I'm drowning in notebook choices!

[definition of insane]

So I'm in the market for a notebook. I want one reasonably lightweight (that I can travel with), has a good screen and a pretty decent battery life.

There's way too many options out there...I'm thinking middle of the range in terms of price and the only thing I've been told that is of any help at the moment is that Acers are particularly good and Toshiba batteries are pretty crud.

Uhhh....Help? Anyone got any suggestions?

 

[Darling Faithy]

I have a dell and an apple. The dell is good with battery, prolly around 200-400 range. The apple of course is best all around, and considerably more pricey if you want the best, and newest. A new dell of course will cost you as well, but both pretty decent laptops.

 

[white avenger]

I have a Compaq Persario 3000 by HP. The only real trouble that I have had with it is trying to delete a program installed by the manufacturer called "Vongo" which is some sort of trial membership in a movie rental site, and getting rid of Norton Anti Virus (AVG is better, and you can get a free version online).

I've been told, however, that there is a new technology (don't ask me how it works, because I have no idea) going to be introduced sometime in the next six months or so that will "revolutionize" the computer world in general and lap tops/notebooks in particular as to memory and speed. Maybe someone out there knows more about it, but the way a computer whiz friend of mine described it, it's gonna be like DVD to compared to old VHS tapes. It might be worth the wait.

 

[StuckinTraffic]

I've had two Toshiba's and they DO suck on battery life, but really great for the price. Crisp screens, lightweight, fast, reliable. They sell 9-cell batteries for them, they'd probably be better than the 6-cell that comes with the laptop, but I've never bought one. I paid $700 for the first one, and $1000 for the second, and so far have not had one problem with either. My husband has a Dell that gave him some problems less than 6 months after he bought it, but Dell sent a repair tech to our house to fix it and he hasn't had a problem since. It's a nice notebook, reasonably priced, and the battery is better than my Toshiba, but not by a lot. The thing I HAVE noticed with Dells are that the speakers are WAY better than the ones on mine.....plus, his model (Inspiron) has handy, convenient media controls right on the front of the chassis for the CD/DVD player (forward, reverse, play, stop), which I wish my Toshiba had. The screen isn't as clear as mine, tho. All in all, I'd still take the Toshiba over his Dell, but it's a matter of preference, of course.

 

[definition of insane]

I'm leaning towards possibly a compaq at the moment. They seem pretty reliable. I have a friend who bought a dell probably about 4 months ago and he's been having heaps of problems with it (but then again...computers and him don't seem to miix entirely well so who knows what the reason is 😛).

I'll probably wait and see what this revolutionary thing is. At the moment I still have my PC so I don't "need" a notebook, but I definately want something more mobile so I can take it with me when I'm less tied to a home base.

Thanks guys! 😀

 

[Mr. Pointy]

I have a Compaq laptop from a few years ago and it's a perfectly good PC but it pales into insignificance compared to my Apple Powerbook. If budget is a consideration then go for the Windows-based option. If not, Macs seriously kick bottom 🙂

 

[StuckinTraffic]

Everyone I know who has an Apple RAVES about them! I really must try one some day.