I think a lot of people make a mistake and buy something more powerful than they need in a laptop. Just figure out what you're going to be doing with it, and what features are important to you. The quality assurance has gone way down on these things, so whatever you do, buy the extended warranty. It's always nice to pay a little extra for them to come to you, rather than having to box it up and ship it to them.
The Dells are nice, but they are heavy and have lots of problems. Kevin has bought two Inspirons within the last year, and has had to have the motherboard replaced twice, the display, and assorted internal parts. On the first one, he basically replaced every component, before they just upgraded him to the newest one out. Did I mention how HEAVY they are? Almost 8lbs! The Latitudes are nice, and a little lighter.
Myself, I have an IBM Thinkpad X31 that weighs 3.1lbs. It is so convenient to carry around and has all power I need. I have a detachable base station which holds the CD R-W/DVD combo drive, but I rarely carry it with me. How often do you really need a CD-ROM? I sacrificed power for bulk, but I really notice no drag on this unit (it helps if you max out the RAM). With the docking station attached---4.3lbs. Also, I bought an additional extended life battery. With the primary battery and it attached, I get over 8 hours of power.
You didn't mention it as a possibility, so I won't even drool over the new Apple 15" Powerbook here. Good luck on choosing your new laptop!
Last edited by girlgeek at Oct 23 2003, 07:24 PM
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