[sumitinhongkong]

Hi

I m coming to Hong Kong and I wanna buy a laptop small yet powerful
suggest me which one to buy ..specs shud be

1. 12 '' monitor
2. Intel Pentium M 1.73 Mhz
3. 512 MB DDR2 RAM
4. DVD writer
5. Motherboard Intel 915 GM
6. Dedicated graphics card for gaming

Please also tell the price and location of shop.

many many thanks
Sumit

[goofrider]

Just hit one of the computer malls in town and find one.

• Golden Computer Arcade / Golden Shopping Centre / New Golden Computer Centre - Sham Shui Po
  (The first one has 2 floors, the 2nd one is upstairs of the first one but you have to go outside to get upstairs, the 3rd one is a block away and specializes in used items)
  
• Wan Chai Computer Centre - Wan Chai
  (easiest to find)
• 298 Computer Zone - Wan Chai
• Mongkok Computer Centre - Mongkok

You should be able to find them on the maps located in the respective MTR stations.


I've seen a Benq 12" widescreen subnotebook (with optical drive) for about $6000 HKD. A Sony or ThinkPad would probly be $10000 HKD or more. You can also find laptops at the local electronics chains like Fortress, Broadway, Citicall, etc. Go to Sai Yueng Choi St in Mongkok, you'll find them within the few blocks between Argyle St and Dundas St. There are like 2 Citicalls on the same block and 3 Broadways on another.

Whatever you do, stay away from the tourist traps in Tsim Sha Tsui!!!

Here are some basic rules when shopping for electronics in HK.

• Never buy anything without a price tag on display. Quite a few stores @ the computer malls have no prices on display, but personally why waste your time on them when there are plenty of other places to shop @ where they have price tags? If you do shop there, do so AYOR.
• No goods and/or no receipt? No money. Never give them any cash or your credit card until you've gotten your item on the counter, opened, tested, and a receipt written out. This mean never give them money or credit card for "deposit" while they go to the "warehouse" to pick up your item. This is the classic deposit scam. Leave when you hear it. Don't waste your time. As a general rule, most places with visible price tags tend to be honest merchants and you'll rarely run into scammers if you follow the first rule. The chain stores are safe too.
• Always haggle. You can always try to talk them down. Even the prices @ chain stores are negotiable. Even if you can't talk the price down by much, try to get them to throw in some accessories for free.
• Ask them about warranties. Some stores sell "parallel imports" or "gray market goods". Basically they're usually Japanese-branded goods intended to be sold in Japan only, with a Japan-only domestic warranty. Store owners here buy them in Akihabara. They're genuine products, just without a worldwide warranty. They're uncommon for laptops though, more comon for new video game consoles/handhelds and cellphones.
• Do your research. If you find something you like, it's best to sit on it for a couple days, and go home get some info about it on line. You can avoid a lot of counterfeit goods and knock-offs. (I've never seen a knock-off laptops, but have seen many many knock-off Sony earphones and iPod nanos).
• If it's too good to be true, it probably is.

If shopping around isn't your thing. Get a laptop form Dell HK. Their 12" subnotebook starts @ $7000 HKD.

http://dell.com.hk/

[jimbo]

I'd avoid Benq if you can, I have a joybook 6000 which is the 12 inch widescreen and the hard drive failed on me twice in a year.

I'm using this as a desktop now as I just don't trust going out with it as both times the hd failed after transit.