Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

If Apple didn't exist, which laptop would you get?

NovemberWhiskey

NovemberWhiskey

macrumors 68040
Original poster
May 18, 2009
3,023
1,272
If Apple didn't have any laptops, which laptop would you buy and why?

I am trying to find a computer that can compete with the 17'' MBP, and I can't find anything. I like the 8 hr (claimed) battery life on a 17'' high res screen, the tidy package, etc. Nothing really competes...

The Dell Studio XPS 16 is pretty good, but I can't stand the keyboard and I only get 2 hours off of the battery when unplugged. The panels are pretty, but they really are grease and fingerprint magnets. The ports are also not to my liking. The plug extends to where i use my mouse (i.e. it gets in the way with normal mouse maneuvering) and the USB ports are too close to my body (my usb mouse stick is in the way and I am afraid of hitting it and breaking it off).

The Sony VAIO FW looks like it has a pretty good battery life...but I don't know about VAIO quality.

I would get a Lenovo Thinkpad, but they don't offer anything close to the macbook in terms of performance and packaging.
 
u49aa2

u49aa2

macrumors 6502a
Nov 3, 2008
803
8
Between Heaven and Hell
lenovo thinkpad or a sony vaio. Good previous experience (strength and resilience) with the former and good quality Brand (the most similar to apple) with the latter.
 
SkyBell

SkyBell

macrumors 604
Sep 7, 2006
6,606
226
Texas, unfortunately.
HP mini 1000 XP Series. I actually considered selling my iBook for a while to get this.
hp-mini-1000.jpg
 
Mr. Giver '94

Mr. Giver '94

macrumors 68000
Jun 2, 2008
1,815
0
London
I'd probably go with a VAIO as well. They seem to be among the better non-Apple laptops in terms of quality.


I might also look into Samsung just because I am in love with the quality of their televisions.
 
NovemberWhiskey

NovemberWhiskey

macrumors 68040
Original poster
May 18, 2009
3,023
1,272
Awesome! After countless hours of due diligence, I think I have narrowed it down to between the Sony VAIO FW or the MBP 17. I really want the MBP 17, but I know I am going to run into PC-compatibility issues down the road.

I will need Office, Onenote, and possibly need to use bootcamp for school. If I can use this without any battery problems or lag problems on the MBP, I think I will go with that.

Anyone experience lag while using office via VMware Fusion? Anyone use OneNote via Fusion and are able to use all the features (including the external mic)?
 
RedTomato

RedTomato

macrumors 601
Mar 4, 2005
4,161
444
.. London ..
Used to like VAIOs, gone off them a bit after Sony's well-known problems with boundaries (installing root-kits etc), and strange insistence on proprietary technologies (Memory Stick etc). If I'm gonna get a Windows machine, I want it to be interoperable. Played with a couple at work recently, not keen.

Dell, good corporate machines, but home machines are known to be crap. Again, have a few of their laptops at work, not keen on them either.

Lenovo (formerly IBM) - very nice machines. I'd probably get them. Black, sleek and industrial. Owned a couple of their Pentium and PII laptops, very nice. I like their new thin ones. Excellent keyboards (important for me).
 
rwilliams

rwilliams

macrumors 68040
Apr 8, 2009
3,847
1,222
Raleigh, NC
Interesting that there are so many votes for Sony VAIO's. I will never buy another VAIO laptop, after the one I bought in 2003 died and revived itself upwards of 10 times (and is currently in its "dead" phase). Sony did a terrible job of soldering the memory slots onto the motherboard, so if you put RAM in one of the slots, it would eventually freeze your computer and finally short out the motherboard. Eventually, over the course of a few weeks, the machine would magically start working again. There was a huge class action lawsuit against Sony over this issue, and their only solution was to buy another $900 motherboard to replace the faulty ones THEY shipped with their machines.
 
N

nick9191

macrumors 68040
Feb 17, 2008
3,407
313
Britain
I have no idea. If Apple didn't exist, every other laptop would be completely different. Apple invented the laptop as we know it, they brought style, beauty and power to laptops. I could not possibly give an answer.

And no, nothing compares to the 17" MBP for the price.
 
MisterMe

MisterMe

macrumors G4
Jul 17, 2002
10,709
69
USA
nick9191 said:
I have no idea. If Apple didn't exist, every other laptop would be completely different. Apple invented the laptop as we know it, they brought style, beauty and power to laptops. ...
Click to expand...
Exactly. The problem is even more fundamental than this, however. Everyone except the poster who doesn't seem to know that Sun is spiraling toward Earth chose a Windows computer. Windows 1.0 included significant code licensed from Apple. Without Apple, it is entirely possible that Windows would not exist.
 
S

Sehnsucht

macrumors 65816
Sep 21, 2008
1,165
0
I'd probably get a Dell Adamo.

Ohhhh, waiiiitt.....:D :D :D :D

Probably a Sony VAIO with OpenSolaris or Fedora Linux. :cool:
 
velocityg4

velocityg4

macrumors 604
Dec 19, 2004
7,336
4,726
Georgia
The same as now. Whichever has the best specs for the price.

I don't care about looks. Rather I just use a laptop for business, it gets carried about and banged up all day. As long as it is under 6.5lbs and meets the meager specs I need out of a laptop I am happy. I always reinstall the OS anyways to get rid of the recovery partition and have a clean Windows install minus bloatware.

What I care about really are desktops. In which case the same as now, custom built all the way.:cool:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom