouldn't load properly.

I've put alot of effort into Windows 7 as I never believed in Vista from day 1.

I know the commonalities and the things people do when thinking of upgrading etc, trialling software and we've been told (and tried as much as we can in house) that anything on Vista will work with W7.

Anybody who has a Vista box (Not XP) once they have tried W7, will want it and will be all the happier for having it.

[franckster]

I know the commonalities and the things people do when thinking of upgrading etc, trialling software and we've been told (and tried as much as we can in house) that anything on Vista will work with W7.

Anybody who has a Vista box (Not XP) once they have tried W7, will want it and will be all the happier for having it.

I agree.....alot of my clients who have tried and tested windows 7 in their business enviroments are very impressed with W7.

Alot of them wouldnt even want to hear the words Vista muttered, but after extensive testing, including connecting the most unusual hardwrae and software, they are ready to roll it out company wide.

Well done Microsoft! (gasp.....and silence):eek:

[chapelman]

The thing that springs to mind here is that if your really, really need mobile access, and by that I don't mean at a hotel where increasingly they offer free wifi, I mean sitting in the car using it, or at a customers premises. Then I would suggest you check the UK coverage of the mobile operator you fancy. Once you get out in the sticks it becomes very difficult to get a signal.

I found Vodaphone to be good, O2 wasn't quite as good , and Orange didn't do it either, so I would suggest a check on their coverage might be worth spending some time on.