Cheap Mini Laptop for Use On Board?

Does anybody know of any cheap PC laptops (preferably one of those smaller-than-normal ones, but not a pocket PC), say under $500, that has wireless and a modem (those are the two things I need for the ship, right?) on it? I don't need a CD-ROM drive, but would like a USB port.

I'd like to have it for trips, such as my cruise and the land trips I take. I don't want to bring my big laptop with me (and I especially don't want to risk it getting damaged, as it will have to be stored in the overhead bins on airplanes since I travel in bulkhead).

Thanks!

They have laptops for $350 or so. Hope this helps.

I got mine on CompUSA auction for less than $400, including shipping, maybe a little over $350 last year. It doesnt have the new operating system it has XP), but it has not only a wireless card top notch, it has a awesome ATI graphics card (in case I want to play some offline games on the ship), and turbo boost which boosts the wireless signal for 50% more range, and AMD turion 64. It is a Compaq, which is not expensive, but heck it has everything I needed to play games and be wireless I wanted.

You might check out compusa auctions. But there are probably lots of computer less than $500 these days that have everything you want. Get 1 gig of RAM if you can, it is harder to add to a laptop.

and it cost me 165. I am on it now - wireless, cd, xp pro, all the basics, nothing to fancy - but perfect for what i do. I was a govt surpluss sale and picked up a case and then found all the insides (hard drive, wirless card, ect) on ebay.

Kathy

I can't live without my laptop when we travel.........except on a cruise! I always bring it and never use it. We were on the Western Caribbean/Princess last December and they had terrible wireless connections. You had to sit in a certain spot on the ship and even then it didn't work very good. The internet cafe was down during most of the cruiuse so I just gave up. We're booked for another cruise in Dec of this year and I just decided not to bring it. We're going to Mexico and I'm going to get an international phone card to call home when we are in a port.

I always seem to stay busy enough on a cruise and don't miss it.

I left my laptop at home after my first cruise for exactly those reasons. The only reason Im bringing it next time is I booked 3 days in a hotel with a free wireless connection to stay in touch with family at home.

So, that means I will have it on my B2B for my birthday as well.

I would try tiger direct dot com. They always have good close-outs and refurbished models at great prices. Bought my mom a desktop computer from them and she has had no problems whatsoever.

Ditto for the tigerdirect dot com suggestion. I've got a lot of great deals with them. They have small laptops starting at $350.00 and refurbished name brad units for less then $500.00

good luck.

iPhone! For that and oh so much more.:D

Hi- i bought a used Dell 600M which is small- like 10 X 10 or something close to that. It had wireless built in and I bought it from someone on Ebay (make sure it is someone who has a very high rating next to their name as this relates to their reliability and the quality of the items they sell). I bought mine for around $400 and I have been very pleased. I took it on the Freedom of the Seas and the Grandeur of the seas and used it in my stateroom with no problem other than it being a little slow. (this is not because of my laptop but rather because of the slowness of the internet onboard in general if you have ever gone to the internet room to use one of the ships computers you will know what I mean about that). Hope this helps.

Robin

Thank you all for your recommendations and suggestions! I will check them all out (except eBay - I don't trust eBay enough to buy a computer, especially since I know somebody who bought some computers on there that he never got).

There are two ports I won't be getting off at, so I'll definitely have time to use a computer on my cruise. Not to mention other vacations I go on. I don't want to risk damaging my expensive laptop in the overhead bin, not to mention have yet another thing to deal with through security (it takes me long enough to get through as it is!) and in my carry-on, so I don't bring it with me when I fly places. I hate being away from my e-mail, though! :)

iPhone! For that and oh so much more.:D

I don't have Verizon, so won't be getting an iPhone.

if you want something smaller than a regular laptop -- then you are probably SOL..

is the only place you are going to use it on the cruise?

I would invest in a decent one you can use when you get home too

I don't have Verizon, so won't be getting an iPhone.

iPhone is ATT not verizon..

I don't need a CD-ROM drive

if you want something smaller than a regular laptop -- then you are probably SOL..

No, they have mini laptops nowadays. They just don't happen to sell for the price range I'm looking at. :p

So, now I'm looking into a non-Windows machine, like a PepperPad 3 (or 4 if they come out this fall) or Nokia 770 or N800. The PepperPad 3 is higher than I'd like to spend, but they say the 4, when it comes out, will hopefully be in the below-$500 range. The Nokia 770 I can get for about $135, but I hear of ppl having many problems with it, plus it is a lot smaller than the PP3. The Nokia N800 is more expensive than the 770, but less than the PP3, however I also hear of it having problems and not going to be updated and such. (I do hear of some problems with the PP3, as well.) The nice things about the Nokias is that they are so small I wouldn't have a problem packing them and taking them out for security and all, but then again the size does make for Web browsing hassles, especially with typing messages and such. (The PP3 has a button keyboard, one half on the right side and one on the left side of the front of the device.)

So, I think I'll sit and wait and think about it - and also see if the PP4 comes out this fall.

is the only place you are going to use it on the cruise?

 

I would invest in a decent one you can use when you get home too

No, I'll use it on all my non-road trips (plane trips and the cruise). I already have a real laptop that I use at home, at the office, and on road trips, in addition to my desktop computers. I just don't want to risk damaging it on a plane (in the overhead bins) or having to deal with it going through security (it already is hectic for me with all the stuff everybody deals with and what I have to deal with that most ppl don't).

iPhone is ATT not verizon..

Whichever, I still don't have it. ;)

That would be hard to find.

Yes, I know. Would lessen the price, though. Just isn't done anywhere I've found yet (unless I build my own, which I can do, since I'm a computer person, but I don't really want to).