ENVY 15 with IPS screen

[Rubenstein]

The W520 isn't made by Lenovo. Like nearly everything it's outsourced and made in China.

If you get a good W520, there's very little on the market that will beat it.

However, Lenovo does have manufacturing and quality issues like everyone else. Test the crap out of it in the first two weeks and make sure everything works perfectly.

from wikipedia: "Lenovo Group Limited (SEHK: 0992, OTCBB: LNVGY) (Chinese: 联想集团; pinyin: Liánxiǎng jítuán) is a Chinese multinational personal technology company..." (Lenovo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
I might be missing the point of your argument, but of course it is made in China (like nearly 100% of all laptops)

the 15 and MBP are not "thin and light"s

depends on your definition. If you want to be very strict about portability, then only 13" and maybe some 14" notebooks count. But as far as I have seen it, the industry describes this form factor as "thin and light" (MBP 0.95", 5.7 pounds)
Feel free to show me laptops that you would count as "thin and light" with 15" and above.

I'm not sure they're as different as you think.

Envy 15 weight: 5.79 lbs
XPS 15 weight: 5.95 lbs
Vaio F weight: 6.85 lbs (but a bigger screen size)
ThinkPad W520: 6.2 lbs
Vaio SE weight: 4.4 lbs (disclaimer: has had a red-orange controversy of its own)

Yes, the Envy 15 has a better GPU (but not twice as powerful...I think it's something like a 30-40% improvement, which generally translates to playing games one graphics setting higher). Each of these laptops has a different set of compromises, but I think all of these are options for people who were initially excited about the Envy 15 but ultimately decided it wasn't for them.

All your notebooks are around 50% thicker than the MBP 15 (besides the Vaio SE, which could be a competitor, but has the very same issue with the screen why most people are sending their Envy back), and the XPS has far worse battery life and loud fans. I don't understand your argument, sorry... Those laptops are good products, but they fall in a different category. And about the GPU power, the Envy 15 or MBP 15 or Samsung Series 7 are already at the lower end of GPU power if you consider some gaming. If you lower details all the time, you can game on the integrated graphics as well, but most of us don't want to, so the 540m is not a real option...


I don't want to offend anybody here, but the reason why so many people were excited about this laptop (and similar products) simply is that there is virtually no other option on the market right now (besides the overpriced macbook - and it's hard to say it's overpriced as long as there is not real competition)
If you don't believe this, please feel free to ask people why they are interested in this notebook. You might still be happy with some other product, as it might fit your needs, but the majority of people looking at this laptop has a very clear picture in mind what they want (and that's pretty much a MBP 15 which is more affordable and has some tweaks like USB3 and no OSX)

[Thors.Hammer]

from wikipedia: "Lenovo Group Limited (SEHK: 0992, OTCBB: LNVGY) (Chinese: 联想集团; pinyin: Liánxiǎng jítuán) is a Chinese multinational personal technology company..." (Lenovo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
I might be missing the point of your argument, but of course it is made in China (like nearly 100% of all laptops)

What argument? I was just providing information and an opinion. I know Lenovo is a Chinese company. I was just making sure everyone knew they outsource their manufacturing like everyone else.

And by the way, you didn't really qualify why you don't like the W520. As best as I can tell you just lumped it into the group with the other machines.

[devsk]

What argument? I was just providing information and an opinion. I know Lenovo is a Chinese company. I was just making sure everyone knew they outsource their manufacturing like everyone else.

And by the way, you didn't really qualify why you don't like the W520. As best as I can tell you just lumped it into the group with the other machines.

I don't know about you but I find Lenovo W520 to be very expensive compared to the envy. For example, a less powerful i7 2640M, a smaller 500GB and without Blu-ray player, costs about 1800$ (before taxes + shipping) after 959$ discount whereas the envy with better config cost me about 1168$ (after taxes + shipping). After taxes and shipping is accounted for, W520 would be a 2000$ laptop. I did not see anything in W520 which is 800$ better than the Envy. But to each his own!

BTW, I have looked (many physically in stores) at so many laptops in last month or so that I am bored to death looking at any laptops anymore. The only thing worth getting beyond Envy would be a Macbook. Anything else is just a waste of money!

[sullymc]

BTW, I have looked (many physically in stores) at so many laptops in last month or so that I am bored to death looking at any laptops anymore. The only thing worth getting beyond Envy would be a Macbook. Anything else is just a waste of money!

I'm in a similar situation; looked at far too many laptops and strongly considering the Envy 15. Also considering the Samsung Series 7 (when a local store has one in stock for viewing). Did your travels include a look at the Samsung Series 7?

[Thors.Hammer]

Yea, the Envy 15 is certainly priced right, especially if you managed to get a 30% off coupon. That knocked $575 off my Envy 15 order.

I also get ThinkPads deeply discounted so I wasn't comparing to the public site at lenovo.com. Good coupons and sale prices do show up there. You have to stay on top of the best deals.

My Apple discount is miniscule in comparison.

[devsk]

I'm in a similar situation; looked at far too many laptops and strongly considering the Envy 15. Also considering the Samsung Series 7 (when a local store has one in stock for viewing). Did your travels include a look at the Samsung Series 7?

I saw Samsung Series 7 online but I absolutely needed a 1080p screen. I don't know why a high end laptop won't come with 1080p screen? It looked good otherwise but I was stopped dead in my tracks without 1080p.

[devsk]

Yea, the Envy 15 is certainly priced right, especially if you managed to get a 30% off coupon. That knocked $575 off my Envy 15 order.

I also get ThinkPads deeply discounted so I wasn't comparing to the public site at lenovo.com. Good coupons and sale prices do show up there. You have to stay on top of the best deals.

My Apple discount is miniscule in comparison.

I don't know what you are talking about. The price I quoted above was 2000$ after 959$ discounts, which is about 33% like HP. How much more discount am I expecting after that?

[Lvivkse]

if the 15 is thin and light, then what isn't i mean, what's bigger that isn't a 17+ inch media powerhouse or gaming laptop?

[devsk]

if the 15 is thin and light, then what isn't i mean, what's bigger that isn't a 17+ inch media powerhouse or gaming laptop?

I had trouble parsing that...

[CompUG]

Dam Samsung series 7 looks sexy..Wished it had a 1080p screen so would of bought that. Do you think Samsung will announce something during CES next week?