Need advice for a new laptop

[hutch]

Wal-Mart has a great price on Toshiba notebooks at $797. Cheaper than the Toshibadirect.com with more memory and hard drive.


15" XGA LCD TruBrite screen
Intel Celeron M Processor 360
512 MB SDRAM
60 GB hard drive
DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive
802.11b/g
The ideal notebook for mobile users, students and families

the hutch

 

[Smiling JOe]

I hate talking to India! AND, I heard last night on PBS that 80% of American customer service is now outsourced (to India) and increasing daily...

While it has nothing to do with laptops directly, customer service is mostly outsourced. Expect even more in the near future. I would not be surprised if one day soon, you will not even speak to a person for problem solving and trouble shooting. It will all be automated. I am a little surprised that we do not already see self ordering computers instead of people at places like McDonalds. Just enter what you want and swipe your credit card to complete the purchase.

INHO, with all of the ways businesses are trying to cut costs, I don't know if we will notice any difference between the customer no-service which is given at any of these companies. I don't really know if one company has much of an edge on any other, regarding customer service or quality and longevity of the product. I see the technology being outdated much more rapidly than the computers are breaking. Consumerism at its finest. Keep making the customer upgrade and we sell more units. I would really like to see more userfriendly upgrades at a cost effective price point and easy enough for all of us to carry out, requiring no more knowledge than ejecting the button for the old and inserting the new gadget, eg batteries, microchip, hard drive, etc. It should be easier for us to keep the same computer body while upgrading the components.

 

[JB]

I would advise against both Dell and Gateway notebooks. Not their strong suit. IMO, the Japanese manufacturers seem to make better quality notebooks - Sony, Panasonic and Toshiba to name a few.

The IBM is probably the best machine out there, but they are overpriced, IMO.

 

[Paula]

Thanks for all the advice. Does anyone have any experience with Hewlett Packard? There's an HP laptop I've been looking at.

We use Dell primarily where I work, too, but we can the laptop of our choice nd not be confined to Dell. The nice thing is that we have our own computer support people here, so when there's a problem I can bring my laptop to them and they take care of it.

I have not had any problem with my Dell from work, and it is sooo old and so far reliable (but I'm concerned it's starting to have some problems, but it's so old they're to be expected I think).

Thanks again! I hope to buy the laptop within a week because I've put it off so long. At some point, I just have to make a decision and live with it.

 

[Smiling JOe]

Thanks for all the advice. Does anyone have any experience with Hewlett Packard? There's an HP laptop I've been looking at. ...

Well, since you have tech support at work, your choice is easy, just pick the color you like. Really, I think it is about that easy.

HP bought Compaq and I think their machines are about the same. I believe they will eventually eliminate the HP line of computers, and leave HP to focus on printers, copiers, faxes - just my guess.

I hear a horror story or two from every brand of computers, and usually, the owner will never buy that brand again. Typically, their main problem is with customer no-service.

Pick a winner, and give us the report of your decision.

 

[Ocean Lover]

http://www.pcmag.com/category2/0,1874,9,00.asp

I always research models/brands before I buy. The link above is one place I look. I also use www.cnet.com

Good luck!

 

[wetwilly]

Thanks for all the advice. Does anyone have any experience with Hewlett Packard? There's an HP laptop I've been looking at.

We use Dell primarily where I work, too, but we can the laptop of our choice nd not be confined to Dell. The nice thing is that we have our own computer support people here, so when there's a problem I can bring my laptop to them and they take care of it.

I have not had any problem with my Dell from work, and it is sooo old and so far reliable (but I'm concerned it's starting to have some problems, but it's so old they're to be expected I think).

Thanks again! I hope to buy the laptop within a week because I've put it off so long. At some point, I just have to make a decision and live with it.

As said, HP bought Compaq and seems that they have stopped making their own PCs and have taken on the Compaq systems with their new HP logo on them. My brother just bought his HP laptop with the big shiny screen and he loves it. He has had it for 4 months or so and has had no problems with it. He paid something like $1500-1700 but it has (did have at the time) the state of the art screen (17"), alot of memory, internal wireless modem, and a monster size hard drive. It is kinda big and heavy but that is due to the big, colorful LCD screen.

I will ping and see if I can get any update on his satisfaction and model number for you.

I have a Dell Latitude D600 that m y company gave me to use while employed and it has been rock solid for me. I have had several Dells in the past and Toshiba and all have been pretty good. One cheap, bottom of the line Dell laptop that I did get from one of my employers really sucked with screen/casing issues but it was due to it being the low end of the product line IMO.

 

[Bob]

Wal-Mart has a great price on Toshiba notebooks at $797. Cheaper than the Toshibadirect.com with more memory and hard drive.


15" XGA LCD TruBrite screen
Intel Celeron M Processor 360
512 MB SDRAM
60 GB hard drive
DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive
802.11b/g
The ideal notebook for mobile users, students and families

the hutch

great recomendation

 

[DBOldford]

I have had problems with every kind of computer except the Sony VAIO series. Now I always have an office desktop with the laptop as a backup system. Sony is higher priced, but the quality is tops and you get pretty decent technical support. The only thing I would warn about on laptops is to get one that travels well, given the security process at airports now. My 16-in. screen with long-life battery is oversized and heavy, so a hassle unzipping at the security checkpoint and also cumbersome for fastwalking to make that connection. In fact, I am planning to get a lighter, more compact version of the VAIO series for trips to the beach.

A great financing deal is offered by Circuit City. You pay the lowest (guaranteed) price, no financing charges if you pay the balance off in one year. Sometimes you have a minimum monthly payment, sometimes not. Be sure to put a tickler in your daytimer, however, because if you miss the one-year due date, ALL this very high interest is charged automatically. I guess they count on that happening more often than not. I just log the date in for about 30 days before the period is up. Love this option. I have the equipment I want, at the best price, and have my capital working for us for that year. And I get the flier miles, to boot. (They will tell you they won't take credit cards when the balance is due, but they do; they just discourage cusomers from using them.) I want my miles, always!

 

[CastlesOfSand]

My husband has the Sony VAIO and loves it!