January 2009:  I have purchased a new $500 laptop –and so far, so good.

My ol’ Dell 6000 laptop, which I paid $1200 for 5 years ago, was stolen on 12.28.08. It was ready to be retired anyway. I had been using a newer desktop computer for the last two years, but really needed to “get mobile” and unleashed from my desk. As I type this, I’m sitting on the back porch.

Note: I will UPDATE this article in ONE YEAR from now.

My new $500 Gateway 7317u has a dual core 2.0ghz Intel processor with THREE(!) gigabytes of ram and a 160 gig harddrive running Vista Home Premium. Very nice screen quality and excellent keyboard for a laptop. They don’t make this particular model anymore but similar deals are to be found. Just be sure you’re getting a newer dual core Intel chip, lots of extra RAM, a decent sized harddrive (160 is good), the screen looks good, and the laptopcase/keyboard feels substantial. It also have a 5type SD slot, 3 USB ports, good speakers and a lightscribe CD/DVD burner. Yeah, I couldnt’ believe it either!  Some of the cheapie laptops they advertise are substandard machines, so beware.

At $500, I figure this thing only has to last me 2 years. That’s $20 a month, or less than a dollar a day for the convenience of portable computing. At this price, this laptop is truly ”disposable” (though of course, if it doesn’t ever break, I’ll keep using it, and then dispose of it properly at the end of its usable life).   At $500, I can also afford to have it stolen, or dropped.

This is my first Gateway …which is now owned by Acer (a decent computer company). Gateway’s used to be butt-ugly, but this thing is very nice looking…and feeling. Which to me is somewhat important.  Online tech support is offered, and I have a one-year warranty.  Yes, I like to take my chances, but I’m pretty good at figuring out problems.

Dell and HP are offering similarly priced laptops. I would never buy an HP, and I’m sure some people think they’re great. I do like Dell’s, but this Gateway beat their current offerings, especially with the 3 gigs of RAM. That’s what you have to look for: DEALS with GOOD components and configurations.

At the end of this year I’ll report on how well this laptop is holding up.

<<<<ONE YEAR LATER>>>>

February 2010 UPDATE:

In December of 2009 I purchased a new Dell Inspiron laptop with Windows 7. In needed to be able to test my company’s software on W7. I have given my one-year old $500 Gateway to my youngest daughter. She plays the SIMS on it, and uses it for Facebook. Still working great.

There were two things I didn’t like about the $500 Gateway, which I assume OTHER inexpensive laptops will also have:

1.  Cheap keyboard. Sometimes the keys would pop off due to a cuff or daughter’s bracelet, or errant hand. Also… My spacebar broke and I had to glue it back on. Not a big deal, replacement keyboards are only $20 for this laptop. However, I fixed the keys myself with some super glue.

2.  HOT!  The cooling fans weren’t the strongest, or at least, the design made it run too hot.  We had to buy a cooling pad to rest the laptop on our laps. Don’t have this problem with my new Dell, it’s very cool by comparison.

What I didn’t mention in the original post above was that I purchased TWO ADDITIONAL IDENTICAL $500 Gateways for my two college daughters at the same time I bought one for myself. I did this, in part, because their laptops were junk, and so that if they had problems, we would have the same laptops and I could help them.  A year later they still report NO problems, though the heat was a bit much. Curiously, my one daughter’s laptop runs cooler than the other two.

So, I’d say the $500 laptop experiment, so far, is a great success. All three machines are still running well a year later. I expect them to last another year, which is pretty good for a laptop that gets the kind of ABUSE which me and my 3 kids can dish out on them!  And when you consider that our daughter’s LAST computer purchased 4 years ago cost around $1300, the $500 laptop looks pretty good.