whats best over all Value for a lap top for a retired guy please?

[Hawk11nw]

Need Help please, My mother inlaw wants to buy my father in law a lap top for christmas and Im at my wits end as to what kind to get him, he doesnt do a whole lot on a computer, check e-mail etc, a little surfing here and there and maybe a bit of business work on it. Its not like he needs any high end equipment but at same time dont want it to be to cheap either. Any info you could share would be great and much appreciated. Have a great day!

[ATilaptops]

I say get a nice $500-$600 one off eBay and he'll be fine, but you cna always go up in price to get better stuff.

[bldegle2]

the manu, go here:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...c.asp?CatId=17

prices range from $399.99 and up.

cruise around, you will find what you want and it will come with a warranty, something that may or may not be applicable to an Ebay purchase.

personally, i have had good luck with Tiger, others may disagree.

baldy

[humble-bargain-seeker]

I have found that older people have an easier time learning the Macintosh OS instead of Windows. Apple laptops are also very well built.

If, based on the software he runs and his previous experience, you feel that a Windows machine is in order, then I would suggest a brand that would be familiar to him such as an IBM ThinkPad. They are also very well built.

Both Apple and IBM also have very good customer service.

[SkyDog]

Dell's "Outlet" web site has some pretty good deals on returned/refurbished items, with the same warranty and service as a brand new unit. They're currently running a deal for $150 off any refurbished Inspiron laptop, which would bring the baseline price for an Inspiron 1100 down to about $530.

[Hawk11nw]

Wow, thanks for the great responses! gonna check all of em out and go from there=)

[KegCanMan]

One last one(or two?)?
Dell Inspiron 1100....starting at $699.
Dell Notebook
Gateway M305 series....starting at $799.
Gateway M305
Or for MACS.....iBook G4
Mac iBook
The only downsides for this one are the small screen and higher price.
However, that laptop with a 14" screen is well worth it.

[ATilaptops]

IBM's X31 is very nice also. It has only a 12" creen and no optical drive but it's very light and thin and with the extra battery dock it get's 9 hours of battery life, that would be a good one I think, that way he won't have to lug around a 6 pound laptop and have to recharge the battery so often, although he may need to get an external optical drive

[bldegle2]

IBM's X31 is very nice also. It has only a 12" creen

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

that a 12" screen might be a bit too small for aging eyes, sure, you could set it to 640x480, but then you would have to scroll to read/write everything. i would think a 14" minimum, larger if it falls within your budget.

just something else to consider.

baldy

[Terry]

It's for Christmas right?
Better buy it straight from your local BestBuy or something, or you might not make it.

Shipping usually takes more than a week.

[barton boi]

Suprisingly I got a Dell Inspiron 8600 within 3 days. I was expecting it around mid january as I added some parts they said would delay the ship date.

[Terry]

Originally posted by barton boi
Suprisingly I got a Dell Inspiron 8600 within 3 days. I was expecting it around mid january as I added some parts they said would delay the ship date.

Wow
That's unheard of.
Where do you live? Texas? (where Dell ships from)

Good for you.
I had to wait 2 weeks, but I was in Canada.

[barton boi]

Tennessee, there's a big Dell place (it looks like a factory) around where I live and I figured that's how it got here so fast. So they only ship from Texas?

[Terry]

Well, at least for Canadians.

[Elephant16]

my laptop cost 1100 after rebates and it would be perfect for a older person. its a hp 4560 got a cdr drive for all his warez needs and a nice 15'' screen for all his porn vieing pleasure.