Field Use Netbook/Notebook

[kevinsbane]

My company is in need of some netbooks or laptops. We are looking for something which can serve as a web interface device so we get internet access when out in the field.

Basic tasks will be file transfer, email, office work and basic spreadsheets. Concerns will mainly be whether it works or not, and durability/reliability, as these will be working out on construction sites.

My budget is between $300-$500 per unit, but the lower the better. Budget includes software, that being Microsoft office (not starter, as we have need of macros).

My main concern right now is whether or not it is worth it to spend the extra ~$100 dollars per unit to move from a high-end netbook to a low-end laptop.

For example, I can get Lenovo x120e's (perhaps x130e in the future), E-350 with 2 GB ram and Win7 Home Premium for $350 ea.

At the same time, a Dell Vostro 3450, with an i3-2330, 3GB ram and Win7 Home Premium (and Office Starter) for $450.

The Dell is theoretically two or three times more capable than the Lenovo. Is that capability worth the tradeoffs of $100 ea and likely lesser build quality and portability of the x120e?

 

[podspi]

My company is in need of some netbooks or laptops. We are looking for something which can serve as a web interface device so we get internet access when out in the field.

Basic tasks will be file transfer, email, office work and basic spreadsheets. Concerns will mainly be whether it works or not, and durability/reliability, as these will be working out on construction sites.

My budget is between $300-$500 per unit, but the lower the better. Budget includes software, that being Microsoft office (not starter, as we have need of macros).

My main concern right now is whether or not it is worth it to spend the extra ~$100 dollars per unit to move from a high-end netbook to a low-end laptop.

For example, I can get Lenovo x120e's (perhaps x130e in the future), E-350 with 2 GB ram and Win7 Home Premium for $350 ea.

At the same time, a Dell Vostro 3450, with an i3-2330, 3GB ram and Win7 Home Premium (and Office Starter) for $450.

The Dell is theoretically two or three times more capable than the Lenovo. Is that capability worth the tradeoffs of $100 ea and likely lesser build quality and portability of the x120e?

I don't know if I'd call the Dell two or three times "more capable". For productivity tasks, you aren't going to see much difference, besides the RAM. If you make sure the installs are lean, 2gb should be ok, though I'd prefer 3gb. BTW, if your budget is a hard $500, what is your unit cost for office?

 

[kevinsbane]

I don't know if I'd call the Dell two or three times "more capable". For productivity tasks, you aren't going to see much difference, besides the RAM. If you make sure the installs are lean, 2gb should be ok, though I'd prefer 3gb. BTW, if your budget is a hard $500, what is your unit cost for office?

Office should run at ~$50/unit. I do realise that for what we will use it for, the 2-3x more capable doesn't hold, but the theoretical computing power of a sandy bridge i3 is definitely at least 2-3x that of an E-350, wouldn't you say? That would be more of my own computer enthusiastness leaking through though than my thinking that the SB Dell will be noticeably more usable than the E-350. I run off SSD drives, so my personal standard of usable is... a little skewed.

 

[Fayd]

do you care if your employees have optical drives?

FWIW, i have a C-50 APU laptop, and it's not hugely slower than my phenom II quad-core desktop for basic browsing, email, and office.

an e-350 is a significant step up from that, and would narrow that perceived performance delta even more.

 

[kevinsbane]

About optical drives, not one bit.

That's good to know that about the C-50. I've just had a bad taste in my mouth about netbooks, and I didn't know what to expect.

How are startup and shutdown times?

 

[roguerower]

I have the upgraded x120e and it's awesome. Don't know what the intro version would be like, but for your needs it would probably work pretty well.

 

[Fayd]

just from my anecdotal experience, not vastly better or worse than the desktop.

i do however have another netbook to compare it to, a single core atom n230.

it's so vastly better than that pile of dogshit... i don't know where to begin.

 

[kevinsbane]

Thank you for your opinions. I think I will go the high end netbook route as opposed to the low end laptop route. That, and Lenovo's warranty options look... interesting.

Does anyone have any experience with THinkpad Protection?

 

[roguerower]

I also had an Asus netbook with an atom inside and intel IGP and the E-350 is so much better. It's amazing what 2 years does.

 

[natto fire]

FWIW, I had a Lenovo S10 for almost 3 years that saw severe duty (I basically lived out of backpacks and cars most of 2010, lots of use in the wilderness) and although the end trim pieces of the hinge fell off, altogether it was a solid machine. HDD died, which I replaced with a SSD at the beginning of this year, as well as a new battery.

I gave it to a friend a few months ago after updates to Flash choked the pathetic atom N270, and it became unusable on many websites. As far as I know it is still working, albeit slowly.