Question:
$500 laptop (give or take)
1) What size notebook would you prefer?
Ultra portable to thin and light
2) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?
Mostly surfing the web and watching movies
3) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk?
All over the house and on long car trips
4) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?
Nothing serious, just flash games mostly
5) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
Nada
6) How many hours of battery life do you need?
A bunch, 3+ would be great but I guess I don't mind 2 or so.
7) What is your budget?
Around $500 but I could probaly go as high as $700 (but I really don't want to)
8) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person?
Not at all
9) What country are you buying this in?
USA
Screen Specifics
10) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?
Too many choices, I don't care too much about resolution as long as it beats atari. But I intend to watch a lot of movies so a good picture is pretty inportant.
11) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?
I'm pretty sure I don't want a shiny screen. That new screen guard thing on laptops? Really don't want it.
Build Quality and Design
12) Are the notebook’s looks and stylishness important to you?
No but I don't want random things poking out of it. Don't ask.
13) How long do you want this laptop to last?
That question implies that I would want to replace it for some reason.
Notebook Components
14) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 120GB?
40-80 GB
15) Do you need a DVD, DVD-CD/RW or DVD-R drive?
HECK YEAH
Don't care about the company, it just needs to play DVD's and have a decent internal wi-fi thingy. With a very long battery life.
I never really liked gaming on my old laptop and this is all else I used it for. Just carrying around the house and watching DVD's during long car trips. Hence the need for small size and a good battery life. Plus, the wi-fi card poking out of the side of my old laptop was more than a little annoying so an internal card is very good.
Answer:
Re: $500 laptop (give or take)
I think an older ThinkPad, such as a T21 or T23 should do well.
Answer:
Re: $500 laptop (give or take)
eBay would be a decent place to look, there are some good deals to be had on there if you find a reputable seller.
A used Thinkpad as noted by coriolis is an idea worth considering - the build quality on that would be much better than any new $500 notebook.
If you want a new notebook, then your best option is probably the Compaq V2000Z. OfficeDepot and CompUSA sometimes have great weekend deals, keep your eyes open. ;)
Answer:
Re: $500 laptop (give or take)
Got my V2000 for 450 from best buy great for internet and DVDs but brightview is a must.
Answer:
Re: $500 laptop (give or take)
ThinkPads don't have touchpads if that is an issue. I'd lean more towards the T23 as it supports 1GB of memory as opposed to the 512 on the T22 and below. There are other good used notebooks as well if you would like a touchpad.
Answer:
Re: $500 laptop (give or take)
I don't think his budget would allow for more than 512 megs of ram, but then again, thats all he really needs. I would also recommend a V2000Z with a Sempron processor, great budget notebook.
Answer:
Re: $500 laptop (give or take)
13) How long do you want this laptop to last?
That question implies that I would want to replace it for some reason.
Of course it does, you don't actually plan on keeping this thing forever. Hell, I wouldn't even dream of keeping a computer for more than 3 years. I find it hard using 1 year old technology.
Don't become one of those ignorant people coming into stores expecting a huge selection of PC100/133 SD-RAM.