[Jaspersharpe]

I'm sure someone will bite your hand off!

[richieb]

I was also looking for the netbook/proper computer compromise and just got myself an Acer aspire 1810tz.
11.6 inch display, 3 gb of ram, 250 gig, dual core, 8hr battery, windows 7, seemed to tick all the boxes (no optical drive of course)
Cheapest I could find was about £430 online from dixons. Winner.

However, right from the initial setup it didnt boot up properly, the only way I could get into the thing was to force a shutdown and 'start windows normally' from the safe mode screen. There was a second problem with the intel GMA graphics driver so after several restores and recoveries it has now gone back for 'repair'...my guess is they will just do a recovery and send it back. Im gonna give it one more chance before getting my cash back.

A shame cos it looks like a tidy little machine...

[SA Chris]

See my 4th posting on this thread

[slackline]

See my 4th posting on this thread

See all my posts Re : M$-Windows 

[SA Chris]

Yes, but you have been banging that drum so long now that it's like background noise.

[slackline]

Yes, but you have been banging that drum so long now that it's like background noise.

 

[richieb]

You've both got a point though...

To make it even worse, I was feeling well smug for finding it cheaper online after having walked away from the cash desk in PC World when the 'salesman' threw a strop cos I wouldnt buy one of their support deals.

Now I realise its
a) from Dixons, which is the same company, and
b) broken.   
  

[tomtom]

OK,
Bit the bullet and whilst tempted by the Acer 1810tz - it felt a bit creaky in PC world...So went for a HP Pavilion dm1-1020ea (I think) - similar spec and price to the Acer but just felt better built - and video seemed miles snappier when I tried them both out.
I'll report back in a couple of days and let you know how it performs...
T

[Tris]

Check out this baby, look how thin it is compared to USB ports and 3.5mm jack!

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

Check out this baby, look how thin it is compared to USB ports and 3.5mm jack!

Nearly as thin as the Sony X505...

Released in [wait for it]....2004!
4 years before the MacBook Air it was years ahead of it's time. Obviously hideously expensive but still incredible. The head teacher of one of the schools I worked with at the time bought one (with school funds of course  ) and loved it...until some kid nicked it and she got the standard school Dell replacement. 

[Tris]

  Dell - gutted!

Does it double as a door wedge? What was the price back then, do you know?

I can't see anyone with an ounce of sense spending £1200 on an Atom based machine..

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

Dell - gutted!

Does it double as a door wedge? What was the price back then, do you know?

I can't see anyone with an ounce of sense spending £1200 on an Atom based machine..

Under £2000, and the spec wasn't half bad for the time and size of the bloody thing.

X505 review
I used it a few times and it was fine.

Specs
http://www.trustedreviews.com/laptops/review/2004/06/03/Sony-VAIO-VGN-X505VP-Ultra-Slim-Notebook/p5

[tomtom]

OK,
Bit the bullet and whilst tempted by the Acer 1810tz - it felt a bit creaky in PC world...So went for a HP Pavilion dm1-1020ea (I think) - similar spec and price to the Acer but just felt better built - and video seemed miles snappier when I tried them both out.
I'll report back in a couple of days and let you know how it performs...
T

Having had it a week....

Mini review of HP dm1-1020ea.
11.6" screen netbook/laptop. £450 Celeron Dual core low power proc, 250gb HDD, 3GB memory, W7, Intell Graphics Accelerator etc..

I'm really pleased - this is a fantastic machine. Its thin - light and I'm getting 5 or 6 hours out of the battery easy - could probably stretch much further if I turned down the screen brightness and the processor speed. I have an NC20 to compare this to, and performance wise theres no comparison. The HP is pretty much twice as fast at everything - flash, video, programs, boot up - really impressive.
It plays full HD (NC20 didnt even come close) from vimeo and Iplayer fine - even has an HDMI socket so just plugs right into the TV. Downloaded Iplayer HD films on the 32" screen are really impressive.
Its thin - and at the front end when closed is 12mm thick - which gives it the feeling of being that think to the back (which of course its not!) Battery fits flush too. Really well built  - feels very solid and the plastics are good, shiny silver face but not the type that shows loads of fingerprints. Screen great - sharp and clear. 3 usb sockets, vga out, SD/multi card socket etc.. and a hardware switch for the wifi (which is useful to save battery etc..). Runs W7 a treat. Speakers are great for a small laptop too (unusally)..

