topic Re: Laptop choice? in Electronics

Laptop choice?

qualitygal — Sun, 03 Apr 2016 09:26:16 GMT

My laptop is acting up and I'm considering maybe a new one is needed soon. I'm looking for recommendations. I'm retired, so I don't need a bunch of special things. Excell and Word yes. I know it's a TSV item, so at 8 I'll have to watch it. I don't have a Dell that is TSV, and I'm not computer savvy, so like a car, I turn it on and want it to work.

Any ideas or recommendations?

Re: Laptop choice?

Cats3000 — Sun, 03 Apr 2016 09:38:52 GMT

We're a "Mac" household. iMac. iPad. iPhone. We love Macs and their customer service and their tech support.

I'd recommend a Mac. Go to the Apple website and see what they have to offer. Or, if you live near an Apple Retail Store or an Apple Authorized Reseller, look there and get some advice. You can find addresses of Apple Retail Stores and Apple Authorized Resellers on the Apple website.

I DO NOT recommend purchasing an Mac product from ANY TV Shopping Channel. You will always pay a price for "bundled stuff" that you don't need and you're never sure that what you're buying is the latest model.

Finally, I recommend that you purchase Apple Care to extend your warranty and service support. I wouldn't trust ANY "third-party warranty/service plan" with my Mac.

Re: Laptop choice?

Nuttmeg — Sun, 03 Apr 2016 11:55:39 GMT

I have been buying Dell computers for years. I only buy the Dell XPS line of desktops or laptops, and Alienware laptop. I buy from Dell's site. If I wanted an Apple, I would buy direct or find a store.

Re: Laptop choice?

tockerman — Sun, 03 Apr 2016 12:46:30 GMT

sorry but do not buy dell laptops they do not last long? mine only last no more than 2 years. i will only buy apple now. apple customer service is great. cost more but i think they are worth the money.

Re: Laptop choice?

apple1964 — Sun, 03 Apr 2016 12:52:59 GMT

Anything but a Dell product there CS is a nightmare to deal with. I like HP and Acer good customer service that is not in India which you can understand and the Techs are very nice to work with. Happy shopping. [And try to buy from the source I do not recommend ordering from a shopping channel. They sell older models with software you will never need of want.]

Re: Laptop choice?

PINKdogWOOD — Sun, 03 Apr 2016 13:01:54 GMT

I'm an Acer user - my very first laptop was an Acer from Radio Shack in fact for almost $800 if I recall. My current Acer is beautiful, a mere $500 top of the line from amazon.com. What a buy. I love this one, much nicer than my first one that lasted about 5-6 years.

My current is fast, no problems at all - it's an Aspire V 15 Touch, soft silver matte finish. First I'd highly recommend an Acer and I'd buy it from amazon.com.

Let me also add that I'd have online conversations with the Acer teckie crew and they too are very responsive, professional, easy to work with, with satisfaction too.

Re: Laptop choice?

asoutherngirl — Sun, 03 Apr 2016 13:47:29 GMT

I must agree with some of the other posters: stay away from Dell.

Re: Laptop choice?

qualitygal — Sun, 03 Apr 2016 13:52:08 GMT

Thanks you all. Been discussing it with my husband. Told him what you said, and glad I asked, since at one place I worked, I remember CS for Dell. But it could have changed by now. I don't think I want to chance it, it was a real headache as I recall. Sorry to the one Dell person, thanks for your input too.

Re: Laptop choice?

millieshops — Sun, 03 Apr 2016 13:55:46 GMT

I'm into my 4th year with my Dell laptop which I bought from Costco after shopping on several fronts. I did go to Apple, but to get the screen size I need with whatever else they were recommending (not so much - Apple Care and a word-processing program as I remember) would have ended up about 3X the cost of my Dell. What really sent me away was the sales associate's own words: "If you buy Apple, you won't need a new computer for another 5 or 6 years."

OK, so far, I'm only 4 years in, but my Dell is still working and I still have money in the bank that I didn't spend 4 years ago. There's enough there to buy 2 more Dells. I've used Apple, I've owned Apple, but for my needs, I just don't need to spend Apple dollars.

Re: Laptop choice?

stevieb — Sun, 03 Apr 2016 13:55:47 GMT

My idea and recommendation is to not buy it here and to not buy Dell or HP...

Re: Laptop choice?

Krimpette — Sun, 03 Apr 2016 14:01:30 GMT

I recommend Apple and I also recommend getting their AppleCare service plan. It's awesome knowing someone will answer even the most mundane of questionss when you call.

