All laptop related queries here!!!

[rohanbee]

Dell has the bluetooth space in its laptops , you can send dell an enquiry. i forgot to get miine installed and have ordered one from Dell(usa) for approx 1000 bucks only. i know the place where it is supposed to go at the bottom part of my machine and will do the installation myself when it arrives.

one thing i wish to say is that i see absolutely no use of wi-fi presently here in india unless of corz if ur company provides it! rite now the wifi access costs are alarmingly high here and unfortunately not everywhere u find wifi hotspots.

I disagree with you completly. In laptops it is an absolute must.
You dont need to look for hot spots, at many airports and lounges and cafes abroad it is free now. Many hotels in INDIA would also provide you this for free or a very minimal charge like 150/day for unlimited surfing. SO WHAT ARE YOU SAYING DUDE??

Since laptops remain with us for a longer period without upgrading then desktops do. whereas i change my desktop config every year i do not do the same for my laptop. Whatever you want to use now and maybe get later please get it when you buy the lappy and dont add it later , its a hassle and more expensive as when you strike a deal in the begining you get the best prices.

About the wifi thing it is eventually getting cheaper. I have wifi enabled both in my home and office and believe me its a pleasure. The intel centrino chip is wifi enabled so you dont pay anything extra. Its the best thing about my laptop yet..

About P4's in laptops:
They have a tendency of getting real hot and hence have not been very succesful and thats to say the same about the desktop chips with their issues of over-heating.

 

[sumitava_b]

Wi-Fi is a near-future thing. You would be wise to get it instead of neglecting it for a few extra bucks. Hope one day it will be dirt-cheap in india too. Already in cities, wi-fi hotspots r mushrooming everywhere. So better have it now considering its usefulness.

Rohan, how much did you shell out to enable ur home wifi enabled?

 

[infra_red_dude]

yeah buddy how much did u spend for ur home wifi setup? and yes, i completely agree wid you about P4 thing. ouch! it runs hhhhot! i can never keep it on my lap!

 

[pratikmohapatra]

Hi there...

I am Pratik. i am new to this forum. . i hav been reading all those valuable info that you people have been uploading. N ways i just wanted to ask all u out there about something regarding purchasing the right kind of a lappy.
Actually the confusion all started when a friend of mine purchased an IBM thinkpad. well to start with i t was a cool bargain. It costed him around 51k
but still i found it to b a bit on the slower side.
Ok my problem is quite genuine coz i hzv been using a desktop all these days. But i would still like to ask u people about what could b a better option at say 70-75k
with regards
Pratik

 

[sumitava_b]

Pratik, welcome to the forum.

As you might have seen in some of the posts in this thread, one has to understand what is ur requirements before suggesting one model. So first u mention ur requirement and purpose. U must have some special purpose bcoz u r going for such a high priced lappy even after having a desktop. At this price range, u will either get a massive workhorse or an ultra-portable one. Choose one first according to ur reqs.

 

[pratikmohapatra]

here's what i found

hi sumitava,
i just went through the new dell Inspiron 9300
it is good. It comes with -intel Pentium M processor 740, Intel PRO/ Wireless 2200 Network conection 802.11b/g, -Intel 915 Chipset, -256 SD DDR RAM 533MHz, -60GB HDD, -24X Combo Drive, -17" XGA+TFT (1440x900 res), -64 MB mobility radeon, -56K internal modem.

All this and more, @ Rs.78900/-
Actually i will b leavin the Desktop behind and want to move around whereever i am posted with my laptop.
However the only changes i would like to make tn the above configuration would b. I will like to add wi-fi, and in place of a combo drive , i would like to hav a DVD writer. let me tell u i am not all that crazy about gamin and all. so i will like to hav the minimum graphics support. and would prefer IBM over anything.
with regards,
Pratik

 

[sumitava_b]

Pratik,
I was just about to refer Inspi9300 to you as I am a big-time aficionado of Dell. But I chose to take the details from u first.

Let me tell clear some doubts/misunderstandings from your part. The First thing is that Inspi9300 does have Wi-Fi feature in it. You dont need to update it. To make ur lappie fully wireless capable, add bluetooth module if u have bluetooth-enabled mobile or r planning to buy in near-future. The second thing is about the price. The quoted price is before tax and delivery charges. If u r ordering it from kolkata, I think the VAT will be at 4% and the delivery charge will be around 1K bucks. So count those too. And the third thing is that dell india is offering free upgrade to DVD writer with dual layer capabilities. So in this area also, u need not to worry.

