Lenovo S10e for less than €290, delivered

 

Cute. Small. Nicely built.

No, not Olga Kurylenko.

Blurb:

"Lenovo designed the IdeaPad S10e netbook as an introductory mobile PC for students in grades K-12 and as a secondary device for those in higher education. Ideal devices for connecting to the Internet for online research, students can use the netbook for sharing ideas and for conversation through email, social networking and other applications. Additionally, the Lenovo netbook provides basic functionality for word processing and light multimedia capabilities. A built-in webcam on the 10.1 inch display makes creating and sharing video messaging simple. And for a faster PC experience, the Quick Start feature allows students to quickly check email, browse the Internet, conduct video conferencing, view photos or listen to music without having to fully boot the operating system."

Facts:

• It's small
• It has a Splashtop style quick boot system
• It has a 1024 x 576 screen which is good for widescreen SD and little else
• It is very well made compared to other netbooks little notebooks
  
• It is €275.27 inc vat and €12.66 in shipping to the ROI at dabs.ie
  

Terabyte drives ahoy!

Finally, those 1TB drives are hitting the sweet spot. That's TB as in the unit of capacity, not the disease. Now if only people would ditch FAT32 for a file system that makes sense. Seriously, why should I even care about how the bits on my disk are arranged? Grumble grumble blame microsoft grumble!

scan.ie
HDT721010SLA360 - 1TB Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000.B, 3.5", SATA 3Gb/s, 7200 rpm, 16MB Cache, HDD
£72.38 + £6.99 shipping (I guess, not clear from site)

komplett.ie
Hitachi DeskStar 7K1000.B - hard drive - 1 TB - SATA-300
€79.00 + €12.50 shipping

And...

dabs.ie
Buffalo 1TB DriveStation Turbo USB2 3.5"
€92.51 + €12.66 shipping
For the record, I'm all in favour of the "naked" drives. I had a seagate 500 crash and burn on me for no particular reason other than the case was possibly a bit suspect. So from now on, I'm buying a good quality case with eSata + NAS and popping in drives as needs be. Instructions are widely available on how to do this and it is simple.

Cheap laptops at Dabs

 

So they're not brand new. So they don't have integrated webcams. But for €312.98 and €12.66 for shipping, you can have a whole lot of dual core laptop.

To that I say: more please.

Thanks to lensman.

http://www.dabs.ie/ProductView.aspx?Quicklinx=5DN9&InMerch=1

Hint: Search for refurb

Komplett Weekly Offers 29/09/2008

Samsung 22" LCD Syncmaster 226BW TCO03,1680x1050, 2ms, 3000:1

€ 234.99

-10%

My €0.02
Hmm. Good quality panel, but a little too old for my liking, with questions over colour bleed. I'd prefer the 2253BW for the same money, shipped.

D-Link DIR-655 Extreme N WirelessGigabit Router, 802.11n (draft 2.0)

€ 95.00

-21%

My €0.02
Expansys have increased the price to €136 and dabs are still not competitive at €103. Reality appears to have restored itself after the aberration in July.

Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 1TB SATA232MB 7200RPM

€ 113.00

-19%

My €0.02
Seagate? No thanks.

Sennheiser Headphones HD 515, 14-26000Hz, Cable 3m, 255g

€ 52.01

-12%

My €0.02
Yeah, whatever. Have you ever seen Ferrari sell a cheap car?

Komplett Weekly Offers 22/07/2008

K time.

OCZ nVIDIA SLI DDR2 PC6400 4096MB KIT,XTC, w/two 2048MB, CL5-4-4-15

€ 75.00

-12%

My €0.02
Hey the Yanks get this for $82, and $52 after a rebate! WHY? No fair, but that's life eh? Actually, 75 is not a bad price at all if you don't want to gamble on ebay.

Canon Pixma MX850 31/24ppm printer/copier/scanner/fax USB

€ 237.00

-3%

My €0.02
Yay, a printer. Defile the corpses of some dead trees, and get ink all over you hands to boot. As this printer goes, it is cheaper than the alternatives.

Western Digital Passport Elite 250GB Titan, USB 2.0

€ 93.00

-6%

My €0.02
Passport Elite... wtf? Oh it's a 2.5" external hard drive? Nonsensical nomenclature aside, what makes this better than this Toshiba? Or WD's own Passport Essential for that matter?

