Best touch-screen laptop under $400

I'm struggling with this, been out of "the game" for far too long and have no idea what i'm looking at. I actually need help in two categories: Windows and Android.

Uses: Email, foruming, general web use, media, and if Windows, tuning ECUs. (We have a windows laptop i can borrow from SWMBO if i need to do tuning, so that's not a dealbreaker.)

Wants: Good screen, good battery life, decent performance (doesn't need to be cutting edge), plenty of RAM, or at least space to install more if necessary.

Wants (Hard mode): SSD sounds nice. I'd like one.

I really REALLY like the Android operating system, so gut feeling says i'd probably want an Android laptop first, or an Android tablet with a nice keyboard dock.

Windows laptops i've been looking at:
Asus X202E
Lenovo Ideapad S415

Hit me with ideas.

I find touchscreens on laptops to be a useless feature and make for a smudgy screen for the few times that you will use it.

I picked up a ASUS VivoBook X200CA on sale for $200 at Best Buy.

It has done everything I've asked it to. I use it as my desk top as well with a 27" screen. My only complaint is the touch pat feels a little cheap.

Just got this one:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/15-6-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i3-4gb-memory-500gb-hard-drive/4194036.p?id=1219096895948&skuId=4194036&st=categoryid$pcmcat247400050000&cp=1&lp=1

On Thursday. With the $100 trade in on an old lappy (ended April 19th, sorry) we were out the door with taxes for $320. Works fine so far and has the i3 processor, which means something... I think... maybe.

I think you're pushing your luck at that price range. I tell my customers that $400-$500 is the sweet spot for non-touchscreen machines.

You can certainly buy a cheaper machine, but the quality of the hardware is often low - I frequently see 3-year old ~$300 laptops with motherboard, hard drive or video failures, and at that point it's hardly worth spending $100+ to repair.

I tell my customers to find a quad-core machine(AMD or Intel) with the most ram they can find that's in their price range.

I can get a quad core AMD with 4gigs of ram (upgradable to 8 i believe) in my price range, with touch screen.

This boggles my mind after spending thousands of dollars on gaming PC years ago that wasn't even top of the line THEN.

Grtechguy wrote: I find touchscreens on laptops to be a useless feature and make for a smudgy screen for the few times that you will use it.

I use mine alot. It's not so low priced, but I do love the touch screen option with Windows 8.

The touchscreen "requirement" is mostly because Android is natively touch screen, and i've used a touch screen W8 laptop to tune with, and it's way more convenient in car than messing around crammed in a miata with a touchpad. Now, if i were using a 10" weaksauce netbook, then then touchpad is ok since it won't be buried somewhere in my belly button.

Bigger, and the touchscreen would enable me to have a windows laptop that's useful as an actual laptop for things besides tuning, as well as letting me use a bigger laptop while crammed in a Miata.

tuna55 wrote: With the $100 trade in on an old lappy (ended April 19th, sorry) we were out the door with taxes for $320.

Dang it! We had the perfect laptop to do that trade!

This might work a little better:

http://www.amazon.com/Hausbell-H7-Wireless-Entertainment-Keyboard/dp/B00B9996LA/ref=pd_sim_e_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=1N0K123X73T5RNH4B6ZP

or:

http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Wireless-Keyboard-Built-In-Multi-Touch/dp/B005DKZTMG

combined with a mount to hold the laptop in a good spot for viewing and you're good to go for less than a touchscreen laptop and you can use a larger/more powerful laptop to make viewing data a little easier.

Another option would be to build a CarPC solution with a generic ITX PC and a 7" touchscreen mounted in or on the dash board for a cleaner installation. You could still use the above wireless keyboard options.

Check this site out for information on CarPC solutions:

http://www.mp3car.com/

and some other ideas:

http://www.instructables.com/howto/carpc/

I have a X202E and liked it for what it is: email, browse, and Office. The screen is ok but not great. The touch is pretty good. The battery life is around 3 hours or so (enough to watch a movie on airplane). I play some RTS games on it too and they are slow but playable but it is really not a game rig.

Ignoring the Touchscreen requirement, how's the Lenovo Thinkpad T410?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834313687

Any input on these?

http://1sale.com/electronics/computers-tablets/500gb-toshiba-satelite/

http://m.ebay.com/itm?itemId=331205427060

I know the Toshiba isn't touch screen, just seems like a lot of laptop for the money.

$200 windows 8" tablet and $200 android 10" tablet?

I'm laptop shopping right now, this is my list I've got going now.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834231345
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834231660
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834216687&&nm_mc=BAC-Criteo&cm_mmc=BAC-Criteo--NewsFeed--NA-_-NA
the asus transformer 32gb I linked comes with a dock that has a 500gb SSD.

i have that exact Logitech wireless keyboard. i LOVE it. the range is crazy, something like 120FT...

-J0N

Anyone with input on the two I posted? They're both one day sales. Gotta move fast if they're good.

Looks like you missed the Toshiba, but that's no great loss - the Toshiba Satellite line kind of sucks anyways.

How about this one: http://1sale.com/electronics/computers-tablets/hp-elitebook/ I've had one as a work issued laptop, they're not bad (and would probably be a ton better without all of their enterprise junk on it).

I've been looking in the same range with much the same requirements but haven't really found THE solution. I like the looks of that ASUS with the dockable keyboard though. A lot.

ultraclyde wrote: I've been looking in the same range with much the same requirements but haven't really found THE solution. I like the looks of that ASUS with the dockable keyboard though. A lot.

That's the transformer? I have it, I like it, but the HDMI port died a few months after purchase. A neat little device, though.

szeis4cookie wrote: Looks like you missed the Toshiba, but that's no great loss - the Toshiba Satellite line kind of sucks anyways. How about this one: http://1sale.com/electronics/computers-tablets/hp-elitebook/ I've had one as a work issued laptop, they're not bad (and would probably be a ton better without all of their enterprise junk on it).

Would you take the Elitebook over the i5-equipped touchscreen Asus?

http://thewirecutter.com/leaderboard/laptops/

I have no use experience with Asus but hear they're pretty good. In this case, I'd probably take the touchscreen and Win8 over the non-touchscreen Elitebook.

That logitech keyboard has been terrible for me. I wonder if mine is the exception or the rule?

Update time! I'm looking for a set of electronics to use for my club's events, including autocross and TSD rallies.

The software I'm pretty much sold on - AXti.me - runs on a laptop and a wireless network, and the rest of the connected devices use a browser interface. I'd like to get a laptop, a netbook, and a tablet:

Laptop: Used for registration and check-in in the morning, then transitions to timing and scoring as registration closes. Hosts the software and controls the wifi.

Netbook: Used alongside the laptop at registration to provide multiple service points. As registration dies down, the laptop moves to the timing desk and the netbook stays on duty until registration is fully closed. After registration closes, the netbook moves to the scoring desk for use as cone counter and backup support.

Tablet: Used in the morning for the tech inspector to check in cars, then gets handed off to the starter / grid control for use in queuing cars.

Laptop model and cost: ??? Need recommendations here. I'd like to be around $400-500. Touchscreen would be nice, but is not required.

Netbook model and cost: I already have an older HP netbook with W7 that could work but may be too slow. Also looking at a new Asus X205 ($179-$199), which has an SSD but no touchscreen. Asus T100 looks good too but is $300-$330 including touchscreen. Other suggestions? Touchscreen would be very helpful, but is not required.

Tablet model and cost: Seems hard to go wrong with an HP Stream 7 for $79, but I'm open to suggestions.

Battery life is important, particularly for the tablet and netbook. Thanks for your input!