Category: Geeks r Us
To make a long story short, my Thinkpad X32 isn't charging properly all the time, and while I intend on asking someone to check the cord and the outlets in the house, I might need to get another machine. As much as I enjoy the Thinkpad, it would probably cost more to upgrade the ram from 512mb to 2gb, to have the keys cleaned and to fix whatever's wrong in the machine than the original $284 that I paid for it. I'm fully willing to accept that I probably screwed it up, since I dropped it more than once, but anyway. My specs here aren't that many. Since we're dealing with a netbook, it won't have the wonderful pcmcia and/or compact flash card slot/s that I use all the time nor a parallel or serial port. Of course, if a small machine (under 12 inches) exists with them, I'd grately appreciate a recommendation, but for now, let's focus on the netbooks.
Price: I'd like something which costs less than $250, $300 at the most. I don't mind buying a slightly used machine, but if there's a new one out there which meets this price range, please let me know. Of course, the cheaper the better money wise. Keep in mind that this is just for use around the house and when travelling and not for professional reasons.
Size: I'd like something under 10 inches. My Acer Aspire One was 8.9 inches and I loved it. The only reason why I'm not getting another one is because mine stopped working and it wasn't dropped nor did it have anything spilled in it. I don't know whether it was my particular machine or the model, but I'm afraid of making the same mistake. That said, if there's a 12 inch netbook that you really like, feel free to recommend it. My Thinkpad is 12.1 inches and isn't too large for my tastes.
Processor speed/Ram: I know that most netbooks come with a 1.6ghz processor and 1gb of ram, but are there any with 2 in both? If not, then I suppose the standard is fine. But I've heard that the Atom processors used in netbooks really aren't that great when compared with regular Intel ones, so I want to make the most of it.
Keyboard: I want a solid feeling keyboard with the regular six pack of home, end, page up and page down.
OS: I would prefer XP, Home or Pro. But out of curiosity, what are the major differences between XP and 7?
Drive: I really don't need a large drive. A 40gb or 60gb one would be fine.
Battery: If possible, I would like something with a decent battery life (preferably over five hours, not under three) or the ability to use an extended battery.
Cam/Mic: I think most netbooks come with cameras and microphones built-in but I figured that I would include them just incase.
Thanks for any help given.
Gooooooooooooooooogullllllllllll?
Here's a Google page full of listings
And all by putting in $200 netbook.
Online articles, specs and reviews work wonders.
Yes, but there are hundreds of netbooks out there. Sorting through them all would be impossible, though an Ebay search would help me narrow them down at least a little. That's why I was hoping that someone here could share their experiences. Plus, reviews are often written when someone just gets a product and I would like to know how how a given netbook/laptop lasts over time. Many times, reviewers are interested in how the screen looks, whether it's good for games etc. and they forget the really important stuff like how the keyboard feels when you type on it and how long the battery lasts. Obviously, this is not true in all cases, but it is in some.
Actually, the main thing which they don't usually mention is the six pack on the keyboard, and if they do, they don't always say whether or not these keys are located in a comfortable position for constant use. This is probably because most sighted people don't use them as much as we do. At any rate, I'll take a look at these and also at what's on Ebay.
Elini. Netbooks don't have the 6 pack on the keyboard. They all have standard laptop keyboards, so you'd need to add something external, like a USB or blue tooth. I'm asking this question, not because I'm being smart, but have you actually sene a regular laptop keyboard? If you must have a Netbook go with Dell's Mini 1012 or Asus, because the keyboards are standard. You'll need to set whatever screen reader to use the laptop keyboard structor if you use it without an add on. You'll get with these a webcam, a mic and headphone jack, a card slot, and 3 USB inputs, and the wireless card, or cable outlet for connecting it to the internet. You'll lastly get a outlet for an extra monitor. They work fine. You can still find them with XP and they hard drive at least will be 160 GB. Battery life? Most lower priced come with a 3 cell, and it last about 3 hours, 2 and some. Get a 6 cell. Do yourself a favor and call and speak to a Dell rep. 800 915/3355 Before you start posting about you'd like it to be this or that I'm going to tell you netbooks are built as I described, so you'll settle for this or not get one. If you have to have a full keyboard on the machine move up to a Laptop. It will be about 11 13 or 14 inch screen. The 11 won't have a disc drive like the netbook, but 13 and up will. You'll pay a bit more for the full keyboard as well. Hope this helps you. I don't have a number for Asus.
