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I've got a PowerBook and can't go with anything less now. You'd be hard-pressed to find a computer this light and thin with the amount of useable features this thing has. The 15.2" widescreen is still too big for me but I'm growing on it (had the computer since July 2003 .. I prefer 14.1" screens at the most on laptops, after all they're supposed to be portable). I can't deny build quality either, this thing has been abused to oblivion and back and still takes more beatings. example: dropped three feet off a table, case pops out but it still works perfectly fine .. and this isn't the last thing to happen to this comp.

Had a Sony Vaio before this, loved that laptop. I'd recommend looking into them as an option. Mine (PCG-FXA53) had a bunch of little features and nice touches you wouldn't expect in a laptop, such as a removable floppy drive to put in a second battery (not a removable optical drive as was common in laptops of the time, they recognized that the optical drive is a more necessary thing to keep in). Keyboard wasn't bendy either, yet the keys weren't stiff ... a rare but appreciated combination.

As always IBM has proven its reliability among laptops, and are often noted as having the most comfortable typing keyboards, although with most models you are forced to get a pointer stick rather than a touchpad.

No Dell, but thanks. Also, Apple is not an option.

check out averatec

www.averatec.com

Their base system is $1000

4.3 lbs
3.5 hour battery life
AMD athlon XP 2200+M
512mb DDR ram
60 gig hard drive
DVD-rom Cd burner
on board 802.11g
http://www.averatec.com/notebooks/3200series.htm

Im actually working on the older model of that right now for my cousin, she got like 40 viruses... and Ive been trying to clean it up... but im finding its impossible to do without formatting... NO virus scanner can get all of them, and I cant find any fixes for these two damn viruses that REdownload other viruses... the damn things make IE virtually impossible to use, and the computer slow as hell... im just gonna back up her data and format it.

Whatever you do, dont get a dell. I have had so many friends buy dell laptops... Give them 13 months, the hard drives fail, and Dell charges an arm and a leg for an OEM replacement one.

I'll put my stamp of approval on ANY IBM laptop. Of all the laptops I see with problems, IBM's are the rarest.

Dell's are just too big, toshiba's are pretty bulky too but i'd take one over a dell.

I really don't like compaq AT ALL. Too many bad experiences over the years, though, HP's laptops I like, surprisingly considering they are now the same company. Stay away from anything with the presario name on it though. Garbage.

Toshiba Tecra A4

My father has this one, just got it two weeks ago. Definetly my pick. Personally, I'd stay away from the compaq or HP. It's one of those "you get what you pay for" things. Toshibas are REALLY nice. IMHO, thee best non custom built laptop money can buy.

I've given it out before, but here's the link to the EPP site for IBM. I'd be happy to answer any PM's if you have questions about what to get if you go IBM.

IBM US Employee Purchase


Serial Number: 809019
Last Name: Harris

R-series: decent price, not that lightweight.
T-series: lightweight, slightly more expensive (look at 187186U)
G-series: desktop replacement, poor battery life, HEAVY
X-series: ultraportable (~3lbs) at expense of processor performance.

When figuring your budget, also think about the cost of the extras that are nice to have (extra A/C adapter, travel adapter, port replicator, 9-cell battery, etc).

Looks like we are offering free shipping, and some of the models are deeply discounted. Look at 23735TU (T42 which is nice, though it's a 14.1", $1299).

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...