MSI Radeon HD 3870 x2 1GB OC GDDR3, PCI-E, 2xDVI-I/Tv-Out/HDCP/HDMI

€ 184.00

-29%

My €0.02
Again? Did Komplett buy all the stock of these in the country or what? Old, but still good and better value than Dabs.

Looks like a solid week for Komplett. In ither good news, the new local branch is ready to open any time now. Here's the address:

Komplett.ie
2. Unit 287, Block G
Blanchardstown Corporate Park 2
Ballycoolin
Dublin 15

GMap link

Komplett Weekly Offers 15/09/2008

Where have I been? Deutschland! The Germans say hi, by the way. Oh, and you you know those mini satellite boxes that come in the aldi/lidl travel kits here? They cost about €30-€40 in Saturn (a retail chain like dixons or currys). My brain nearly imploded. Anyway, on to the Komplett!

Samsung SpinPoint T166 500GB SATA2 16MB 7200RPM

€ 51.00

-7%

My €0.02
Did I mention that I'm sick of the sight of 500GB drives? Yes, I think I did. Cheaper than dabs but with postage blah blah blah NEXT!

Western Digital My Book2 HomeEdition 1TB, USB 2.0, eSata, Firewire

€ 148.00

-12%

My €0.02
Huzzah! Now take out the unnecessary Firewire and make it cheaper.

PowerColor Radeon HD 3450 256MB DDR2,PCI-Express 2.0, SCS (HeatSink), DVI-I

€ 30.00

My €0.02
Thirty bucks, eh? Why can't they do this one in AGP?

Acer One A110 Aw Atom N270 1.6GHz 8.9"512MB 8GB NAND HDD Wifi Linux Blue

€ 289.00

-10%

My €0.02
Walk into any PC World and pick this up for €269.

Tchuss!

Komplett Weekly Offers 08/09/2008

Acer 24" Wide AL2423WD, Silver/Black,2500:1, VGA/DVI(HDCP), 1920x1200, 5ms

€ 335.00

My €0.02
Hmm. Weren't you selling a BenQ 24" for €319 a few weeks ago, komplett? Two weeks ago if I'm not mistaken. Has there been a monitor famine in the meantime?

Nintendo Wii bundle: Wii Sports Pack with NYKO Wireless Sensor bar

€ 274.00

-8%

My €0.02
Yay! The Wii has finally come down to a sensible price! I'm lying, of course. Why exactly would I want a third party sensor bar? And pay extra for the priviledge? Pass.

LaCie Rugged 160GB, 5400RPM, USB 2.0, Firewire

€ 99.00

-17%

My €0.02
It's rugged. Want rugged? This is rugged. I don't particularly want rugged.

Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3, P45, Socket-775,ATX, 2xGbLAN, DDR2, 2xPCI-Ex(2.0)x16

€ 97.01

-8%

My €0.02
Oh thank god, something I can actually price-match. Wow, it's cheaper than dabs!

The diNovo Edge, available to you right now

This is not a keyboard. This is a work of art.

No, really.

I quite like Logitech's stuff in general but what I really want is one of these. As I mentioned last week, I am already the owner of a diNovo Cordless Keyboard for Notebooks. Now, it's fine. It looks well, doesn't have too many superfluous buttons, is very light and doesn't eat batteries. But it doesn't impress me as much as it should. I don't feel I'm hitting a €60 piece of equipment with my fingertips when I use it. I want something a bit more solid. And rechargeable in a cradle. With Bluetooth. And LEDs.

Well, anyway, if you're on the lookout for an ubercool keyboard in a reasonably sane price-range the diNovo Edge is tough to beat. So, who is selling it and how much?

Komplett: €163.00 + €12.50 = €175.50

Expansys: €144.99 + €23.90 = €168.89

Atom: €145.97 + €10.50 = €156.47

Dabs: €133.53 + €13.50 = €147.03

Wait a second, who are Atom? And how are they cheaper than expansys and komplett? One to watch methinks. They've earned an entry in the tag cloud.

Komplett Weekly Offers 26/08/2008

Weekly offer time!

Razer Copperhead Tempest Blue, 2000dpi Laser Mouse, USB

€ 49.01

-9%

My €0.02

Seems to be a normal to good price. I prefer the logitech models myself, speaking as a proud MX Air owner. Well, not proud. Happy.

