Need to Buy Laptop for Work

[EcoLogic]

Hi all, we currently use Thinkpads here at my office and have actually had some issues with them lately. So much so that my boss does not want to go with IBM/Lenevo for our new purchases.

He gave me an ad for the Inspiron 6000, however, after looking at it it may be a bit heavy. We travel a lot and would like something under 6 pounds if possible.

I also looked at the Inspiron 600M, which seems like it may work.

Please recommend me the best business laptop for less than $1,500 (Dell coupon $750 off $1,800, or 35% off anything over $999).

It doesn't have to be dell.

thanks in advance.

 

[bearxor]

If you think the 6000 will be too heavy, then the 600m is definitely your best bet. Also, you may look at the D610 in the small buisness section. Sometimes you can catch good deals there, and the D610 is basically the 600m, but with the newer PentiumM platform (Sonoma).

 

[EcoLogic]

What do you think about this?

nspiron 600m Pentium®M Processor 755(2 GHz/400MHz FSB) 14.1-in SXGA+ w/32MB Video
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Memory 512MB DDR SDRAM 2 Dimms
Hard Drive 60GB Hard Drive
Integrated Modem and NIC Internal 56K Modem and Integrated Network Card
Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 6.0
Optical 24X CD Burner/DVD Combo Drive
Wireless Networking Card Intel® PRO/Wireless 2200 Internal Wireless (802.11 b/g, 54Mbps)
Office Productivity Software Microsoft Office Small Business - Includes Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint
Security Software McAfee Security Center with VirusScan, Firewall, Spyware Removal, 15-months
Digital Music Musicmatch® Jukebox Basic
Primary Battery 6-Cell Lithium Ion Battery (53Whr)
Carrying Cases Nylon Carrying Case
Limited Warranty, Services and Support 2Yr Ltd Warranty, 2Yr At-Home Service, and 2Yr Technical Support
Dial-Up Internet Access 6 Months America Online Internet Access Included
Digital Imaging or Digital Photography Photo Album? SE Basic
Miscellaneous Award Winning Service & Support
Financial Software No QuickBooks package selected- Includes limited use trial
Dell Media Experience Dell Media Experience?

For $1,248.00

Should I change anything?

 

[erwos]

I would strongly push you to think about getting something with a dock or port replicator - these can take a considerable amount of bite off of a 12.1 inch screen when using it at the office.

Also, make sure the rebates can be used by businesses.

-Erwos

 

[EcoLogic]

The price actually doesn't include any rebates, just a $750 off coupoon.

Isn't the screen 14.1 inch? That is the same size that is on our thinkpads.

 

[EcoLogic]

Actually, we work in excel for a majority of our work so a larger screen might make sense. I just checked the weight of our R51 Thinkpads, and they are about the same weight as the 6000.

What about this:

Inspiron 6000 Intel® Pentium® M Processor 725 (1.60 GHz/2MB Cache/400MHz FSB)
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Display 15.4 inch UltraSharp WSXGA+ LCD Panel
Memory 512MB Shared DDR2 SDRAM 2 Dimms
Video Card Integrated Intel® Media Accelerator 900 Graphics
Hard Drive 40GB Hard Drive
Network Card Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 6.0
CD/DVD Drives 24X CD Burner/DVD Combo Drive
Wireless Networking Cards Intel® PRO/Wireless 2200 Internal Wireless (802.11 b/g, 54Mbps)
Productivity Software Microsoft Office Small Business - Includes Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint
Security Software No Security Subscription
Digital Music Musicmatch® Jukebox Basic
Battery 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery (53 WHr)
Dell Service & Support Plans 1 Year Mail-in Economy Plan
Onsite System Setup No Onsite System Setup
Dial-Up Internet Access 6 Months of America Online Membership Included
Digital Imaging Photo Album? SE Basic
Mail- In Rebate $100 Mail In Rebate
Miscellaneous Inspiron 6000
Financial Software Pre-Installed No QuickBooks package selected- Includes limited use trial
Operating System Backup & Recovery Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional backup CD
Purchase Intent Purchase is not intended for resale.

 

[bearxor]

Looks good. Good screen choice. Plenty of real-estate, but not too small.

 

[fbrdphreak]

I wouldn't buy an Inspiron for business use.
Thinkpad >= Latitude >>> Inspiron

If you want a 15.4" machine, check this out:

Latitude D810 Intel® Pentium® M Processor 740 (1.73GHz) w/ATI RADEON X300 64MB
Operating Systems Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional, SP2, with media
LCDs 15.4 inch UltraSharp? Wide Screen WSXGA+ LCD Panel
Memory 512MB 533MHz, DDRII SDRAM, 1 DIMM
Hard Drives 40GB Hard Drive, 9.5MM, 5400RPM
Floppy Drive Options No Floppy Drive
Modem Internal 56K Modem
AC Adapter 90W A/C Adapter
Modular Bay Devices 24X CD-RW/DVD w/ Sonic Digital Media? and Cyberlink PowerDVD?
Wireless Local Area Networking Options Intel® PRO/Wireless 2200 802.11b/g WLAN miniPCI Card
Resource CD No Resource CD
Battery 6-CELL (53WHr) PRIMARY BATTERY
Hardware Support Services 3 Year Mail-In Economy Plan
Onsite System Setup No Onsite System Setup
File System NTFS File System
Mail- In Rebate None
Miscellaneous Latitude D810

$1505

3 year warranty, Latitude build quality, all the basics.

And what kind of problems is your company having with Thinkpads? R51's are fairly old models, and aren't designed to take the kind of abuse a T-series will. Perhaps consider some T42's?

Also, Lenovo is coming out with a widescreen model in Sept, but it is more consumer oriented so I'm not sure how the reliability & service will be affected.

 

[tyanni]

I agree with fbrdphreak - you really don't want an Inspiron. Latitudes are business class laptops and take a lot more abuse than the inspiron.

 

[EcoLogic]

The latitude is pretty large though, and when configured with office XP small biz it comes up to $1,700 before taxes, a bit out of what my boss likes to spend.

I actually ordered the 6000, but I am sure I can cancel if I need to. What is wrong with an inspiron for business? The reviews I have read say they are good for corporate users.

On the IBM, when had a hard drive go out on one and had a terrible time with IBM tech support. On another, we kept experiencing fatal error and sent it in to be fixed. The laptop never worked well again.

 

[bearxor]

I don't know if I quite agree with the 'Latitude is for buisness use, not Inspiron' mentality either.

I just ordered 5 D610 for my work, my wife owns a 600m. The only difference in build quality that I could tell is that the Latitude had a huge rubber pad on the bottom of the computer labeled 'Strike Zone', which I guess means that if you drop it, it has a better chance of not ruining the information on the HD. That and the touchpoint. Otherwise, they felt as though they were made out of the same stuff. I use my 6000D for work, its held up well so far.

 

[bigshooter]

I would buy the Latitude just for the business support queues which haven't quite made their way to India yet. Also you can get real docking stations on the Latitude line and not the Inspiron line. THe notebook stand they offer sucks. I have a D810 and it is not heavy. I carry it everywhere, just get a backpack and the weight issue is a moot point. You can also get the notebook stand and use the LCD as a primary monitor. I started doing that recently since I can't get my boss to fork out for a 20+ inch LCD and my CRT was killing my eyes.

 

[EcoLogic]

Thanks for all the input.

To update you all, I ended up ordering the Inspiron 6000.

Hopefully it will work well for us.

 

[piasabird]

Look for a good deal on the carrying case as well.