My apologies. When I said the "six pack" I didn't mean in the standard configuration of a desktop, although my Aspire One really did have them in that order, at the bottom right. So does my IBM Thinkpad, at the top right and the same holds true for my 15-inch HP Pavilion ze5385US. Oddly enough, I'm typing on my desktop, using an IBM keyboard and it doesn't have it. Plus, it's a very nonstandard design, or at least, it seems like it to me. Go figure! I always set NVDA to use the capslock key as I used to set JFW to Laptop layout. For some reason, I never use the numpad on the full-sized keyboard. I actually saw a few full ) laptops with 12 inch and up screens under $200 on Ebay, which looked promising. But I'd like something light, unless I get that Dell Latitude D610, which really does have everything I could ever want in a machine, minus the huge weight and large size. Anyway, there were some Dell and Asus netbooks so will check those out for sure.
The most annoying thing is that while I can at least come up with some things that are wrong with the Thinkpad, I have the HP sitting on my desk. Yes, it's big and yes, it's heavy (at least seven lbs.) but it's in perfect condition, except that the stupid adapter won't charge the computer because it's loose in the port. I've been told, both here and by one or two other people, that instead of just being able to replace the jack I would need to replace the whole motherboard! I found a certified HP place that will replace jacks for $100, which is perfectly fine. But a motherboard would probably cost a fortune! It doesn't have a built-in mic, cam or usb port (the online specs say it has three but I could never find even one), but it's got a parallel port, a ps/2 port, a firewire port, a pcmcia slot, wireless internet plus an ethernet jack and a 56K modem, a floppy drive and a dvd/rw drive. It can only hold 1gb of ram, but that's standard on most netbooks which don't even have half the features of this machine, and it's got a 2.66ghz processor which is more powerful than my Thinkpad and certainly more than any netbook that I've seen. The only bad thing I can say about it is that it gets really hot on the bottom! lol So now I'm stuck with the decision of paying HP to fix it or of getting a new one that's smaller and lighter and just letting this totally good computer sit there. Maybe, I really will have them take a look at it. Btw, here's the link with the actual specs.
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&docname=c00248706
Hmm some netbooks can hold up to 2 gigs of memory I speak from a day to day use of one that has t2o gigs over memory. Again something like that would cost more then 300. I had comp USA put an extra gig of memory in mine. If it helps I am now using it like a desktop meaning the battery is out of the netbook and all of my external drives and DVD drives are Connected to it.
For me, if I were to pay over $300 for a computer, particularly if I were to use it as a desktop, I would want it to have as many internal components as possible. So I would go for a regular laptop and not a netbook. But thanks for correcting me on the ram. It's good to know that they at least exist for those who want a lighter option and who have the money.
As I have said "netbooks" are going to be "netbooks" You are not going to get anything special. They are built to be cheap and small, so you'll not find one with a full keyboard, 6 pack, or anything different then I have stated. Yes the poster above told you you could add ram, but not for your price range. Ebay is a fine place, but since you don't have any support Dell is best for you. You can add a claws to your contract that allows you to have a tech come to your home to help you for a small extra cost on these. HP offers the same, but the keyboard configurations are odd on the cheaper models, and you'll not be able to see it unless you buy from a store. If you buy from a store you lose the in home support I feel is vital for you. Wan't more, you'll pay more.
I'm honestly not expecting much with a netbook, just the standard configuration. So my main concerns here are how the keyboard feels (is it solid), the battery life and the need for home, end, page up and page down on the keyboard. I'm not sure if some netbooks have sensitive touchpads and if constantly hitting them would lead to frustration. But if that's the case, then the ability to make them less sensitive or to turn them off would be great. Other than that, like I said, I can't expect much. If I wanted more, I'd need to get the HP fixed or get the D610 or another real laptop. Either way, having my Thinkpad's battery die on me and not work when charged is getting really old. Then again, maybe, it's the battery itself and not the port like on the HP. Hmm.
Also a lot of netbooks use a function key along with another set of keys to memic Page up and Page Down. Keeep in mind your talking about a small form facter.
Wow! I just found two of the usb ports on my HP! They're in the strangest places! The one is way up at the top of the right side of the machine, in a vertical position. The other is in the back, horrizontal but it looks like an air vent or as if another port is directly ontop of it in the same hole! But I was able to fit a usb 2.0 cord in both, so they're definitely there. Now that I've seen this, I'm sure the third is hiding somewhere in all the confusion. I've had this laptop for years and could never find them!
As for the keys, thanks for the hint. I will remember that, and if I do go the netbook route, I'll try to get one that doesn't do this. My Fortunately, the with last one that I had, the keys were all separate and it was an 8.9 inch machine not a 12.
