Budget $1k. What would you buy if you were me?

[Comnao]

hello my friends

 

need some expert opinions here.

 

i have 2 home laptops. 1 died yesterday.

decided to cough out $1k to get a new one

but i am torn between a laptop vs a handheld (example ipad or touchpad etc)

 

pros for handheld is i want the instant boot up + i can use it for business presentations (although not very often)

cons is there is no CDROM for the handheld. Moreover, i heard some handhelds cannot view youtube and other video files ?

 

pros for laptop is that it has a full fledge PC functions and a CDROM

moreover, i do keep some business information inside it as well as use it for some business purposes, although i have another dedicated business machine.

cons is the slow boot up , clunky and clumsy... not as sleek and "presentable" during presentations

 

my other laptop is actually a netbook, which doesnt have CDROM as well

 

So... what would you buy if you were me ?

[Mazdaowner]

hello my friends

 

need some expert opinions here.

 

i have 2 home laptops. 1 died yesterday.

decided to cough out $1k to get a new one

but i am torn between a laptop vs a handheld (example ipad or touchpad etc)

 

pros for handheld is i want the instant boot up + i can use it for business presentations (although not very often)

cons is there is no CDROM for the handheld. Moreover, i heard some handhelds cannot view youtube and other video files ?

 

pros for laptop is that it has a full fledge PC functions and a CDROM

moreover, i do keep some business information inside it as well as use it for some business purposes, although i have another dedicated business machine.

cons is the slow boot up , clunky and clumsy... not as sleek and "presentable" during presentations

 

my other laptop is actually a netbook, which doesnt have CDROM as well

 

So... what would you buy if you were me ?

 

A portable DVD drive, which you can run off your netbook.

[Happily1986]

hello my friends

 

need some expert opinions here.

 

i have 2 home laptops. 1 died yesterday.

decided to cough out $1k to get a new one

but i am torn between a laptop vs a handheld (example ipad or touchpad etc)

 

pros for handheld is i want the instant boot up + i can use it for business presentations (although not very often)

cons is there is no CDROM for the handheld. Moreover, i heard some handhelds cannot view youtube and other video files ?

 

pros for laptop is that it has a full fledge PC functions and a CDROM

moreover, i do keep some business information inside it as well as use it for some business purposes, although i have another dedicated business machine.

cons is the slow boot up , clunky and clumsy... not as sleek and "presentable" during presentations

 

my other laptop is actually a netbook, which doesnt have CDROM as well

 

So... what would you buy if you were me ?

 

Do you need a replacement now?

 

I am waiting for AMD and Intel's 2012/2013 roadmaps to materialise. AMD will be rolling out their SoC (codename Krishna, Wichita 28nm) and Intel will be unveiling their new Soc design (codename Medfield 22nm) This will mark the very first time the consumer computing architecture converging with the smartphone and tablet market. I think tablets, ultraportables then will be very very impressive in terms of power consumption and computing power experience.

[Comnao]

A portable DVD drive, which you can run off your netbook.

 

yo ! MO

 

very funny ... Lol

[Comnao]

Do you need a replacement now?

 

I am waiting for AMD and Intel's 2012/2013 roadmaps to materialise. AMD will be rolling out their SoC (codename Krishna, Wichita 28nm) and Intel will be unveiling their new Soc design (codename Medfield 22nm) This will mark the very first time the consumer computing architecture converging with the smartphone and tablet market. I think tablets, ultraportables then will be very very impressive in terms of power consumption and computing power experience.

 

hi 1986

 

i think i need a replacement now.

i dont feel secure with only 1 pc, just in case it also dies on me.

both netbook and died-lappy are about the same age

 

i know a portable hdd will do the trick , but i still dont feel safe.

 

YES!! i have sense of security issues, aka kiasuism !!

LOL! !!

[Jim]

You need to state why you need the gadget.

 

Do you need to play PC games?

Do you need to do A LOT of word processing,spreadsheet etc?

