Favorite Non-thinkpad laptop

[K. Eng]

Dell's Latitude (D620 and D820) and HP's Compaq nc series are fairly close to the ThinkPad in terms of build quality.

I voted Dell, since the D620 has a very solid keyboard, sturdy feel, and low price, even with a 3-year warranty. The D620 falls short in two areas (1) lack of scroll key for the trackstick (2) the case design isn't bad, but doesn't feel as cutting edge as the ThinkPad.

[JaneL]

Dell's Latitude (D620 and D820) and HP's Compaq nc series are fairly close to the ThinkPad in terms of build quality.

I haven't seen a Latitude lately, but as before, I do agree with you about the HP Compaq nc series. They're very solid. While I did have screen problesm with my first one and didn't like the keyboard, the one I have now is working fine, and the keyboard is comparable to my T40.

For some reason, the OP only listed consumer-grade HP or Compaq models, though, which really isn't a valid comparison.

[rmendoza]

I have borrowed, from friends, both the HP nc series and the Fujitsu Lifebook. They both seemed really well built and felt like good-quality systems. The nc was pretty light, maybe just a few more ounces than an x60, which the owner of the nc also had. I got the impression that HP was looking up to the ThinkPad when they designed the nc series.

Now, in the spirit of full disclosure, I have never owned a ThinkPad, but I just ordered my first one a couple of days ago. Nonetheless, I have used two or three T series TPs, and one R series, and ever since I looked at the first one, I have have always desired a TP (I don't mean to sound Lacanian, but I did desire one), but never had the money.

Currently, I have a Dell 600m. It has served its purpose well for the last two years, but by now it looks somewhat "used" on the outside, and the palmrest and keyboard look worn (even though I changed the keyboard once already). In spite of the poor quality of the case, I really have not had any issues with it, it's never fried, it's never really failed or anything, which means that I am pretty satisfied with it, for the priece I paid two years ago.

So, when my wife said that she wanted a laptop, my eyes sparkled as I now had an excuse to get the TP. She will inherit the Dell, and I will get my new toy. The only "bad" part of this is that my preliminary shipping date is not until Jan. 18, 2007!!!! I really wanted to play with this baby over the holidays, but I guess I will have to wait until school starts again.

[pianowizard]

Currently, I have a Dell 600m. It has served its purpose well for the last two years, but by now it looks somewhat "used" on the outside, and the palmrest and keyboard look worn (even though I changed the keyboard once already). In spite of the poor quality of the case, I really have not had any issues with it, it's never fried, it's never really failed or anything

An issue common to many (and I mean MANY) 600m's is that they cannot power up, and this issue develops even when the machine is still fairly new, say half a year old. You press the power button, and the LED indicators under the display flicker for a while, but nothing happens afterward. You got lucky.

[schen]

I've supported a variety of machine in my previous life in IT, and have to say that I steered both institutions into using ThinkPads after I worked with other brands that weren't so good. These would include Toshibas, Compaqs, HPs, and especially Dells. I saw a higher rate of failure with Dells than anything else. That's notebooks, the desktops seem to be OK.

[rmendoza]

An issue common to many (and I mean MANY) 600m's is that they cannot power up, and this issue develops even when the machine is still fairly new, say half a year old. You press the power button, and the LED indicators under the display flicker for a while, but nothing happens afterward. You got lucky.

Actually, that has happened to me a few times. The few instances when this occurred, it seemed to be related to going from battery to AC power or vise versa, and then leaving it idle for a few minutes. When you go back to it, it will behave like you described. You have to reboot the computer in order to get back to normal.
However, to be frank with you, it happens so infrequently (maybe once every three months or so), and I use it everyday, that I did not remember it when I wrote my previous post.

In any event, I agree that the quality differences between the Dells (or most other brands for that matter) and ThinkPads is quite significant - it's so readily apparent, that you don't need to be a computer aficionado to appreciate it.

Lastly, to get back to the topic, I think that if I had to pick another notebook, I would either go with HP nc or Fujitsu. However, they are quite pricey too, so I would end up going back to the TP anyways

[anthean]

Given a choice, I will stay loyal to Thinkpads.

But Panasonic, Asus, and HP's business models are "fallback" options.

If I was a gamer, Asus would win hands down.

[JohnnyM]

I have an ibook that's pretty cool, but I wouldn't use anything other than a thinkpad for xp.