This is a request from my girlfriend, having spent yesterday in Akiba looking for a cheap laptop, I was shocked at how hard it is to get something cheap and new. So here is the deal I need - New With word Laptop For about 4-60000 yen How hard should that be? Akiba was a total waste of time, there were no old, kinda past it models and even the used stuff was far too high spec for what we need. It felt like all the PC shops in Akiba (even tiny ones) were trying to screw travelling Gaijin over. Where oh where can I get a low spec PC? So anyone know any good shops / web sites / is it cheaper outside Tokyo? Oh and if anyone has any ideas on how to get word real cheap seperatly that would be a god send. BTW I realised in Akiba, I actually know f-all about PC. Just been using the internet and dojin games for so long I have become a baffled victorian.
Mmmm, but she really needs a guarantee. She has NEVER used a PC before and watching her hit the keys of my laptop with the force of a hammer has me worried. I said I would teach her how to use a PC, an offer I am now regretting as that is one job that is going to take a lot of work! She also wants a new one, for no real reason. + she kinda wants to buy from a store or at least a proper company from a magazine or internet site. But I might just grab her a used 3 man yen model from YJ and tell her I got it from a shop.
Don't bother with Word, just get OpenOffice.org it's the same thing (even looks the same) and it's free.
if you don't mind a bit of work, the eee PC with XP, or cheaper the eee pc with linux and crossover office. Very cheap and pretty durable
Walk away from the teaching thing. I said I'd do that w/ my then girlfriend (now wife). Lesson One: How to use the mouse (no joke). Anyway, you will be hard pressed to find new, low spec anything in Japan. It's middle and up. The shops (even internet) simply do not support the floor space to sell crap. I was shocked on my first visit to Akihabara back in 1996 I believe it was. The cheapest tape walkman I could find at the time was like 6000 yen. The next cheapest 8000 or 9000.
I just went to Hard off and bought a 5000 Yen laptop, crap low end pentium spec (300Mhz, 128MB RAM, CD-ROM) but it ran all the apps I needed (openoffice, filemaker pro) and as it was running Windows 98 it was quite quick.
Haha, I don't know ANY country where you can get a new laptop for 60,000 Yen WITHOUT Word, let alone with! I am excluding the EEEPC from that statement, as I don't consider it a laptop (it's sub-notebook). Your best bet (at least in the West) if you really want MS Word is to get one with Works Suite (NOT just Works). As a rule, PC World in the UK seem to only put that on laptops over £800 (60,000 Yen is under £300 if that gives you an idea...). Yeah, OpenOffice is an OK alternative. Exact replacement it ain't, but it is good for free. For your price (and it appears spec) requirements, definately look at buying second hand. You might get lucky and find a dealer that gives a small warranty, even. If you go with a well-known brand like Sony or Toshiba, the parts are out there second hand for cheap, should anything go wrong. Some manufacturers (NOT Sony) even give away their service manuals online.
You can get easily laptops for 60000Y. Really outdated lowspec, but you can get 15,4" TFT + Windows XP + 60 / 80 GB HDD + ATI X400 / X600 or something like that for around 400 / 450 euros.
Europe is different to Japan though. Telling him what is available local to your location is not very helpful. Have you tried Dell Japan? http://www1.jp.dell.com/content/products/category.aspx/notebooks?c=jp&cs=jpdhs1&l=ja&s=dhs There is one there for Y69k, without being able to read the site I don't know what the spec is like. There is probably a lower end one for a bit cheaper too, I'm guessing. This one is Core Duo with Vista. I agree with OpenOffice - you'll save a lot of money that way.
Thanks guys! Got a great deal on a show room laptop from a big chain store in Akiba. Once I cut word out of the equation, and believe me it is hardly needed for her usage, it was easy. So check this, got a Vista 2ghz cel, DVDRW, only 512 ram, 80 gb HD, only been out for 1 year model for .................................. 50000 yen + 5 year warranty @ 2500 yen. Really chuffed with that deal. And it really looks barely used at all. Screen has no burn and no dead pixels. Got away with it, they only had 3 in store at that price, and one per customer. So good help guys, especially Tachikoma, I had no idea a solid alternative existed to ol word and excel.