Logitech diNovo Media Desktop Laser,Ultra-thin, Bluetooth 2.0, US-Layout

€ 139.00

-5%

My €0.02

I have the Notebook version of this. I really wanted the Bluetooth version but wasn't willing to spend over €200 on a glorified keyboard and mouse. The diNovo Edge on the other hand...

Canon Pixma MP610

€ 129.00
-0%

My €0.02

Cheaper than pixmania at €145.96 and dabs at €133.49.

BenQ 24" G2400W, Black, 1920x1200,5ms, 1000:1, VGA/DVI/HDMI

€ 319.00

-5%

My €0.02

I've actually been considering 24" monitors myself lately. I think this one has been around for about 1 year already. I'd love to review it... hint, hint!

It's Terabyte time!

Yes, it's getting to the point where the terabyte external drives are coming in at below €120. Roll on the petabyte drives, that's what I say! In the meantime, have a look at what's on offer right now.

Komplett

Western Digital Elements 1TB
€115.00

Dabs

Seagate FreeAgent Desktop 1TB
€121.94

Pixmania
Trekstor DataStation duo 1 TB
€139.00

EH? Why isn't that in Komplett's weekly bargains? At €115 they are certainly giving the impression of being the cheapest, although when you factor in shipping it is probably the same as Dabs offering. Well, that's our measure for the time being. Laters!

Komplett Weekly Offers 18/08/2008

Another week, another quartet of deals. Or are they?

Samsung HT-THX25 Home Cinema HDMI 500W

€ 199.00

-20%

My €0.02
Not as good as this one, but €100 cheaper.

Archos 605 30 GB WiFi

€ 229.00

-8%

My €0.02
Ah, the Archos 605. What's the point of wifi if you have to buy the browser separately? As for prices, expansys are on a par while dabs are €15 cheaper.

Sennheiser Headset PC 350,10-26000 Hz, 3m cable, In-Line Volume

€ 129.00

-10%

My €0.02
Couldn't tell you. Try reading some reviews.

Creative I-Trigue 3000i, 2.1 Speakerset,incl. iPod dockingstation

€ 89.00
-10%

My €0.02
€71 at dabs.

Komplett Weekly Offers 11/08/2008

A little late but still available. Komplett me.

Samsung 20" 2032MW, TV-tuner,Widescreen, Teletext, 1000:1, 5ms, Black

€ 254.01

-7%

My €0.02
Tough call. It doesn't seem to be cheaper anywhere else but 20" in general are a good bit cheaper than 250. PC World for business sell it ex VAT for 227.

Corsair Powersupply 650W Black, ATX/EPS,120mm Fan, 8xSATA, SLI

€ 79.00

-7%

My €0.02
Looks like a good price for the TX series. Beats Dabs'.

Cooler Master Transparent side panelfor Mystique 631/632 Black

€ 24.01
-0%

My €0.02
Er, it's a transparent panel for modders. If you know what this is, you'll know it's essentially worthless but might want it anyway.

PRESTIGIO HDD External Data Safe II 2.5" 80GB SATA USB 2.0 Brown Leather

€ 39.00

-20%

My €0.02
Well, on the good side it's only forty euro.

Komplett Weekly Offers 28/07/2008

Apologies for all the delays recently, a number of factors have been conspiring to keep me from my favourite blog. I think pointing out Komplett's flaws might make me feel better!

Canon Pixma MP610

€ 129.00

-7%

My €0.02
Yup, it's a printer. Do you know how much the ink costs? The photo paper? Because that's where most of your money will go. Actually this price is pretty good as it beats dabs, peats, elara and miscellaneous.

Samsung SpinPoint F1 1TB SATA232MB 7200RPM

€ 109.00

-8%

My €0.02
Ooh, a terabyte. Nice. But Aldi have them in external casings for €120.

Acer 24" LCD P241WD Widescreen,3000:1, Silver/Black, 5ms, HDCP

€ 330.00

-5%

My €0.02
Honestly? No idea. But I don't like Acer screens at all.

HTC Touch Diamond (4GB) WWE

€ 538.99

-5%

My €0.02
Not a bad price, but not a good phone. Do yourself a favour and get an N95.

Ok Komplett, I went easy on you this time. But you better bring some deals that I can assess in a fair and impartial manner next week!