best laptop brand?

[kapuwa]

Hello

I almost used a SONY VIO laptop for 4 years until yesterday. I think it served it's life.

Now, i need to go for a new laptop. SONY is quite expensive compares to other models on the market now.

I am looking at DELL, HP+COMPAQ etc,etc

What are your good and band expericnes?

I am looking for something good in the price range of $1000 - $1500

Best Regards
Amila Tennakoon

[Zoren]

I have a Toshiba and really like it. Best computer I have ever owned. Pricing was good. Their support is top-notch as well.

[Brangwyn]

Been happy with the couple of Dells I've had in the last few years.

[generic]

I have had 2 gateway laptops with no issues.

I know, I will probably get a few bashes for saying gateway, but their new lightweight line is just fantastic. I have one and recommend 2 to associates and they also just love them.

I have the m320 Xl, http://products.gateway.com/products...=m320xl&seg=hm
you can get it at bestbuy where they call it the 4530GZ.

only wish,
-longer battery life. I get 2.5 hours max on the standard battery, if I had it to do over I would buy the extended battery.

positive about battery
-battery rechgarges full in about 20-30 minutes.

[DVHost]

Very happy with my Dell Inspiron 8600. Not to mention I love Dell's warranties if you spend some money and upgrade.

I originally had a Dell Inspiron 8000. I had a 3 year on site warranty with it. 53 days before the warranty expired, the connector on the motherboard for the laptop hard drive took a dive. They did not have any replacement motherboards in stock for the i8000.

They shipped me a refurbished i8600 that despite the refurb sticker on the bottom, looked, felt and even smelt brand new. Man was I pleased!

[generic]

got a 100 sitting on my kitchen table with what I believe is a dead drive i am replacing for a friend.

system does not see the hard drive upon boot.
pulling out the drive system will not boot. so I am assuming its the drive...
just ordered a replacement drive.

never thought about the connector. hope thats not the issue or I will be ebaying a new inspiron 1100 hd.

[TheDesigners]

I use a Toshiba - bought it because of the 15.0” UXGA and 1600x1200 resolution. I've never had a problem so I couldn't tell you about their support. Been happy with it and would buy another.

[kattouf]

Toshiba by far, i use a 2400-103s, great even for 3d gaming, although i need to get a new one for the latest titles :-)

I'm curenlty looking at the M40/45 from Toshiba. Well priced.

[cleonard]

I'll throw my two cents in on a Compaq. I'm on my 3rd Compaq laptop and really like them for the price. Can't tell you how they last because I exclusively use a laptop and then after two years, I buy a new one and ebay the old one.

I always buy the warrenty with it. Had an issue once with them, heat sink got displaced, but it was fixed within a couple of days via Fed Ex service. (Gee, I only drop them occasionally )

[ixie02]

Haven't bought a laptop in years but I'm in the market for one now. I am still using my pentium II Fujitsu I bought in 1996. Never had a problem with it and it came with a 3 year warranty when no one else did. Are they still on the market?

[dpyers]

My wife's got a Toshiba Qosmio for presentations. Connects to/from just about any audio video equipment known to man. She put all her presentation tapes in it.

I used an IBM X40 for traveling - super light and tough.

Fujitsu's still around. I had trialed some of their stuff in the mid 90's. Don't think their products are rated as highly as they used to be and I have an impression of them as being high priced.

[esites]

I think I have had them all at one time or another... I usually change every 8-12 months and always have at least 2 or 3 in use at one time, so I have had my chance to try most of them.

For many years I stuck with Toshiba... Loved them, and the support (even when out of the country is great). Many of the others (especially Compaq and HP) make things almost impossible to get it repaired when you are out of the country... even in Canada I had to drive accross the border and send it in to them. Anyway, Toshiba was great for many years, then several years ago they started making cheaper, less durable laptops. I hated those models, but now they are back making better ones. I even bought Best Buy's $499 Christmas special as a utility backup computer and it feels and works great.

If you have lots of money, Dell is great. They have one of the best support and damage replacement plans available, but it is not cheap. How many good things are cheap? I have found that it is definately better to buy from the business phone or online portal instead of the home and small business areas. You get a individual rep and you get better customer service and support. I have not had problems with Dell, but just because of all the units that are out there, and the fact that most Dell owners depend on them you do hear quite a few complaints and a few horor stories. I had one client that complained all the way to Michael Dell's office and he personally exchanged her computer to satisfy her when the regular customer service blew her off.

HP and Compaq offer great features for the money, but they are definately the puppy mill of laptops. I had pretty good luck with with a couple of HP's and am currently using a Compaq with a Centrino processor. Except for some design faults (case and hinges) the system works great... even for audio/photo/video editing.

Another one that I have been very impressed with lately is Sharp. They have a nice system at Sam's Club for around $1200 that has one of the best screens that I have ever seen.

As far as Sony goes, they are definately beautiful and expensive. Almost everyone that I know who has had a VIAO laptop has had problems with their screens. Too fragile in general, but they are beautiful! I am looking at one of their slim 12" models right now. I have no idea about their support.

Lastly, on the business side, IBM's "T" series almost always wins the best business computer awards. They are definately very durable and well built. I am assuming that they, like Toshiba, have a great international warranty, but I have not had a chance to test that. In general, I cannot stand their design... especially their mouse buttons, but they probably have the best feeling keyboard in the business.

Good luck, and let us know what you decide on.

[nhdonny]

I can speak for the servcie.

I have a Tosh 6100 and bought the 3 year ext warranty. Have used depot service twice and I have to rave about them. They send a box overnight, you send the system out and I had mine back in 3 days both times.

My warranty is about to run out and the dang thing is still running fine.

On Sony. We just got one and for a tech they really suck. Everything is external and optional. the batteries fall off and my conclusion is they are for sales execs only.

[cambodia]

i been dell 's fan few year already with 500mhz and think to move to toshiba because i heard toshiba new model very thin and look not bad ( prefer sony but $$ limited )

[jmbeach]

Toshiba here. My wife worked for HP for 15 years so she always got an HP laptop provided by her company and more recently a Compaq, all of which always had issues... hardware and software. Of course it really wasn't a big deal since they were always replaced, but it was telling, in my opinion, of the quality issues.

For gamers, I think the pricier HP's can be okay, but for value I think Toshiba is a great buy... I prefer the Centrino systems - if you're buying a laptop for portability, you can't beat the battery life of that over the Pentium systems.