Looking for a cheap, small, laptop

[LVSteve]

My wife needs a small laptop for a learning project. She wants to keep the size and weight down, so I'm thinking 14" screen weighing in at about 3 lbs. Sadly, I suspect she will be tied to Windows and Microsoft 365.

Has anybody here got recent experience of buying such a device? If so, what did you get, does it perform well, and how much did you pay?

Many thanks

 

[wood714]

I bought a little HP laptop a couple years ago to keep at my moms winter house, we used it to watch movies on until she decided to get WIFI.

Might be too small for what you need, but it's worked great.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09F8ZVXJ5?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1

 

[oldbrownhat]

FWIW this Wirecutter article might be useful. At Mac prices you'll be looking at Windows (maybe not an issue for most?) but you might not be tied to Office 365. Libre Office and Open Office are both open-source programs that have the same suites as 365.

 

[soFlaNative]

I've been using ASUS VivoBook for a couple years.
Hums right along.

 

[pawngal]

I’m a fan of Lenovo, Think Pad or Idea Pad. My 14 inch was under $300 several years ago. The company is from when IBM sold off their personal computer business.

 

[oldbrownhat]

I’m a fan of Lenovo, Think Pad or Idea Pad. My 14 inch was under $300 several years ago. The company is from when IBM sold off their personal computer business.

Did yours have that nice IBM keyboard from (I think) Selectric typewriter days? I'm a Mac guy but I had a Thinkpad T410 as well and I think it had that keyboard.

 

[DWalt]

Many places sell used reconditioned laptops at very reasonable prices with guarantees. Try eBay and Best Buy. Last year I bought a very nice condition HP 17” laptop with Windows 11 and all tricked out with everything I will ever need including a 1 TB SSD for $300 with a 6 month guarantee from a local computer dealer who works with many local businesses and takes in and refurbs and sells used computers. So far no problems with mine after nearly a year.

 

[STCM(SW)]

I did the same thing

 

[mikerjf]

$34 used Thinkpad from Ebay, worked great. Just make sure the screen looks ok, and maybe be prepared to replace the battery if battery-use is important (not to me).

When my previous Thinkpad’s screen died, I bought a HP monitor from a pawn shop for $15 and got by with that. Even removed the screen unit off the Thinkpad, so it was more convenient.

 

[nll401]

I have had good experiences buying refurbished Dell Laditude laptops directly from Dell refurbished. I always get the Grade A ones as they generally spend all their time on a desk. Dell regularly sends out discount coupons of 40-48% off. The Latitude is their “business grade” so a bit better built than the Inspiron line. Also, keep an eye on techbargains.com for deals.

 

[glowe]

If you have a PC, buy the same operating system as that for your laptop. Invaluable in being able to easily connect both to transfer files and images. Also, try to avoid Windows 365. It is the biggest racket out there., only advantage is a constant stream of income for Microsoft! I have always ordered standard Windows office suite and never needed to upgrade before I needed to buy a new computer. A free option is Apache Open Office.

 

[DWalt]

If you have a PC, buy the same operating system as that for your laptop. Invaluable in being able to easily connect both to transfer files and images. Also, try to avoid Windows 365. It is the biggest racket out there., only advantage is a constant stream of income for Microsoft! I have always ordered standard Windows office suite and never needed to upgrade before I needed to buy a new computer. A free option is Apache Open Office.

I have always used a free 2003 version of Microsoft Office on all of my computers. It does everything I need to do and there is no way I am falling for the Microsoft 365 scam. As noted there are also several free download alternative clones to MS Office that work just as well.

 

[DWalt]

$34 used Thinkpad from Ebay, worked great. Just make sure the screen looks ok, and maybe be prepared to replace the battery if battery-use is important (not to me).

When my previous Thinkpad’s screen died, I bought a HP monitor from a pawn shop for $15 and got by with that. Even removed the screen unit off the Thinkpad, so it was more convenient.

Same here with one of my laptops with a bad screen. I recently got a very good 21” Dell color monitor at Goodwill for $10. Local Goodwill always has a half-dozen used monitors. Foolish to ever buy a new monitor anywhere else. Amazing the stuff you see at Goodwill, and it constantly changes. Like a large garage sale. Always ask what the half-price price sticker color is. Local Goodwill used to have a lot of laptops and desktops, but no longer. I guess they no longer accept them. Laptop battery replacement, if needed, is usually fairly simple. Lots of how-to videos on YouTube if you need help. Get batteries from E*Trade.

 

[Tom S.]

Here ya go!

 

[jeffrefrig]

I bought my refurbed I Pad for a fraction of the cost of the new ones and it has no issues at all. I also bought my daughter one and my grandson a real nice camera. (I guess it was a nice camera?) Just go to that thing at the top of your computer and punch in "refurbed laptops".
I need a new knee...hmmm.

 

[oldbrownhat]

I have had good experiences buying refurbished Dell Laditude laptops directly from Dell refurbished. I always get the Grade A ones as they generally spend all their time on a desk. Dell regularly sends out discount coupons of 40-48% off. The Latitude is their “business grade” so a bit better built than the Inspiron line. Also, keep an eye on techbargains.com for deals.

I got a refurb. Latitude 7400 when my older Lenovo finally died. Mine won't run W11 but that's not a concern for me. Well-made machine.

 

[DWalt]

I bought my refurbed I Pad for a fraction of the cost of the new ones and it has no issues at all. I also bought my daughter one and my grandson a real nice camera. (I guess it was a nice camera?) Just go to that thing at the top of your computer and punch in "refurbed laptops".
I need a new knee...hmmm.

Wife and I last fall each bought new-old stock (a couple of versions old) but unused in-the-box iPads off eBay for about 1/3rd the price of newest versions. They have worked fine so far, do everything we need and then some.

 

[oldbrownhat]

Here ya go!

View attachment 758285

And still being made! The brand is now owned by a Canadian (!!!!) company, Spin Master Toys. $24.99 on Amazon. Connectivity is a bit limited, however. I recall reading somewhere that they replaced the aluminum powder with something else, presumably in case some toddler found out that it is a component in thermite and burned the house down.

 

[AJ]

I am using an old, old HP Pavilion laptop to type this. It will not update to Windows 11. My youngest Grandson told my wife that I needed a new laptop. So they went to Best Buy and bought me a new HP laptop with Windows 11 for $399.00.

 

[oldbrownhat]

Wife and I last fall each bought new-old stock (a couple of versions old) but unused in-the-box iPads off eBay for about 1/3rd the price of newest versions. They have worked fine so far, do everything we need and then some.

If you can get one at a good price, as you did, they're pretty capable, and they come with Apple's equivs. to MS Office ("Pages" being the equiv. to MS Word.) I know a few people who use them as their only computer. One limitation, common to almost all Mac products, is that you can't plug in external storage, and battery replacement. (iFxit may have kits for this, as they do for my MB Air, but I haven't checked.)

And, as they say, "There's an app for that" for many things the inbuilt OS won't do. (One of my favorites is ReSIZER for resizing pictures, which I use on my iPhone quite regularly.)