Budget 21-30k Need a light weight laptop / windows tablet, prefer if payment is Bajaj no-cost EMI

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kvn95ss

Level F
Hello guys!
  • What's your Budget? - >20K, not more than 45K
  • What will be your primary usage for the notebook be? - web surfing / reading, powerpoint presentation, online meetings
  • What size and weight considerations do you have? I want an ultraportable 12" or similar sized
  • Battery life - expecting at least 5-6 hours
  • Any brand that you prefer, or any brand that you detest? (No preference, but need something with decent serviceability)
  • Any other considerations? (Should have decent battery life, would prefer USB C charging, needs to have USB C with DisplayPort capabilities (Though this has become common))
  • OS - might dualboot linux and windows 10/11
Last time I asked about windows tablet, and in the end thought of buying Lenovo Ideapad duet 3i (The one with windows). However, I realized two main things -
1. The CPU, though weak, would have been enough for my usage, but its passively cooled, hence will perform even worse in South Indian climate
2. The storage is eMMC, hence the experience is bound to be even more sluggish, be it windows or linux

I also looked at Asus Vivobook Slate 13. Gorgeous display, but problem 1 plagues this device - the Pentium Silver N6000 is passively cooled. The higher end model comes with 8 GB RAM (Good enough for me) and 256GB SSD (Not the best in class, but miles ahead when compared to eMMC storage). I went to Croma and checked out the 4 GB and 128GB eMMC version. The device is horrible with that RAM. It took 3 GB RAM at idle - open few browser tabs and it plummets to upper 3.8 GB. Tried YouTube playback - it took 2-3 seconds to go full screen. However once it starts buffering, didn't notice any dropped frames unless I swapped between normal and full screen lol. The keyboard is decent, but the trackpad could have been better.

If the Vivobook came with active cooling (and maybe entry level i3 processor) I would have gladly bought it even if it was 50k, but alas thats not the case.

So right now, open for laptops as well. I saw couple Intel 12th generation i3 laptops, those start at 43k, but would prefer a Surface Pro-esque form factor. Any suggestions - even for used laptops also welcome!
 
My friend uses a Realme book (slim) and he really likes it, you should check it out too.

You can check out the redmi store too, it has a laptop with better specs and it has the payment option you are looking for although I don't personally know anyone who uses it.
 
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Light weight laptop is a very tricky thing now-a-days. Manufacturers make one with 1.7 kilo and will still tell it is "light weight".
Recently when i searched one only few models were there including one from HP and Fujitsu. They were around 1.1 kgs. Price was around 55k for them.
 
Lightweight & cheap don't go together in laptops.

Your use case is almost perfect for a good tab. With a keyboard, you can browse, consume content, and attend meetings. Get a used top-end model like S8 or iPad; if new, look at Mi Pad 5 and Samsung S6 Lite. For iPads, keep in mind that only the latest 10gen one comes with USB-C, it's ~43k, generally not worth that amount of money.

For laptops:
Consider the Mi and Redmi series. They are in your range. Not all models, though.
 
singenaadam said:
Your use case is almost perfect for a good tab. With a keyboard, you can browse, consume content, and attend meetings. Get a used top-end model like S8 or iPad; if new, look at Mi Pad 5 and Samsung S6 Lite. For iPads, keep in mind that only the latest 10gen one comes with USB-C, it's ~43k, generally not worth that amount of money.
Click to expand...
I already have an iPad Mini 5 (which I've put on sale lol). The display feels cramped (Admittedly, it was originally bought for my mom, who didn't like iPad's big display). I was about to order a lightning to HDMI / VGA cable when I saw the actual demos - it just mirrors the iPad display, with no presenter view. So a huge dealbreaker for me. I agree for media consumption its amazing, but its not my main usage. (Stagemanager would have been helpful, but that is supported only with M1 iPad.)

My LG G8x supports HDMI out, and TBH works surprisingly well, but feels like its running at 30 fps all the time . It too doesn't have a presenter view in Powerpoint, so giving presentations is a pain, and I can't use my phone as it'll be tethered to the display. Unrelated, - using the phone with display reminded me of the time I attended a College fest, where I wasn't told before hand that I need a ppt to accompany my topic. I quickly made a ppt in nokia E63, with images + transitions and all, transferred it into a computer and then presented. I ended up being a runner up lol.
DEVRAJ BARIA said:
Light weight laptop is a very tricky thing now-a-days. Manufacturers make one with 1.7 kilo and will still tell it is "light weight".
Recently when i searched one only few models were there including one from HP and Fujitsu. They were around 1.1 kgs. Price was around 55k for them.
Click to expand...
Yes, I saw the Fujitsu, but its just out of my budget right now. Theres a fujitsu model which weights ~900 gm! The true gram I suppose
 
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I'm really tempted with Fujitsu, its light + packs decent specs. It also comes with 2 years warranty, which is good, but not able to find many reviews on the customer service. Anyone has any experience with Fujitsu?

