Best time to buy a laptop?

[thinknpositive]

I don't know why people on this board have such a hard-on for IBM's. They are incredibly expensive for what you get.  Sure they are rated highly but there are a million brands that make great computers.  Just research what you want and get it.  Check out www.cnet.com. 

As far as the best timing goes to buy a computer;  I've often wondered that myself.  To say that the time of the year has nothing to do with deals is completely foolish.  Think about it. A lot of people are buying computers now in preparation of the impending school year;  therefore companies are going to be more competitive in their pricing.

The same thing goes for times around the holiday season.

Their is nothing random about pricing. 

IBM's are overpriced in terms of computing power.  But IBM builds the most solid machines on the market, and that is reason enough to buy one for law school.  Best build quality + innovative recovery and data prtection technology + best warranty = the only logical choice for law school.

And of course most pricing is not random, but I never claimd that it was.  IBM's price drops ARE random and therefore my answer to this question is that prices will fall over time, but not on any set date.  If you really want to figure out the general dates for pricedrops, try and find advanced press releases for when new models will be released.  But since the dothan processor is already out, most laptop companies have already released their new notebooks, and are abandoning models based on the older banias chip.

Your opinion is that IBM's make the best notebooks.  Take a few seconds and check out www.cnet.com and you will see thousands of reviews on thousands of computers.  Anyone that does their own research will surely come to their own conclusion.  I highly doubt that IBMS are universally the best brand of computers. 

All I said was to check it out for yourself but in case you are too lazy;  I took the liberty of breaking down the 5 categories of laptops.  I listed how many Dells, IBM's and HP's/compaqs are in the top ten according to CNETs' editors.

Desktop Replacements

Dell: 2
IBM: 1
HP: 2

Thin and Light

HP: 2
IBM: 2
Dell: 1

Mainstream

Dell: 3
HP: 1
IBM: 1

Ultra-portable

IBM: 1
Dell: 3
Hp: 1

Business

Dell: 3
IBM: 3
HP: 3


So that comes to 11 Dells, 9 HP's, and 8 IBM's occupy the top ten spots of the 5 categories.

And of course IBM's are universally the most expensive.

Do the above numbers mean anything? No, not really.  But it shows that people don't necessarily agree on what computer brand is this best.  Therefore everyone should do their own research and come to their own conclusion depending on their needs.  Not everyone can spend 2k+ for a laptop.

And as far as pricing goes, I stand by my statement that there is nothing random about pricing.  Sure, depending on when new technology is released a price drop will occur, but all companies will raise or lower their prices depending on their competition and the current level of demand. So there is a certain unpredictable element to pricing, but I would be careful how you use the word random.

[thinknpositive]

Well, you COULD assume that the companies will lower their prices in a price war when demand is high... but by the same token, when demand ISN'T so high, many laptop companies might reduce their prices to increase demand for their product.

When the demand curve shifts to the left (a reduction in demand), both quantity and price decrease.  If a company decides to sell their product at a price above the value determined by the market, there will be a deadweight loss. 

You are correct, if the supplier decided to sell their product a price below the value determined by the market value, the quantity demanded by the consumer would increase.  But there would still be a deadweight loss experienced by the supplier, therefore it is not favorable to do so. 

Making the basic assumptions of course. 

 

[ruskiegirl]

I don't really understand the obsession with IBM's either.  You can always find comparable machines made by reputable manufacturers for hundreds less.  Personally, I am very satisfied with Toshiba and am about to buy my third Toshiba notebook.  (Toshiba was for quite some time, and may still be, the best-selling notebook on the market.)  I find IBM's bulky, poorly desinged and overpriced.  I have never had any problems (tech, software, or customer support) with Toshiba and will be purchasing the Portege R100 instead of the IBM ultraportable for school this fall. 

[zpops]

Toshiba's are very nice machines.  If I was making a general reccomendation about a laptop, then toshiba would be very high on my list.  But we're future law students, and law students NEED their laptops to be functioning properly everyday.  I'm a real computer geek, and i'm very hands on with my own machines (I've been building my own computers since I was 16 or so, and upgrading/trouble shooting for much longer than that), but I acknowledge the value of having a hassle free system for law school, and IBM will simply beat out all other companies in terms of service.  The warranty I purchased on my T42 will get me a service rep sent to my house the next day to fix any problem my machine has.  To me, that's well worth the extra money. 

