Laptop recommendations...

Minisweeper

Hmm. SO today i checked out the macs at the local apple shop. The ibooks are depressingly ugly imo - they look far too deep (front to back) for the size they are which, compared to the vaios i didnt particularly like. :( And while i love the 15" pb, it's way too expensive. So it looks like i'll be sticking with pc's unless anyone knows any design changes in the mix?

LoOkOuT

Current rumours suggest intels in macs as soon as January, with consumer level iBooks, iMacs and MacMinis definetely most likely to be first. Certainly, PowerMacs will be last, and as beleagured as the PowerBooks are, they are less likely to go intel first. But I'd wait until at least early January just to see what happens with the iBooks (possibly, as a stretch, PowerBooks), if you can.

Kosmo

From what info I can gather from various sites, Apple has plans to introduce Intel iMac and PowerBook - which are Apples best selling Mac products - on second week of January in Macworld Expo. While it's not that clear if 15" PB will be in that release, the 17" and 20" iMacs are almost ready to roll, but with minimal changes to the models introduced not so long ago, mainly a hardware swap to the new iron. The 15" PB is stated to follow in February. Closer to the mid-2006 schedule are the new 13" Widescreen versions of the iBook line, and Intel Mac Mini. It's also rumored that Apple might have something for the future, a laptop computer resembling the Mac Mini in price and size, marketted towards people who don't need expensive computer but need something to use to check emai and pay the bills. A market that is almost completely forgotten today. I must warn you that, these are most part rumors, so take it with a grain of salt.

Minisweeper

humz. Assuming the PB's will be roughly the same price theyre still out my budget. The widescreen ibooks sound somewhat tempting but i'm not sure i wanna wait till mid next year. What is the release lag between the US and UK usually?

Kosmo

It's not that long, Apple has had a good record on releasing hardware atleast here in Finland shortly after they become available in US.

WallPhone

Both me and my brother have purchased from http://ynot2k.com. Rumor has it that Asus manufacturs Apple's portables. Don't know if these guys ship internationally. For the portable PC world, I would recommend going for the Dolthan processor (2MB of cache improves performance, plus 90 nm process means cooler running and longer battery life.) I have used the S-video out to watch TV and it works great. One oddity is some DVD player software won't allow the DVD image to output through S-video.

Grep

I can recommend the HP 1040dv - i bought the thing on a whim as i'd been stressing over what spec to buy for far too long! It's absolutly the best thing i've ever bought.

Kosmo

If weight isn't an issue, you might want to check what kind of machine you can build out of a barebone laptop. Some say that they are awesome, especially in the price range, when compared to brand name laptops.

Minisweeper

weight isnt a huge issue but at the same time i dont want to have to think about *not* taking it somewhere because it'l bug me. I'm tempted to go brand name on this one cause even though i'm competant with the process of pc building/diagnostics/etc i want to be 100% certain this thing will be reliable as a rock.

Minisweeper

hmm. just on a quick glance the nx6125 looks rather fitting - reasonable enough spec and has a couple of extras i want. Shame it's ugly as sin imo

jumbosheep

if you like macintosh, id go with a brand spankin new powerbook G4, at least a 15 inch

moe

I'd suggest to stay away from the ibook/powerbooks unless you really want OSX. They're really not as much bang for the buck as they used to be, especially the display can't hold a candle (hoho, sorry pun) to the newer stuff they put in the PC books. One word about the new "truebrite", CrystalBrite, X-black (and whatever else they call it) screens, though: Don't fall for the hype! Make sure to take a close look at whatever notebook you want to buy and make sure you'll be happy with the display, whatever panel, model or buzzword it is. The truebrite stuff does indeed have better color and contrast than some of the older TFTs but the big drawback is that at least the first generation of truebrite-displays (which is mostly shipping now) is glossy. It shines and reflects light like an old CRT-screen. I personally could never work on one for that very reason. Every time you move your head you'll likely have some lamp reflections sting your eyes. I was told that the only "new generation" display worth getting is the X-Black one that sony builds into its high-end machines. Those are said to not reflect light as bad but well, they're probably beyond your budget just as they are beyond mine. So, the choices today are IMHO: 1. Lenovo (formerly IBM) They have an *excellent* website, just take a look. You pay a little premium for the name but the Stinkpads are built like tanks (and equally ugly...). I have never ever heard anyone complain about a thinkpad and I have never heard that one broke on someone. They are basically first (maybe only?) choice if you just want a notebook to get work done. Aim for the T-series (T40 or somesuch) and you won't be disappointed. The displays are excellent (no truebrite thought but as said if you want one there's only the sony and those are expensive) and the other features are state of the art. The midrange models and up are very light and battery runtime is the standard 4h for most models. The more expensive ones can take a 2nd battery and run forever. Oh and thinkpads have the best linux support you can get, if that matters to you (check linux-on-laptops.org). 2. Toshiba Also a good brand, almost on par with IBM. The design is a bit slicker but also less tough. If you're gonna run windows I think it's mainly a matter of taste whether you get an IBM or a Toshiba while the latter tends to be a little bit cheaper. 3. Dell Cheap. Dell gives you lots of features, decent display, lotsa memory for little money. But you can also get ripped off, make sure you're not getting one of the low-end models, those are usually packed with yesterdays hardware and generally suck. I know some people who are quite happy with dell notebooks thought and I think they can be good choice when you're on a budget. Some of the midrange Dells have feats (second HDD etc) that you'd only get in much more expensive models from a "real" brand. 4. Sony If you have the money to spend on a highend sony.. well.. I'll be jealous. I'm not totally up to date but their top-of-the-line model used to constantly be the slimmest, lightest, longest running notebook with the best display that (lots of) money can buy you. Don't bother with lowend sony though. Those are still expensive and you can get more for the money from IBM or Toshiba. 5. Panasonic Haven't seen one in a long time. They used to build the toughbooks that you can run over with a bulldozer and then write your tax report on. Don't know much about their midrange notebooks but I doubt they're worth considering when you can have an IBM or Toshiba. 6. Fujitsu Siemens Stay away. They suck really, really bad. 7. Other brands (Samsung, JVC etc) As you can tell by now I'm a) bored and b) recently bought a notebook. During my endless google sessions I also learned that everyone "and their dog" seems to be selling notebooks. But actually there are only a few manufactures actually building the things (ASUS is one of the biggest afaik) and most cheapo laptops that you can buy are nothing more but a rebranded OEM. So at some point I stopped evaluating even more because it was just too much and I already found something that fit my needs (a JVC 731 because I wanted small over everything else). So, my summary would be, if you don't want to think too much and just get a good notebook, get an IBM. If you have lots of time to spend then just take my text as a kickstart and start looking yourself... ;) good luck! :)

