Notebooks

[pauldotcom]

A friend won a Notebook - doesn't want it, prepared to offload to me for $1000. I know nothing about Notebooks. (My friend is reputable BTW)

She emailed me with the following info which means nothing to me:

"The model number is Z62FP
It appears to be a “MiTac Smartbook” notebook; (with Intel Centrino Duo mobil technology)
from Build to Order Notebooks., but I think it's ASUS, not sure.
It does not have any logos on it."

"It's very fancy., and lots of software with it."

Does anyone know anything about this sort of Notebook? Is there anything else I should ask about it to determine whether I should buy?

I am going overseas soon for a lengthy period so I was considering purchasing one ...

Help please!

Paul

[anandasim]

Going overseas, the number one priority for me is repair and warranty. With name brand notebooks new, selling for sometimes AUD 800 to AUD 1000, typically HP/Compaq, Acer/Benq, Dell, I would be less inclined to go for the second tier of makers - ASUS, Mitac, Twinhead. They may or may not have established repair depots overseas and maybe only in one city.

Unless of course, you got the notebook for AUD 500. Maybe.

[pauldotcom]

Forgot to add that the package has a retail value of $1800 - she reckons it is a good buy - but she is a country hick (!!!!)

So is the general consensus that at $1k - it is a risk given I am off o/s - correct?

Do these things breakdown as a matter of course? Aren't they easily enough repaired by any reputable service depot?

Paul

[anandasim]

Forgot to add that the package has a retail value of $1800 - she reckons it is a good buy - but she is a country hick (!!!!)

It's not the cost of her notebook. I'm not saying it isn't good or it isn't worth the money. What I'm saying is if it breaks down and it is not a famous brand name with established repair centres, you will have trouble getting it repaired.

So is the general consensus that at $1k - it is a risk given I am off o/s - correct?

Life is full of risks. Nothing is for sure. Her notebook could very well work fine for a long, long time. In which case, your purchase price of 1k will get you a 1.8k machine. Well and good.

What if it doesn't work fine and needs to be repaired and you can't find a repair centre that can repair it or the repair centre wants $$$ to repair it? How much out of pocket will you be compared to buying a warrantied name brand that can be repaired and repaired for free?

Do these things breakdown as a matter of course? Aren't they easily enough repaired by any reputable service depot?

If you buy what we call a "white box" desktop unit (like the ones that cw and gto recommend, any shop or even some of us could purchase the parts and repair it without trouble. These "white box" units have interchangeable parts even if we can't get the same brand or model, there will probably be another part that fits and works.

On the other hand, notebooks although some parts are generic, are generally one motherboard with no separate bits, one screen which is unique to the model, the case, hinges, keyboard are one off for that model. A simple thing like if one key is stuck, or the mouse pad doesn't work, the repair person might not have the part to replace it with.

Notebooks are portable things - your desktop unit sits on your desk for a long time. Notebooks can be put down heavily, can be carried with one hand, can be stuffed into a bag that is overflowing with other things, go with you to lunch, on the train, near food etc... - I still mourn the loss of my fav when my mobile phone slipped and fell on the screen. It may not be the notebook that fails, it may be the human's fault.

[pauldotcom]

Yeah - got the picture - potentially a good purchase but taking it overseas - doubles the risks.

Then, as I am headed to China, based in the same city on a year long contract, would I be well advised to buy a notebook locally? Because of the very nature of a laptop's portability I am not envisaging carrying the damn thing around with me all the time - I will be working in an educational environment - hence I would just need it for the apartment. Too risky from a point of view of being stolen in such an environment.

Because of the nature of school/uni appointments in China, I may shift from city to city perhaps every 1 - 2 years - so buying a desktop computer is totally impractical and not possible to bring home at a moments notice if necessary.

Sorry for the drip feed of info, never realised the implications of all this.

Further comments/suggestions welcome please!

Paul

[anandasim]

Coals to Newcastle

Check out with your Chinese contacts what brand is most prolific. I'd be surprised if Lenovo (formerly IBM) did not have a presence there.

[gto-pontiac]

looms like that model is ASUS did a quick google search and its all in chinese or most of them are in asus forums.
so its safe to say its a ASUS model of computer.
for $1000 you can get a desent laptop computer from any good computer shop.

[Stephen]

At times EBay can be a good reference point for such dilemmas

http://search.ebay.com/MiTac

I cannot see people selling brand new Mitac's of that Model.

I cannot see people selling parts

And I cannot see people selling ones they are try to get rid of....


That is a e-bay Global search so..... I would ask a few more questions and look at the advice given by other forum members here before dropping a $1000 on something that appears to be very scarce in the market place.