January 05, 2005

• I like the 17" Aluminum Powerbook. I understand that the IBM ThinkPads are good for those who like that sort of thing. With some finagling, you can connect to the internet with the right type of phone, but that wouldn't work for large attachments. For that, you're really better off finding a tmobile hotspot or similar, but those are popping up all over the place, so it shouldn't be all that hard. Still, if they're in the middle of the desert, they won't be able to get large attachments and possibly not even cell phone service, depending on the coverage in that area.
• A powerbook is probably overkill. An iBook will probably do everything they want it do and would be half the cost of a powerbook.. but, if they are pc people instead of mac people, you might as well stay with pc...hard to teach old dogs new tricks unless they really have motivation to learn!
• Actually, in this case, Power Is Good -- the machine will be put to some reasonably capability-intensive use. And yes, I should have mentioned in my original post, I'm searching for a PC / WindowsXP solution. Many apologies for ommitting that.
• Most of the really powerful laptops have little battery life and weigh a ton. You'll be trading portability for performance. Which is more important to you?
• Not that it matters, since they want a PC, but since the original request was for "very featured (fast, large harddrive, good display etc-and-you-name-it)", I can't see why a Powerbook would be overkill. As price isn't a big factor, just be sure to get plenty of useful accessories like a power inverter and spare batteries, and possible a battery plate to put on the bottom of the laptop to extend battery life, if such a thing is needed. But, yeah, check out the IBM Thinkpad line. Failing that, Dell has some pretty nice system, as does Alienware (especially if they are playing games on them).
• but they're also looking for the ability to pull over just about anywhere and at least check their email, send and receive large attachments etc. It sounds as if you are also looking for a different wireless solution than simply 802.11?. Look into gsm/gprs phones and a service with data, such as cingular or t-mobile. Or sprint's new Edge network. It'll cost you about $20 a month, but you can check email anywhere you have cell service. Mac's tend to work better for this as well. I'm currently posting from a powerbook with a bluetooth conenction to my ericsson t610 on the t-mobile network. painless to set up, and fairly rock solid stable.
• But if power really is god, then by all means, go alienware. They put desktop processors in laptops. those mothers scream.
• Or, if you are hell bent for the fastest thing you can carry, let me suggest a lovable, luggable, Dual Xeon Lunchbox.
• Alienware is overpriced. I have an M6-33. It is very sturdy and well-designed (one of my top criteria), and has everything but Bluetooth, for which you can buy a PCMCIA card. My next notebook will be the latest in the Sager 28xx line; here's where they are now. I have owned Dells and IBMs before, but haven't been impressed by their build quality.
• Alienware is for people who have money to burn and don't know better. Sure, they make incredible systems. But you're not going to get a portable system from them. They make "desktop replacements". At 10 lbs, plus the 1-2 lb power adapter, no one is going to toss this in a bag and carry it around. Look towards IBM and Dell. Toshiba and Fujitsu also make some good products. Big names may have lesser build quality, but I'd rather have a name like Dell on the machine when there's a problem than Sager. (No offense to the Sager-lovers out there, but can their support compare with the premium level support that Dell and others offer?) I would suggest: 1. A Pentium M based system, since it produces less heat and uses less power (benefits: fewer fans, less weight, longer battery life). 2. Go for an 802.11g or b/g combo card. 3. Get the second battery pack for extended battery life. 4. Get them a DVD burner, even if they don't need it. 5. Don't skimp on RAM (get at least 768MB, if not 1GB). 6. Go big on the hard drive, too. (they could probably get away with a 4200 RPM drive, rather than a 7200 RPM). 7. Get a SXGA or UXGA based display. Native resolution for SXGA is 1400x1050 and UXGA is 1600x1200. Crisp displays will be so much easier on their eyes. Good luck.. let me know which system you end up getting
• Sager's and PowerNotebooks.com's service, from personal experience, is so far beyond anything Dell offers that I find the comparison almost offensive. Tell me if Dell has a 0-dead-pixels guarantee, or lifetime technical support. Remember too that build quality determines how much you have to use these services and warranties. Either I have had very bad luck with Dells, or they use very poor quality batteries: my Inspiron 8800 battery died exactly one day after its 1-year warranty expired. (I am sure there are horror-filled anecdotes about every vendor, though.) One of the best selling points about Sager (for me) is that they sell OS-less systems. Good luck getting a Windows-free Dell laptop. 4200 RPM hard drives are OK for most purposes, but they are getting rarer. 5400 RPM is not that much hotter overall. 7200 and 10000 RPM drives are available, to the best of my knowledge, only on gaming laptops that weigh 10-15 pounds. Also I would not recommend getting a DVD burner until a clear victor emerges from the HD format wars. (I'm assuming you don't need to archive dozens of gigabytes every week.)
