Help Deciding between Sony, Dell & Lenovo

IR

Hi There,

I am currently using an Inspiron 6400 2GB 1.86 GHz, its more or less fine for all I need, except for some freezing, and its just to big and awkward to lug around when on the move...

I am trying to decide between variations of the following three brands of laptops
Sony SZ or TZ
Dell m1330
Thinkpad Lenovo X61

Aiming to spend a maximum of €1'800
Main usage is for business, Office programmes and internet etc, but need to run a Sage type accounting programme so needs XP.
I use wifi, 3g Modem, and connect to a network
Big Concerns are battery life, mobility

Would also appreciate any advice on where to get the best deal, and how easy it is to get these with XP

Thanks a mill

majiktripp

With the price range you have, out of the list you provide, I'd be going with the Thinkpad X61,although theres been some leaked shots of their (Lenovo's) new range of updated laptops so maybe hold out a bit for a qhile and see whats comes out.I got an X41 Tablet laptop (IBM,not lenovo though) and I have to say bar the 1.8" hard drive in it, I love the thing, rock solid , and while some people hate IBM's look, personally I love it.
Second in your list would be the M1330, last runner the Sony's. No real taxing duties for them to be running if its mainly office work so any of the laptops you list would do the job fine, its down to personal taste and what kind of after sale service/warranty you want also.

Alanstrainor

I think your budget is probably way over kill for your needs, half of that wuld suffice. Well i like Dells so i'd recommend the m1330 which you can pick up relatively cheap and with good spec for around 1000-1200, that would handle what you need no bother. A top spec m1330 would cost 1400 with 4 years hardware support which you may or may not need.

IR

majiktripp wrote: »

With the price range you have, out of the list you provide, I'd be going with the Thinkpad X61,although theres been some leaked shots of their (Lenovo's) new range of updated laptops so maybe hold out a bit for a qhile and see whats comes out.I got an X41 Tablet laptop (IBM,not lenovo though) and I have to say bar the 1.8" hard drive in it, I love the thing, rock solid , and while some people hate IBM's look, personally I love it.
Second in your list would be the M1330, last runner the Sony's. No real taxing duties for them to be running if its mainly office work so any of the laptops you list would do the job fine, its down to personal taste and what kind of after sale service/warranty you want also.

Thanks for that...how do you find the tablet version? worth the little bit of extra dosh?

Ghost Train

I've have/had the dell 6400&1520, a vaoi z1 and an ibm x31/t42

i use the x31 nearly all of the time... it's just so light, the keyboard and screen are good quality, has the thinkpad light for typing in darker room. The 12" screen is fine, but when I switch to the other laptops you do notice the extra screen area. Only have the standard battery, but it does about 2 hours or 3 with more efficent settings. Don't mind not having cd/dvd drive, would hardly ever use it and just plug in an external usb when i need it. Built quality of the ibm/lenovos is also noticable, solid hinges and strong plastic and metal body. Lenovos update software is really user friendly and helps find drivers and keep the software up to date without any bloatware

Vaios are really stylish, also not too heavy, did have some trouble with the laptop though... motherboard/cpu related. Still like the design of them though

Dells are pretty good too... would say the screens are not as good and have had one or two issues with the build quality of the inspiron laptops I've had, nothing that effects performance but just not perfect like you'd expect from a new laptop

majiktripp

The Tablet is a great feature , although it does add considerably to the cost of a notebook. I would (if you plan on getting one) recommend the X61 Tablet or possibly one of HP's tablets (although not the cheaper ones as there ment to be rubbish).
I do like the ability to scribble messages/notes on my desktop as well as using MS OneNote to take any handwritten notes/ideas that need to be jotted down.
I'd only invest in a tablet if you know your going to use it to its abilities.

IR

Thanks Guys...

Yeah, I am not sure whether or not I would use the features on the tablet one...

its a good point on the screen size, as, whilst i do definitely want a really portable laptop, I do use it all the time, and I am concerned that the small screen might get a bit tiresome after a while....
still a little undecided, but definitely leaning towards the IBM lenovo X61 now...

nah_biy!

Thinkpad x300 from lenovo is a great piece of kit and rock solid. Lenovo though as stated already are releasing Macbook Air rivalling notebooks soon. Some spy shots are doing the rounds at the moment.

Capt'n Midnight

I'd avoid the Sony
- they release shoite music
- crippleware that broke CD's on many PC's
- incompatible parallel standards where media /parts cost at least twice what the generic equlivant does minidisk / betamax / memory stick / info lithium batteries
but for laptops it's because
- power adaptors may cost €200
- you get a take or leave image instead of a reinstall CD
- newer sony laptops have no XP drivers, so driver support or software support for anything not preinstalled may not exist.
- smaller sony laptops are painfully slow compared to similar laptops from dell / toshiba (and I've swapped drives so it's not a software config problem )

/my 2c