Dell??

[TxDavid]

Do Dell laptop deals, truly blow everyone else out of the way or is there any good alternatives? Also are there any other sites out there for Dell coupons? Why are there so many NIB Dell's on E-bay, and are these a good deal?? Why do I have so many ????????[]

[Andrew Baxter]

Dell in no way blows everyone else out of the water with Notebook quality. I actually prefer IBM Notebooks to Dell. Toshiba, Fujitsu, Sony, Gateway and HP all offer Notebooks that compete with or outperform Dell. It really just depends what type of notebook you're looking for. I will say that Dell does tend to compete best on price.

[TxDavid]

Thanks for the opinion, it's difficult getting an objective comparison of the different notebooks. I've had some experience with older toshiba's, panasonic's, gateway, and a few dell's and based on what I saw the panasonics were extremely durable and the dell's were well thought out. I dont think gateway should even be in the business of selling laptops from what I saw and the service I got. What in your opinion would you put on a $1000-$1500 laptop, and where would you purchase?

[ramesh]

if i have to choose between dell/toshiba/compaq/sony which one should i go for? any comparison review? Also where can we get dell coupons?

Thanks,
Ramesh

[Voldenuit]

quote:

---

Originally posted by ramesh
[br]if i have to choose between dell/toshiba/compaq/sony which one should i go for? any comparison review? Also where can we get dell coupons?

---

It would really depend on what category of notebook you were after (desktop replacement, ultraportable, thin and light etc) and what you were going to use it for.

Like abaxter, I am not a Dell fan, but I do have to concede that for some notebook classes, the Dells are the best choice.

Destop replacements are their strong point - the Toshiba A25 and P25 reportedly suck, and the 8600 is a pretty good desktop replacement. The HP 7000 is also a good choice for a desktop replacement (although so very heavy). One of the problems with Dell, however, is that most of their laptops end up being desktop replacements de facto, because of their bulk and weight. It seems to be working for them, since American consumers love their "SUV Laptops" - at least, I conjecture, until they have to start carting them around.

If you want an ultraportable, the Sony TR1A is the benchmark (and a very high one), but is crippled by its high price. The Fujitsu P5020 and Panasonic Toughbook W2 are both fine contenders - get one if you can! I wouldn't touch the Dell X300 with a 20-foot pole, though since it has a laughably short battery life and no optical drive.

For thin-and-lights, the IBM T41 rules the roost, even though it can get a little pricey when you start optioning it. Full-size keyboard, good battery life and performance, and best of all, IBM reliability that money can't buy. Again, here Dell falters with its poorish 600M (poor battery life and performance)

For mainstream notebooks, I'd have to tip the hat to IBM again for its R50 (hmm..maybe I'm biased since I have one of these babies ^_^). The HP X1000 is a good option with its 15" widescreen lcd (one of my friends has one), but it's heavier than the R50 and doesn't last as long on the battery. At 8.1 lbs (9.4 with AC adapter), the Dell 5150 is more a desktop repacement than a mainstream notebook, and its 3.2 GHz P4 chip gets hot enough to griddle hotcakes on, making the Dell the worst option in this pack.

There you go, these are my opinions from researching for a laptop for the past 3 months. Abaxter does a good job of posting offers and coupons on this site...you should keep your eyes posted. At the end of the day, however, you will probably be happier buying the laptop that suits you best rather than saving $100 on a laptop you don't want. I'll be living with my R50 for the next 2-3 years, and so far, the relationship looks promising ^_^.

Cheers,
Vol.

Edit: is it just me, or are C|Net reviews heavily biased towards Dell? Even when the review pretty much flat-out states that "it sucks", the Dells still get high scores and even Editor's Choice awards. Reading the reivews gives one a sense of dichotomy between fact and conclusion. If I were to guess, I'd say that C|Net knows which side of the bread is buttered (since *somebody* is their biggest advertiser). Combine that with the adage that toast always ends up "buttered side down" and you'll get a good inkling of what the computer is really like ^_^