I have to agree with the original poster of this thread. There is no single place for the laptop reviews as there is for desktops and other desktop hardware.
I have been looking to buy a laptop for the last 6 months but have not converged on one yet. I have been doing extensive research over the past 6 months from multiple sources but still have not decided on one yet.
After extensive research, the following are my brief conclusions:
1. There are three types of notebooks you can get
(i) Ultra-light weight notebooks ( (ii) Thin and light notebooks (4 to 6 pounds)
(iii) Desktop replacements (> 7 pounds)
2. The choice basically depends on what you plan to use the notebook for:
(i) For extensive graphics use
(ii) Frequesnt travel use
(iii) Desktop replacement (highly powerful)
3. The following are the leading vendors:
a. IBM Thinkpads have the best performance and good long battery life and long list of configurable options -- the biggest con is the price -- they are the most expensive out there. Try this www.thinkpads.com (requires registration) for discussing with other Thinkpad users. I myself have owned a thinkpad for five long years and never had a problem and the support has always been good.
b. Sony line of notebooks (vaio) are cool, innovative and competetively priced. They too come up with good form factor (Check out Sony Vaio QR series (Only in Japan) and Vaio U series -- just introduced) and good battery life. Most of these are small (except the new GRX line which is the biggest of all) and they have their problems. I have used a Sony Vaio FX series and have had bad KB and other sorts of problems.
c. Toshiba was the market leader some 6 years back and still has some solid line of notebooks -- Their Satellite S505 is a killer notebook and their Portege 2000 (the thinnest you can get). They too have their own mechanical problems and they are bit pricey.
d. Dell and Gateway -- I am combining these two together as both of them are quite similar. They have a wide range of notebook selection -- aggressively priced. I currently own a Dell Latitude C810 and its really good. But its not quite fancy as a Sony. I use it as a desktop replacement.
e. Compaq and HP (Will soon become one) -- Again they both almost fall into same category - Compaq has a Presario line of notebooks which are desktop replacements and come with the best possible processor and GPU. Their Evo line of notebooks is a lightweight option. HP has a Pavilion line of notebooks which is quite similar to the Presario line.
f. Fujitsu, NEC, Sharp, Panasonic -- All these Japanese companies have innovative notebooks. The notable one is Fujitsu Lifebook P Series... The smallest notebook with a CD burner -- comes for under $2000. I have used a Panasonic M2 and its also a good choice.
g. If you are interested in MAC, you have http://www.apple.com/ibook/ and I personally loved the machine but I have never used MAC and hence dint want to take the risk.
There you have it....
I sure wish someone puts up a good laptop review site.
Good luck in finding your notebook.
If you find a good site, please post it here.
Slashdot Mirror
I am unable to go to the any of these sites.
;)?
http://www.cnet.com
http://www.news.com
http://www.com.com
http://www.download.com
Note: All these are CNet sites.
What I AM ABLE to access is
http://msnbc-cnet.com.com/
may be MSNBC has actually bought CNet
[p.s] This is my first post to
I have to agree with the original poster of this thread. There is no single place for the laptop reviews as there is for desktops and other desktop hardware.
I have been looking to buy a laptop for the last 6 months but have not converged on one yet. I have been doing extensive research over the past 6 months from multiple sources but still have not decided on one yet.
The resources that I have been looking are:
1. http://www.cnet.com (http://japan.cnet.com)
2. http://www.zdnet.com
3. http://www.vaio.net & http://www.sonystyle.com(http://www.vaio.sony.co.
4. http://www.fujitsupc.com
5. http://www.toshiba.com
6. http://www.ibm.com/thinkpad
7. http://www.dell4me.com
8. http://athome.compaq.com
9. http://www.tech-report.com (For new Mobile Processor reports)
10. http://www.designtechnica.com (For upcoming mobile news)
11. http://www.pcworld.com
12. http://www.apple.com/ibook/
After extensive research, the following are my brief conclusions:
1. There are three types of notebooks you can get
(i) Ultra-light weight notebooks ( (ii) Thin and light notebooks (4 to 6 pounds)
(iii) Desktop replacements (> 7 pounds)
2. The choice basically depends on what you plan to use the notebook for:
(i) For extensive graphics use
(ii) Frequesnt travel use
(iii) Desktop replacement (highly powerful)
3. The following are the leading vendors:
a. IBM Thinkpads have the best performance and good long battery life and long list of configurable options -- the biggest con is the price -- they are the most expensive out there. Try this www.thinkpads.com (requires registration) for discussing with other Thinkpad users. I myself have owned a thinkpad for five long years and never had a problem and the support has always been good.
b. Sony line of notebooks (vaio) are cool, innovative and competetively priced. They too come up with good form factor (Check out Sony Vaio QR series (Only in Japan) and Vaio U series -- just introduced) and good battery life. Most of these are small (except the new GRX line which is the biggest of all) and they have their problems. I have used a Sony Vaio FX series and have had bad KB and other sorts of problems.
c. Toshiba was the market leader some 6 years back and still has some solid line of notebooks -- Their Satellite S505 is a killer notebook and their Portege 2000 (the thinnest you can get). They too have their own mechanical problems and they are bit pricey.
d. Dell and Gateway -- I am combining these two together as both of them are quite similar. They have a wide range of notebook selection -- aggressively priced. I currently own a Dell Latitude C810 and its really good. But its not quite fancy as a Sony. I use it as a desktop replacement.
e. Compaq and HP (Will soon become one) -- Again they both almost fall into same category - Compaq has a Presario line of notebooks which are desktop replacements and come with the best possible processor and GPU. Their Evo line of notebooks is a lightweight option. HP has a Pavilion line of notebooks which is quite similar to the Presario line.
f. Fujitsu, NEC, Sharp, Panasonic -- All these Japanese companies have innovative notebooks. The notable one is Fujitsu Lifebook P Series... The smallest notebook with a CD burner -- comes for under $2000. I have used a Panasonic M2 and its also a good choice.
g. If you are interested in MAC, you have http://www.apple.com/ibook/ and I personally loved the machine but I have never used MAC and hence dint want to take the risk.
There you have it....
I sure wish someone puts up a good laptop review site.
Good luck in finding your notebook.
If you find a good site, please post it here.