Laptop for my Dad (Business use etc)

[spikopsycho]

So, my Dad wants a Laptop, primarily so when he's out and about, (as a driving instructor), to make appointments, keep notes, and sync it all back to pc when done etc, so nothing particularly strenuous.

I suggested a netbook, but he doesn't like the little 10" screens, so yeah.

As its just gonna be running basic programs and the like, I was thinking one of the basic laptop configuration would do with a few tweaks.
(So either the 13.3" Mirage or the 14.1" Xenon)

Was thinking about picking the Xenon and going for an i3, and upping the Ram to 4 gigs, but not sure if its really worth it/needed.

Any ideas/advice from anyone?

Cheers

 

[mantadog]

Is a laptop really the type of thing that would suit him best? I would put a tablet PC or a smartphone as the ideal bit of kit for the task.

It seems a little bit too much trouble to fire up a laptop every 5 minutes just to take a booking, where an ipad or similar could probably fit in the glove box and be ready to go in an instant?

 

[TJWhonley]

dependent on budget ect. i would look at something like this.
Chassis & Display
Xenon: 14.1" Glossy HD LED Backlit Widescreen (1366x768)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i3 Dual Core Mobile Processor i3-2350M (2.30GHz) 3MB
Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 2GB)
Graphics Card
Intel® HD Graphics 3000 Video Memory Technology up to 1.7GB
Memory - Hard Disk
120GB INTEL® 520 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)
Memory Card Reader
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® N130 802.11N (150Mbps) + BLUETOOTH
USB Options
3 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD
Battery
Xenon Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (48.84WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 65W AC Adaptor
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Keyboard Language
INTEGRATED UK KEYBOARD
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1.3 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £560.00 including VAT and delivery.

Configure Here: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/notebooks/xenon/
I have included a small solid state drive, so the boot up time will be a lot faster (figured it might come in handy)
the I3 is a good little processor for the money, you do not want pentium (typing this on a pentium, hate the guts of it)
4 gb ram is a good idea because most things now take advantage, and its kind of industry standard now
if you need more storage, then a usb backup drive would be enough for most things, just make sure its usb 2 compatible
just in reply to mantadog;
if you wanted to transfer the files to a pc, you would have to have the same viewer or convert them into pdf (more hassle)

 

[El Wayneo]

Would probably drop the SSD for a larger 7200rpm hard drive and save the cash, no point buying a storage drive when you can just have the storage in the laptop, makes no sense.

My current laptop boots in 45 seconds with a 7200rpm drive and my desktop with an SSD is around 12 - 13, so only 30 seconds, not worth it for the money really.

 

[spikopsycho]

Alright guys, thanks for the input.