Advice on a Light Laptop under $650

• 

  scrimshaw on 28/06/2015 - 20:17

  +3

  I would go for a Dell Inspiron 11 3000 series. It is a 11.6 inch device with a 'tablet mode'. The keyboard is not removable.

  You can play with it in JB Hifi — they sell the Core i3 model.

  The rest of the specifications are 4GB of RAM and 500GB HDD, and it can be upgraded.

  There is a Bay Trail model (running N2830 processor) which goes for a bit cheaper, but expect some slow-ass processor performance.

  You can get it for cheaper if you buy it refurbished from the Dell outlet. Currently, it's out of stock. I saw the Core i3 model selling for about $499 refurbished.

  The Lenovo Flex is also a cheap option and it runs a Pentium quad core N3530. Battery looks to only last 3 hours though and the display is 10.1". Reviews are not so good on Amazon.

  • 

    dr_ rusko on 28/06/2015 - 22:46

    thanks for taking the time to comment

    the dell store on ebay have it at 799 with 20% off
    (640ish)

    am i likely to get it any cheaper new?

    was hoping to get before EOFY

  • 

    yuuki on 28/06/2015 - 22:48

    Going to reinforce the "expect some slow ass-processor performance" - avoid the N2830 model. Have one lying around somewhere and never use it; merely using it as a web surfing machine maxes out it's resources and is stressful when you're simply trying to have a flick through social media.

• 

  dr_ rusko on 28/06/2015 - 23:06

  any thoughts on the asus transformer book trio

  its $606 from oo on ebay…

  Operating System:
  Dock: Windows 8 Pre-installed
  Tablet: Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)
  Processor:
  Dock: Intel Core i5-4200U Processor (1.6GHz, 3M Cache, up to 2.60GHz)
  Tablet: Intel Atom Processor Z2560 (1M Cache, 1.60GHz)
  Display: 11.6" (29.5cm) 16:9 IPS FHD (1920x1080) Touchscreen
  Memory:
  Dock: 4GB DDR3 1600MHz SDRAM
  Tablet: 2GB LP DDR2 1066MHz
  Storage:
  Dock: 500GB HDD
  Tablet: 16GB SSD
  Graphics: Integrated Intel® HD Graphics 4400
  Camera:
  HD 720p CMOS module
  Tablet : Rear 5MP Front 720p HD camera

  • 

    scrimshaw on 28/06/2015 - 23:57

    It's a very messy product. For $600 ish I guess it's "OK" but you have to wonder what ASUS was smoking at the time when they came up with this frankenstein.

    review here
    http://www.goodgearguide.com.au/review/asus/transformer_book…

  • 

    djones145 on 29/06/2015 - 07:45

    Interesting product. The review was 2 years ago, so hopefully they have improved and this is a new model!

    • 

      dr_ rusko on 29/06/2015 - 23:52

      I dont think the link I posted is to a newer model…
      I think I am going to go with the dell..with the i3 as above

• 

  dr_ rusko on 30/06/2015 - 22:27

  I feel so stupid.
  Thought the ebay say finished tonight.
  Just realised I missed out on a $160 discount… grrh.
  I guess I saved some money… thus start'th the waiting game until it is on sale… at least I know what I want now

• 

  dajackal on 30/06/2015 - 22:34

  I'm rocking a T100 but recently upgraded to a Lenovo Yoga 3 11. Core M processor with 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD and 1080p. Super light and runs decently fast. However, slightly above your budget :(

• 

  I3IGN0sE on 04/09/2015 - 10:57

  Slightly necrotic but I need this info and ozbargain tells me this is a double post on what I wanted. It's very close. Those links from jb are gone though. What should I search for on jb website to get what I want?

  • 

    illumination on 07/09/2015 - 13:56

    I've been looking at these laptops recently. The Dell Inspiron 11 3000 Series mentioned in scrimshaw's post (first comment here) is still available in some JB Hi-Fi stores (I've looked at some around Sydney CBD + Top Ryde - they were there) but it is no longer listed on the website.
    They're going for $678.30 after 15% off from $798. I think the sale ends today though.. but I do recall seeing it on Dell's eBay store for the same price, including the same 15% discount with no specified end date.

    Overall though I found it to be quite a nice device but definitely more of a laptop than a tablet. Reviews that I read say that the touchpad might have some issues. There is also the Dell Inspiron 13 7000 series which is basically the 13" version with an upgrade of CPU to i5.

    • 

      scrimshaw on 07/09/2015 - 19:11

      If your performance requirements aren't as high end there's a few other options.

      Surface 3, while being less of a laptop and more of a tablet, is a better option in terms of build quality, weight, thickness and accessories (i.e. the N-Trig Stylus). For students it's around $630 AUD

      The performance however is also not exactly notebook grade — it runs a tablet CPU and has eMMC for storage, so don't expect speed. You also can't throw in an SSD since the Surface 3 is very strictly a tablet.

      Now that SP4 is coming out the SP3 Pro might see some discounts.