Update 27July16: The prices of some of these netbooks have been knocked back further, now starting from a low £71.99!
Argos have recently reduced the prices of their refurb netbooks - these used to be priced at £119 upwards, but many have been reduced recently to (from) £89.99 delivered with a full 1 year warranty. for anyone considering buying one. Two of these have been posted individually (only one is now available) but I thought it's worth posting the bunch together for comparison purposes and given that many more have now been reduced. **I have given due credit to these posters below**
Obviously refurbs are not for everybody but in my personal experience, having purchased at least 5 of these over the past 4 years starting with the older Atom D5XX/10 inch screen combos, Argos's refurbs have in most cases appeared new with little or no cosmetic or other blemishes, and when I needed a repair on one it was handled very expeditiously (a hard disk replacement).
The bulk of these come with an Intel Atom Quad-core Processor (Atom z3735f, BayTrail-T Platform, 4W TDP), a dual core Celeron N2840 (Silvermont platform, BayTrail-M, 7.5W TDP), or the newer dual core Celeron N3050 (Braswell platform, 6W TDP) coupled to an almost universal 2GB RAM (usually soldered and non-upgradeable with a few rare exceptions) and a soldered 32GB eMMC NAND Flash chip serving 'hard disk' duties. The latter is not user-upgradeable. Most run Windows 8.1 with a free update to Win 10 on offer until MS closes the window in July. Some do run out of the box with Windows 10. There are also two Chromebooks in the sale, as well as a few convertibles. All come with a microSD or SD card slot for expandable storage, at least two USB2 slots and the odd USB3, HDMI out and RJ45 LAN ports in some cases.
I started with the Acer ES1-131 (Celeron N3050, Windows 8.1, priced at £89.99) having rather high hopes for the newer Celeron Braswell platform, but found this quite slow for basics like Chrome and the build quality was really poor. Unusually, this actually has upgradeable RAM via an SODIMM slot, but I returned it (Argos ebay have a painless return process) for a Lenovo Ideapad 100S (Atom z3735f) and so far am very impressed by the speed (can have 5-6 Chrome windows + Spotify and YouTube open without lag), weight (under 1kg), battery life (7-8 hours) , keyboard (it's chiclet with decent travel) and build quality (it's plastic, but premium plastic compared to the Acer). It's a keeper and I use it every day when I'm not at my desktop, even bringing it to the office as it's feather light and I don't feel the weight in my briefcase.
These netbooks will not replace your 'proper' laptops or desktops, but if your requirements centre around MS Office, Social Media, YouTube, Spotify and you need something portable with a decent battery and a watertight 1 year warranty at a low price, you could do worse. For full reviews on most of these, try www.notebookcheck.net, a German review site which I must say is very comprehensive in their unbiased reviews.
Here are some of the options you have in the sale for under £100 delivered:
Acer Aspire ES1- 131 £89.99: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Acer-Aspire-ES1-131-Intel-11-6-Inch-2GB-32GB-Windows-8-1-Laptop-Black-/361527561621
(posted by DatAlbino at £81.99 previously, but this deal has expired)
Toshiba Click Mini 8.9 £89.99: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Toshiba-Click-Mini-8-9-Inch-Intel-1-33Ghz-32GB-2-in-1-Detachable-Laptop-White-/331823321067
HP Chromebook 11.6 £99.99: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HP-Chromebook-11-6-Inch-Intel-2-16GHz-2GB-16GB-ChromeOS-Chromebook-Silver-/351699264422
Top comments
hcc27
7 Jun 163#8
Yeah I'd think so. IMHO a quad core Atom from this list appeared significantly faster than a dual core Celeron N3050, but I don't think either will struggle with mission planner. The good thing about these net books is that they weigh between 1-1.3kg and are small and light enough to fit in a small rucksack without your feeling the weight or the bulk, compared to a full sized laptop.
hcc27
6 Jun 163#5
Hmm not really. It certainly won't rival a Core I5 ultrabook with 8GB RAM but it's 89 quid delivered and more than usable for browsing and many other things. I'm typing this on my Ideapad 100S, and as demonstrated by Lon Seidman on YouTube this little baby can play minecraft at 30-40FPS apart from being more than usable for browsing, 1080p YouTube playback and Office - see his full video review here:
You pays more, you obviously gets more but this lot is mostly 89 quid with a year's warranty.