Re: Laptop choice?

tockerman — Sun, 03 Apr 2016 14:36:57 GMT

do not buy any computer from qvc why they are old models and if you want a new updated model you would find it here. they get the ones dells have left over they d o not tell you that one. and give you a bunch of junk computer porgrams you will never use.

Re: Laptop choice?

Meowingkitty — Sun, 03 Apr 2016 14:40:01 GMT

QVC sells yesterday's technology today along with a bunch of cheap accessories you don't need just to make it seem like you are getting a deal. I've had Dell, HP and Apple and much prefer Apple. Buy it at a store and not on tv. That way if there is a problem you can take it back and not have to deal with shipping it and paying more money. I like knowing that if I need to hunt down someone to complain I can find them.

Re: Laptop choice?

Boehm Collector — Sun, 03 Apr 2016 15:16:27 GMT

@Cats3000 wrote:
We're a "Mac" household. iMac. iPad. iPhone. We love Macs and their customer service and their tech support.

I'd recommend a Mac. Go to the Apple website and see what they have to offer. Or, if you live near an Apple Retail Store or an Apple Authorized Reseller, look there and get some advice. You can find addresses of Apple Retail Stores and Apple Authorized Resellers on the Apple website.

I DO NOT recommend purchasing an Mac product from ANY TV Shopping Channel. You will always pay a price for "bundled stuff" that you don't need and you're never sure that what you're buying is the latest model.

Finally, I recommend that you purchase Apple Care to extend your warranty and service support. I wouldn't trust ANY "third-party warranty/service plan" with my Mac.

@qualitygal ... We are also a "Mac"/"Apple" household. And I must say that I agree with @Cats3000 100%.

Re: Laptop choice?

Silverandgold — Sun, 03 Apr 2016 15:24:13 GMT

My recommendation is NOT to buy Dell. I bought the Dell TSV near Xmas time, it's claims were tremendous, speed, latest technology. Well, I got it & it was slower than my 4 yr old Toshiba & kept locking up - back it went. I got a MacBook Air and it is fabulous. You get what you pay for. Also, I bought my Mac from an Apple Store.

Re: Laptop choice?

twinsister — Sun, 03 Apr 2016 16:49:25 GMT

I just got a Toshiba Chromebook from Amazon and love it! Previously had an HP laptop which lasted five years until it crashed. I'm retired and don't need all the bells and whistles, plus we are not computer savvy. The Toshiba is perfect for me.

Re: Laptop choice?

Tinkrbl44 — Sun, 03 Apr 2016 16:53:00 GMT

I will NEVER buy another Dell computer. I bought mine 27 months ago for about $600 and didn't buy the contract based on all the "glowing reviews".

To date, I have spent over $1,000 on repairs for this dud.

My next laptop will be an HP ..... no more Dells for me!!

Re: Laptop choice?

Brooklynny — Sun, 03 Apr 2016 17:09:17 GMT

I've been using Dell for at least 20 years with no problem. My first was a desktop that I kept for about 7 years and then got another Dell desktop as an upgrade. After another 8 years, I decided to upgrade to a laptop which served me well for another 7 years, and then I upgraded to another Dell laptop with an i7 processor. I purchased the desktops from Dell directly and both laptops from QVC. No problem with any of them except the desire to upgrade to more powerful hardware. I've also used a Dells at work since the 1990s.

Re: Laptop choice?

wildcat fan — Sun, 03 Apr 2016 17:17:03 GMT

I have a MacBook at work and I really don't like it. I've gone through hours of training to learn all the little shortcuts, but the reality is it stalls, freezes, shuts itself down more than any computer I've ever used. I've sent it back to IT staff to have them reset it, and it does okay for a few weeks then gets that spinning beachball again. This has happened to several of us, so I know it's not just my computer. I also don't care for the Mac flat keyboard. If I bought another computer for personal use, I would probably avoid MacBook just because of the problems I've had with the one at work. I love my iPad, iPad mini, and iPhone, but that's about all I want from Apple.

Re: Laptop choice?

chickenbutt — Sun, 03 Apr 2016 17:48:59 GMT

I did ok with Dell computers until they lied to me and I quit them. Didn't like HP at all. HP didn't seem to work well with other brands. So my printer, camera (worst digi cam ever was the HP I owned!), and any other peripheral hardware had to be HP brand or I had big problems.

I like Toshiba a lot. I also have a Lenovo that I like and a Sony VAIO that I also really like.

I've thought about Apple products but it costs about the same as four other nice laptops so I haven't made that move yet. I get quite a few years out of my Toshibas. My Lenovo is 5 years old. My Sony VAIO is 3 years old. Both also still going strong.