I need to distribute upfront that I'm not highly technologically advanced. I know what basic features that I need in a product and I am pretty good about researching and finding them for the best price. My son insured that he needed a sleek, lightweight, fast running dependent laptop on which he could surf the web, download music and games, do his homework, email, IM and take notes.
I believed that although I was willing to oblige him this request, I could not justify spending more than a couple hundred dollars (or less hopefully) on a laptop that he might lose or break in no time at all. After spending hours researching cheap dependable laptop and notebook computers on the web, what I came up with was the Dell Latitude C610 model. We both could agree on this model because it suited both of our needs.
The Latitude C610 is sleek and very lightweight (under six pounds) and the battery last a whopping full four and one half (4 1/2) hours on one charge. (Even my new, expensive laptop can not compare there). The Latitude has an Intel Pentium III 750 MHz processor with 256 MB memory. This makes it a pretty quick machine. The keyboard is roomy but very quiet. The unit includes both a pointing stick and a touchpad, which is pretty rare in this class of computer. This little laptop surfs the web very quickly and does not get bogged down or slow even though he downloads tons of music and games on it. It has a CD drive for his games also.
The best part about the laptop to me was that it us well under $ 200. I got a model with a few extras for about $ 185. It's a really nice laptop which I often use on business trips because it is so portable. My son thinks it's the bomb and does not like the lend it out.
If you're looking for a loaded, functional but cheap laptop for a kid, college student, or business trips on which you can work, download music and video, surf the web, IM, email and play games, give the Dell Latitude C610 a look. You may agree with us and be glad you did.