All comments (26)
hcc27
6 Jun 16#1
Thanks niceroundpound, so much easier with clickable links :-)
Rob_B
6 Jun 16#2
I've had 3735f with 2gb on a tablet driving a 7 inch screen and performance was unbearable, this was for basic Internet usage, just a warning.
hcc27
6 Jun 16#3
I agree. I have this problem with an Asus tablet using the same processor as well. This processor is capable of operating at clock speeds between 1.33-1.83 GHz, quite a large margin. Tablet manufacturers tend to use aggressive throttling to reduce the thermal footprint as well as to gain a battery life advantage - in laptops, throttling tends to be more conservative. On the IdeaPad 100S which I now have, I can have around 5 Chrome tabs open while playing a YouTube video without the laptop coming to a halt. Not so on the Asus tablet with the same processor, albeit with 1GB RAM.
absulute2012
6 Jun 16#4
Does anyone really want these?
these will be atrocious even for basic web use.
hcc27
6 Jun 163#5
Hmm not really. It certainly won't rival a Core I5 ultrabook with 8GB RAM but it's 89 quid delivered and more than usable for browsing and many other things. I'm typing this on my Ideapad 100S, and as demonstrated by Lon Seidman on YouTube this little baby can play minecraft at 30-40FPS apart from being more than usable for browsing, 1080p YouTube playback and Office - see his full video review here:
You pays more, you obviously gets more but this lot is mostly 89 quid with a year's warranty.
happydeals
6 Jun 16#6
Thanks
jaydeeuk1
6 Jun 16#7
Nice, should all run mission planner just fine
hcc27
7 Jun 163#8
Yeah I'd think so. IMHO a quad core Atom from this list appeared significantly faster than a dual core Celeron N3050, but I don't think either will struggle with mission planner. The good thing about these net books is that they weigh between 1-1.3kg and are small and light enough to fit in a small rucksack without your feeling the weight or the bulk, compared to a full sized laptop.
timarli
7 Jun 161#9
I seriously think companies should be fined for wasting valuable resources for useless junk that goes into landfill.
Thomablue
7 Jun 162#10
Don't be so hard on yourself.
timarli
7 Jun 16#11
Please don't bother responding if all you got is an insult!
What I mean is; there has to be a certain quality standard in computer/tablet/phone industry. The market is full of low quality gadgets sold everywhere. Most of these stuff end up in the bin which is not right. As far as I remember only around 30-35% of computers/tablets etc are recycled and it's not difficult to guess where the remaining 70% is going.
Look at the stuff listed here - most of them can't even open a webpage with some flash animations etc without 1min waiting time. Yes, they have hard disks big enough to save 4 HQ movies but memory not enough to play them...
I think all electronics should have:
- minimum standards depending on the date's technology/requirements
- an absolute shelf life after which the manufacturer has to recall and recycle
(sorry OP, nothing to do with your intention or the effort - thanks for that)
hcc27
7 Jun 162#12
Yes but if all you have is 90 quid to spend on your computer, and it runs Office fine, YouTube fine, with maybe a little wait for a complex Flash page to open in Chrome, would you just go without a PC for 2 years to save up for the ultrabook in your dreams, or buy one today that does the minimum you want?
If you can post a laptop with better specs with a one year warranty for £90, please do so - the community will be thankful.
