Product Review

We have tried and tested this product. Heres our thoughts

Pleasure to use and it's gorgeous, but at what cost in other important areas ?

Orange have released the HP Compaq Mini 700 Free with there dongles, and in this upgraded model, you get lots of benefits. VIA's processor has been supplanted by Intel's Atom and partnered with Microsoft's far more netbook-friendly OS, XP Home.

Grab a hold of the Mini 700 and there are good looks a plenty finished in jet black, it boasts a slim but perfectly formed figure that rival netbooks would kill for.

The glossy lid contrasts nicely with the matte interior, and the wide, chrome hinge looks gorgeous and serves to house the Mini 700's speakers. Everything from the power button to the glossy edge-to-edge display shows an attention to detail that eludes all of the competition.

Size and weight wise, the Mini 700 has a weight of 1.15kg and small dimensions of just 261 x 167 x 25mm. It all looks and feels terribly impressive, until you notice that this all comes at the expense of one vital thing, battery life.

As a result of the tiny battery on the Mini 700's we got just over 3hrs use before it needed a recharge. We still got over 2 hours using several high end applications, suggesting whatever your need, you will get around 3 hours use per charge.

Look to the HP Compaq's specifications and an Intel Atom N270 and a single gigabyte of RAM sidle up alongside a 60GB hard disk, and Intel's GMA 950 graphics round off the package. Performance, as you'd expect, is on a par with the rest of the Atom-powered competition, so choosing this model against other Free Laptop and dongle deals will not show any clear difference.

Wireless connectivity is good to go, with 802.11bg and Bluetooth 2.1 complemented by a 10/100 Ethernet socket for when you're within reach of a network.

Whilst not our favourite part of this kit, the trackpad, it has a somewhat wide profile, with buttons on either side. An advantage to this model is an option to turn this on and off as required.

The keyboard makes amends for the trackpad, and is one of the best we have used. The wide, square keys have a positive action and comfy feel on the fingers, and with an excellent layout. A Full width Shift key and good sized Enter key make typing on the Mini 700 easy. This is the best netbook keyboard we've found

HP have tinkered with the netbook's high-resolution 1,280 x 768 pixel display, the Mini 700 opts for a 10.2in 1,024 x 600 alternative.

The image quality is nothing to write home about either: the colour seems muted, reproduction and poor contrast leave images looking washed out at times, despite the glossy finish. In its favour, though, there's no sign of graininess that you get with some of the Free Laptop screens.

Connection wise, thanks to its size, the Mini 700 doesn't leave a great deal of space for ports and connectors. There are just two USB ports, an SD/MMC card reader and a single headphone jack, which has to double as a microphone input. There's no monitor output at all and if you want a VGA output you'll have to buy an external dongle.

The Mini 700 in many ways it's an excellent netbook: the build quality is top-notch, the keyboard superb and the looks would happily grace a far more expensive machine making it's undoubtedly very good value. Against O2 and Samsungs NC10, its impossible to notice the smaller hard drive, battery life and connection ports, however you will not be disappointed.

.

Orange User Reviews

Here are some of the latest user reviews of this product / service provider

BT connection poor, disrupted service, long line issue. Orange mobile..great..a connection at a reasonable speed all the time. Happy user!
Laptop deal from Dial A Phone - Im really happy with the laptop, however I have had connection, speed and other issues with the Orange dongle paired with it.

Buyers Broadband | HP Compaq Mini 700 with mobile broadband, Free with 3Gb, and includes 150 domestic texts per month.. Buy HP Compaq Mini 700 with mobile broadband, Free with 3Gb, and includes 150 domestic texts per month. from Orange

Buyers Broadband brings you Orange Laptop Dongle Deals, with Unlimited Downloads Orange Dongles will give you mobile internet. Free Laptop Dongles from Orange offer you a free laptop, and broadband dongle. The cost of the free Orange laptop is spread over the contract period and includes a generous download allowance. Surfing the web on a free Orange laptop will let you get mobile with the internet for a great price

Best Laptop Dongle Deals

What is a laptop dongle deal ? We class it as something that provides a top specification laptop free, with a broadband dongle and a good download allowance. All dongle providers now offer a range of laptops. You can get a dongle with a free multimedia laptop, or a mini laptop, or notebook. In terms of the dongle, you get practically identical service. The networks know thsi, so with each mobile network battling to sign you up to their dongle, the laptops are getting better, and the prices are coming down. Make the most of the credit crunch, and take advantage, with a Laptop and Dongle Deal today.

