Laptop under $500 USD

[moxnix]

Here you go:

Wal-Mart unveils cut-price laptop under $500

Updated 09:09am (Mla time) Dec 21, 2004
Agence France-Presse



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NEW YORK, New York, United States of America -- The world's biggest retailer Wal- Mart is offering price-conscious US consumers the cheapest laptop on the market, priced at just 498 dollars, in a move described by some analysts as a "significant milestone."

The Balance notebook, armed with a 41.1-inch LCD screen, a 1.0 GHz processor, and 128 MB RAM of memory, comes equipped with the Linux-based operating system Linspire.

It hits the shelves loaded with a Microsoft-file compatible office suite and users can access the Internet with both a dial-up modem and broadband connections.

Its price tag undercuts rival laptops on the market by several hundred dollars, with others offering starting prices around 700 dollars.

The result of a joint initiative between Wal-Mart and Linspire, Inc., a Delaware-based corporation, Linspire said in a statement that the portable computer "is the lowest-priced laptop currently on the market to include a complete operating system and office suite."

"Comparable machines cost hundreds
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more even without an office suite or software included," it said.

"It is certainly interesting, without Windows you can more easily bring the price down. Five hundred dollars for a notebook, I think it's a significant milestone," said Charles Smulders, an analyst with Gartner, the technology research group.

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[Negative]

Consumer Reports of December 2004 features a Wal-Mart $585 laptop (ECS Elitegroup A535). The conclusion: it's remarkable only for its price:
- lackluster performance
- no CD or DVD burner
- mouse buttons that require more than a pound of pressure to activate
- noisy fan that doesn't cool the computer's innards fully

Bottom line:
It's no bargain

Maybe the one in this article is a little better than the one tested. I'd never recommend it to anyone, though - better spend $300 extra for a top-rated one...

[CXGJarrod]

Do they have discounts if you sell your soul to Satan?

[whatthe]

The Balance notebook, armed with a 41.1-inch LCD screen,

41.1"......That's a damn big screen

[dspeidel]

How heavy is it? I've had laptops that way 7-8 LB and those that weigh 4.5 LB. I would never buy one heavier then 4.5 LB going forward.

Further reading 128 MBs of ram in todays world? I wonder how many suckers they got. I have trouble imagining Joe Public using a Linux based laptop -won't they be surprised.

Merry Christmas,
-D