Kosmo

Well, in my experience, if you want a laptop that will last, you have to get a Mac. This computer I'm right now, is a compaq laptop, this was top of the line when this was bought two and a half years ago, and alreagy the speakers crack the screen sucks so much ass that I'm beginning to think this computer is gay and this is loud like someone vacuuming your ear. PC laptops just aren't ment for long time usage, that is what I have learned.

jsanders

to throw my opinion into this fray: if you're looking for tough, reliable machines, your choices are IBM, Apple, and ASUS. if you want a warranty with your machine more than anything else, look to IBM or HP. Apple's warranties are good, too, but you pay for them. if you want a machine that's good, but is uber-cheap, watch slickdeals.net and get a dell. all my experiences with HP have been negative. cheap hardware, proprietary trash built-in, bad drivers... i'm not a good source for HP compliments. toshiba used to be king. this is no longer the case. DO NOT GET A DELL if you want ANY customer service. you really get what you pay for. dell's hardware is not bad, but their service has not grown appropriately with their company. also, dell will get you most orders within a week or two, which is more you can say for any of the other mail order shops. IBM's turnaround on orders seems to be three weeks. if you wait a little while, the styling on IBM notebooks is supposed to get a refresh (Q106, according to the rumors). finally, a note on ASUS notebooks: if you have the know-how and are willing to get your hands a little dirty, you will not beat one of the barebones models. the construction of those things is astounding (carbon-fiber!), and almost everything is well though-out. slap in a processor, memory, and HDD, and you can have whatever you want to pay for. i've seen one outfitted with a dothan, 7200rpm drive, and 1GB of RAM, and it outclassed every desktop we put it up against. obviously not so good for games, but for desktop work, it's hard to beat the centrino. also, the intel wireless that's built into the chassis of the asus is superb. stunning range, and the drivers for it (unlike some i could mention *cough* dell) are actually useful. if you want an asus and aren't near a japanese/chinese systems import shop, go to www.newegg.com. (note - i work for IBM)

lech

hahahahaha!


6. Fujitsu Siemens
Stay away. They suck really, really bad.


ahahahahah oh so true!

oliver

A PowerBook (or even iBook) with a G5 would be hot - literally. Not possible. However, check this for an interesting read: http://www.macintouch.com/perfpack/comparison.html - it shows that the PowerBook G4's are *almost* as fast as the iMac G5's in certain aspects, because of various bottlenecks, in respect to the G5 heating issues, memory, blah blah - conclusion: If I hadn't bought my iMac G5 a few months ago, I'd definetely opt for the new PowerBooks with wonderfully high screen-resolutions, and the cooler G4 processors, instead of my fan-noisy iMac G5 - the everyday speed would be pretty much the same it seems! And about the choice between Mac or Windoze: Well, for me it's not as much a question about which platform gives most computing power, but about the OS. The stability, the features, the security, and my personal preferences: Which for me is Mac - always. Others may like Windows better - which is fine with me;-) If I was to buy a PC-lappie, I'd probably go for Dell or Zepto (danish)... I don't know much about Windows-laptops though, so it's based on recommendations from friends;-)

moe

i don't know why anyone would want to get an ibook or powerbook right now. they're still using the *dog-slow* G4 cpus (this stuff is really, really slow when compared to the current pentium M offerings) and most components (display, HDD), along with the design (size, weight) are pretty much outdated. look what $1300 can buy you from IBM (e.g. an X31) and compare that to the apple offerings. yes, apple has OSX but hardware-wise they're behind the times and imho the prices are hardly justified anymore (may change with their next generation).

Minisweeper

So, now christmas is over i'm back on the hunt. I played with my bro's gf's 17"PB over the last couple of days and though it is gorgeous i'm not about to stack that amount of cash on it, and the iBooks just dont take my fancy for some reason.
Has there been any more news about the whole mactel situation? Otherwise what are peoples opinions on this?
How do these 64bit Turion cores compare to the p4m range, performance and power-use wise?

skyfex

minisweeper: I suggest wating for MWSF (in January), and see if they release the Intel PowerBooks then. If not, then buy an Acer or something. I have a 2 year old PowerBook 15" myself. Couldn't be happier ^_^ I'm thinking of buying a second generation Intel PowerBook 15", if they get Radeon 9800 Mobility.

lech

I'm still convinced that there will be a "g5-like" powerbook, even if it is intel powered. Because I'm crazy like that.