Any ideas on what laptop I should get?

[butterfly 17]

HI,
I am thinking about getting a new laptop. I currently have a Dell desktop, but am not too happy with them and after 8 years of having Dells, I want to try a different brand. I think the thing that topped off my not wanting to get a dell is that the one I have is currently under warranty still, but when I called about a software problem, they told me that it was not covered and I had to pay $99 (per incident) or $239 (per year up to 3 incidents) in order to get assistance with my problem.
I was thinking about the Sony Vaio. I really like the sleek look that they have and they came out with a new fj180 series that is absolutely awesome looking and has all the features I would need.
So, if anyone has experience with Sony Vaio notebooks, any input would be appreciated.
I will be using this for going back to school, so mostly need it for word processing stuff, surfing the web, photo editing, and playing my daughter's educational games. I don't think I will use it for playing video games or anything.

Also, the model I like comes in different colors, I like the raspberry, sky blue and the black, which one is nicer?

ETA- Also, if you have any input on what type of warranty I should get and for how long, that would be appreciated as well.

 

[Mara]

Hmm well I was going to recommend my Dell Inspiron 6000 but I guess not since you don''t want a Dell..hehehe.

Though, I have found their tech support REALLY useless and tedious, when I first got my laptop I was having CD reading problems and I kept getting shuffled to India support then back to the US, I think I spent 2 hours on the phone and in the end I got NO help and the reader just started working. DUH!

 

[qtiekiki]

If tech department is the only issue with dell for you, then I don''t necessary think another company tech department would be better.

I like the look of Sony Vaio too, but I think its markup is more than other brands (at least that''s what DH told me). DH said that it''s a good computer - he tries to explain the features to me, but I am not computer literate enough to understand. I currently have a Dell, so I would''ve recommended a Dell but that''s no help to you.

 

[Kaleigh]

I have a Toshiba laptop and love it.

 

[butterfly 17]

Well, it''s not just the tech support although that does play a major part in that I know nothing about PCs and if something happens, I am really clueless and need guidance.
I did have a Compaq Presario for a short time and their tech support was amazing and fast, so I can say there is a difference there and I have also had a Gateway laptop and had great experience with them as well.

I have had three Dells in the past 8 to 9 years and two of them were laptops and I had problems with both. I crashed both a few times and I have also had my modem get messed up (I don''t know how else to describe it) and had to return the last laptop 6 times to be fixed. Also, they never lasted me more than 3 years and after the first year, ran very slow, even though I don''t do anything major on them.

As far as price, the Dell that would be comparable to the FJ180 is the XPS140 ( 14.1" screen with Pentium M 1.86 Ghz processor) and the price with the warranty and exact specs is only an $80 difference.


So, I guess I kind of know what I want (hehehe) , just wanted to see if there was anything better and how everyone''s experience (who own a Sony) have been!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

I will be using this for going back to school,

Are you planning to leave the nursing field?

 

[Blue824]

Date: 2/2/2006 10:20:20 PM
Author: butterfly 17

So, I guess I kind of know what I want (hehehe) , just wanted to see if there was anything better and how everyone''s experience (who own a Sony) have been!

Get it!! I LOVE my Sony Vaio! Mine is a little old, will probably be replaced this year, but I am quite attached to it. I guess I love it even more because as everyone else through college was on their 2nd (my bf and a couple of my friends are on their 3rd now while mine has worked fine) because theirs just died on them from other brands so I''ve really grown to appreciate its durability and reliability. Mine will be 6 this summer, so I''m starting to yearn for some upgrades, but for my relatively basic uses its perfect, and I still love it. Hehe. My next one will definitely be a sony. I was just checking out the FJ series as well...mostly because I wanted a green laptop. I don''t remember the other models I was looking at.

I have also converted my bf and best friend into Sony lovers. The screens are the best, very bright, clear and sharp.

One of my relatives is quite high up in a major computer/technology retailer and says right now, Sony and Toshiba are the best there is. They only purchase Sonys for their home use...and I think that''s saying a lot considering that they get freebies of every computer brand they want sent to them for work use, so they''ve compared them all side by side and see the pros and cons first hand, which I can''t do so I rely on them for that input.

I know they can be a little more, but I think the FJ series has recently come down in price. Regardless, I totally think Sony Vaios are worth the little bit extra. I think mine was over $3000 when I bought it, but worth every darn penny!

