What laptop do you use?

[Cappaman]

The battery on my laptop is shot. I just got a new job where I'll be writing non-stop throughout the day and need to be somewhat mobile. So, I'm looking to invest in a new laptop. For those of you guys still working in journalism, what kind of laptops do you use? I'm looking for a few suggestions on the cheaper side. Any help is appreciated.

 

[Ace]

You can get an apple laptop for $999. They have the least amount of headaches and best servive, in my opinion.

Notebook for $300 -- but that's probably pretty small for non-stop writing.

Are you not provided a laptop?

 

[mustangj17]

HP Pavillion

 

[Stitch]

You can get a Dell at Walmart for $500. I'd say spend a little as possible to get the job done, because your laptop will take a beating on the road. I'd also get a backpack that acts as laptop case. More comfortable than slinging a bag over your shoulder.

 

[MileHigh]

HP Pavilion. I'm on it all day for my many part-time gigs. Runs like a champ.

 

[Magic In The Night]

I'm on my second Toshiba. Love it.

 

[MrWrite]

Get a netbook. Pretty much all brands (HP, Dell, Acer) -- except perhaps Asus -- have big enough keyboards to type on comfortably after a few days of getting used to it. I'm typing on one right now. I got mine for ~$300 online, and it's been awesome. Super-mobile. Plenty of battery life, too.

 

[BYH]

M
A
C

 

[Bristol Whipped]

Buying a new battery might be a cheaper option as well.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

I got this at Best Buy a couple weeks ago on sale for $299. Selling for abouot $70 more now, but maybe you can find it elsewhere cheaper.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Toshiba+-+Satellite+Laptop+/+Intel%26%23174%3B+Celeron%26%23174%3B+Processor+/+15.6%22+Display+/+2GB+Memory+/+250GB+Hard+Drive+-+Black/9988402.p?id=1218205766215&skuId=9988402&st=toshiba satellite&contract_desc=null

I think it would work fine for anything you want to do. It's portable enough. Comes with Microsoft Works, so you got a word processor. I've had no problems with it and it seems as fast as any other laptop I've used despite less memory. I've installed iTunes, though I haven't overloaded it with music. The speakers aren't that good, but it sounds fine with headphones and maybe speakers (haven't tried that yet). It's upgradeable to 4GB memory.

I'd put that way over a notebook because you can do much more with it even though it's in the same price range. And Toshiba is one of the better brands for laptops. Pretty much all the reviews for it are very good. A week before Best Buy had a similar Compaq computer on sale for $299. It was a discontinued model and while the reviews were still pretty good, seemed like about 10% of them said the laptop was a dud soon after they opened the box. It would just die for whatever reason. The people could exchange it, but I didn't want to gamble that I'd get one that was good, even if there was a 90% chance.

Don't get one like this if you are into Photoshop or gaming if want a million songs on your computer. But if you want a cheap computer with solid battery life that gives you word processing and web surfing capabilities, this one works very well.

 

[apeman33]

I just got an Acer at Walmart for $299. 2 GB memory. Internal modem. 15" LCD screen. Running better on my home internet than the Apples from the paper ever have (but, then, those may be beginning to show their age.)

If you're not going to ask a lot from your computer other than writing stories and sending them along, this could be all you need. And it's full-sized. I didn't buy a netbook because the keyboard felt tiny to me and this was actually less expensive than some of the netbooks.

Same Walmart was selling Compaqs for $399. The only difference was 1GB more memory. The processing speeds, screen and hard-drive size were all the same and my experience with Compaqs in the past hasn't been positive.

 

[murphyc]

When I got my second Dell laptop last summer, it seemed like Dell and Toshiba kept coming up as the best PCs out there. Thing with Dell is the customer support seems to keep getting worse. Hate trying to explain problems to people in India, but I imagine all companies are probably the same in that regard.

 

[slappy4428]

Am waiting on my second Dell.... First one has been going strong for nearly five years, but is somewhat sluggish at startup and has developed a inch-wide stripe on the side where half the pixels are out.
Dell's EPP plan sent me an email the other day where (i am ashamed for this) Oprah's Friends could get 30 percent off this laptop. So I got one -- i5-450 processor, 6 GB memory, 720p screen, 500 GB hard drive (my current one is 80G)... oh, peacock blue cover instead of pink, thank you.
Found a coupon for $100 off and with a three-year advanced warranty, paid 866 including tax. Also got a deal on a 1.5 TB storage drive and got both for about 950.
And yeah, Dell's customer support sucks. The robots in Bangalore have no common sense, just the company line thanking you for your patience, and you can't get anyone in the US on the phone. But have really never had a major problem with one -- knock on wood.

 

[Tarheel316]

HP notebook

 

[Tucsondriver]

If you can afford a Mac, great, but I think the newer 12" netbooks hit the sweet spot for portability and functionality, and price. I bought a factory refurbished Samsung NC20 netbook about a year ago for about $330 and couldn't be happier. It has a 12" screen with a higher resolution screen than the 10" netbooks, and a 97 percent keyboard that is comfortable typing on for hours. Other companies make 12" netbooks, but I try to stick with Samsung whenever possible. Korea is pretty much the new Japan when it comes to electronics (even cars), and Samsung is the best of the bunch.
I know there are many loyal HP customers, but the company is in serious decline. I actually had a great experience with an HP laptop that I got about eight years ago, but the next one I got about 3 1/2 years ago was a piece of crap. I went through two motherboards in 2 1/2 years. I thought it was a fluke at first, but I googled the model number and "motherboard" and found tons of other people out there with similar complaints. A Square Trade warranty survey reported that HP has the worst reliability rating (25 percent hardware failure rate within three years). Predictably, Apple has the best (10 percent within three years).

 

[RickStain]

A Mac can be the right computer for the right person. If you can afford to drop the money on both the laptop and the warranty program, then you are going to get a high-performance, relatively worry-free laptop. If I can drop $1,500+ without blinking and I just want to ship it back to the manufacturer if there's a problem, then a Mac would be my choice.

 

[spnited]

My sister just got the Toshiba Satellite that TSP linked to...same deal at Best Buy.
Might be heading out to get myself one of those this week.

 

[Mark DeCotis]

Acer that I bought at Office Depot before spring training 2009. Laptop itself has worked loike a champ, Vista on other hand has given me - and our tech guys - fits at times.

I can listen to music - Pandora which comes in handy in noisy media centers - write, e-mail, send stories and photos snapped with iPhone into office without the box breaking a sweat.

Doesn't everyone covet a Mac Book? We've got an iMac desktop at home, my wife uses it more than I do for photos, movies, etc. It's our second one. First one saw HD fail, logic board fail twice in five years but we went back to Mac, with Apple Care.

Sorry for getting long winded

mark

 

[Football_Bat]

For filing on the road, I use an HP Mini. It's small and easy to carry, and it has a built-in air card so I don't have to go scrambling for a Panera afterward. The keyboard is pretty decent, too.

 

[writingump]

HP Notebook here. I've had it for nearly two years and it's worked pretty well. I have both Works Word Processor and Notepad, which comes in handy since one works better with AOL than with yahoo.