I just bought a laptop myself this month, using similar criteria to what you used.
Laptops are incredibly cheap right now.
Macs, as they have always been, are way overpriced as is any s/w you would want to load.
PCs can be bought for a song.
If you are going to keep it forever (you kept your last one 9 years – GULP!), here are some things to consider:
– RAM: Don’t short-change yourself on RAM. Windows Vista alone will use 1 GB, so you’ll need 2 GB or more total RAM to run any sort of s/w package…since you are going to keep it a long time, I would recommend maxing the RAM out since s/w packages will require more and more RAM over the years (4 GB is all Vista can use in 32 bit mode,which is what everybody runs in. You can go to 64 bit mode to get more RAM, but that’s probably not necessary in your case).
– Internet: Things are rapidly moving in the wireless direction. Hotels, airports, even coffee shops are now wireless hotspots. Therefore, definitely get 802.11 – it doesn’t cost much and you’ll be glad you did in the long run. Also get a 10/100 network card for using wired ethernet practically anywhere you go. 10/100 cards are dirt cheap anyway.
– Bluetooth: I wasn’t going to get this, then started thinking about how easy it would be to move pics from my cell to my computer. So I bought it. Again, doesn’t cost much.
– Hard Drive: I’m a photo hound, so I splurged a little (but not much) here. Video is getting very popular and really chews through disk space, so in my opinion get at least a 200 GB disk. As videos gain traction, you’ll be glad.
– Screen size: this is a hard one. The bigger the screen, the heavier/bulkier the laptop. I went sorta mid-range with a 15.4 in widescreen.
– DVD: BlueRay on a laptop is still way too costly, so I didn’t get it. I just went with a plain, basic DVD player. I may regret it, but my wallet thanked me.
– Make sure it has at least two avail USB ports: one for a mouse, one for a memory stick. 2 USBs is pretty common now.
I spent a lot of time at Fry’s but could not get all of the above packaged together at a price any less than HP or Dell (I never shop Gateway).
So I pitted Dell and HP against each other and ran the numbers in many ways. Dell won. Here is what I bought…it arrived this week:
Dell Inspiron 1525
3GB RAM
Intel Core Duo T5550
250 GB drive
Windows Vista SP1 Home
10/100 Network Card
CD/DVD Writer (DVD+/-RW)
Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth
Widescreen 15.4in
85Whr Lithium Ion Battery
Price: $819 plus tax (free shipping)
This thing is sharp! I’m very happy with the purchase.
If you dig a bit, you can probably do better price-wise but I was under a time crunch and got tired of shopping.
