<p>We have a desk top as our main home computer but we need to replace our giant, antique laptop. It will be used for 1) checking email, 2) basic word processing, 3) internet searches, 4) travel. The most advanced video game will be Free Cell. I want something small but not so tiny that my husband will complain about the tiny keyboard.</p>
<p>If you have recently researched such a product and can just tell me what to buy and where to buy it, I’d really be appreciative!</p>
<p>Get a macbook. </p>
<p>A no brainer.</p>
<p>A macbook is the most expensive alternative. Not a no-brainer for everyone. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>I have been researching this, because I really want to retire my creaking desktop to strictly business use (mostly printing stuff, buying supplies, etc) and get a laptop for personal use.</p>
<p>I found a PCWorld article that makes recommendations re laptops in various classes. The “ultraportable” class might suit your needs:</p>
<p>[Top</a> Ultraportable Laptops | PCWorld](<a href=“http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/collection/1660/top_10_ultraportable_laptops.html]Top”>http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/collection/1660/top_10_ultraportable_laptops.html)</p>
<p>If not, if you roam about on their site you will also find recommendations for “basic” laptops.</p>
<p>As for buying, I would suggest ebay. There are a lot of sellers who are offering manufacturer refurbished laptops with a year manufacturer warranty for a LOT less than list price. Pick one who allows returns and has a good rating. Some are actually well known retailers, also, like J&B Electronics (Or is that J&L? My memory fails…) in NYC.</p>
<p>HP is a good brand and you don’t have to jump through a bunch of hoops to use your student discount.</p>
<p>Oh one more thing. We need to be able to Skype on it. Do they all have cameras these days?</p>
<p>The ones I’ve been looking at certainly do. </p>
<p>I don’t know what you mean by “inexpensive,” but you would be able to get a very nice laptop with good graphics–much better than you say you need, but don’t forget that you might want to watch a movie on it some day–for about $850. You can certainly get something cheaper. BJs has an Acer laptop with a lot of good stuff for $499 right now.</p>
<p>Unicornbubbles, it escaped your notice that this is the PARENT forum? :)</p>
<p>For Costco members, they will take a PC back, no questions asked, up to 6 months after sale.</p>
<p>Or so I have been told. I am not a Costco member.</p>
<p>I’m a fan of the Dell 15 series for basic laptop computers. Inexpensive do just about anything you want. They FedX them to you…simple.</p>
<p>I think the 6 months on Costco is pushing it - there policy a year or so ago was 90 days “no questions asked”.</p>
<p>The concern is that who you buy from will go out of business and the warranty won’t be honored. That happened to me with a BIG company, when the laptop was a few months old.</p>
<p>It looks like the Dell 15 series is still in the thousand dollar plus range. What about all those laptops advertised in the 400 to 600 range? Nothing decent in that price range for very basic use?</p>
<p>DS just bought a macbook for $1100.</p>
<p>Parent1986 - you are correct about costco. The otherside of it is that Costco also provides a second year of warranty when you buy laptops from them. So they are guaranteed for at least 2 years without paying additional money.</p>
<p>If you travel a lot, it is possible that a good choice for you might be a netbook type computer. You can plug in an external keyboard when using it at a desk (which you’re used to doing anyway since you’re replacing a desktop), and you’re unlikely to have to do a great deal of typing when you’re traveling, right?</p>
<p>We got this one for my daughter for her year abroad. She’s happy with it, and it weighs nothing. [Toshiba</a> Mini Notebook Laptop Computers | us.toshiba.com](<a href=“Best 2 In 1 Laptops in 2020 | Laptops, Ultrabooks and Tablets”>Best 2 In 1 Laptops in 2020 | Laptops, Ultrabooks and Tablets)</p>
<p>It costs about $250.</p>
<p>With traditional laptops, they tend to cost more if they’re thin and light.</p>
<p>After considering what my priorities were I recently bought an HP Pavilion dm1. It’s “sort of” an ultraportable - 11.6" screen, less than 4 pounds. The keyboard is standard sized. It has skype capacity with a webcam, speakers, etc., but no cd/dvd drive. (To load disk-based software I copy the disk to a flashdrive on a different machine and plug the flashdrive into one of the USB slots. It work fine.) I like the fact that it’s small and lightweight and the battery lasts a long time. I don’t like the touchpad but I always use a separate trackball anyway. I bought the extra RAM (4 GB total) and the complete cost was less than $400. I’m very happy with it.</p>
<p>i can’t recommend a mini notebook or netbook–your husband might have trouble with the smaller keyboard–i hated it because of the keyboard.</p>
<p>go to bestbuy or any similar retailer and buy the cheapest clearance laptop they have. usually works for me…i must have a pc for my job so i get a clearance model and don’t worry about antivirus or any other issues. I have bought a two or three over the last 10 years–usually around $350 a piece–and i don’t even waste the money on norton or mcafee or avira…i just use them til they die. works for me but might not work for everyone else!</p>
<p>yes, my last one came with a built-in webcam.</p>
<p>With low $$ being a high priority we bought my son a Lenovo G560 for around $400.</p>
<p>(The lenovo G560 is Lenovo’s entry-level 15.6” notebook.)</p>
<p>I thought it gave good performance for $$.</p>
<p>Just bought a lenovo. Researched by my DS who is a computer geek. He had owned a mac book and was a big macbook fan. Needed a new laptop for Christmas and went with the lenovo. Better value for the money. It’s more expensive but we went for a solid state drive…less chance of drive failure.</p>
<p>My oldest has been using a cheap laptop at school for almost 3 yrs. We had bought her an expensive laptop previously that was lost. She had to purchase the replacement herself. She has not noticed a huge difference for her use. Her first laptop was an expensive Dell. The replacement I think is a Compaq. She uses it for internet, word processing and streaming Netflix. It does run hot.
My other two kids will only use a Mac.</p>