But above all, the point is that if u really dont need any eye-candy stuffs on screen, then why r u going for such a high-end system? 9300 is basically meant to be used for superb screen expeience. It has got 17" screen and a good graphics card, which I think will be of no use for u. Apart from that a 17" screen will be too heavy for u shoulder if u need to move with it. Instead u can go for a 15" screen with integrated GMA900 which wud be more than enough for normal work. It will save ur shoulder as well as ur pocket too. U must have guessed the model to which I am refering. Yes, I am refering to the bro of 9300, Inspiron 6000. It is available at Rs. 56900 (obviously before tax and delivery charge). Actually Dell offered two submodels under 6000 model. One is with combo dive and integrated GMA900 and other one is with DVD writer and radeon X300. The second one costs around Rs. 65K. So I think it will fit to ur reqs and budegt too.

Personally, I have Inspiron 6000 with lot many upgradations and I am very much satisfied with it.

 

[pratikmohapatra]

Thanks

Hey Sumitava,
I got what u wanted to say but still what i would like to ask u is that what do say about the post sales service. there i feel IBM is better and specially with it's feature of online data recovery it is safer. what do u hav to say about that?
N ways thanks again 4 your suggestions.
Pratik

 

[sumitava_b]

Pratik, IBM and dell r both known for their good after-sale services. For Dell, I can assure u that. Their call center/helpdesk remains available and a guy will come within a day if u report anything. But nowadays nobody is quite sure about the future services for thinkpads bcoz IBM is no longer handling these issues. They have handled the hardware business to Lenovo, a chinese biggy. In fact, after the handover the business of thinkpad got down and brands like acer, HP flourished in the market. There is no doubt that at one time IBM was relishing monopoly in the indian laptop market. But the trend is falling for sure.

I believe that thinkpad is for company corporates who r always on the move and very much afraid of losing the critical data stored in their lappies. Thinkpad is very much rugged and safe with one-button (not "online", u confused me! ) data recovery options. But truely speaking for us who will use it as nothing more than a pc, are those options really useful? Especially when u r having DVD writer? U can write all ur important files in CD/DVD at any point of time, right? Till today, how many times did u need to restore ur desktop system to a previous date? Think over it.

I agree that Ibm has made their thinkpad very rugged, but at the cost of its look. For example, place one thinkpad and one inspiron model side by side. U will definitely fall in love with the inspi one. It does not have any sharp edge which generally leads to scratches there. The hinges are beautifully designed. The touchpad will be absent in most of the thinkpad. Instead they have provided a red mouse-button which is irritatingly small and slow to maneuver. Speaker sound in thinkpad is comparatively meeker.

The biggest disadvantage with Dell is that u cant touch or see ur product before ordering, something with which all indians are not habituated. They realy want to check every corner of the product which they r buying. One has to gather guts to order something so expensive without seeing them. I relied on their reputation and have no regret about it.

In the end, IBM is still one of the best brand available in India. Still people go for them. There is no harm if u go for R series of thinkpad. But before that weigh other options too.

 

[rajas]

Dell Inspiron are one of the beautiful laptops I have worked/used/seen. On the other hand latitude are the other segment of laptops with high reliability and toughness. Opting for Inspiron9300 is a very gud option looking at the product and after sales service.

*img.dell.com/images/global/brand/themes/gmoon/footer.gif

 

[pratikmohapatra]

yeah

Hi there,
I got your point. After talkin to u i got curious and wanted to know what r other brands like. Believe me i found AmarPC's configuration is the best. I mean the price they quote 4 the confiuration they r givin is simply amazing. .
N ways thanks to u that i now feel comfortable enough to go and buy a lappy without any fear .
Pratik

 

[pratikmohapatra]

yeah

Hi there,
I got your point. After talkin to u i got curious and wanted to know what r other brands like. Believe me i found AmarPC's configuration is the best. I mean the price they quote 4 the confiuration they r givin is simply amazing. .
N ways thanks to u that i now feel comfortable enough to go and buy a lappy without any fear .
Pratik

 

[sumitava_b]

Pratik, so whats ur final choice? Have u decided yet? I heard about AmarPC in kolkata for their unique prices. In fact, I heard that they started selling 10K PC long before the recent venture of HCL. You must be lucky to avail AmarPC. Best of Luck!

I believe that u havnt found any Dell model there. Dell dont allow anyone to show their models.

cia

 

[sniper]

Hi dudes,

i have a budget of 50k.
Plan to buy a lappy within 2-3 months.