I seriously don't believe this! This place sells motherboards for the HP ze5385 for $185 and repairs existing ones for only $150! If mine needs to be repaired and not replaced, we're talking a seriously cheap price for a fully equipped machine. It might cost more to upgrade the ram, if it's not at the maximum 1gb, but still! They also specialise in dc jack repair for $125, so if it's not even the motherboard but really just the jack, they can do that too. I'll still look around at other places to compare prices and to see if one is authorised by HP to do such repairs, but this is a far cry from the $400 that someone once told me might be reasonable for this work.
http://www.pelltechnology.com/HP/Laptop/HP-Pavilion-ZE5000-Series-ZE5300-ze5385US/HP-Pavilion-ze5385US-Motherboard-%28System-Board%29-Replacement-P71118.asp
I just removed the battery from my Thinkpad and am now running it on pure electrical power. So now, if it turns off, I know that it's either something internal, the cord or the outlet. If not, then it's the battery and I'll be a very happy woman because I saw one on Ebay for only $33.
Well, it's not the battery. I was just using the computer and it turned off on me. So it's either the cord, the outlet or something internal.
That would be the cord, 99% sure of that.
Rather the part of the AC power source that connects to the motherboard. That's what I'm reasonably sure of.
Okay. So I can just get a new cord and be done with it? Despite it's problems, the machine still works, and getting a cord and using it while I can is by far the cheapest option of them all. My friend recommended that if I get a netbook, I get another Aspire One, so I've been looking at those on Ebay and did find some with XP and at least 1gb of ram under $200. I previously had the AOA150 blue model but there were many others listed, most of which seemed to have the same specs. So I looked up Aspire One on Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acer_Aspire_One
and got even more confused. What are the differences in these machines, other than that some are 8.9 inches, some are 10.1 and some are 11? Do they have the same solid structure and location of keys? They had A150's and G5s (the latter usually saying AOA150 in the description). So are all of those the same, as mine? I noticed that some can hold between 3 and 4gb but these were mostly Windows 7 and Vista models. What's the difference between these and the Dell Minis and the Asus netbooks, since those were also recommended? Which has the better battery life?
I just found a very! interesting option that actually solves all of my problems, from the bad adapter socket in the HP to the bad cord in the Thinkpad X32 to a very old Thinkpad 310 with no adapter that I'd like to use for DOS! It's a universal external battery and/or charger. I looked around and found several kinds. I need your help in trying to decide what to get. I'll also be getting the power supply for my X32 for $11, as I think I'll need it in any case to powr this thing as well as my computer, since it's socket is probably fine. Right now, I'm thinking of using this charger for my HP. Note that some of these are from Ebay so the links won't always be active, but the rest should be fine.
First, let me just give you the battery specs for my machines, to insure that these are compatible. I don't want to fry my machines or get something that won't work with them.
HP Pavilion ze5385US *Taken from HP and atbat.com since the HP page didn't give real battery specs. Note that neither of these are the original but exceed the original's performance and standards. But the adapter is original as it's description from the HP site.*
Power
•
120W AC adapter
•
8-Cell Lithium-Ion
(14.8V 65Whr Li-Ion 8 cell) by AtBatt.com, (14.8V 77Whr Li-Ion 8 cell) by Amstron
IBM/Lenovo Thinkpad X32 *taken from their site*
Power
AC Adapter
• Universal AC adapter (56 W):
• Input is 100/240 V ac, 1.2/0.7 A, 50/60 Hz
• Output is 16 V dc, 3.5 A
Battery
• A six-cell Li-Ion battery pack is shipped with the system.
• Li-Ion battery pack: 10.8 V, 4.4 AH
• Approximate operation and charging hours are:
• Power off/suspend charging: 3.3 hours **
• Charging during operation **
• 3.3 hours minimum
• 4.0 hours typically
• 7.0 hours maximum
• Standard battery life: Up to 6.1 hours*
Thinkpad 310 (not sure if this is what I have, but it met the laptop specs when I typed them in a few months ago, taken from batteryrebuild.com)
Chemistry :
Ni-Mh
Volts :
10.8 Volt
Now onto the chargers! These first two appear to be the same, only one is far cheaper.
http://www.bestlaptopbattery.com/search.cfm?SearchStr=external&fedco_topmenu_r1_c3.x=14&fedco_topmenu_r1_c3.y=20
http://cgi.ebay.com/LENMAR-PPU1619-Universal-NoteBook-Battery-Charger-/280640684064?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item41577d0020
How does the power work? Do I plug the ac adapter into the charger or into the laptop?