I really don't have an issue with my IdeaPad 100S. It boots up from cold to Windows 10 in 7 seconds, takes 5 seconds to open the NY Times front page, a few seconds less to open the BBC page, fully opens a 12,000 row Excel sheet with multiple macros in 8seconds. Plays 1080p YouTube videos fine. Battery lasts 7-8 hours, I use it all the time during my commute and at office to keep Spotify running and only charge it at night. I use it to learn Python on the commute, do homework on Coursera while on the train via my mobile hotspot. I use it all the time I'm away from my desktop. I have a 128GB microSD card on it (thankful to another poster here), so the 32GB MMC capacity is not relevant to me. My entire ebook library (about 12GB) and music library (>40GB) sits with me and I have tons of capacity to spare. There's absolutely no lag in accessing these from the fast microSD card (including a 6GB BR rip of a movie I had using VLC).
It would be lovely if all of us could afford Ferraris, but for the vast majority a Vauxhall Astra does the job fine.
wild_quinine
7 Jun 16#13
Of course posting that comment on a deal for *refurbished* netbooks makes you look a bit silly.
Balfington
7 Jun 16#14
I've had a couple of Argos refurb laptops. I can't say I was very pleased with them. They did work fine but I couldn't see much in the way refurbing. Both had scratches and dents.
happydeals
7 Jun 16#15
Well said :stuck_out_tongue:
Oliba
12 Jun 16#16
Could You provide a link to this microsd card please?
Also can You tell me if the speakers works fine? I mean are u annoyed that they are placed under the laptop so the music for example is going through the surface?
As for sound, this will be subjective. The laptop does have two speakers so you get stereo, however as you say they are placed on the underside and firing down means there is some muffling of the sound. However, they are quite loud.
littlesheepy
17 Jun 16#18
For my next Open uni module I'm thinking of taking a IT course, which requires a Windows laptop due to the software used. I currently use a MacBook Air so need to consider a laptop solely for the course.
The requirements for the course are -
The screen size should be at least 1024 (H) x 768 (W) pixels and be able to run Windows 7 or later and various software, mainly audacity and avisynth.
Ideally I don't want a snail paced laptop but also understandably want to spend much either!
Would one of these do? Any suggestions of what to buy/avoid?
I don't mind buying a cheap SSD to bung in there too if it'd be of benefit and possible to do so, particularly if the laptop is less than £100 to buy. I noticed the Lenovo 100s seems a favourite...
Any advice most appreciated, thanks :smiley:
tonymcg
18 Jun 16#19
Thanks OP, just ordered the IdeaPad 100s to keep at work for browsing at lunch time
tonymcg
20 Jun 16#20
Got it today, far better than what I was expecting
Martinwmg
20 Jun 16#21
How is it condition of the items?
tonymcg to Martinwmg
20 Jun 16#22
My one is like brand new, in the original box - though putting the charger bit of the plug on was difficult
Got it all set up, miles better than my previous samsung NC110 - its actually useable for what I need it for
Martinwmg
22 Jun 161#23
I have bought it as well due to your recommendation tonymcg :smiley: !
Any idea for the case/bag?
Best Regards
tonymcg
23 Jun 16#24
I hope now it lives up to your expectations! I still had my belkin bag from my nc110 - got it off ebay a while back
Martinwmg
23 Jun 16#25
Just received it - brand new item! Many thanks!
claire7519
20 Aug 16#26
Would the Lenovo be any good for my 8 year old daughter to you tube and play her fav games on Roblox, think you have to download this and it's a pretty big?
![Fresh Breakfast Meat Box (Using code) @ Campbells Meat [Haggis / Lorne Sausage / Bacon / Black Pudding & More]](/images/topics/208684_1.jpg)
![[Xbox One] Q. u. b. e: Director's Cut on Deals with Gold](/images/topics/208716_1.jpg)
Opening post
Argos have recently reduced the prices of their refurb netbooks - these used to be priced at £119 upwards, but many have been reduced recently to (from) £89.99 delivered with a full 1 year warranty. for anyone considering buying one. Two of these have been posted individually (only one is now available) but I thought it's worth posting the bunch together for comparison purposes and given that many more have now been reduced. **I have given due credit to these posters below**
Obviously refurbs are not for everybody but in my personal experience, having purchased at least 5 of these over the past 4 years starting with the older Atom D5XX/10 inch screen combos, Argos's refurbs have in most cases appeared new with little or no cosmetic or other blemishes, and when I needed a repair on one it was handled very expeditiously (a hard disk replacement).
