Need Cheap, Cheap CHEAP Toughbooks

Okay... I opened my mouth to family members about how many laptops I had and put out a "Who needs a laptop?" email... I got a ton of responses. Most are for kids (teens or below) that don't need mega space or speed. Can anyone suggest options? The last thing I want to do is to have to buy barebones units for cheap and then have to pony up $100 for a caddy for each. I'd like them to be W7 or W10 units... Though if I can get XP COA units... I'd be cool with that.

Suggestions would be great or if someone has something to trade you can PM me.

I didn't want to post this in the BST area as I am really looking for options and ideas at this point.

Thanks!

 

I have
A cf 52 gun with a touchscreen
I have an old Macbook with win 7 running nicely on it.
An old Macbook with osx on it.

Don't know what your price range is. The Macbooks would be probably the cheapest and they don't need a special caddy.
Macbooks will install windows 7 very easily.

 

Thanks Shawn... I need like 4-6 pretty much all the same. If kids get different ones... They fight. I love my little CF-c1... And I see some CF-c2's being sold by the lot on eBay... Just poking around.

Did I read somewhere someone bought a bunch of Netbook type Toughbooks?

 

I have been happy with the last of the CF-T8 models, but they still suffer from the hinge crack one ones that were abused. Are you wanting i3/i5 models up or a good old core 2 duo model will work?

 

the C1 units are very workable .
as a basic machine , there is nothing really wrong with them except for two things :
battery availability
the damnable roundy mousepad

the C2 units are pretty nice all the way around ... all things taken into account .
the batteries , while being more available than those for the C1 , are still nonetheless pricey .
the price of a C2 is on average , higher than a C1 (about 200 clams versus 50-100 bucks) .

a '30 might be the best bet ; cheap enough and plenty of them (just like the girls of my younger days) .
the batteries are more available at a more reasonable price (relatively speaking) .
the caveat with these is the number of hours on the cclfs that makes the display dim and the color temperature/response (CRI) absolutely the pits .
(the ccfls can be replaced ... they are cheap on sleazebay or at alimcgraw express)

the '31 is pricey ... unless you get a lot of them on an auction and no one else really bids on them .
but , if they come without batteries , caddies and a hdd ... yer screwed (like some other models) .

another potential problem that might happen is that even if all the comps are the same model with the same os with the same sized hdd ...
the cosmetics : "how come mine has a 1/4" scratch on the corner of the lcd and his doesn't ?" .

 

ya know ...
maybe the easy out on this is to get a bunch of those 'droid based pads .
the prices on them are pretty low ...
cheesebay and ali have tons of them .
i would not get one with less than 'droid 5.xx on it .

something i just thought of ...
with the TB stuff , you most likely will be married to it for tech support and repair .

 

The netbook is a Panasonic 3E. Otherwise known as an Intel Classmate 3

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LOT-OF-15-1...973325?hash=item33d6acaf0d:g:jCwAAOSwp-RZcMXc

 

here are some H1's that are complete.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Panasonic-T...302914?hash=item237a7461c2:g:ZO0AAOSwgmJX0GO4

Cf19 fixer uppers

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Panasonic-T...197515?hash=item212dac748b:g:hFoAAOSwBt5ZNrdn

 

Yeah... I need a keyboard and Windows based.... The C1-C2 looks good but still a little pricey for something I am going to be giving away.

I have a bunch of CF-30s... But not enough caddies. Plus I am not sure about a 10 year old lugging around a 10 pound laptop... though I am sure the boys would love it... And they would be pretty much indestructible.

 

The Mk3 up 19 has LED screen so that could be a option as well. That would cut the weight in half. Just no DVD drive.

 

"Plus I am not sure about a 10 year old lugging around a 10 pound laptop..."
and the girls would probably want something with *my little pony* on it .

i feel that because of the diversity of the age groups/personalities/sexes/ school requirements and such , that there will be no single best answer .
the C1 might be the over all cheapest and best compromise solution ...
battery availability and roundy mouse pad notwithstanding .
the C2 has better availability of batteries and such ... but still has the caddy issue of many other of the CF line .

i dunno ...
teenagers (or even 11-12 years old) might be more hung up on the "hip , slick and cool" factor that those pads and phones that their peers have .
however , if these are more for academic requirements , then a pad type might not be the best solution .
simplifying it a bit :
supply the comps for academic endeavors ...
allow the kids (and their parents) to supply/be responsible for the pads and phones that will best suit them and their perceived needs .*
this is throwing dirt into the bottom of the hole you are standing in .

* pad type comps and phones are a PITA to repair and also have a high incidence of broken glass .
the survivability of a (say) a C2 is much higher , save for the flippy/rotate feature .
if you are going to be married to something , make it something that is easier to repair .
a flip/convertible type might not be the best way to go .

 

"Okay... I opened my mouth ..."
heh , that is something that i am sure most all of us here have done at least once in our lives .
(mea culpa)
long ago at an AA meeting , i heard a fellow say that he didn't just stick his foot in his mouth ... he swapped feet .
yeah ... *something* about the similarities ...

 

The CF-19 MKIII with the core2 duo runs W-10 very well, they seen to be plentiful and cheap on fleabay.

 

Since you want Windows and all the same go for a lot of 3e's as Shawn linked.
They can be a tablet or laptop and are sturdy....
Possibly more than business rugged.
That link works out to less than $100 each and everyone will have the same.


Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

Just a matter of whether or not you want 15 of them. I wonder if a group purchase might be in order? I wouldn't mind one. How bout everybody else?

 

i'd go for one ...
lemme check with a couple of friends .

 

Yessir! I found one on eBay and bought it to check out. If it works well for what I need I might go this route or give them 4 different types of Toughbook and let them fight it out... It's what kids do anyway!

 

What are the battery(s) part numbers for the Panasonic 3E ?