So What Are Broadband Dongles

The best answer to this question would be Broadband Dongles are mobile internet. Either using a USB stick or a dongle, you will be able to connect to the internet anywhere you are and anytime you want. Simply plug your dongle into your laptop or home pc to get online. Broadband Dongles can now even power online play on a Playstation 3.

Broadband Dongles are also known as broadband dongles, USB Modem, mobile modems or wireless modems. All refer to the same small device that plugs into your laptop.

There are four key elements:

1 - Mobile Broadband data network such as O2 or Vodafone

2 - Great value tariffs

3 - Quality USB Modems and Data Cards

4 - Easy to use software

How much does a Laptop Dongle Deal cost?

Each network operator that offers a Mobile Broadband data network for your dongle, and free laptop will have set tariffs based on allowance and tenure. Most laptop dongle deals range from 3GB to 10GB worth of download allowance. There is no better time to look for a laptop dongle deal thanks to all the major uk networks that are offering attractive propostions to sign you up. Its important to remember, that whichever network operator you choose for your laptop and dongle you review the terms that are likely to apply when looking at prices for usage over the allowance.

Unlimited WiFi Options from O2

All O2 laptop dongle tariffs will also include Unlimited Wi-Fi quite simply thats high speed access via 6100 Cloud hotspots in cities and towns across the UK. Wi-Fi generally provides the fastest connection and best possible customer experience.

From early 2009, O2 has been expanding its coverage for Broadband Dongles by adding Unlimited Wi-Fi usage at BT Openzone hotspots, thats around another 3,000 hotspots to the 6000 they already operate a data service through. This means you will be able to access the internet in 3000 more places if needed.

Wi-Fi data usage is not deducted from the Mobile Broadband allowance (minimum contract required), so you should be encouraged to use it as much as possible to avoid any extra data charges on your bill.

As with everything, check the operators current terms, as Excessive usage applies to Unlimited Wi-Fi

Dongle Costs when abroad

Your monthly fee you agreed when your took out your laptop dongle deal will not increase if you move abroad, or take your laptop and dongle with you, however you should understand the reason why. That is your tariff will not include data usage abroad and will charge you a fixed fee per MB of downloads.

Before you go abroad with your laptop dongle deal, you should contact the operator and apply a data bolt on that covers usage when abroad. The operators customer service advisor will be able to advise you on cost, usage and connection instructions on the same call. Typically, the data abroad bolt on will provide a high amount of usage, for a fixed fee, and will prevent your laptop dongle costing you serious money.

Laptop Warranties

As with all products sold over the internet, you are covered by distance selling regs. This means you have a 14 day period in which to decide to keep the laptop. If a fault occurs during this time, it will be replaced with a new model. This rule applies for 28 days, after which, the laptop or dongle will be repaired under the manufacturers warranty, at no cost to yourself. If damage is outside of a fault, ie, you drop the laptop, then its unlikely this will be covered under the laptop warranty.

Taking out insurance at the point of sale is another way to protect your laptop and dongle deal. For a small monthly fee, additional damage like accidents, loss and theft will be covered, and ensure you continue to benefit from your great laptop dongle deal. Again, you should check the terms of any insurance policy on receipt

How to use this site

This site has every laptop dongle deal available from all UK networks, with broadband dongles. We like laptops so much, we also have a comparison engine of over 5000 laptops, including refurbished at major discounts, as well as latest technology at great online prices.

The site is equiped with a number of search functions. Use either the search links feature in the left hand panel, or be more flexible with your laptop and dongle search using the search bar above. Your results will always be displayed cheapest first, because here at laptop dongle deals, we aim to save you the maximum money. We include user reviews with all laptop products, as well as details of whats in the box, installed software, and other comparisons.

You can browse 1000's of products, from laptops and dongles, to home broadband, contract and mobile phones. With a consistent search function throughout the site, you can be sure of finding what you need.