Also, anyone who has experience with refurbished laptops from Amazon? Just curious.
 
So, checked a few refurbished laptops in Amazon, and this one in particular caught my eye - https://www.amazon.in/dp/B09YYVP6SJ

It's Lenovo Thinkpad 13, with i5 7th gen, 16 GB RAM and 512GB SSD. The i5 should be decent for my uses, but Notebookcheck told the build quality isn't that premium. Is this a good choice?
Any thought guys...
Guys?
 
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I am not suggesting against refurbished products. But you can have at least 1-2 year warranty with a new 35-40k laptop which will have almost same specs as the one you mentioned, unless you are going strictly for a specific model and can't find it as a new one.
 
kvn95ss said:
So, checked a few refurbished laptops in Amazon, and this one in particular caught my eye - https://www.amazon.in/dp/B09YYVP6SJ

It's Lenovo Thinkpad 13, with i5 7th gen, 16 GB RAM and 512GB SSD. The i5 should be decent for my uses, but Notebookcheck told the build quality isn't that premium. Is this a good choice?
Any thought guys...
Guys?
Click to expand...
I wouldn't buy that dinosaur in 2023 (almost) for THAT price.
Also win11 is not compatible with that laptop and the listing says it comes pre-installed which basically means the seller used a requirement check bypass and that's kinda illegal to do for a business.
Please go for a 10/11th gen i3 laptop in that budget.

Don't get me wrong but it seems like you want a lot of premium features but wanna pay a sub-budget category price which is why you're having trouble finding anything good.
 
kvn95ss said:
Then would something this be okay -

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Sure. Or this with similar specs minus no fingerprint login:
www.flipkart.com

MSI Modern 14 Ryzen 5 Hexa Core 5500U - (8 GB/512 GB SSD/Windows 11 Home) Modern 14 B5M-242IN Thin and Light Laptop Rs.61990 Price in India - Buy MSI Modern 14 Ryzen 5 Hexa Core 5500U - (8 GB/512 GB SSD/Windows 11 Home) Modern 14 B5M-242IN Thin and

Buy MSI Modern 14 Ryzen 5 Hexa Core 5500U - (8 GB/512 GB SSD/Windows 11 Home) Modern 14 B5M-242IN Thin and Light Laptop Online For Rs.61990 , Also get MSI Modern 14 Ryzen 5 Hexa Core 5500U - (8 GB/512 GB SSD/Windows 11 Home) Modern 14 B5M-242IN Thin and Light Laptop Specifications & Features...
www.flipkart.com www.flipkart.com

Edit: sorry posted wrong laptop link. link corrected. Flipkart doesn't do bajaj finserv though.
 
I have a seller on OLX who's selling Dell 5290 (i5 8th gen, 8 GB ram, 256 GB SSd + keyboard cover). Thing is, it's in warranty till Sep 2023. The guy has used it for ~3 years and has recently replaced the battery. Checked the service tag, the warranty is real.

He's asking 38k though.
 
How about this laptop - https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0B2WPL4CN it does cost 50k though. In my local croma I can buy it with bajaj EMI by paying 17k downpayment (this includes 2 years warranty), ~6k payment for 3 months then ~4.5k for 5 months, basically 50k for laptop + 8.5k for 2 years extended warranty.

Why I wouldn't prefer it -
Price on higher side compared to non-convertible 12th gen i3
Only decent to use in tablet mode.

Pros -
12th gen i3, pretty good performance
Can upgrade RAM / SSD / Battery on my own
Light weight
USB C charger, so don't have to carry the charger!

There's also IdeaPad models which are cheaper (by 3k) but the build quality of Dell felt far superior to me. IdeaPad models with 11th gen i3 cost 37k, so 13k cheaper. The lenovo is ~200 grams heavier, but in a A/B switch I could easily tell the Dell was lighter.

Are there any other alternatives? I'm upping my budget to 50k now lol. If only Surface Go came with a better CPU, would've already got that already lol.
 
Think I"ll buy the Inspiron, decent performance, kinda future proof and not that bad. Reviews mention the display as lacklustre (~250 nites, and their unit had only 60% sRGB coverage) but should be decent for my usage.
 
I am using MSI Modern 14 and it works like a charm. Superb build quality and 2 years of warranty for peace of mind. Battery backup is also pretty impressive.

IMG.jpeg
 
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