Urgent req: New (Mid range) laptop

Hi,
my mum-in laws PC died last night (was very old) but happened amist the excitement of finally receiving broadband.. very disappointing.

They have decided to finally get a laptop, which is much better suited to their needs.

Can anyone recommend a good mid-level laptop asap please. They live in rural area but will be in Cork city today and are eager to pick one up.
Primary needs for them: email, internet, skype, storage for photos and music.

If anyone knows of any good deals (Harvey Normans, PC World, Dixons etc) I would really appreciate it. Wasn't able to travel with them today due to work committments. Thanks as always!

Meant to add - budget in or around 400e

Any opinions on this:
http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/p...ext%3ER519.htm

not listed in the site but in their new catalogue, this comes with 3 year warranty , bag + mouse and 3 years AVG Total Security - specs below

• Intel Pentium dual core T4300 processor.
• 2.1GHz processor speed.
• 4GB DDR2 RAM.
• 15.6in screen size.
• Resolution 1366 x 768 pixels.
• 250GB SATA hard drive.
• Multi format dual layer drive.
• Intel GMA X4500M graphics.
• Multi card reader.
• 3 USB ports.
• Bluetooth.
• 0.3MP webcam.
• 802.11 b/g/n wireless enabled.
• Windows 7 Premium operating system installed.
• Weight 2.4kg.

Plek Trum said:

Meant to add - budget in or around 400e

Any opinions on this:
http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/p...ext%3ER519.htm

not listed in the site but in their new catalogue, this comes with 3 year warranty , bag + mouse and 3 years AVG Total Security - specs below

• Intel Pentium dual core T4300 processor.
• 2.1GHz processor speed.
• 4GB DDR2 RAM.
• 15.6in screen size.
• Resolution 1366 x 768 pixels.
• 250GB SATA hard drive.
• Multi format dual layer drive.
• Intel GMA X4500M graphics.
• Multi card reader.
• 3 USB ports.
• Bluetooth.
• 0.3MP webcam.
• 802.11 b/g/n wireless enabled.
• Windows 7 Premium operating system installed.
• Weight 2.4kg.

Click to expand...

And its 42 euro cheaper here if you live close to the 6 countys

Waaaay down south Bullworth ;-) Looks like a good deal though?

Personally I'd check out the deals in Aldi if I wanted a new laptop which was in that price range which is reliable and has good specs with a 3 year warranty included.

I got my Medion Laptop notebook in Aldi for 399 euro a few months ago with a 3 year warranty included and its perfect in every minor detail such as the keyboard and even in how it feels to use it seems better than more expensive ones and better than Dells in the same price range. The Argos laptop seems to be at the higher end of your budget. The thing about budgets is to be disciplined with them and not let them creep out of the comfort zone. All sorts of unnecessary extras can cause this to happen.

- offer was on Sunday just gone - you never know them may still have 1 or 2

cCloser to 600e though Paddyc - got to try and stick to nearer the budget!