Calling all laptop users.....

[Lazgaot]

Word of warnign about PC World....my mum was after a laptop last year and we'd decided on a Dell Studio one, but Dell couldn't deliver it for 21 days and she needed it to travel with immediately.

So we went to PC World and picked out what we wanted but had a terrible time with the salesman almost forcing us to take out a years subscription for Norton Antivirus and their 24hr Tech Support at £9.99/month. He was using scare tactics to try and convince us that without it we'd be in big trouble with virii, setup problems, no help from anyone....etc etc

We didn't want any of it, just the laptop, and we almost had to fight with him to get the laptop to the till to pay.

So my advice is to check the label, you'll see in smaller print another price which is the laptop price without their bundled software. This is what you want to pay for. Microsoft have a very good FREE Anti Virus called Microsoft Security Essentials, download, install and forget. It works very well.

Also, see if you have an Apple shop in your town/city and pop in and try out their machines. They run free workshops for people to come in and get to learn how to use their machines and you'll soon be won over! Their multi-touch track pads (mousepads) are a revelation!

[Pumpy]

I'm an IT engineer by trade and am asked this question all the time.
Every time I say Toshiba and don't get it from PC World.

Get a Toshiba, you won't regret it.

P

[Prince of Durham]

Dell Inspiron, just over £300. Workhorse of a computer with everything you'll ever need for normal use.

[Headfry]

hmmmmmmmmm, Mr HF made good point over weekend in that our house pc is windows.... and the anti bug stuff we have is windows ( we can put it on up to 4 pc's) so might go with a windows based laptop, though.........mac does seem worth a good look

[Two_Sheds]

Dell Inspiron, just over £300. Workhorse of a computer with everything you'll ever need for normal use.

I'm going for that in the summer I think, when OH gets his new PC allowance

[Lazgaot]

This Acer is good value for money.

[Pumpkin Becki]

Get a Toshiba, you won't regret it.

P

Thats good to know Pumpy. As I said before, I'm very please with my work Toshiba so far.

[oldie]

Another ex IT man here. Toshiba gets my vote, if you can't afford a Mac. Dell are ok for companies that can pay for support but can be a pain for individuals if they go wrong. I find Acer keyboards are not the most user friendly. I stopped using M/S Windows several years ago and moved to Linux via Mac O/S. Nice virus, spy-ware & w.h.y. free system, but not for everyone.

[sweetiepea]

I use (and love) my Dell Inspiron. I've had no probs with it and the ordering and delivery service were second to none. Granted this machine is heading into its third year, but I bought a new one for my OH at christmas and had the same experience. No complaints here. Like you HF our machines are not for gaming, so the following specs (new lappie order) may be of use to you. I didn't take up the virus scan or MS Office options simply because these had already been taken care of (Pressies from family).

Inspiron Notebook 1545 Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core Processor T4300 (2.1GHz, 800MHz, 1MB cache)
Item Description
Black Colour with Matte Finish
Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core Processor T4300 (2.1GHz, 800MHz, 1MB cache)
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64bit- English
Microsoft® Works 9.0 / English - (Does not include Microsoft® Word)
2Yr In-Home Warranty Support, including evenings and Saturdays
No Security/Anti-Virus Protection - English
15.6" Widescreen WXGA WLED (1366 x 768) TFT Display with TrueLife™
FailSafe® Theft Protection - track and protect lost or stolen laptops - 30 days free trial
3072MB 800MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [1x2048 + 1x1024]
250GB (5,400rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive
Intel Integrated GMA 4500MHD
DVD +/- RW Drive (read/write CD & DVD)
Primary 6-cell 46 WHr Lithium Ion battery
Dell Wireless 1397 Mini Card (802.11 b/g)
No Bluetooth Upgrade
1.3 Mega pixel Integrated Web Camera
N1254503
English - Documentation Inspiron 1545
Inspiron 1545 Resource DVD (Diagnostic & Drivers)
65W AC Adaptor
1 Meter Power Cord - UK
Internal UK English Qwerty Keyboard
1 year of coverage included with your PC
Wireless Label - Pentium Dual Core
Black palmrest
Datasafe Local 2.0 Basic
DataSafe Online Backup 2GB 1 year

I'm not pushing Dell. I used to have a Compaq laptop which I loved until it couldn't cope any more (many years ago), and my PC is HP which I can't fault either. Just thought the details above might help when making your own choice.

Another point to bear in mind though, is your key board choice. If you're doing a lot of number work in your spreadsheets, its worth considering a full size keyboard (with seperate number pad on the right). This wasn't a requirement with my recent Dell purchase, but may be one for you.

[lizzylemon]

I luuuuuuuuuuuurve my ibook. For me mac far outstrip the pc on nearly (all) everything and I find it much easier and more logical to navigate. I have to use PCs as most companies use them and if you're using Micrsoft office it's not so bad. The new software for PC (Viva? or something) that my hubby has on his dell on the other hand has me spitting profanities within 5 seconds, and it gets shed loads of viruses.

[Two_Sheds]

I find Acer keyboards are not the most user friendly.

apart from my parrot keep pulling the keys off, and the shop gave me USA replacements (the @ key and the " are in the wrong places) there's not much wrong with it.

[Two_Sheds]

Toshiba gets my vote, if you can't afford a Mac.

I hadn't actually heard of Toshiba laptops, they don't seem to advertise much?
Nice website though, very easy to look round. The one I "need" is £679, twice the price of an Acer
What am I getting for the difference? (and the Acer will give me XP not Windows 7)

[grannymem]

Not that it matters, but I much prefer my Acer Aspire to the Toshiba I had before.

[zazen999]

hmmmmmmmmm, Mr HF made good point over weekend in that our house pc is windows.... and the anti bug stuff we have is windows ( we can put it on up to 4 pc's) so might go with a windows based laptop, though.........mac does seem worth a good look

You won't need any anti-bug stuff with a Mac; and Open Office is free and completely compatible with windows stuff; you can use the two together if needed [I would do most excel work on the mac and before I completely went over, would put it onto my dell just to check that it looked the same on excel and it always did - so I didn't bother any more]...

[Pumpy]

twice the price of an Acer
What am I getting for the difference?

In a word, quality.
With that comes reliability and durability.

The way to look at it is this and I'm only talking about windows stuff here, Acer is the budget end, Sony isn't and comes with the higher price tag. On top of that if something goes wrong with a Sony, you pay a premium for a Sony part or service. An Acer, chances are you just chuck it away, it just won't be cost effective to repair.
Toshiba use more standard parts which makes them cheaper and easier to build/repair but aren't as "funky" as Sony laptops. But they are quality machines.

XP is going to be retired soon. Its an old Operating System, superceded by Vista and now Windows 7.

the @ key and the " are in the wrong places

Thats quality service then, a job done correctly.

I repair hardware for a living and every person who has followed my suggestion of Toshiba has been 100% satisfied, like I said, you won't regret it.

P