Deal of the Day - 3/5/11

Hello All,

Apple has announced the iPad 2, debuting March 11th, and has started selling the original iPad, refurbished, from their store for $349.00.  This is $150 off the original price, and $50 off the new, lowered price, of the first model.  If you want an iPad this is the way to go.  If you buy refurbished from Apple you get a full one year warranty, and it looks new, the only difference is that the packaging is a plain brown box, not the pretty box the iPad usually comes in.

The only reason not to buy one of these refurbished iPads is because you want a new iPad 2.  Here is a quick run down of the changes to the new iPad 2.

• Faster processor - 2 A5 chips, the original iPad has one
• Dual cameras for FaceTime and recording video and snapping pictures
• Slimmer and lighter, with a better shape and new back cover material

I had an iPad for my old job and had to turn it back in.  Surprisingly I do not miss it as much as I thought I would.  It is cool, but for me it was only really a reading device (blogs, Facebook, email, web) and a music player.  I do not like the touch keyboard so I would not do any really work on it.  It was great as a game machine as well, but I did not use it for that very often.  Do not misunderstand me, I think the iPad is a great idea, and I used mine daily, it is just not completely there yet.  Maybe the new processor will make it more versatile, but for most people I imagine a decent Netbook would be more useful to them, and save them some green.  One last rumor floating around out there, to make you think twice about the iPad 2.  Rumor has it that the iPad 3 will be out this fall, in time for Christmas.  It will have the same incredible display on the iPhone 4, just in the larger size.  That would really be something.  Comparing the iPhone 3GS to the 4's screen is like bringing a picture into focus, it is that big of a change.  That would be a worth while upgrade, and worth waiting for, but as I said it is just a rumor.

You can find all the refurbished iPads here.

One last thing that I am thinking of doing, is trying a Color Nook out as my iPad like device.  Here is why

• It is only $250 - brand new
• It is easily hackable to make it into an Android tablet
• You can use microSD cards to increase the storage capacity

The downsides to this plan are 

• The nook is only a 7" screen vs a 9.7" on the iPad
• The battery life is not as good as the iPad
• The processor is not as fast as the iPad
• The Android marketplace is not as developed as the App Store

The real question is $250 and the downsides a better deal than $350 with known quantities.  This I have not yet determined.

Later,

John

Deal of the Day - 8/29/10

Hello All,

Woot is selling 10.1" netbooks with Windows 7 for $204.99 shipped to your door.  These are refurbished models and there are five different netbooks to choose from.  This is not a shockingly good deal, but it is a solid deal.

I would pick the Gateway from this group as it has the best processor and chipset combination, it is the only one that is 64-bit and that is a big deal, and it has a largish battery.

You can find them all here, the Gateway is the last model in the listing.

If you want to compare to what I would suggest new, you can find that model here.  The Toshiba NB255-N245.  It is $280 at Amazon and is a very solid little machine.

Later,

John

Deal of the Day - 11/22/09

Hello All,

Target has a great price on an Acer netbook. They are selling the Acer Aspire One 10.1" netbook in blue for $199. This is $90 off the usual price for this machine.

The only negatives for this machine are the small battery, so giving only around 4 hours of battery life, and it is an Acer. On the plus side it is very inexpensive. $200 for a new netbook is very inexpensive.

You can find reviews here and here.

You can find it here.

Deal of the Day - 8/17/09

Hello All,

Woot is again selling an EEEPC, but this time it is brand spanking new, and it is cheaper than before. Woot is selling the 900, with 1GB of ram, and a 4GB solid state drive, for 169.99. Use coupon code ONEBAG for free shipping.

I like the EEEPC, but the keyboard is too small for me. If I were to get a netbook I would get a Dell Mini9 or Mini10. If you are in the market but do not think the EEEPC is for you, wait a bit. The Mini9 goes on sale fairly regularly, and the Mini10 is due for a sale soon.

Find this deal here.

Later,

John

Deal of the Day #4 - 7/24/09

Hello All,

Dell is once again selling the highly rated Mini 9 netbook for $199. This price is good until the morning of 7/27/09, and includes just the basic machine with ubuntu installed on it.

NOTE: The discount is not reflected until you click the customize button.

Although this does not sound awesome, sources close to me tell me it is easy to make it into a super cheap MacBook Air.

You can find this deal here.

Later,

John

Deal of the Day - 7/9/09

Hello All,

Woot has two netbook deals today. At the main woot site they are selling a 10.1" Acer Aspire One netbook for 264.99 shipped to your door. This is not a great deal, as you can get a brand new one shipped to your door from buy.com for about $50 more. I guess it is $50 though, tough call.

Woot here

Buy here

The sister site sellout.woot is selling an Asus EEEPC for 174.99 shipped to your door. This is a brand new netbook which is a plus but it is only a 8.9" lcd which is a minus. Overall this one is slightly less appealing to me, but I do not see the appeal of a tiny screen anyway unless it is for your kids or something.

You can find this deal here.

As an adult I would buy the Dell Mini 10. I would buy this because you can install Mac OS X on it very easily, albeit questionable legally. I prefer my full sized laptop though, and do not think it is worth it to get something that small. Different strokes for different folks though.

Later,

John

Deal of the Day #2 - 6/8/09

Hello All,

Woot is selling a EEE PC 900 for 174.99 shipped to your door. It is brand new with Linux on it and it has the SSD (solid state) hard drive in it. This is the original netbook and one of the most popular.

You can find it here.

Later,

John

Deal of the Day - 3/24/09

Hello All,

The Dell Inspiron Mini 9 is on sale for $199 once again. This is a Linux netbook with great battery life and small size.

You can find this deal here.

I wrote a bit more on the unit the last time it was on sale, you can find that here.

Thanks,

John

Deal of the Day - 2/16/09

Hello All,

Today only Dell is selling it's Inspiron MINI 9 netbook for $199. This is a really small laptop with great battery life but is only really good for taking notes, browsing the web, and email.

You can find a review here.

You can purchase a unit here.

Later,

John