I'm still not sure if the above are chargers or actual external batteries or both. This one, as a guide, needs to be plugged into the actual laptop that it's powering in order to work with it. So it seems that I can't charge it with the X32, as I was originally planning, and then put it into the HP.
http://www.atbatt.com/product/23243/laptop/hp/pavilion-ze5385us/external_battery
If the first two are like that one, they're of no use to me for that machine, though they could provide extra unplugged time for my X32 and 310.
I found a few batteries but they're too expensive. amd in any case, all of my machines ((except possibly the 310) have fully working batteries. This third one really confuses me.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Universal-Laptop-Battery-Charger-Acer-Fujitsu-etc-/180544540824?pt=Laptop_Adapters_Chargers&hash=item2a094b1098
Apparently, you can charge your computer's battery without having to put it in the computer? How does it work? Do you have to hook up wires to the battery or does it slip into something? Finally, here are the external batteries just for comparison. I think they can be charged without needing to plug them into the computer. But then how do they hook up to it once charged? I'm imagining that they'd need to use the ac adapter socket, which causes that stupid problem again. But maybe, they could use a usb port?
http://www.bixnet.com/unpowbat.html?gclid=CLveks_nhqgCFYhx5Qod8C6utQ
Oh yeah, and I found two other batteries, one for $440 and the other, with a 15-hour capacity for $772! Um, i don't think I'll be getting them any time soon, even if they had their own sockets and charged all my computers at once in five minutes!
I'm seriously beginning to suspect that there's nothing wrong with the power cord on my X32 because when I plugged it into the outlet in the kitchen, it worked fine. I did this two times consecutively, letting the battery drain before each try, and each time, it charged fully, worked when plugged in and also when disconnected. So it looks like my problems will be solved for free! We just need to change the outlet in the bedroom and perhaps the one in the sitting room as well, or at least the strip there. Oddly enough, the laptop gave me a problem or two on the strip but the Mac, my Boes speakers and my desktop work fine on it. I'll need to plug it in there next and see if it does anything weird. As a side note, Grandma said that the cord looks fine, though I'll ask Mom or Spiros to take a better look, just to be sure.
As for the netbooks, I found a page which explains the different Aspire Ones nicely.
http://www.mini-laptops-and-notebooks.com/acer-aspire-one-netbooks.htm
Apparently, the D150 and D250, while being bigger than the A150 (10.1 inches as opposed to 8.9) has better performance, a better battery life and more power. So if I were to get another Aspire One, it would be one of those. I also think I've learned why mine suddenly quit on me. According to the Wikipedia entry on Aspire One, the 150s have a problem with the speaker being located in the wrong place and vibrating, especially when playing music, films, sometimes even via headphones! Some people actually reported hard drive crashes. I then found this page
http://www.netbookminireviews.com/
which discusses several netbooks. The link that I gave is to the Acer Aspire One AOD150. According to the review, it can actually accept up to 2gb of ram, which is really nice.
Well, another test and more discoveries. I just plugged it into the power strip and it shut off due to a critically low battery. When I plugged it in the kitchen, it immediately started working. Now I'll need to try it in the bathroom and in the other kitchen outlet, below the microwave. I'm hesitant about the bathroom, but a few minutes should be enough to tell me whether it will work or not. To be fair, I did have the desktop plugged in and running when I tested the strip but nothing else. Right now it and the speakers are plugged in sylmultaniously and I've also removed said speakers and plugged in the Mac at the same time as the desktop and all worked. Perhaps, the Thinkpad takes a higher voltage than my speakers and Mac?
Okay, I was wrong. This morning, I tried to use it after having it plugged into the kitchen wall outlet and it shut off while plugged in. I just bought an adapter for $8.19 with free shipping. Hopefully, that will solve the problem.
Are you hard on the jacks on the back? The power ports rare reasonably sound but if it's loose in there it's the port, which is surface-mount soldered on the board, which means your friend or neighbor who thinks they can solder cannot do it. Means a new board, frankly.
You are risking burning the machine up, but okay. Take it to a repair shop?
I am not a computer expert nor a programmer tiff but I second the last post before mine, I hate to see you spend say 150 or 250 just because the mother board was fried. It could bee even more then the computer is wurth. shivers!
Looking in to a new HP myself. My husband has one and he loves it.