OH, I don''t have any experience with Sony customer service. I used the one from the company I bought from (since it was free and 24/7 perfect when you''re a college student and have a question at say, 3am

). I did spill tea on my keyboard and needed it replaced, and Sony did it while it was still under warranty and also replaced other things too that I didn''t ask for. I thought that was good service. BUT I had to send it away. A lot of people don''t like that...when I needed that repair Sony did not authorize anyone to work on their computers, so get it done under warranty, thats what I had to do. Maybe that has changed? But might be something to ask about if that is important to you. Shipping took maybe 2 weeks to send fix and return, wasn''t bad to me, but could be if it is the only computer in your household or something.

Sorry that was so long!

 

[butterfly 17]

Date: 2/2/2006 11:48:04 PM
Author: MC

I will be using this for going back to school,

Are you planning to leave the nursing field?

No, but I want to continue my education in Nursing, so I found a few distance learning programs that allow me to do everything, but my clinicals, online.
I went back to school for a year, but stopped last year when I became pregnant, so now I want to go back once again.
I did find it hard to go the whole day on Saturday and then have to go to work at night and not see my daughter the whole day, so I figure I would try the distance learning program.

 

[butterfly 17]

Blue824,
Thanks for responding. Now I have a few more questions for you. First, how long of a warranty should I get? I was thinking the 3 year with accidental coverage.

Second, I did a price check on the specs of the one I want and they also have the FS790 that I can custom build and the price would only be about $30 more for a 2 Ghz processor, 1 Gig of Ram and the Nvidia (?) game card with 224 Mb. The only thing is I want a smaller screen and that one only comes with the 15.4 inch and I kind of love the cool sky blue color, but black would be great and "professional", so I don''t know which way to go.
What do you think?

Oh, the other laptop option I was thinking about was an Apple G4 or Pro, but I kind of like Windows. I did have an Apple a long time ago, it was my first computer.

 

[butterfly 17]

Well, I just checked their website and found that they are now selling an fj series that is customizeable, so I think I will go that route. IT was not there yesterday and when I had called about getting a custom fj, they said that they did not know when that would be available, but it would be sometime soon.

Now, the color- white, black or blue? Ack! I can''t decide. I have time though, I don''t want to order until next week.

 

[Blue824]

I think the warranty is up to you...its sort of a crapshoot. I only needed a repair with in my first year, so I didn''t need anything besides the 1-yr it came with. My repair was also because I''m a klutz though! My middle brother got his laptop and at just over two years it melted...over heated and melted to his desk (funny, but not funny at the same time) and the extended warranty would''ve covered that defect (that we''re convinced Toshiba knew about and didn''t alert anyone to because they discontinued that model after a very short time on the market). It couldn''t hurt, right?

My bf got the black, it looks pretty sharp! I thought I''d get the green because all my office accessories are a green color, but I also thought the white might look nice and clean. I like the apple laptops and how they look white so that''s another reason because I like those so much. Maybe they have them at a store near you so you can see the colors in person. I''ve never seen the blue or greens in person. I think they were on Oprah''s favorite things this past xmas though. She said has either blue or green, don''t recall.

I hope you enjoy your upcoming purchase

 

[butterfly 17]

Here are all the colors they come in-

Onyx black
Pearl White
Jade Green
Sky Blue
Rasberry Red

I want one in each color!

 

[Momoftwo]

I''ve had my Compaq Presario for a month and love, love it. It''s got a pretty fast processor (Turion 64) and didn''t cost an arm and a leg. I did buy a 3 year warranty from Best Buy because it''s one less thing to worry about. It also doesn''t weigh a lot so it''s easy to carry.

 

[butterfly 17]

Hi everyone,
Just wanted to update that I wound up purchasing two of them. One in black and one in blue.
The black one is preconfigured with 1.86 GHz processor, 1 gig ram, 100 gig HD and windows xp Pro.
The blue one I configured with 2 ghz processor, 1 gig ram, 100 gig HD (with 5 free movies) and Windows XP Pro.
I will eventually return one of them, but since I couldn''t decide on the color, I figured I would get both and see. Also, since one has a faster processor, I wanted to see if I would notice a big difference or not.

We''ll see!