Do you need to run special applications from your company, and it has no iPad, Android, Web apps version?

Do you have apps that need a CDROM/DVD ROM drive to run?

 

If yes, then get a laptop. Dont bother with a netbook.

 

If everything you need can be done with a browser (firefox/IE/Safari/Chrome), eg surfing the net, watching youtube videos, checking web mail, running web apps, like internet banking, then the iPad is perfect for your needs.

 

iPad doesn't run flash, but this is not a problem for big sites like youtube - they have workarounds. But if you must use flash sites like singtelshop.com, then maybe you want to get an Android tablet like Samsung Galaxy Tab.

Edited August 30, 2011 by Jim

[Mazdaowner]

yo ! MO

 

very funny ... Lol

 

I'm dead serious lah, I have a netbook as well, and bought a MacBook Pro few months back.

Feel wasted, the netbook is no longer in use, compact as it was, I bought a portable DVD for it,

Worked well for my work, now, I don't even touch it. Why waste money, if on a budget, then the DVD will work fine for now.

 

New notebooks, depending on your usage, Compaq $800-900+ excluding office, if you already have it.

Personally, I'd use till it drops. HDD can use Acronis to backup and save on a DVD. Data storage

Is simple.

[Happily1986]

hi 1986

 

i think i need a replacement now.

i dont feel secure with only 1 pc, just in case it also dies on me.

both netbook and died-lappy are about the same age

 

i know a portable hdd will do the trick , but i still dont feel safe.

 

YES!! i have sense of security issues, aka kiasuism !!

LOL! !!

 

i see. just letting you know lest you feel that you missed the boat when the SoC era arrives. That's because my mentality is the sort where i expect to use my computer for sometime i.e. at least 3 years lol.

 

you mentioned that you have a dedicated machine for business. I am not sure whether that can stand in as your tool for presentation and on the road work. If it could, i would recommend that you get a desktop replacement. I feel that everyone needs a main machine that has the computing juice on tap whenever the need arises. That would mean getting a desktop replacement, large screen, ergonomical keyboard, decent CPU i.e. at least i5 ( i think i7 might be hard in this price range)

 

Many contenders in this category but i would suggets you get some solid stuff from Asus. Rock solid.

 

If you have no choice but to use your purchase for travelling around, i think it might be better for you to go for a ultraportable. I would think it is a good idea to have sufficient battery life on the go. Look for offerings that come with AMD's Brazos platform and APU (not CPU here, AMD basically combined the graphics card chip and the CPU together). The APU you should aim for is codenamed Zacate or you go look through the specs and spot for E-350. Its benchmark kills the s--t out of any Intel Atoms (dual core or not) here.

 

I remember there was this popular choice the Asus 1215B i think. HP also has one though it is ending production of consumer PCs, i am not sure how comfortable with buying a HP machine now.

[Booboon]

Ipad 3

[Davidklt]

Go for second hand. Buy both.

[Ivan_06]

i won't get an Ipad 3... that is more like an oversized gaming toy than for some serious work.

[Jman888]

Sleek? MacBook Air? with external DVD!

[Mazdaowner]

Sleek? MacBook Air? with external DVD!

$1k budget, excess you pay, ai mai? If you willing, recommend MacBook Pro, with bootcamp + Win 7 Ultimate. Swee!

 

TS, Jman pay remainder for a MacBook Pro for you. So nice of him. :wub:

[Headshok]

hello my friends

 

need some expert opinions here.

 

i have 2 home laptops. 1 died yesterday.

decided to cough out $1k to get a new one

but i am torn between a laptop vs a handheld (example ipad or touchpad etc)

 

pros for handheld is i want the instant boot up + i can use it for business presentations (although not very often)

cons is there is no CDROM for the handheld. Moreover, i heard some handhelds cannot view youtube and other video files ?

 

pros for laptop is that it has a full fledge PC functions and a CDROM

moreover, i do keep some business information inside it as well as use it for some business purposes, although i have another dedicated business machine.

cons is the slow boot up , clunky and clumsy... not as sleek and "presentable" during presentations

 

my other laptop is actually a netbook, which doesnt have CDROM as well

 

So... what would you buy if you were me ?

