Hey Guys, I totally love this forum first of

[bowlerkid]

Hey Guys,

I totally love this forum first of all. Amazing stuff and i've been lurking around for quite a while then I quit cause I realized I couldn't afford one and now I'm back again to finally go in for a tablet pc to help with my college studies. But, I'm going in for a second hand one from ebay or some kind of a similar source because I can't afford to buy a new one at all. NADA!

Anyway, as disorganized as I am, it would be extremely helpful to have my notes in digital format:-) instead of using the paper/pen idea which I've already suffered with:-)

Anyway, Here are my needs of a tablet pc:-)so you can comment on a recommended configuration.

Something that's big but not too big, I Like to write big so I'm pretty sure I don't want a 10 inch screen. I think a 12.1 and up would be great.

My needs are basically for college where i'll take notes in classes, watch a dvd once a week. Definitely SURF the internet!

I'm a multitasker when it comes to running applications on a pc, so I think 512MB ram would do it.

I think Hard disk space I'm going to have to compromise since I'm buying a used tablet PC so i guesss 30Gigs or 40gigs is max I'm gonna be able to afford.

Money wise: The lesser money spent the better, I think I'm setting my budget at $800 cause I really can't afford any more than that, infact that's over my actual budget.

Warranty: i would love to get one on a used tablet pc, any recommendations?


Oh and major category this time that I wanna work on is WEIGHT of the tablet pc, cause I bought a desktop replacement laptop and oh my god I don't feel like using it as a laptop at all, it's purely replacing a desktop that I don't have!


Btw, I've seen the averatec at circuit city and I think it's just a gr8 bang for the buck but I can't afford it,that's #1, #2: Too many complaints about it.
#3: heard of heating issues.

please speak freely about comments, ideas, suggestions, sources anything and everything to help me gain better insight in taking my decision.

Oh and if you've bought a tablet pc from a seller b4 and could post the name of the seller as long as the experience has been good, please do so!

[Jehtris]

There aren't many that have a bundled DVD Drive. The Gateway M275 does, but it's 14", and a little on the heavy side. Maybe the new Fujitsu? Otherwise you're looking at buying an external DVD drive.

Also, I think you'll want more than 512 MB ram. 768 is kinda the minimum, but 1 GB offers much better perfromance.

[Wcrocker]

The newer R10/15 Satellite and Tecra M4's from Toshiba have internal optical drives now.

[bowlerkid]

quote:Originally posted by Wcrocker

The newer R10/15 Satellite and Tecra M4's from Toshiba have internal optical drives now.


OBJECTIVE TO SAVE MONEY,

won't be able to afford that!:-(

I totally appreciate your response though!

[bowlerkid]

Now it's like I have three new factors reworded basically,

I want Cost-effective
Functionality
and performance...jeez now i'm asking for a new tablet pc!

[bowlerkid]

BUMP!

[Ant6n]

Just do an Ebay search for tablet pc and enable under advanced options <800$ and completed listings, then you see what is in your budget (Have to be registered).
I am actually looking at the same thing for my girlfriend, who has the exact same budget.
I think it might be better to wait until august if you start college/uni, because the Toshiba m200 successor might come out around this time. I hope a lot of people will then want to renew theirs, which means the prize for it might go down - as far as second hand goes.
Otherwise I have seen the m200 on ebay for around 800, but very rarely. I think it would be perfect for students. It is a convertible with fairly long battery life, 12" at 1400*100 and not tooo old graphics card.
---
If you want refurbished or new ones you can go on tabletpcreviewspot.com and go on the "tablet pc database" - but there you'll find that tablets are more expensive except for the averatec (730-799$) which is horrible for students, because it has 1-2h battery life.
---
Tell us how it goes for you, I think you started an interesting thread there...

[Northern_Rebel]

Its going to be very hard to find any 12 inch TPCs at or below $800.00. I still get good performance from my Fujitsu ST4110. Their prices on eBay are below or in your price range. I have 512mg of RAM in mine and don't even come close to using all my RAM. I added another 256mg but didn't see any real improvement. Of course your milage may vary.

[Ant6n]

There are a bunch of Portege 3500s at 799 buy it now on ebay right now...

[Northern_Rebel]

I like my Toshiba 3500, only thing is make sure they don't suffer from the "dead strip" issue before you buy it. Other than that the build quality isn't bad, but my Fujitsu is a lot better built. I hadn't realized the 3500s were going that cheap in good condition.

[Ant6n]

http://www.saveateagle.com/lu20-25su1.html?ovchn=OTHER&ovcpn=Froogle&ovcrn=LU20-25SU1&ovtac=CMP
Y have I never seen LG as a tablet producer before?

[bebe]

The item listed in the link you provided has Windows XP Professional installed and is not a tablet pc. I believe LG does make a tablet but that is not the model number. Be sure to research before making your purchase. If you should decide on a refurbished unit some of the manufacturers sell direct.

[Ant6n]

Thats totally wierd.
It seems LG has two laptops with a swivel. The one is a tablet, the other does not appear to be. Both seem to be good laptops. The Tablet is expensive, the other isnt

lt (920 $):
http://www.lge.com/catalog/prodmodeldetail?actType=search&page=1&modelCategoryId=CTG1000654&categoryId=CTG1000651&parentId=CTG1000439&modelPrefix=400000&globalCode=LT20&globalSuffix=000000&model=0#

lu (2000$):
http://www.lge.com/catalog/prodmodeldetail?modelCategoryId=CTG1000655&categoryId=&parentId=&modelPrefix=400000&globalCode=LU20&globalSuffix=000000#

The question now is, why would anyone make a tablet without a stylus?

[S.C]

If u have 1k budget u can go to Fujitsu's ebay store to bid on the St5010. I saw some lucky ppl get it for under 1k.
but it has bad viewing angle, no bluetooth.
however, it has 512ram, and a wireless keyboard included. It is a 12 inch slate too.
Unless u want a 0.1 ghz faster cpu, and a indoor/outdoor screen, u can wait a St5022 some of the time. In that case
ppl always put up a bid war to jack up the price to $1525. Or u can get a 5011 with same spec as 5010 but a 10.4 inch
indoor/outdoor screen. REMEMBER THEY ARE ALL REFUBLISH. and I got my 5010 fr $1225.

[bowlerkid]

Nice info S.C,

I just bought my fujitsu st5010D from fujitsu.com and I got it refurbished for 1164 including 39$ for screen portectors and 100 dollar outlet store discount.

I got it and went way over my budget because I would be selling my laptop and my pocket pc for it, which i'm currently in the process of.

Bad viewing angle,I would agree but I'll compromise till I can get some more money!

[kt]

I have an LG LT20 and I completely LOVE it! There are so many complaints about the other types of tablets around here, and none of them apply to me. I've been nothing but satisfied and I've had it since last december. I believe this tablet to be well worth your buck if you can find one at all.