Need help deciding on a laptop..

sunfish
Sun, 26 Jul 2009 12:50:20 +0000

HP’s quality is subpar compared to the rest of the laptop community. I’ve seen numerous keys broken as well as twisted screens. Also, their speakers are tinny and they overheat quite a bit.

I strongly disagree. You’ll find bad experience with just about anything. Google a little and you’ll find horror stories on anything you care to name.
On average, HP’s quality is at least as good as other companies. Their customer service is definately better than others. All these cheap laptops are made in the same place using the same components by the same poor souls. The difference is in company’s management philosophy, customer service, current and future software support, and engineering and design expertise. Do you really believe that Acer/Gateway, Lenovo, Asus, Dell, Toshiba, and Sony are better than HP in any of these difference makers?

When buying a computer, focus on needs and value. Once a target is identified, do some research on any specified problems/complaints unique to that model. Finally, paying twice as much doesn’t give you twice as much value. The feel good/bragging right value in overpaying luxury goods doesn’t apply to a commodity like laptop.