Last evening I had some computer issues, so ther is no cartoon today. The good old (I mean old: some 9 years) Compaq works well again, but now I am going to buy a new one. Still just planning, but that took into a cascade:
First, I wat thinking of buying a simple netbook, the Acer Aspire 531h for instance.
It’s cheap (~100k HUF/500 $/356 Eur), small and runs long on battery.
But then why not buy something nicer?
There is the Asus S101, almost identical inside, but much thiner. But it’s a little more expensive (130k HUF/650 $/460 EUR)
But considering that this new one will be my only computer, and I will use for a long time, I was searching something more serious. A came across the Lenovo X61 Tablet. 
It’s not the newest model, but it’s a bulletprof construction and 3 years warranty with fine computing capacity and decent battery life. And I could draw the cartoons on the run. But it costs twice as much as the S101. (260k HUF/1300 $/925 EUR)
Any suggestions, recommendations, with the limits in mind?
- It must be bought in Hungary, due to the Hungarian keyboard
- The price of the X61 is the top I can afford (I hardly can justify even this price)
- I can’t wait too long for other models, becouse the VAT will be increased from 20% to 25% in the summer.
Victor – it’s a minefield. I always just assume that whatever decision I take on a computer purchase is going to be wrong a week later, and so I’ve given up trying to find the best of the best.
An article in Guardian Technology this week has some background:
Are netbooks losing their shine?
Netbooks have been the rising stars of the PC market
“But with sales slipping, and new rivals appearing, their future is looking less certain”
Frank – I know what you are talking about, you can’t be smart when it’s on buying any tech gadget. However, netbooks don’t evolved as much last year, all are the same inside.
I think I will choose between the Lenovo X61 or the Acer 6293 (which is newer, cheaper and has a built in optical drive)
My real pain is that I can’t realy try them, the shops don’t have them on stock, only on order.