Business laptop???

[HardbodyLoyalist]

As someone who is personally responsible for the death of 6 laptops, I'll add my two (highly anecdotal) cents here:

Dells are a dice roll. I've killed three Inspiron 8200s, one 8500, and one 8600. They ALL suffered motherboard failures. I'll never own a sixth.

I've also killed a Sony Vaio (dropped) and my wife, unbelievably, smited an IBM R50 (something involving a liquid---I've learned not to ask).

So... given my track record, you might be wondering what I have NOT killed.

My wife and I are currently both using Toshibas. She has an S-series, I have an A-series. Both are more than 2 years old. No complaints (yet).

I also have an old IBM T-series that was relegated to backup duty. It's now 5 years old runs extremely well, albeit slowly.

If I were in the market today, I would either buy another Toshiba A-series or a Panasonic Toughbook (budget allowing).

 

[JHZR2]

I have an IBM t-series (T42, IIRC). Still runs great.

Id buy another without thinking twice. Another guy at work has one that had a cracked case, but he did something to it.

Id also considere the panasonic toughbook.

JMH

 

[Volvohead]

Get a IBM/Lenovo or a Toughbook for business duty. I like the T series as well. Both lines are as rugged as they get in a laptop.

Avoid the bells and whistles. It's for serious work, and not an amusement park.

A Dell is usually good for one drop. But they are certainly priced to sell.

I hate to say it, but you do get what you pay for.

 

[rjundi]

Thinkpad t-series are all excellent PC's. If you have an issue the support is top tier and beyond. I have had 4 so far and very happy with the product.

I love my current T42p issued by my client who used to own the name.

 

[Doc8404]

and get 3rd party insurance
www.safeware.com

 

[97tbird]

I totally agree:
have 2 thinkpads @ home. 1x R60 and 1X R52; both have been really great so far (3+ yrs), esp with some additional ram, and win xp.

 

[unDummy]

Anyone have any info on Durabook reliablity?

 

[Volvohead]

I had a house cleaner (since discharged) take a new (pre-Lenovo) T42 and fling it so hard into a wall that it chunked out the drywall. Other than a heavy paint scuff that cleaned off, it didn't miss a beat. Very sturdy housings.

One tip for a longer service life: load it up with max RAM at time of purchase. Go with a smaller, slower HDD for longer runtimes on battery. IBM will send you the reinstall disks for free, and you can delete the recovery partition for more space.

And the Sanyos on the IBMs don't blow up.

 

[drm7]

What is the difference between "R" and "T" IBM ThinkPad laptops? I see R60 and T60. Are the "T" series more rugged?

 

[Volvohead]

The R is IBM/Lenovo's entry level laptop series. The T is more upscale: lighter, thinner, and more portable (i.e. usable). You'll pay more for the latter. The X series is even smaller than a T, but starts to make some performance compromises, AFAIK.