I've used Dell, Toshiba and IBM laptops. Lug a Dell around long enough and you'll be on a first-name basis with their parts/tech support dept. If it sits around in a docking station all the time, you MAY get lucky and not have it take a dive on you. They are pretty much fancy trash in terms of reliability...
Out of the 5 IBM laptops I've carried, I've only had one give me grief and that was the screen. I've beat them to death, hauled them across 4 continents and every one I've owned since the days of the 266MHz 770 has been bulletproof. They aren't as fancy as Dells in terms of graphics card options, screen size, etc., etc., but the age-old adage of "you get what you pay for" really comes into play here.
I've got a T30 and a T42 right now. The T42 rocks, pure and simple and I've never had a complaint with the T30 that's been with me for close to 18 months now.
Toshiba? I used them when I worked in El Paso and Juarez. I had one give out on me within two weeks of getting it (mainboard fried itself), but the replacement I received was excellent and ran like a champ (Toshiba's support dept. was a joy to work with, believe it or not). It took the same beatings I've given my IBM ThinkPads and the other folks that had them experienced the same reliability I did.
I'd run with IBM with laptops. Now, if you were asking about desktops, I'd steer you in another direction...