The bulk of these come with an Intel Atom Quad-core Processor (Atom z3735f, BayTrail-T Platform, 4W TDP), a dual core Celeron N2840 (Silvermont platform, BayTrail-M, 7.5W TDP), or the newer dual core Celeron N3050 (Braswell platform, 6W TDP) coupled to an almost universal 2GB RAM (usually soldered and non-upgradeable with a few rare exceptions) and a soldered 32GB eMMC NAND Flash chip serving 'hard disk' duties. The latter is not user-upgradeable. Most run Windows 8.1 with a free update to Win 10 on offer until MS closes the window in July. Some do run out of the box with Windows 10. There are also two Chromebooks in the sale, as well as a few convertibles. All come with a microSD or SD card slot for expandable storage, at least two USB2 slots and the odd USB3, HDMI out and RJ45 LAN ports in some cases.
I started with the Acer ES1-131 (Celeron N3050, Windows 8.1, priced at £89.99) having rather high hopes for the newer Celeron Braswell platform, but found this quite slow for basics like Chrome and the build quality was really poor. Unusually, this actually has upgradeable RAM via an SODIMM slot, but I returned it (Argos ebay have a painless return process) for a Lenovo Ideapad 100S (Atom z3735f) and so far am very impressed by the speed (can have 5-6 Chrome windows + Spotify and YouTube open without lag), weight (under 1kg), battery life (7-8 hours) , keyboard (it's chiclet with decent travel) and build quality (it's plastic, but premium plastic compared to the Acer). It's a keeper and I use it every day when I'm not at my desktop, even bringing it to the office as it's feather light and I don't feel the weight in my briefcase.
These netbooks will not replace your 'proper' laptops or desktops, but if your requirements centre around MS Office, Social Media, YouTube, Spotify and you need something portable with a decent battery and a watertight 1 year warranty at a low price, you could do worse. For full reviews on most of these, try www.notebookcheck.net, a German review site which I must say is very comprehensive in their unbiased reviews.
Here are some of the options you have in the sale for under £100 delivered:
Lenovo IdeaPad 100S £89.99: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lenovo-IdeaPad-100S-11-6-Inch-Intel1-83-Ghz-2GB-32GB-Windows-8-Laptop-White-/351712896881
Lenovo Miix 10.1 £89.99: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lenovo-Miix-10-1-Inch-Intel-Atom-1-33Ghz-2GB-32GB-2-in-1-Windows-Laptop-Black-/351713541355
(posted previously by spitfire51)
Acer Aspire Switch 10.1 £89.99 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Acer-Aspire-Switch-10-1-Inch-1-33GHz-2GB-32GB-2-in-1-Windows-8-1-Laptop-Pink-/361417522015
Lenovo S21E-20 £89.99 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lenovo-S21E-20-11-6-Inch-Intel-2-16GHz-2GB-32GB-Windows-8-Laptop-Silver-/361417522102
Acer Aspire ES1- 131 £89.99: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Acer-Aspire-ES1-131-Intel-11-6-Inch-2GB-32GB-Windows-8-1-Laptop-Black-/361527561621
(posted by DatAlbino at £81.99 previously, but this deal has expired)
Toshiba Click Mini 8.9 £89.99: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Toshiba-Click-Mini-8-9-Inch-Intel-1-33Ghz-32GB-2-in-1-Detachable-Laptop-White-/331823321067
Acer V3-112P Pink Touch Screen £99: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Acer-V3-112P-11-6-Inch-Intel-2-16GHz-2GB-32GB-Windows-8-Touch-Laptop-Pink-/361428435729
HP Stream 11 Pink £99.99: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HP-Stream-11-D009NA-11-6-Inch-2-16-MHz-32GB-2GB-Windows-8-Flash-HD-Magenta-/361428433068
HP Stream 11 Blue £99.99: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HP-Stream-11-D000NA-11-6-Inch-Intel-2-16GHz-2GB-32GB-Windows-8-1-Notebook-Blue-/361405175792
Acer V3- 112P Touch Screen £99.99 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Acer-V3-112P-11-6-Inch-Intel-2-6GHz-2GB-32GB-Windows-8-Touch-Laptop-Silver-/361417522077
HP Chromebook 11.6 £99.99: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HP-Chromebook-11-6-Inch-Intel-2-16GHz-2GB-16GB-ChromeOS-Chromebook-Silver-/351699264422
Top comments
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Gsf6jcfHWE
You pays more, you obviously gets more but this lot is mostly 89 quid with a year's warranty.
