First laptop choice my mother

[PowerLee]

Hi, my mother is looking at buying a basic laptop for herself but she doesnt want to spend lots of money or need an all signing & dancing machine, she just wants something simple to use & reliable.

I've answered some of the question's below.

What is your budget? £330 - could stretch to £350

What size laptop do you want? 15" screen or bigger

Do you want a matte or glossy (reflective) screen? = Not really fussed

What will you be using the laptop for? Just browsing, basic word processing, nothing demanding.

How long does the battery need to last? = As long as possible

Does it need to be portable? = Not really taking it out anywhere, just use around the house.

We have been looking around & spotted the 3 following machine's, which one out the 3 would I best to steer her towards & is there any listed there best avoided?

Any other recomendations in the same sort of price / spec?

Lenovo

LENOVO G575 15.6" Laptop buy online | Currys

Compaq

COMPAQ Presario CQ57-356SA 15.6" Laptop buy online | Currys

Toshiba

TOSHIBA Satellite C660D-1GD 15.6" Laptop buy online | Currys

Thanks in advance

Lee

 

[tut_gareth]

Toshiba and Lenovo are good for the money look at ASUS also.

Those are good prices

 

[brookheather]

All three of those laptops use netbook processors - I would particularly avoid the Lenovo you linked to. None of them are good value for money. For the same money I would recommend one of these laptops which has a decent specification:

Fujitsu AH530 15.6" Intel Pentium Win7 Laptop | eBay

http://www.dmxdimension.com/recommend/N00N5424

 

[woodys hat]

Id say it depends on the outlook of your mum.

Mine was 60 years old and had never touched a computer before, gave her a 2nd hand one, installed basic software and internet explorer and put her phone on speed dial to me. She was never off the blower for about a month, but gradually got better. 6/7 years down the line she has bought herself a laptop, books all her hols on line, uses quid co and ebay etc. It has really enhanced her life

Wouldnt buy something expensive to start with as we had lots of files going missing in the first few weeks!!

 

[PowerLee]

Shes sometimes uses either my Windows 7 desktop / laptop for basic stuff like checking emails, writing / printing documents etc.

Had a look at / play on the Toshiba, it seemed a bit slow to me, couldnt find the Windows experience score either.

The Compaq she didnt like the look or feel of & we couldnt see the Lenovo.

Shes not in a mad rush to get one, might be more choice after smas in the sales.

She said needs a proper mouse as well, she hates using the touch pads