Device advice from those in the know

[MarioPandio]

Edit: If this belongs in off topic or other consoles pls shift it mods


Hi all, wondering if I can pick some brains of gadget lovers who´ve no doubt owned it all


Basially my wife wishes to pick up a device for our 6yr old sons next birthday thats on the horizon. He´s aspergic and pretty hot with games (at 4 he could finish both monkeyball games in a single sitting), math, language and general use of the web.


So were looking for a device he can surf with, play flash based games, and install and utilise for educational apps and future school work with, as he´s kinda pen phobic (took a DS and stylus to get him to write), as his mind sees perfect fonts and images that he cant re_create himself to the exacting degree. Hence he can rattle away typing but has writers block with a piece of paper.


My Pandora lust meant I held off on other gadgets and whilst the Pandora will be a very very versatile device soon enough, for now my wife would like something that can run windows based programs and cheap edutainment/games sold in UK supermarkets, basic office apps, ebooks, the web and flash games etc.


Any ideas of the ideal device or form factor?


As I dont know a netbook/notebook/tablet from my elbow.


That way we can get our laptop back and he can develop his skills at his leisure from his siblings. He doesnt need it to be carried about outside the home for now but a smaller form factor than a laptop would be about right. Whats the pros n cons of diff types and whats good models worth considering?


Any input appreciated, even criticism of parenting

 

[Prometheus]

It sounds to me like a netbook (basically, a mini-laptop ) running Windows XP or suchlike would quite possibly be ideal, here.


I've had a few of them, and whilst they were a bit too big for what I wanted them for, I did have good experiences with one of them. I've owned a first-edition 4GB EeePC (which was appalling in many ways - the UnionFS setup was so broken that applying the official updates would render the machine unbootable, and *almost nothing* would fit on its 800x480 screen including many of the built-in applications - people who complain about this occasionally happening on the Pandora have no idea how good things actually are on the Pandora ), an Acer Aspire One, and an HP Mini-Note 2133. I had the Linux versions of all three of these.


My personal favourite of those three was the Acer Aspire One, as it was quite sturdy, had a good centre of gravity so it sat properly on a table or on my lap (the EeePC would tip over backwards), had a really nice keyboard (in my view it was much better than the one on the HP Mini-Note, in spite of the Mini-Note's one almost being the same size as that of a full-sized laptop), had the best battery life of the three from the included battery (I wouldn't personally trust buying replacements from eBay, as you never know whether they're truly safe or not), and as it was nippy enough to do everything I needed from it, including running Flash.


I would suggest, if you can, going out to a place like Dixons or whatever they're calling it nowadays, to check out the keyboards in person - that is the number one suggestion I can give about this type of machine. Also bear in mind that netbooks need an external disc drive if you're wanting to install software from CDs or DVDs.

 

[wermy]

How much are you looking to spend? Your comments about using a stylus to write made me think of the Asus T-91 (there may be more recent models out there), which is a 9-inch netbook that has a screen that swivels around to turn into a tablet, so he could write on it and (hopefully) become more comfortable doing it (writing) that way. It is a resistive touch screen (like the DS), meaning you don't need a special pen to write on it. A quick look around on Google seems to show that a T-91 can be had for around $350 now (it came out a year or so ago). Prometheus is right, though, it sounds like a netbook is your best bet.


Edit: You can look at specs/reviews for the T-91 here: http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/asus-eee-pc-t91/4505-3121_7-33721154.html


Edit2: edited for clarity.

 

[MarioPandio]

Cheers to you both for your detailed advice. I forgot to track this topic, hence I missed your replies


Wasn't aware of typing balance of the eee but I seen it mentioned several times in reviews now but the T91 kinda took my fancy. My wifes opted for a half decent laptop for him in the end though (and snagged herself a decent one for uni into the bargain :rolleyes: ), as he doesnt need it portable and will only bust it if does carry it about. Should last him a good few years of schooling.


Thanks again