All comments (26)
these will be atrocious even for basic web use.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Gsf6jcfHWE
You pays more, you obviously gets more but this lot is mostly 89 quid with a year's warranty.
What I mean is; there has to be a certain quality standard in computer/tablet/phone industry. The market is full of low quality gadgets sold everywhere. Most of these stuff end up in the bin which is not right. As far as I remember only around 30-35% of computers/tablets etc are recycled and it's not difficult to guess where the remaining 70% is going.
Look at the stuff listed here - most of them can't even open a webpage with some flash animations etc without 1min waiting time. Yes, they have hard disks big enough to save 4 HQ movies but memory not enough to play them...
I think all electronics should have:
- minimum standards depending on the date's technology/requirements
- an absolute shelf life after which the manufacturer has to recall and recycle
(sorry OP, nothing to do with your intention or the effort - thanks for that)
If you can post a laptop with better specs with a one year warranty for £90, please do so - the community will be thankful.
I really don't have an issue with my IdeaPad 100S. It boots up from cold to Windows 10 in 7 seconds, takes 5 seconds to open the NY Times front page, a few seconds less to open the BBC page, fully opens a 12,000 row Excel sheet with multiple macros in 8seconds. Plays 1080p YouTube videos fine. Battery lasts 7-8 hours, I use it all the time during my commute and at office to keep Spotify running and only charge it at night. I use it to learn Python on the commute, do homework on Coursera while on the train via my mobile hotspot. I use it all the time I'm away from my desktop. I have a 128GB microSD card on it (thankful to another poster here), so the 32GB MMC capacity is not relevant to me. My entire ebook library (about 12GB) and music library (>40GB) sits with me and I have tons of capacity to spare. There's absolutely no lag in accessing these from the fast microSD card (including a 6GB BR rip of a movie I had using VLC).
It would be lovely if all of us could afford Ferraris, but for the vast majority a Vauxhall Astra does the job fine.
Also can You tell me if the speakers works fine? I mean are u annoyed that they are placed under the laptop so the music for example is going through the surface?
I've got 119GB available. Haven't formally tested read and write speeds but I can play back 3GB+ BR rips from it without stutter.
As for sound, this will be subjective. The laptop does have two speakers so you get stereo, however as you say they are placed on the underside and firing down means there is some muffling of the sound. However, they are quite loud.
The requirements for the course are -
The screen size should be at least 1024 (H) x 768 (W) pixels and be able to run Windows 7 or later and various software, mainly audacity and avisynth.
Ideally I don't want a snail paced laptop but also understandably want to spend much either!
Would one of these do? Any suggestions of what to buy/avoid?
I don't mind buying a cheap SSD to bung in there too if it'd be of benefit and possible to do so, particularly if the laptop is less than £100 to buy. I noticed the Lenovo 100s seems a favourite...
Any advice most appreciated, thanks :smiley:
Got it all set up, miles better than my previous samsung NC110 - its actually useable for what I need it for
Any idea for the case/bag?
Best Regards