Anyone know what Digimate laptops are like?

NeilF

NeilF

NeilF

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I'm after a nice simple cheap laptop, and digitmate do some cheap ones... Anyone had any experience of them? They have a 2yr collect and returns warranty!
 
GuruJockStrap said:
Not familiar with the company myself so can't really comment on the build quality of the laptop and what the after sales support and warranty service is like, both of which are pretty essential when it comes to laptops.
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Well it's a toss up between buying a bigger named brand second hand, or spending a bit more (£100) for a new Digimate...
 
split said:
This is my experience of cheap laptops (repaired 2 in the last month for people)
Whens a laptop not a laptop? When the battery life is about 10 minutes.
Sure the numbers look good (2.2Ggz P4) but is it a mobile chip?

Anything non centrino guzzles juice, and runs as hot as hell, which IMO hasn't helped the 2 hard drives that I've seen fail.

As for the warranty, just make sure it's not the normal fixed within 6 weeks if you pester them.
The bit I don't understand here is "no operating system supplied"?

So basically they can say you messed it up when you installed it.

Cheap always seems to be "you get what you pay for" IME.
The screen on the two I have repaired also reflects that fact they are cheap.

As a comparison, Iv'e also been using a less than £600 Dell (and I wouldn't touch Dell desktops with a barge pole) but laptops are far better.
They are what I would consider a laptop, and can do nearly 4 hours on one charge combined with a far better screen etc etc.
Keyword here is "Centrino" if you want a laptop to do what it's supposed to do.
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Yes, it's a P4 mobile. The manual says 2.5-3hrs battery life. 1-1.5 hrs and I'll be happy.

Unfortunately I cannot justify a lot of money on a laptop. It's only used for browsing and looking at photo's etc in the lounge, so it was either a second hand one, or this one brand new. I figures this would be the better option...

ps: Regarding heat, have you seen the various laptop coolers around? ie: Sort of trays you stand them on?
 
split said:
Since you have raised the subject of laptop cooling, let me give you my thoughts on it.
If they have ventilation holes underneath (most do) then they shouldn't be placed on a soft surface that will impede the air flow.
Many people stick them on cushions or beds (even their laps) and that doesn't help.
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I think this is what killed my Toshiba!

split said:
Good luck with this laptop anyway, and I just hope it's not as poor as the cheap ones the large PC shop in the UK sells.
I know 2 people that regret not paying more money, and I have become sceptical hence my post.
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Well there's no way I could justify/afford £500+ for a laptop. So it was second-hand city, with all the worries/concerns about that, or this Digimate band new. It has a 2yr warranty which is actually a yr more than you tend to get. And 21months more than Dell's cheapest laptops!

At the end of the day laptops aren't as varied (I imagine) component wise as PCs... I suspect this digimate is using the same MB as many other laptops, and probably the same LCD panel. The harddrives and cdrom drives again are probably much the same, so it just comes down to the case, keyboard and PSU etc...

The latop arrived today so I'll be setting it up this evening :eek:
 
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Fine! But that's 50% more!

The laptop in question is a 3rd machine, used simply for browsing, emailing and looking at photo's in the lounge...

I cannot/could not justify (at the moment) large amounts of money for that :(
 
Well, so far so good!

Machine runs well... Reasonably good display and nice and quiet.

Nippy enough even with only 256meg for my needs...

One or two obvious corners cut for cost, but nothing particularly bad so far :)

Guess time will be the real judge!
 
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