 

bro, check out the Acer W500, that one runs windows and is like a touch pad.

 

but downside is that its not a " immediate" start up like most pads as it has to load up windows,

 

but it has a USB, 3G and should work well for your business purposes.

 

Hope this helps

 

cheers

 

Russ

 

[Ysc3]

full functional notebook.

 

think you can find i7 notebook for under $1k in phing.com

Edited August 30, 2011 by Ysc3

[Comnao]

hi Jim

 

Do you need to play PC games?

> nope ... too old for this sh1t

 

Do you need to do A LOT of word processing,spreadsheet etc?

> yes i do

 

Do you need to run special applications from your company, and it has no iPad, Android, Web apps version?

>yes. but the applications are web based so firefox and IE is supported. Not sure about Safari. Never tried.

 

Do you have apps that need a CDROM/DVD ROM drive to run?

> yes. the s/w which i need to install, including my home cctv systems for eg.

 

If yes, then get a laptop. Dont bother with a netbook.

> right now i am doing fine with the netbook, except the older notebook was used to support the lack of a CDROM as well as it was used to surf web and trash around.

 

iPad doesn't run flash, but this is not a problem for big sites like youtube - they have workarounds. But if you must use flash sites like singtelshop.com, then maybe you want to get an Android tablet like Samsung Galaxy Tab.

>> Thanks for the heads up. Yes i was under the impression that youtube cannot be used on ipad although i could have sworn my nephew was telling me otherwise. Now i remember, it is the FLASH part that is not supported

 

>> still dilemma

 

 

[Comnao]

I'm dead serious lah, I have a netbook as well, and bought a MacBook Pro few months back.

Feel wasted, the netbook is no longer in use, compact as it was, I bought a portable DVD for it,

Worked well for my work, now, I don't even touch it. Why waste money, if on a budget, then the DVD will work fine for now.

 

New notebooks, depending on your usage, Compaq $800-900+ excluding office, if you already have it.

Personally, I'd use till it drops. HDD can use Acronis to backup and save on a DVD. Data storage

Is simple.

 

ooopss sorry !!

 

from the way you put it, seems like i should be better off getting both a ext CD drive + a tablet (yes!! dammit! i finally recall its called a tablet, not handheld)

 

i had been using Acers (w except the one that died) all my life. I find them value for money.

 

Edited August 30, 2011 by Comnao

[Comnao]

i see. just letting you know lest you feel that you missed the boat when the SoC era arrives. That's because my mentality is the sort where i expect to use my computer for sometime i.e. at least 3 years lol.

 

you mentioned that you have a dedicated machine for business. I am not sure whether that can stand in as your tool for presentation and on the road work. If it could, i would recommend that you get a desktop replacement. I feel that everyone needs a main machine that has the computing juice on tap whenever the need arises. That would mean getting a desktop replacement, large screen, ergonomical keyboard, decent CPU i.e. at least i5 ( i think i7 might be hard in this price range)

 

Many contenders in this category but i would suggets you get some solid stuff from Asus. Rock solid.

 

If you have no choice but to use your purchase for travelling around, i think it might be better for you to go for a ultraportable. I would think it is a good idea to have sufficient battery life on the go. Look for offerings that come with AMD's Brazos platform and APU (not CPU here, AMD basically combined the graphics card chip and the CPU together). The APU you should aim for is codenamed Zacate or you go look through the specs and spot for E-350. Its benchmark kills the s--t out of any Intel Atoms (dual core or not) here.

 

I remember there was this popular choice the Asus 1215B i think. HP also has one though it is ending production of consumer PCs, i am not sure how comfortable with buying a HP machine now.

 

thanks for the sharing!!

the APU vs CPU jargon nearly boomz me !! LOL !!

 

i am not a geek, so i dont necessarily have to be the forerunner in the technological edge