Inne meenee mini mo (laptop...)

[#1]

Anyone have any experience of the meenee MNB737 laptop being sold on eBay and Amazon and a couple of other places ?
It's relatively cheap (~£225 on Amazon) but reading between the lines I get the impression it's a bit fragile and poorly made and a number have failed soon after being purchased.  Apart from the price i'm attracted to it as it comes with Ubuntu 11.04 installed.
Lots of refurbished ones on eBay selling for almost the new price...

[#2]

Quote

Product Description Great value - affordable style, ergonomic and stylish design Processor: Intel Atom N455 Operating System installed: Ubuntu Memory: 2 GB Display: 13.3 inch Graphics: Intel Integrated Camera: 0.3 MP Hard Drive: 320 GB SATA Wireless LAN: 802.11b.g/N compliant Bluetooth, VGA to HDMI, Headphone-out, Mic-in, Internal Mic, 3 x USB 2.0, 3 in 1 Card Reader (SD, SDHC, MMC), DC-in Password: meenee Battery: 6 Cell Lithium ion Weight: 1.2 Kg Warranty: 1 Year RTB

So it's a large Netbook; Intel Atom processor and no DVD drive.  I have not seen one myself.  You could buy a smaller Netbook, with Windows, from a well-known manufacturer, and with longer battery life for about the same price so I don't see this as a huge bargain.

[#3]

Thanks for that.
The screen size appeals to me as I have recently become partially blind.  I don't however want a laptop with a big screen, I already have a couple of table top machines with big screens.
Is the Atom processor a bit slow?  Maybe running Ubuntu helps ?  I have no experience of this CPU, it does seem to be used in a few netbooks.
I was a bit concerned about the battery life and I did read somewhere that machines running Ubuntu tend to be heavier on batteries, don't really understand this as presumably if it's more CPU-intensive this would give slower speeds ?
Incidentally there's a review of it here:-
http://www.eteknix.com/reviews/notebooks/clausoft-meenee-laptop/
but mostly above my head...

[#4]

Yes, the Atom processor is designed for low power consumption but this makes it slower than a conventional computer processor.

[#5]

I'd be more tempted towards a refurbished IBM X61s from eBay. Much more CPU performance, probably better battery life, good build quality and decent screens and keyboards.

[#6]

You could get a new laptop (with a larger screen) for not that much more money; unfortunately you would be lumbered with a load of Windows software.

[#7]

Thanks for all your input.
I've decided to kick the Meenee into touch.  I was partly attracted to it as it had Ubuntu installed but realistically it's easy enough to download a copy off the 'net.  I think the hype got to me but maybe it's not the best thing to go for...
I downloaded Ubuntu 11.04 today and burnt it to a CD and have been trying it out on a couple of machines.  I did try it out before but quickly abandoned it as I found it very awkward to use compared with Windows. 
That should raise a few hackles I'm sure !!! 
Seriously I'm going to give it a longer try this time and see if I can get to know it a bit better and make a more sensible comparison.
Interesting that it appeared to run OK on a Toshiba laptop, connecting to the 'net automatically.  On a couple of desktops the vertical row of icons on the left was missing and the wi fi would not connect...
Maybe need to start a new thread...
Incidentally the Meenee is £225 on Amazon with free P&P.  The manufacturer (well importer I presume) is selling them on eBay and they are going for up to £185 inc P&P - that's £40 less.  I suspect that some people buying them don't realise they are refurbished customer returns and for another £40 they could get a new one...

[#8]

The latest version of Ubuntu is 11.10 - but it is not noticeably different to 11.04.
However, the current Long term support version (10.04) is much easier to use and a Windows user would find it much easier to use, although this is not a long term solution.
In my opinion, any of those Ubuntu's with Unity (the left hand bar of buttons) are totally unusable.
You might also like to try Mint 11 (Mint 12 is a bit bleeding edge).

[#9]

Do NOT get a meenee!
Their plasticy, have refurb hdd's fitted inside (which are rubbish), and overheat like hell! - Yes, this is the Amazon ones (Clausoft Meenee) 
They also dont put in any sort of thermal paste in, which kills the netbook within 1 1/2 hours usage.

Would you not be better off getting a used laptop? A lot of people are going to sell theirs now on ebay as of xmas.

[#10]

Quote from: A

The latest version of Ubuntu is 11.10 - but it is not noticeably different to 11.04. However, the current Long term support version (10.04) is much easier to use and a Windows user would find it much easier to use, although this is not a long term solution. In my opinion, any of those Ubuntu's with Unity (the left hand bar of buttons) are totally unusable. You might also like to try Mint 11 (Mint 12 is a bit bleeding edge).

I agree that v10.04 is easy to use, however I wouldn't agree that v11.04 is unusable, just damned awkward. I disliked (dis)Unity from the beginning. I hope they soon get the problems sorted or they may have to do an XP on it (keep v10.04 LTS going a lot longer).

[#11]

They are keeping 10.04 going quite a bit longer 
5 years instead of 3 years.
I've overwritten Ubuntu with Mint 12 - which is a bit unstable, but at least it gives me a choice to swap between Gnome 3-ish desktops and and Gnome 2-ish desktops and all in the same session!