there is another thread on here right now you should look at we were discussing the netbooks and I put some comparison links on there. I have heard good things about the MSI wind.

this thread
Netbook or smart phone?

If it similar to the mini notebooks I have looked at lately - the only thing they would be great for is surfing the net. They also have VERY SMALL hard drives - 6 to 16 GB.

The ones I have looked at do not use Windows, but instead Linux or some other type of operating system. I do not know if you GS games would work with this.

I see some of the Dell Inspiron Mini's do have XP - but the have very little RAM - 512 MB - that is just enough to run XP. The game would be super sluggish. Plus the biggest hard drive is 16GB...that is tiny. By the time XP was loaded, there would be very little space for anything else.

Dell has a Vostro on sale for $399. It is a whole lot more machine than the mini. I would probably bump up the RAM, but still a good price: Look at the Vostro A860

6 years is very young for a laptop. If you are comfortable spending that amount on something that is somewhat fragile that is OK, but I would not have great expectations for a long lifespan on it. Also - if the home has access to wireless internet, he could have unsupervised access to the internet.

Here is a link that might be useful: Vostro A860

He is very good with his electonics he has a PSP and also
other electronics and he is very responsible for caring for them much more then some adults...LOL....He is also always supervised ...........parent control! I am looking
to get him a laptop.....
Red

Lucky fella!
:)

There are mini laptops "netbooks" that run Win XP and have bigger hard drives.

check out Target.com for some and Amazon.com as well.

As ravencajun pointed out, I started a thread on the same subject though it would be for me, not a child and there are links to reviews and such on it.

Amazon has the HP 2133-KR922UT 8.9-Inch Mini-Note for $299, with C7-M 1.0 GHz Processor, 512 MB RAM, 4 GB Flash Drive, Linux.

Here is a link that might be useful: HP 2133-KR922UT 8.9-Inch Mini-Note

"he will be 6 years old and is very good with a computer..."

Can't help asking... what does he do with it? Seriously, I'm out of touch with the little ones (children, not minis) and would love to know. Surely he doesn't read yet so there must be...something else? Sandy

Breenthumb, my 6 year old granddaughter plays games on the internet, and many of the games are used in the class room in school. Some favorite sites of my grandkids are Club Penguin, Funbrain, NASA Kids Club, PBS Kids, Webkins, and of course Disney has lots of kid friendly games on their site.

update I got him a apple computer and yes my grandson is reading....he also uses a computer in school for this lessons and for homework he has to go to the library to look up things on the computer for his school homework....that is another reason I wanted to get him his own computer....he does play some games on the computer but they are learning games..... and all his sites are parent control..... when he is with me we also have learning CDs he plays on the computer....that teach him to read and write and math....I know he will be thriiled with this computer.... I am happy with it.
Thanks everyone,
Red

Camp56 & redpenny--Well, I didn't register a penguin name so couldn't sign in there, but did play some of the games at funbrain, (that Martha Speaks dog grabbed the wrong letter and I had to shake my mouse to get it out of his mouth). These sure blow the learning games I played with my kids (back in the dark ages) out of the water. They would have loved this. I'm impressed. Thanks for bringing me up to date. Sandy

Red - My DD started using the computer when she was 3. By the time she was in first grade, she was using it to practice her spelling - typing the words.

She memorized her lines in a play when she was 12 by studying the lines, then typing them from memory. Now that she is in high school, she studies by retyping all her notes from her classes - then prints them on index cards for quick reference.

She can master any software in a short amount of time.

My son was "playing" with AutoCad when he wasn't much older than your GS - he would blow us away with things he was doing in that program.

My kids are just average kids - not any kind of geniuses - but given the right tools, they can really excel.

You will be amazed with your GS as he grows - what a great start he has :)

You are welcome, Sandy. It's really amazing how much kids use the computer and internet these days. Their schools have all the homework assignments posted on the internet and the parents can log in everyday and check on their progress.

Last week my 9 year old granddaughter's homework assignment was to go to a website and use a template there to create a crossword puzzle. Then copy and paste it into an e-mail and send it to her teacher. The kids use a computer in the family room so they are always supervised when online.

My oldest grandson, 16, uses computer programs to design and build his remote control airplanes. He has built some amazing planes, even mounted a digital camera on one and took aerial photos of his neighborhood.

it truly is amazing how young they are learning to use this extremely valuable machine. I can only imagine where I would be if I had had the opportunity to have a computer at such a young age. How fortunate they are to have the world at their fingertips.
Your grandson is a very lucky boy to have you around to get him his very own computer and he will love the apple, not as many infection worries there too, although more recently there have been some aimed at apple but not as many as for windows.
I think that is one of the reasons so many of the small netbooks and the one pc per child versions have linux pre-installed on them, no infection worries and what a great head start to learn linux so young. Here I am in my gray hair days learning linux! It sure would have been easier when more of my brain cells were co-operating LOL but I figure I am better off exercising them than letting them laze around.

You are welcome, Sandy. Thanks ravencajun the apple will be a learning experience for both of us since I have only used windows LOL....iowagirl2006 my GS has been on the computer since age 1,, I statred him with eye and hand games he is very good on a computer his teachers were amazed on how well he knows how to work a computer!Wow camp your oldest grandson must be very smart!
Red