Ok, I'm an old fart now

[ThingsGottaChange]

I am sooo not up on the I-pads, I-pods, I-poos, I-pokes, etc. If I just want something portable to surf, shop and maybe play some casual games, what do I want? I don't need any extra office stuff. And, of course, I don't want to spend a crapload of money, either. But, I don't want bottom of the barrel either.

So, what type of device would I want? Thanks in advance!

[ProgressiveProfessor]

1. Do you want it to be connected away from Wifi?

[ThingsGottaChange]

6. If I did, what would I need? thx n/t

[Phillip McCleod]

2. i'm liking chromebooks right now.

especially since i still love my laptop.. there's just no eliminating a keyboard for some of us who learned to touch type before we learned to thumb text.

[ThingsGottaChange]

7. Ooooh, keyboard!

That would be a must have. Forgot about that. I'm a mouser and that will be a tough one!

[ohheckyeah]

3. One of the least expensive ways to go is the Kindle Fire 8.9" tablet

http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Fire-HD-9-inch/dp/B008GFRE5A/ref=sr_tr_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1365639552&sr=1-3&keywords=kindle

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008GFRBBW/ref=kindle_dp_comp

I don't have the Kindle Fire but love my Kindle Keyboard for reading. The Kindle Fire is designed to surf the web and do the things you are talking about at a much lower price than the iPad.

You can also check out the Samsung Chromebook:

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-XE303C12-A01US-Chromebook-Wi-Fi-11-6-Inch/dp/B009LL9VDG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1365639681&sr=8-1&keywords=chromebook

I don't know anything about them but some people seem to like them.

You'll need to pay more for the 3G or 4G versions if you don't have WiFi or want to use it where there is no WiFi available.

[ThingsGottaChange]

8. Chromebook looks very nice

I can choose either 3G or WiFi. Can you explain those two to me? Is WiFi where I need to stay close to home (we have it here) or happen upon a hotspot? And is 3G so I can get internet anywhere? Am I close? Thx!

[ohheckyeah]

12. That's correct.

If you get the 3G you should be able to connect anywhere at any time......much like a cell phone.

[demosincebirth]

13. Would that connection (anywhere) cost extra? sorry to butt in.

[ohheckyeah]

14. No.

You pay more for the 3 or 4G functionality when you purchase the tablet so it's just a one shot deal. It's actually a pretty good deal when you think about how much cell phones charge monthly for data plans.

[demosincebirth]

15. Thanks.

[ohheckyeah]

16. You're welcome.

My mom has a Kindle with 3G and never has connection problems.

[steve2470]

4. ThinkPad T60 Notebook with Docking Station

ThinkPad T60 Notebook with Docking Station Intel Pentium dual-core 2.00GHz 14.1" 2GB Memory 60GB HDD Combo

REFURBISHED

$219.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834312522

Maybe this might work for you ? It's rated well.

[ThingsGottaChange]

9. I love Newegg!

Got a nice Acer desktop there just over a year ago. Among other things. The ThinkPad also looks good. How much confidence do you have in refurbished products? It's certainly a great price. Lenovo is IBM, isn't it? Thx!

[steve2470]

11. refurbs can be good, I bought a refurb laptop from Newegg that still works fine

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenovo

Info about Lenovo above.

[Glassunion]

5. Hire a 7th grader.

They are cheap, if they break the recovery is pretty quick, if you hate it you can trade in with no penalty, though they can be awkward and smelly at times as puberty beta version 1.01a cannot be uninstalled.

[ThingsGottaChange]

10. I'm just gonna leave this one alone. . . . . .

[truedelphi]

17. As an offical old fart myself (female variety)

I often think the government should issue every older person a seventh grader.

I really haven't gotten along well in the cyber world since my son left for college, in the early Nineties.

Without his guidance on stuff, I became stupid overnight.

[jrandom421]

18. The heck with that

I've been eyeball deep in technology of different sort for over four decades. I still astound seventh graders with what I can do at a command prompt, and through things like VBscript and Powershell.

[steve2470]

19. what did you finally buy ? just curious nt

[ThingsGottaChange]

20. Nothing yet, I'm afraid

Now it's time for Cold From Hell, family illness, restraining from killing idiot I live with and kitties to vet. I'll keep you posted.....

[steve2470]

21. thanks nt