Need Laptop Advice

[punky]

Thinking of getting a laptop.
price range around 1600-2200, i mostly use them for applications and internet, maybe media also, not much if any games.
What do u guys think i should get? MACS G4? Toshiba?.... etc?
Thanks guys!

[hash]

Is portability a big issue for you? ie: Will you be carrying it around lots or will it just sit in your room 90% of the time...?

If so, Apple has pretty good PowerBooks and iBooks that are small and lightwieght (12inch screen). Plus they've got some major cool factor.

Dell Inspiron 600m's are fairly compact as well (not as small as the macs though). Dell probably gives you the best bang for your buck if you're going for a windows-based machine. Centrino chips are something to look for too... they're easier on the battery, less heat, etc...

Personally, I like Toshiba quality... especially the higher end models.. they're quite reliable.

[QuasarCav]

There are some good prices in the marketplace right now, that will save you alot.

[punky]

I looked around, and the G4 really caught my eyes.
What do you guys think?
btw, how much difference between the 1.2 and 1.33 Ghz?

[ZorroAMG]

My friend just bought a G4 15" powerbook on the weekend and it's fantastic...get the combo drive to save cash and get 512 more ram, the superdrive is a waste of cash if you won't burn DVD's and then the 1.2 'll be fine..then just buy Office:Mac and you'll be rockin...if you are a student or can get a student to hook you up, software and hardware is cheaper @ the Micro store at Uof C

[RiCE-DaDDy]

check out dell 700m, 12 inch wide screen.

right now they have free 1gb ram, promotions change every week

i remember when they first came out and they had both free upgrade to 1gb ram and up to 80gig hard drive for less than 2000

[ICEBERG]

Well, i am a mac guy and would recommend the Powerbook for your needs. If playing games is not important then get the G4 powerbook. I have 2. My wife has the 12" and i have the 15. They are just great. Had mine for over 2 years and no problems to this date. I use mine for video editing alot.

I would also look at the ibooks. They also have the G4 chip. I think they are up to 1.33ghz. They are cheaper and more stronger than the powerbook.

If i was you, i would get the 14.1" 1.33ghz G4 ibook. Good luck..

[bspot]

If you decide you don't want to go with the mac, thinkpads are the way to go. A bit more expensive, but you get what you pay for. The hinging and casing are bomb proof. I don't know much about the battery lifes of Mac's, but I would never consider a laptop that wasn't centrino.

[tulit]

I don't know much about the battery lifes of Mac's, but I would never consider a laptop that wasn't centrino.


The battery life on the mac will kill any PC laptop... Ive watched DVDs on a single charge on the 12" ibook before. Try doing that on a PC ;)

[lint]

Originally posted by tulit


The battery life on the mac will kill any PC laptop... Ive watched DVDs on a single charge on the 12" ibook before. Try doing that on a PC ;)

No problems on my centrino. 3+ hours of battery life, more if you shut down the wireless antenna and other applications when watching a movie. I get close to 4 hours on my work laptop, also centrino.

[sputnik]

I have a 15" G4 Powerbook. Thin and light with a killer screen.

[bspot]

Originally posted by tulit


The battery life on the mac will kill any PC laptop... Ive watched DVDs on a single charge on the 12" ibook before. Try doing that on a PC ;)

R40's get about 6 hours.

[D'z Nutz]

I'm gonna toss in my 2 cents here and vouch for the iBooks. If you don't play games and you don't use software restricted to just windows, you should definitely consider an Apple laptop. If you're a post-secondary student (or know of one), you should purchase it from Apple's website with the Education discount:
http://www.apple.com/ca/education/edroutingpage/index.html

I would suggest that over the U of C's Microstore for two reasons: 1) It's cheaper, and 2) you'll get it much quicker. One of the guys I work with used to work at the Microstore and he said that when you order an Apple from them, time of arrival varies. You might get it in a week, you might get it in a month or even longer. I ordered my 12" iBook from them back in May. I called and placed the order on a Monday evening, it arrived (from Taiwan!) at my doorstep Friday morning. My 12" 1gHz iBook with a 60gb harddrive upgrade cost me around $1500 with the education discount, IIRC. They now come in 1.2gHz and 1.33 gHz models now and include the Airport Extreme wireless card. Battery life on my iBook on web surfing and average application usage gets me about 3-4 hours easily.

And like bspot said, if you decide not to go the Apple route, check out the Thinkpads (or any Toshiba's for that matter). You're within the range of a decent Centrino machine and if I were to get a PC based laptop, that's what I'd go with as well. If you have any questions about the Centrino machines, do a search on it. It's been discussed here ad nauseum.

[punky]

alright thank you everyone on the infos!:thumbsup:
I've decided on the Ibook, im just going to stick with the 12incher. I want something compact. I think the lower model with cdrw is perfect for me. Only 1282 + tax from uc store.