Personally, I hate all the computer makers pretty much equally (dell edges out hp/compaq for top honors as my most hated pc maker) but I'm not viewing my laptop as a computer, I'm viewing it as a tool for law school, and I'm willing to spend top dollar on ALL my tools for law school, since I'm already spending so much on law school.  BTW - IBM is actually one of the number one competitors for my start up pc security company, so I'm not shilling for IBM to help them.  I just want people to get laptops they'll be happy with, and that won't add any more stress on top of the normal lawschool stress.   

[thinknpositive]

Toshiba's are very nice machines.  If I was making a general reccomendation about a laptop, then toshiba would be very high on my list.  But we're future law students, and law students NEED their laptops to be functioning properly everyday.  I'm a real computer geek, and i'm very hands on with my own machines (I've been building my own computers since I was 16 or so, and upgrading/trouble shooting for much longer than that), but I acknowledge the value of having a hassle free system for law school, and IBM will simply beat out all other companies in terms of service.  The warranty I purchased on my T42 will get me a service rep sent to my house the next day to fix any problem my machine has.  To me, that's well worth the extra money. 

Personally, I hate all the computer makers pretty much equally (dell edges out hp/compaq for top honors as my most hated pc maker) but I'm not viewing my laptop as a computer, I'm viewing it as a tool for law school, and I'm willing to spend top dollar on ALL my tools for law school, since I'm already spending so much on law school.  BTW - IBM is actually one of the number one competitors for my start up pc security company, so I'm shilling for IBM to help them.  I just want people to get laptops they'll be happy with, and that won't add any more stress on top of the normal lawschool stress.   

How do you feel about Fujitsu notebooks?

[zpops]

Lifebooks are great little notebooks.  They're built well, have some of the best screens on the market, and are a very good value.  But they don't have the service options that ibm does, and this is why I'd mark them lower for law school use.  There are so many great notebooks out there at great prices, but the bottom lin eimho is that the service package you're getting is more important than the machine itself, as far as law school is concerned.  I'm very confident that I can fix just about any problem my pc comes down with, bu the last thing I want the day before I have a final is to habe to trouble shoot myself. The combination of the rapid restore function (an amazing preboot recovery operating system which allows you to recover your data from an ntfs partition before restoring the system to factory status) and the onsite technicians, I'll just feel more at ease around exam time than I would with a fujitsu which i'd need to fix myself or ship back to them in the mail. 
     If you really don't care about ibm's recovery features or service, then by all means give the life books a look.  Other brands to consider which are very good in terms of cost/performance ratios are avertec, toshiba, and ibuypower.  I'm told that acer also makes some really nice notebooks.  I'd stay away from Dell, and hp/compaq, becuase the build wuality on the machines simply is not very high.  If you really want a dell or hp/compaq, then buy the bussiness models.  They're expensive, but they're also built much more solidly.

[L1]

I like the Fujitsu S7000D. I'm pretty sure that's the one I'll be getting. It gets great reviews overall. It's 14.1" (not too small, not too large) and 3.8 lbs. Also, it is known to have one of the longest battery life for laptops. I've talked to many ppl and they say that Fujitsus are just awesome.

I've also heard that Sony has some really great laptops but I don't know much else about them.

[Tobias Beecher]

how about panasonic?

i know a sales rep from the company, and he says that panasonic is the only company that build it's own notebook.....everyone else in the industry all outsource them to some contract manufactures in taiwan.

[thinknpositive]

how about panasonic?

i know a sales rep from the company, and he says that panasonic is the only company that build it's own notebook.....everyone else in the industry all outsource them to some contract manufactures in taiwan.

That's not entirely true, but nevertheless, panasonic's toughbook is nice but a little pricey.

[thinknpositive]

I like the Fujitsu S7000D. I'm pretty sure that's the one I'll be getting. It gets great reviews overall. It's 14.1" (not too small, not too large) and 3.8 lbs. Also, it is known to have one of the longest battery life for laptops. I've talked to many ppl and they say that Fujitsus are just awesome.

I've also heard that Sony has some really great laptops but I don't know much else about them.

Sony's are the sexy choice but they are all sizzle and no steak.

I like that Fujitsu, but with the drive it weighs closer to 4.3 lbs.  Though for a screen that large, 4.3 lbs is a nice size.