Need a new Laptop... Suggestions?

[winstontj]

Something business class, XP & Office Professional, 17" display, built in wireless...

Nothing to replace my 6-monitor dual cpu desktop workstation but something that will last and perform for the next few years. Mostly for home email, work & travel. No gaming but I do a lot of VBA work0w heavy on Excel.

Thoughts? I can go Dell or IBM (Lenovo) for a work discount...

[thectrlguy]

I got a toughbook and it's awesome, doesn't have a 17" screen however

http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ViewPhotos?storeId=11201&catalogId=13051&itemId=122558&index=0

[Jscotty]

Get the cheapest laptop that you can buy. I have seen them as low as $499. Any computer on the market today far exceeds any minmum requirements for checking email and doing excel spreadsheets. And even though built-in wireless is great, most of the wireless PCMCIA cards that you can buy today barely stick out of the side of the computer and cost about $50 or so.

You make out far better with this arrangement than you would with any Dell or IBM laptop. I bought a samsung laptop in july of 2005 and I use it every day and it runs GREAT. I paid $599 for it and never had a single issue.

[Ryan Stewart]

I can speak to the quality of the latitudes but if you are going to spend the change I would say Lenovo.

You CAN get a cheap laptop. In fact, those big ones are easy to get cheap because its the tiny components that are expensive. The catch is the cheap laptops get really shitty battery life.

Business laptops always get decent life and usually have optional long-life batteries.

[Fanzotti]

Apple, Apple, Apple, Apple. Did I say Apple.

[1991 318is]

I'd go for a Dell with a 14" display. They're smaller and more portable than the 17". The screen on a laptop is usually pretty close if you're typing and actually working.

[Jon325i]

My dad had a Compaq a little over a year ago - total POS. He wound up replacing it with a Dell ultra-light job (13.3" display), XP Home and modest 'guts' to take care of the basic stuff. He found it on flea-bay and paid just shy of 1G...this was nearly a year ago.

I've had a Toshiba laptop and it worked very well for nearly 4 years. My brother has a similar Toshiba to what I had - he's had no issues in the 1.5 years of usage. I recently picked an HP with some nice hardware, XP Pro (came with Vista but I pitched it) a 15.4" display and a HP brand printer/copier/scanner shipped for $1050. A friend of mine works for a company where he was able to get a small discount - saved me about $100. This laptop is barely two weeks old but I love it.

Jon

[h0lmes]

Apple, Apple, Apple, Apple. Did I say Apple.

QFT. I used to be a devoted PC user then I switched to Apple. I will NEVER go back. They are better in EVERY way, hands down. Worth the extra money if you ask me.

[TwoJ's]

QFT. I used to be a devoted PC user then I switched to Apple. I will NEVER go back. They are better in EVERY way, hands down. Worth the extra money if you ask me.

Yup. My Power Book G4 is running strong like a champ. I'll buy another when I feel the need. Maybe a desktop.

But yeah, buy a Mac Book Pro.

[eurostyl e30]

My R-series ThinkPad is bitchin'. They can get a little pricey though. My Dell Latitude at work isn't half bad.

[thectrlguy]

ThinkPad +1

My R-series ThinkPad is bitchin'. They can get a little pricey though. My Dell Latitude at work isn't half bad.

[doucy2]

Apple, Apple, Apple, Apple. Did I say Apple.

+1

if you dont need xp, get a g4 it's even more reliable than the macbook.

[Fanzotti]

In my opinion Ibooks are the shizzie. There a third of the price of the powerbooks. They do everything you need. and compared to the powerbooks there made like rubbermaid. You can get in the door for a $1000

[TwoJ's]

+1

if you dont need xp, get a g4 it's even more reliable than the macbook.

Are you serious? No one needs xp. And if osmeone NEEDS windows for some reason, then they would dual boot on the new macbook that is intel powered.

So if I should buy a g4 over a macbook, what model laptop is that?

[h0lmes]

In my opinion Ibooks are the shizzie. There a third of the price of the powerbooks. They do everything you need. and compared to the powerbooks there made like rubbermaid. You can get in the door for a $1000

they dont make powerbooks or ibooks anymore, only macbooks