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Personally I'm using the Sony Vaio AR right now. I think it's the best laptop I've ever had. A lot of guys at work like the iBooks, but I never got used to using the Mac OS, so I can't stop to learn it now. As for traveling...usually I'm surrounded by people with IBM(lenovo) Thinkpads in FC whenever I fly, but Powerbooks are a close second. The Thinkpads are, from what I hear, really durable, and at about $1,500, they look like a good buy.
I personally like the Vaio because I rarely use my personal PC for much more than mundane Microsoft Office Apps, and mainly watching DVDs during long flights. It's got a huuge screen, and runs very smoothly. Downside is, over the past 2 months, I've ended up purchasing 2 extra batterys which rap you $250 a peice, and it adds up to only 5 hours run time when watching a DVD, and about 8 when using the Internet.
Personally I'm using the Sony Vaio AR right now. I think it's the best laptop I've ever had. A lot of guys at work like the iBooks, but I never got used to using the Mac OS, so I can't stop to learn it now. As for traveling...usually I'm surrounded by people with IBM(lenovo) Thinkpads in FC whenever I fly, but Powerbooks are a close second. The Thinkpads are, from what I hear, really durable, and at about $1,500, they look like a good buy.
I personally like the Vaio because I rarely use my personal PC for much more than mundane Microsoft Office Apps, and mainly watching DVDs during long flights. It's got a huuge screen, and runs very smoothly. Downside is, over the past 2 months, I've ended up purchasing 2 extra batterys which rap you $250 a peice, and it adds up to only 5 hours run time when watching a DVD, and about 8 when using the Internet.
thanks- how much is the Vaio??- is it easy to use on 8-10 hr flights? (I hate chargers/battery probs)
If you're not super computer literate, or completely used to Windows, a Mac is truly the best machine on the market. I still use the PC Windows based machines, but it's just because I'm so familiar with them.
Sony is a great machine, but they tend to be the most expensive
Toshiba and Dell are the two brands I recommend to people, and I seem to have a ton of people call for computer help.
Once you get below the 15" screen machines the prices of course will start to increase quickly. Do you need a high powered machine? Or are you just going to run office apps on it? If it's the latter, Dell recently had a screaming deal (Around $500) for a laptop that had fairly good specs.
If you're looking for more than 5 hours of use be sure and buy the upgraded battery (Generally can only do this through Dell as they let you upgrade), and buy the additional battery. Batteries will run you around $100 a pop, but if you need to get 8-10 hours it's really your only choice. Unless of course you can plug in on your 30-60 min layovers.
Maybe if you can mention a few of the most important attributes, we can recommend a machine, not just the brand...
This is true. Sony does an incredible job marketing their systems, and they have a deep enough roster of operations elsewhere in the industry to offer the Vaio at a very uncompetitive price. My company subsidized mine, but I think the tab was about $1,800. The extra two batteries obviously served no work-related purpose, so I just decided to get them on my own. There is a model in the same series I have that offers Blu-Ray compatability/features, but it's something like an extra $1,000. I think the SZ series Vaio is a little cheaper..like, $1,500, but has, generally speaking, the same specs. I just wanted a little bigger screen.
I like the Dell Centrino- need something light to carry on a plane- what does everyone prefer?
sunny
I wish you were more specific, since there are many light laptops available. There are portable, and there are ultra-portable. With the latter, an optical drive is usually not included to keep the weight down. Generally the smaller and lighter the laptops, the more expensive they are. For use on a plane, I would go with a 13'' or smaller screen. Here are three top-rated light laptops at pcmag.com. They are made by IBM, Sony and Dell. You can't go wrong with these models. IBM laptops have legendary reliability. Sony makes elegant and innovative laptops. Dell is the price champ who packs the latest technology into its products.
I have a Sager NP2090. I'm very happy with it. In fact the only Windows laptop builders I would consider other than Sager are Lenovo(Thinkpad) and Maingear(unfortunately way overpriced).
Would you recommend any of these computers - for gaming also?
My son needs a new computer and I would like to get him a laptop - but he is so into gaming and not sure what to get him
Would you recommend any of these computers - for gaming also?
My son needs a new computer and I would like to get him a laptop - but he is so into gaming and not sure what to get him
Game playing requires a dedicated/discrete graphic card. Generally, small and light laptops don't have discrete video cards. Of the laptops I posted above, the Sony and Dell have discrete video cards. In short, you need a laptop with a dedicated video card with 256 MB of memory and a fast processor to play the latest games. Keep in mind that battery life will suffer because a dedicated graphic card consumes more power than an integrated one. This is one reason why most small and light laptops don't have dedicated video cards. Another reason is that discrete video cards take a lot of space. Thus, they are usually found in bigger laptops. Now the Sony laptop probably won't be able to play the latest graphic-intensive games well because it has an older graphic card. The Dell laptop, on the hand, will be able to handle newer games because it has a newer video card. Basically, for gaming, look for a laptop with the latest video card with at least 256 MB of memory, a big hard drive, a fast processor and a high-resolution display.
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. Excellent machines.