When you guys say that I'm risking burning the machine up, wto which one are you referring and to which option? If it's the IBM and the adapter for it, they specifically said that it would work with that model. I spent $284 on it and would probably spend more to upgrade the ram and fix whatever problem it is if it's not just the power cord. If it's the HP, do you mean that I would burn it out with a battery or with the repair? Btw, said repair is from a company, not from anyone I know. Mom actually suggested that I take it to HP and have them fix it, then use it as a full desktop replacement and buy a netbook to take with me when I go outside and/or travel. As a sidenote, I did manage to find an external battery and standalone charger specifically designed to work with HP ze5385US and a few other models. It sounds like a good deal, but only two places have it, the manufacturer and a seller, which makes me a bit nervous as to it's quality. Still, if it really does work and the price is lower than HP would charge to fix the machine (which I think it is at $100 and $114 respectively), I might consider it. Then again, if my laptop doesn't have the full 1gb of ram, I would want HP to upgrade it, so I'll have to see. I also need to check that my battery is exactly the kind listed, though I really doubt that it's not, since it's the original one which came with the laptop. In any case, here are the two sites.
Manufacturer
http://www.portatechs.com/product_reviews.php?manufacturers_id=73&products_id=661
store
http://www.brilliantstore.com/laptop_battery_chargers_portatechs_elc_1042.html
Finally! my problem is solved! I'm now the owner of a like new ACER ASPIRE ONE D255-2301. The previous owner had it for only a few months and hardly used it. In fact, it's still got the plastic on it! I literally spent about eight hours today and a few the other day comparing the specs on all the Aspire Ones with 10.1 inch screens and XP, and just as I was narrowing it down, this one jumped out at me from Ebay and screamed "buy me! And look! I have a nice new bag for free!" It's a bit more powerful than the first one I was considering (the d250) and far more than the old one that I had (the aoa150). It's got a 1.66ghz processor (instead of the standard 1.6 and it's Atom 450 instead of only 280 or 270) and has 1gb ram built-in but is expandable to 2gb. I almost didn't get it, cause I saw one (not sure if it was the exact same model) for the same price ($262 and change) at buy.com, but it had 7 and I wanted XP. That said, if I did want to get 7 and put it on there, I could, since it's supported. The only bad thing is that it has a crummy 3-cell battery with four hours of battery life (still more than the aoa150). But I can fix that by buying a nice 6-cell, which lasts 8 hours! That's more than the Mac! I even saw one with 9 (nine) cells but am not sure if I can trust or even believe in such a thing. If it's not a hoax and really works on my model, I can't even imagine the punch that'll pack!
As for my HP, I'll get around to that soon, or at least eventually, so that I can finally put away my desktops. As much as I adore my card slots in the X32, I'll probably be cleaning it out and selling it. How many computers do I need! Wait, don't answer that! lol
The adapter for the X32 came today, and it works like a charm! Of course, this makes me feel very guilty about buying that new netbook, since I'm so incredibly frugal, and also makes me wonder what I'll do now with this laptop, which still works but which clearly still has a few issues. But at least that one is now fixed, so I can erase the hard drive if I choose to sell it or use it as some kind of spair if that's ever necessary or if I'll be getting my hands dirty, say in cooking, and don't want to ruin my netbook. Maybe, if I keep it and if I have money one day, I'll really have it fixed just for the hell of it.
At last! The economist in my heart is satisfied. The Thinkpad charged fine and completely. So I let it almost drain to the point where it shut off due to the critical battery alarm, plugged it in, turned it on and opa! Instead of it starting the charge, It gave the critical battery sound and died on the new adapter. I could probably charge it now that it's off but I'm So glad I bought the netbook!
I told you you might burn the computer up with the adapter. I'll say this last then not post again. The specs on your new Netbook are exactly what we explained you'd find, so you didn't get anything special. Next your battery could be dead on that older machine, so it doesn't charge, but you'll never know unless you take it someplace for repairs. Good luck.
It's charging again, especially when turned off. I have to try it again when it's on. I'd rather repair the HP, since it has a huge amount of features, but if it's relatively cheap, I might go for the Thinkpad as well. It needs the keys cleaned, the fan replaced and the ram upgraded, plus fixing whatever is wrong here. This is largely my fault, as I dropped it a few times.
I wasn't expecting anything special with the netbook, though I did wind up getting one of the higher end models with faster ram that can be upgraded to 2gb, and with the ability to use a 6-cell battery, which lasts for eight hours instead of just four with the 3-cell. I went with the Aspire One again because of the recommendations here about the keyboard being standard. I didn't want to have to deal with more nonsense.