• Grignr - I wasn't implying anything about Sager or Powernotebooks support... I haven't had any kind of experience with either company. It was more of a question than a flame. I've experienced the highs and lows of Dell support... the long wait times and talking to the guy named "Mark" who has an thick foreign accent, as well as the next-day-technician-shows-up-with-your-part-and-fixes-it-the-first-time. If you pay for the premium support with Dell, you really get treated well. It's unfortunate that the system has come to this. And I agree with you about the OS-less system. I wish more companies would be willing to do this. As much as the great majority of the populace relies on a flavor of Windows, it would be nice for those who don't to be able to save the $100+ Windows license.
• I love me my Dell Inspiron 600m.
• Notebook data dump commencing... Gingr, sorry you had bad experience with your Dell, but in my considerable experience Dell batteries are among the very best. Of course, Dell Inspirons are among Dell's worst products, just like every manufacturers consumer-line notebooks. And I'm not promising miracles by any means, just that Dell batteries tend to be the best of a weak technology. When looking for a combination of features and reliability, look at mid-level notebooks from major manufacturers corporate line notebooks. Major Manufacturer - because they put in the engineering time to ensure quality on their better notebooks. Mid-Level - you don't want the latest and greatest because you want something with the kinks worked out of it, and even mid-level brand-new is over-kill for almost anything these days. Corporate Line - because that's where the major brands put their best efforts. When you're selling 1000 notebooks to a single customer, you want that customer to come back to you in two years for another 1000. So, for example, look at Dell Latitudes, or IBM T or X series. Don't be seduced by a consumer model like a Dell Inspiron. Sure, the high end models promise super-recent technology at better pricing than the Latitude line, but there's always a reason for something like that, isn't there? It's called engineering. Engineering to make sure the tech works reliably takes time and money, that's why the corporate Latitude line always lags a bit in technology, but is much more reliable in general. As far as your other requirements Planet, I suggest that your boss is going to have to make some choices. They can have super-rugged - that's the specialized Panasonic Toughbook line - but they're bulkier, heavier and more costly. They can have super-portable - that's something like a Toshiba Portege, or IBM X-series, Dell Latitude X. These are extra light and thin, and performance is decent, but no fancy features, smaller screens, and the CD drive is an extra piece. Surprisingly rugged simply because they're so light and thin that the super-portables are easy to pack and protect. Also a bit more expensive. Or they can go for a solid, straight-up midline corporate model like mentioned above, where the price point will give you the most bang for the buck. Once they make that choice, it should narrow down pretty quickly. For example, wanting a big screen excludes ultra-portable, so given only 5 major brands (HP, IBM, Dell, Apple, Toshiba) your going to have 2 models at most from each brand that fit your criteria. That's ten models (at most), of which pricing will be way off on at least 1/3, which brings you to 6. Do some quick googling and probably a couple of those are lemons, which brings you to 4 choices to lay out for them.
• Fujitsu Lifebook P5020D or P7010D. Great battery life, small enough to take anywhere, enough compute power to do anything except play Half Life 2. PortableOne is my importer of choice. NewEgg also carries them. --Pat
• I have an IBM T40 and love it. Pentium M, built in 802.11b, bright 15" screen, lots of RAM. You can get a slightly oversized battery that has a life of about 7 hours (with all power management features turned up). (I think the T42 may be the newer model.)
• How about one of these? behold, the laptop of unspeakable EVIL!!!