High Tech Christmas Presents...Heads Up/Need Help!

[Centexfarmer]

Okay, so some of you may jump down my throat for posting this.

In fact, I probably should be embarrassed for even mentioning this.

BUT!

Confession:

I plucked down nearly $400 for an HP Windows tower computer with all the bells a whistles, and all of the memory that one could want.

I like it.

I think it's a more than a little BULLSHIT that I have to "register" all of my favorite operating programs/system to get it to do what I want!

So!

Google is offering a $249 "laptop."

And I researched it, and it turns out to be nothing more than a HIGH DOLLAR Android Phone/iPhone; no DVD/DVR drive (which can be easily added on for $30+ dollars), and if you want tablet capabilities there's the ubiquitous 2 in 1 feature.

Google gets around this by suggesting APPLICATION features.

Which, during my research, discovered still don't provide the HARDWARE (some assembly and $$$ required).

Does anyone have a recommendation..for under $349 for a LAPTOP that acts as a computer; has a DVD player/DVR burner, with all of the bells and whistles, without Microsoft, and Apple trying to SELL us what they want?

 

[andysayshi]

I'm not clear what you're after. A laptop that doesn't run Windows, Mac OS X or Android?

 

[trinket]

Google is offering a $249 "laptop."

And I researched it, and it turns out to be nothing more than a HIGH DOLLAR Android Phone/iPhone; no DVD/DVR drive (which can be easily added on for $30+ dollars), and if you want tablet capabilities there's the ubiquitous 2 in 1 feature.

Are you talking about a Chromebook? (Such as this one by HP, reviewed this month.) These serve a decent market of people, but are known not to be for everybody, especially more power users or those with particular tasks in mind about how they'd like to use their portable computer.

Does anyone have a recommendation..for under $349 for a LAPTOP that acts as a computer; has a DVD player/DVR burner, with all of the bells and whistles, without Microsoft, and Apple trying to SELL us what they want?

"With all of the bells and whistles" is a subjective term. Could you define that a bit better? The "bells and whistles" one person might want in terms of RAM or video processing or CPU power or hard drive (SSD, capacity, etc.) probably couldn't be found in a $349 or less laptop, but for some people their definition of those terms is different.

If I were you, I might just browse the Web offerings of some of the more major laptop retailers for models within your price range. "Pick your configuration" type menus are fun to play around with where you can add and subtract different offerings and see what they do to the overall price.

For general usage, I might suggest Dell, HP, Acer or Asus laptop brands are among the most commonly recommended and decently reliable, although anybody out there might have a horror story about one particular brand. Keep in mind these might have various levels of "trialware" in the initial install, but that's how they actually keep the price down (by the software makers subsidizing it) so it's understandable. Run something like PC Decrapifier


Sample Dell.com front page showing some potential models for you:

 

[Centexfarmer]

Thank you that was helpful.

I've done some research and a lot of the $249 "laptops" are really nothing more than glorified "smart phones." They're great for running apps, social media, and media play, but I haven't been able to find much more use out of them beyond that.

So I'll have to suck it up and put down another $100 plus or so to be able to play and record video, for word processing, file storage, and to be able to print from.

Thanks!

 

[palbert]

Thank you that was helpful.

I've done some research and a lot of the $249 "laptops" are really nothing more than glorified "smart phones." They're great for running apps, social media, and media play, but I haven't been able to find much more use out of them beyond that.

So I'll have to suck it up and put down another $100 plus or so to be able to play and record video, for word processing, file storage, and to be able to print from.

Thanks!

Best to spring for the money and make sure it does what you want - not just what social media want. (Don't forget scanning and webfax.)

 

[Centexfarmer]

Best to spring for the money and make sure it does what you want - not just what social media want. (Don't forget scanning and webfax.)

That's why I wanted to research what I would be getting for that price. I'm glad I did, and I'm glad I came here to get some help!

 

[m1thousand]

Is it a netbook? (Netbooks don't have DVD drives)

Could you post a link?

 

[lambdaboy]

U recently bough an ALIEN X51 Dell Desk Top which is fantastic. Do not ask how much but if you must know £800.00 around $1200 and worth every pence grin

 

[cityboy-stl]

Why in the hell can't I find a new smartphone that receives broadcast am/fm radio? That seems kind of basic low tech to me. In an emergency situation broadcast radio on your cell phone could be a lifesaver.

 

[andysayshi]

There are, of course, plenty of radio based Apps (like TuneIn Radio) that allow you to listen to radio using data.

You can purchase a tiny am/fm radio to keep in your back pocket for less than 10 bucks on eBay - and its battery will last much longer than a smartphone's.

 

[T-Rexx]

Why in the hell can't I find a new smartphone that receives broadcast am/fm radio? That seems kind of basic low tech to me. In an emergency situation broadcast radio on your cell phone could be a lifesaver.

I could not agree more.

I carry two phones, one cheap flip phone with an FM radio I can listen to (and with real buttons you can actually press to make a call!), and my smartphone.

There are, of course, plenty of radio based Apps (like TuneIn Radio) that allow you to listen to radio using data.

Yes, and such apps burn through your monthly data cap (and a full battery charge) in minutes.

 

[TriBi]

I actually doubt you'll find any smartphone with built in AM radio - but a check of phone reviews will indicate those that include built in FM.

Nevertheless, that is somewhat getting away from the original question...a Chromebook sounds unlikely to do what you want. What I have found, in Oz at least is that looking for a new laptop at a time when new models are being brought in, means that you can find some bargains on existing models that will fulfil your needs.

I have no aspirations as a gamer - but wanted something that has pretty good speed, reasonable capacity, and will handle my business needs plus store my music, photos, etc. I do regular back ups to a stand alone hard drive (recommended) and my recent purchase got me a Core i5 (perfectly adequate for my needs) with 8gig Ram, 750 gig HD, 2 gig graphics, CD/DVD writer, and quite slim with a 15.6 touchscreen for a very reasonable price - which I won't mention because Australia is notoriously over priced for tech stuff compared to (say) the US.

Doing your research and looking around for a while before you commit should give you a pretty good idea of what are good deals when they become available.