Posted on 12/22/2009 8:59:40 AM PST by solar Republic
Need to buy a laptop for my small business. I have to travel a lot and need a computer that offers decent performance but not too heavy. Please help.
I like the Dell Vostro models.
Dell. Inspiron.
Decent performance for what?
If only MS Office-type and web-surfing stuff, I’d seriously consider just a netbook with Open Office. Much easier to travel with.
+1 I have one also and it is fine. I also have a cheap Compaq that is very good too.
Oh, you can do basic Quick Books in the cloud now too.
MacBook Air.
Toshiba Satellite here.
Sager
IBM/Lenovo Thinkpads either refurbished or new, from the T40 series to the current models. Docking stations are cheap, parts easy to find, easy to repair and very well-documented. Great support under warranty. Good support for used models out of warranty. Very quiet.
It’s hard to say for sure one brand is better than another. I like the way the Sony’s look and they have some thin models, but I’ve never owned one. I own a Lenovo now, and it is OK, but there are laptops that are thinner. At my previous employer, they bought Dells. They too were OK, but not optimized for weight or thinness. I’ve had Toshibas in the past and they were good as well. I would stay away from HP. My wife has one and loves it, but I guarantee if you traveled with it, it wouldn’t last a year.
Check out the laptop ratings on CNet and other sites. At work I just order one of the approved models, but when I bought my wife’s laptop, I monitored slickdeals.net and fatwallet.com for a month, and ended up getting a screaming deal ($300). There will be some very good deals after Christmas, and early next year. I would wait for those if you can.
Good luck.
There are a lot of good ones now. The manufacturers seem to have gotten away from the laptops with the giant widescreens.
Depends whether or not you need an optical drive.
The ones without an optical drive are pretty slim and trim.
If for buisiness, try to get one with a good, long lasting battery.
I don’t advise buying a Fujitsu. My motherboard broke twice in the first 2 years. Now the screen or inverter has died also.
For a laptop, I think I would consider getting some kind of extended warranty, but then you can now get a laptop for under $1000 that’s pretty decent.
And yes, weight is a factor if you’re carrying it through airports, etc.
My computer repair guy says he sees less Dell’s for repair so apparently they seem to be reliable lately. I’ve also heard good things about Acer’s lately. But it’s a crapshoot with electronics. Everything changes every 6 months or less. Good luck.
That's what I have and I really like it.
Avoid Lenovo..we are giving the Chi-Coms enough of our money.
Netbook would not work as i have to do lots of financial calculation/modeling for business. If I can, would prefer to have only one computer that could fulfill my computing needs.
Hate Dell. We have had three Dell laptops in our family—not my choice—and they have all failed in pretty short order, and we have been treated like absolute crap by the horrible customer service.
Indian customer service does not have to be terrible; Verizon customer service reps in Bangalore are fabulous! So this is a choice and an attitude on the part of Dell management.
I am lovin’ my Toshiba Satellite, and my kids each have one as well. They have good ratings for customer service and reliability.
I got in on a Dell Vostro A90 Netbook with Ubuntu for $184.
Need to buy a laptop for my small business. I have to travel a lot and need a computer that offers decent performance but not too heavy. Please help.
Are you trying to start a Macintosh/Windows war just before Christmas? LOL...
Dell Latitude D630
it’s been around for a long time and laptops that are newer are not available from Dell (decommissioned - not as good).
Anytime a vendor is still selling a two year old laptop it must be good - I have 5 in my family and will buy two more after Christmas...
rugged, great business laptop.
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