The only draw backs I have found after a week of fairly hard use is that the trackpad is over sensitive - and unlike the NC20 one you cannot turn down the touch sensitivity, so I get lots of fake taps. To the extent that now I have tapping off and click the pad buttons instead. Hopefully a driver update will sort that out. Also the keyboard is not as good as the NC20. To put that in context the NC20 keyboard was about the best I have ever used on a laptop - and the HP one is good (feels a bit more solid) but the keys are flat and wide rather than having narrower tapered tips on the Samsung - whcih is just personal preference and I'm already adjusting to the new keyboard. (bear in mind I'm a fussy cnut with laptops..)

Fantastic machine...

[slackline]

But if its an HP is it racist? 

[tomtom]

But if its an HP is it racist? 

I recon the trackpads shit because I'm a southerner.. 

[Jim]

sounds good

[Tris]

Tomtom - you should get a job with PC Pro 

[tomtom]

Tomtom - you should get a job with PC Pro 

For a second I thought you'd said PC world!!

[Tris]

For a second I thought you'd said PC world!!

A fate worse than hell 

The shite I've heard them telling customers is truly funny...

[richieb]

Yeah good review tomtom, wish I had read that a few weeks ago.
The epic with the Acer 1810 continues, it went back to Acer for 'repair' and was returned to me with exactly the same problems (not booting properly, dodgy display drivers). The latest installment was classic, they told me to take it into my local currys where they would be glad to take it off me and give me a refund (I got it from dixons online). So I trek off through the snow to currys, who of course would have non of it, cos they and dixons are only part of the same company when it suits.
Upshot is its getting collected again next week and Im getting my money back, hopefully.

So Im back in the market for a 11-12 inch laptop. Another possible is a Dell Inspiron 11z, anyone got any advice on these??
     

[Jim]

its a shame asus don't pull their finger out and release a 12" eee pc with a fast processor and windows 7 as the 2 eee pc's I've used have been excellent apart from them having slowish atom processors in them

[Tris]

It looks like they are going down the expensive HD media center laptop route...

Check out this dirt cheap 18.4" monster with Bang & Olufsen speakers

[Monolith]

I'm trying to keep an eye out for a good buy for my madre at circa 450-500 rips. I've sifted through most of this thread but keen to see your current best nominations. I don't have much time on my hands to give to this cause but she wants it to do the usual shit. Preferably not a netbook and screen size circa 13 inch+. Any recommendations most welcomed.

[tomtom]

I'm trying to keep an eye out for a good buy for my madre at circa 450-500 rips. I've sifted through most of this thread but keen to see your current best nominations. I don't have much time on my hands to give to this cause but she wants it to do the usual shit. Preferably not a netbook and screen size circa 13 inch+. Any recommendations most welcomed.

My HP (review above) is still going great guns.. (11.6" screen though..)

[richieb]

Right folks, I've had a Dell Inspiron 11z for a week now and fair doos I'm pretty happy, after all the problems with the Acer 1810. The spec is pretty much the same as the Acer and Tomtom's HP, although I went for 4gigs of ram as it is apparently difficult to add more ram in later.
All the reviews I read slated the trackpad massively, but I've turned off most of the multi touch gesture stuff and it seems fine to me.
I've got the 6 cell battery which should do something like 6 hours but does stick out the bottom of the machine a bit.
£499 with the upgraded ram and battery. 
Worth considering alongside the other 11.6 inch machines...