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I hate shopping for laptops
It's been an interesting week, health-wise. Since not a lot else was getting done, other than a lovely dinner or two with friends I hadn't seen for a while, I started looking for computers again.
I started wobbling on purchasing a Mac. I am having trouble visualizing myself dropping that much money for a computer. Even if I buy an $800 PC laptop, a minimum Mac is $200+ more than that. So I returned to PCs, thinking that either a Dell or a Toshiba was what I wanted. I want reliability, and would like the computer to be upgradable and last at least five years.
It doesn't need a hot processor for games. It needs to handle text well. It needs a responsive keyboard for someone who types a lot (no Chiclets.) It needs a very good monitor, or an easy to see monitor that I can buy a TV to go with. It needs R-W drives, and to be able to read DVDs and CDs. I need USB ports for my Kindle, etc., an HDMI connection, and Ethernet. I'd prefer a hard drive in the computer, because I ideally will sometimes work where there is no cloud, and I can misplace a flash drive faster than you can blink.
Of course, it needs good speakers, wi-fi, a camera and mike. I'm not worried about software. I'm going to try Scrivner's, so if Office comes on the machine, great. If not, I'll try Open Office. And I'd like to get it for $800 or less.
A friend this week told me that unless I'm a business customer, Dell and Toshiba will probably give me lousy customer service. And a small biz customer will get no better service right now. He suggested Acer or ASUS.
http://www.laptopmag.com/mobile-life/best-brands-2012.aspx
But these articles, among others, say Acer and ASUS are extremely unreliable, and that all customer service varies by as little as a point overall, and I should either buy a lemon protection plan or expect to be ignored by the manufacturer of whatever computer I buy. Some say Lenovo, some say HP -- and I'm deeply suspicious of the HP quality.
Unless I buy an Apple, and spring for the extended warranty.
So, am I looking for a unicorn? I really don't want to spend three months shipping a laptop back and forth, trying to get a machine that actually works. Should I just buy the cheapest workhorse and expect crap service if I need it? If I'm playing that game, I'm buying from Costco, since I have a relationship with them.
I started wobbling on purchasing a Mac. I am having trouble visualizing myself dropping that much money for a computer. Even if I buy an $800 PC laptop, a minimum Mac is $200+ more than that. So I returned to PCs, thinking that either a Dell or a Toshiba was what I wanted. I want reliability, and would like the computer to be upgradable and last at least five years.
It doesn't need a hot processor for games. It needs to handle text well. It needs a responsive keyboard for someone who types a lot (no Chiclets.) It needs a very good monitor, or an easy to see monitor that I can buy a TV to go with. It needs R-W drives, and to be able to read DVDs and CDs. I need USB ports for my Kindle, etc., an HDMI connection, and Ethernet. I'd prefer a hard drive in the computer, because I ideally will sometimes work where there is no cloud, and I can misplace a flash drive faster than you can blink.
Of course, it needs good speakers, wi-fi, a camera and mike. I'm not worried about software. I'm going to try Scrivner's, so if Office comes on the machine, great. If not, I'll try Open Office. And I'd like to get it for $800 or less.
A friend this week told me that unless I'm a business customer, Dell and Toshiba will probably give me lousy customer service. And a small biz customer will get no better service right now. He suggested Acer or ASUS.
http://www.laptopmag.com/mobile-life/best-brands-2012.aspx
But these articles, among others, say Acer and ASUS are extremely unreliable, and that all customer service varies by as little as a point overall, and I should either buy a lemon protection plan or expect to be ignored by the manufacturer of whatever computer I buy. Some say Lenovo, some say HP -- and I'm deeply suspicious of the HP quality.
Unless I buy an Apple, and spring for the extended warranty.
So, am I looking for a unicorn? I really don't want to spend three months shipping a laptop back and forth, trying to get a machine that actually works. Should I just buy the cheapest workhorse and expect crap service if I need it? If I'm playing that game, I'm buying from Costco, since I have a relationship with them.
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Two years ago I switched to Apple, despite my intense dislike of their "nanny hardware" tendencies (I like to personalize my computers more than Mac allows). There are some rough spots in our relationship, but absolutely none of them have been re: service or repairs. I make a Genius Bar appointment, I go in, they fix it cheerfully, and I go on my way with no delay in productivity. That alone has made the money spent, worthwhile.
(I still have my Asus T3 and love it, but it's not a work-machine)
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So I think I'm looking at Toshiba or Apple. I could sell stock and get the Apple, or buy a Toshiba now, and get an Apple when cash is coming in again. A friend has offered to let me use their Apple discount this year, which was a lovely offer.
Thanks for letting me know about your experience!
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(I suppose there's always FedEx....)
Does it still have some Apple Care left?
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In my case it's not just that it would be "nice" to "save money" on a computer. I don't HAVE the kind of money that Apple asks for. The above was my budget, and the Dell had the most features for the price.
One place to find deals is gotapex.com, which frequently offers insider coupons for various computers.
For extended warranties, my sister recommends this: http://www.squaretrade.com/pages/
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After 3 hours of typing on everything in my price range we settled on a Toshiba Satellite C655. 15" It was 2 generations away from their top price but still in production and has been a splendid workhorse for my needs. You might want an external monitor depending on your needs.
Son likes Toshiba for many reason, chief among them is that the design and manufacturing are next door to each other and intimately involved with each other.
He says HP is okay and likes that they are US owned, but design is in the US and the factory in Asia. He says tech support for either is excellent. I can't speak to that as I've never had to call them for my lovely little Toshiba.
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If it was just a casual machine, I could mess around with Craig's List, see if people were willing to take it to MacWorks and AppleHappy for a lemon check -- but I don't feel like I can buy a discounted Apple for $800 and find I got one of the few lemons out there. (They do exist!)
Phyl, thanks for your input on Toshiba! Kit, I will keep Frye's in mind -- I know it's just getting lucky with the sales, etc. Laura Anne, we might want to talk about it. I know you are swamped right now, though.
Hate.Buying.Computers.
I am an entwife. I want the computer to listen to me and do what I ask it to do All The Time.
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Macs are lovely creatures. I keep wanting to add more to my fold.
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I love their stuff - and their keyboards are the best. (There was a lot of fuss when they changed the keyboard style, as their keyboards were legendary... and I like my new one better. And I was pretty skeptical.) Oh, I'm thinking about their thinkpad line in particular. And buy from their site - much better deals that way.
I don't know about their support. Well, I know they have excellent on-site support for reasonable prices. And I know they make it easy for you to do your own work, which is what I do. And their stuff is just a bit behind Apple in terms of reliability, and unlike the new Apple machines, it can be serviced, none of this glued or soldered in crap.
Oh, and thumbs down on Asus support. I have a Transformer convertible tablet - and while I love it, when a cable failed, I didn't have my tablet for two months because of stupid support problems.
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