Im a coll student.
Im an FPS arcade gamer, but willing to compromise.
I need a DVD writer. will make an external one. Pioneer+case, howzat?
Portability is not a big issue. its a small issue

currently using IBM R51.
dunno, i can play Condition Zero on it and im happy sortof.

so what are my options now? will be living in Cochin for the next 4 years. any duty free shops around the place? heard lot of gulf dumps in kerela?

 

[pratikmohapatra]

Hi...

Hello people,
Hi there Sumitav actually i haven't yet decided which one to purchase. Basically just want to take my time since i will b investin a lot of money for that. N ways don't u worry a bit. If in future i purchase a Lappy u will b the first person to know.
Well we hav another person who is havin the same problem as i had So Sniper do not worry. Just read the conversation between Sumitav and me. Iam pretty suer u will hav a clear idea about the entire thing.
Regardin your budget then u can go 4 IBM Thinkpad.
ThinkPad R50e, a "fully configured notebook" with "optimum" memory, hard disk capacity and cache, along with ready to use Windows operating system and a CDR-W/DVD optical drive. R50e notebook is equipped with Intel Celeron 1.4 GHz processor, Windows XP home operating System, CDR-W/DVD-ROM combo optical drive, 256 MB memory, 15-inch TFT screen, hard disk shock absorber, Thinklight (a work-in-the-dark option) and a carry case. The product is priced at Rs 43,990.
If u r still havin problems *froogle.google.com/froogle?q=IBM+T...,GGLG:2005-33,GGLG:en&sa=N&tab=ff&oi=froogler

check out this link. and i hope u will hav a clear enough idea about it.
Till then,
Bye
Pratik

 

[Tech&ME]

Can anyone tell me about the TABLET PC, Which company offers them and where in India can I buy these from.

 

[sumitava_b]

Tech&ME: I presume that u have some specific reason for going for tablet pc instead of a laptop. Because at any time a tablet pc is 25-35% costlier than the laptop (which is a costly affair by itself) version with same configs. Loose parts, unreliable features, and imperfect handwriting recognition will keep these pcs from overtaking the notebook. Even after that if u r going for it then u must have some thing special.

OK, coming to point. In india, there are lots of models available in tablet pc. The most significants among them are Acer Travelmate C100/300 series, HP compaq TC1000 series, Toshiba Portege and satellite serie, Viewsonic V1100 series. Apart from them, other companies like fujitsu, LG, sharp, motion computing etc. are also coming up in the market. For the specific hardware config check this link,

*www.tabletpctalk.com/faqs/comparison/2004.php

Surely u will get names of some companies there which r not present in india. But if u r going to buy it from abroad then its relevant.

 

[Tech&ME]

Well its sad to see that no one is interested in the future of computing? Huuuu... Why do I say that ?

I know this "Tablets" does nothing special, but ya you carry it around and work that the way it is. The same can also be used as an ordinary Laptop.

Now the real deal is MONEY. Ya i did some research on the NET and found IBM is retailing it at a price tag of around rs 2 lakhs. I was too much interested in this machine, but know it seems i have to change my plans.

Well If i purchase it from outside India, what price difference can i get in terms of discounts ?

Any idea as to which company retails it at the lowest price ?

 

[sumitava_b]

Tech&ME, I never mentioned that I am not interested in this future of computing. What I tried to highlight that in the present situation of tablet pc it is really not that worth of the price quoted until and unless u r pasionate about them. In fact in my last mail I was wrong to say that tablet pc is 25-35% costlier than laptop. Actually after that I found the difference is much more. I feel that tablet pc is still in its nascent stage. It hasnt got the power to battle the laptop out given its not-so-rugged build and high price although the special features of a tablet pc are simply helpful. Surely it is the next revolution in the world of computing, but right now no need to spend 1.5-2 lacs for this product.

Incidentally, I too felt interested in tablet, but settled for a lappie instead. Specially the scenario of tablet pc in india is very poor. U will rarely get a user of tablet pc here.

Coming to point, HP compaq comes in cheapest price range. Toshiba satellite is also comparable. Those u can get at around 1K$. check it in online stores. I found it strange to see that acer is pricing their tablet quite high when they r providing one of the cheapest laptop. There are many sites dedicated for tablet pc only. There u will get many reviews too. I really found it difficult to find the indian price for them. U have to check for advertisements or call them directly.

cia
Sumit

 

[Tech&ME]

Ya! you are right to some point. Actually I need a decent "device", Which will sit on my office (executive) table. And I want it to be little different from others and hence, the idea of this TABLET poped up.

Nevertheless, I have noted your suggestions. Am still hunting down to get a decent price tag for it. By the way which lappy do you have and please tell me its config and price that you bought it for.