Laptop Opinions....HP vs Sony

[JeffreyVB]

I am looking to upgrade to a newer, faster laptop in the near future. I am more familiar with HPs but I also hear Sony makes a pretty good laptop. This computer will be used for both photo editing, and for work. Bad experiences with Dell has left me with a bad taste in my mouth regarding their laptops, and because this will also be used for work, this needs to be PC based, so no Apple products.HP vs Sony....any thoughts of one over the other?

[In2Photos]

What about Toshiba? I can't stand HP stuff anymore, but the Sony stuff seems decent, although overpriced at times.

[440roadrunner]

I really really got rung through the ringer by HP about 3 printers I've got. Such snobbery from the "tech" as "what OS you using?" I couldn't get them to work in either W2K or Xtra Putrid back then so I told him "Windows 2000 and XP" He gets out his sarcastic voice and says "soooooooooooo which is it, one or the other?"

I tried to explain it was BOTH and he refused to understand. When I requested to speak to his boss, he ended up hanging up.

By big bitch---and things have, do, and will, change, is this nonsense of not getting FACTORY reinstall media with a computer. Last I knew Dell would supply all the needed CD's/ DVD's on request FOR FREE under warrantee. This may have changed

I would select some possible models, then go spend some time as if you owned them on the various support sites. Before IBM trashed out laptops (Thinkpads) to Lenovo, they had some of the best online support there is---even for older models. I'm not sure you can say that for Sony? although I've not worked on older Sonys

[basroil]

Currently the best thin laptops (and one of the better high ends) belong to Asus, followed by dell. Toshiba also has a solid lineup. Sony has some good stuff too, but only if you can afford it and the headaches it will bring.

Specs wise, no less than core i3 for anything (unless going the super-ultra portable route), better to get an i5 or i7.

However, it sounds like you need a desktop, not a laptop, so why not save a bit and go with a decent desktop and a netbook instead?

[YP5 Toronto]

I would remove Dell from the above comments. Sony is still bloated and tends to be less spec per dollar when compared to most others. Dell is still struggling with the effects of poor product in the corporate space...only word of mouth or long term reviews can vouch for the retail consumer space...but very poor fault rates.

Please do not historic sales volume as "best".... Dell is far from it when talking about product design, durability and short / long term cost of ownership. Years of being a low cost leader is biting them in the a$$.

To get back to your original question, I would favor HP. HP's volume has allowed them to provide some pretty good value for their notebooks, without sacrificing too much from a reliability stand point. Although Toshiba would be my primary, they continue to have one of the best track records from a reliability stand point, what is good for the customer is that they have been utlra aggressive on price over the last little while. Sony is not interested in market share, they rather sell less at higher margins. Moreover, their PC division is not a priority and it is reflective in their notebook products. Focus is on looks and maintaining brand perception via higher pricing.

I have 11 years between HP, Compaq and Toshiba, all within the notebook space with focus in product marketing / product design.

[basroil]

I would remove Dell from the above comments. Sony is still bloated and tends to be less spec per dollar when compared to most others. Dell is still struggling with the effects of poor product in the corporate space...only word of mouth or long term reviews can vouch for the retail consumer space...but very poor fault rates.

Actually, Dell laptops are very close to the top in terms of longevity, only a percentage point behind Apple in the latest's numbers. Asus and Toshiba are well ahead of all others, and Sony leads Dell by about 2%. HP is actually the absolute worst company, double the number of failures when compared to asus. (Look up the three year failure statistics for 2009)

In terms of price for lifetime, Asus is at the top, then it's between Toshiba and Dell for second place.

I would remove HP from the comments above ;)

[ZGMF-X20A]

A word about Sony... It's hard to upgrade or downgrade the OS. I tried to upgrade my wife's Sony SZ laptop to Windows 7, but drivers update was hell. They won't allow your laptop to upgrade to another version of OS somehow. They somehow lock it within their driver installer.

[Fastfwd13]

Never worked on an HP but I did work a lot on Dell and Sony and I completely hated the Sony keyboard I had on my SZ. I would often miss keystrokes from not pushing the keys down enough when typing fast; never had that problem with the many Dells I have worked with.