iBummed

Laptop Brands – Strengths and Weaknesses

Today I am going to talk about different laptops available in the market. The reason I am going to do this, is because I had to research for 1 month in order to come to a conclusion of which laptop to purchase. This will be less of a comparison and more of information related to each brand and what they really offer. The brands I am going to talk about are Acer, Apple, Dell, HP, IBM, LG, Sony, and Toshiba. Out of these, I have personally used Acer, Apple, Dell, HP, Sony, and Toshiba.

The Acer Laptops are one of the cheapest in the league. They offer value for money type of products. On an average, Acer Laptops range from AED 2250 ($600) to AED 7000 ($1900).
They even introduced a separate line up for the Ferrari lovers. The looks of the Ferrari laptops sure are impressive, but I have always been against the AMD processor because they don’t last that long. It was always surprising why couldn’t they include the Pentium chip set in the Ferrari laptop. The configuration according to me is not really as appealing as the Ferrari, but maybe because of its looks it is appealing. So if someone is really a die hard fan of Ferrari and does not mind paying extra for it, Ferrari laptops are meant for him. But the Lamborghini lovers don’t need to get disappointed, because ASUS has a special Lamborghini series of laptops in their range too.
Also, recently, Acer introduced this new range of laptops which are very cheap and have limited functionality. They range from AED 1095 ($300) to AED 1085 ($500). They are really small and lightweight and can be termed as a Mini-Laptop. Maybe if I keep a separate laptop to carry around and use it only for travel purposes and synchronize it with the main laptop, I would consider buying it. It can be seen it has a minimal configuration, and maybe it has been introduced as a CHEAP rival to the Apple Macbook Air.

Acer

 

Pros: Cheapest Price when compared to competitors, Wide Range from basic model to high end models, Offers good options for a reasonable price.

Cons: Every tom, dick and harry has one, even the most expensive one is considered poor quality, low brand equity.

As I had mentioned above, after a month’s research, I bought a new laptop. My new laptop is the Macbook. The reason I chose to buy the Macbook was mainly because of four reasons. Firstly, the Macbook is supposed to be the best in Graphics purpose use for example in Adobe Photoshop. Secondly, the service and warranty for the Apple products is really quick and convenient. Thirdly, the price and the model range of the Macbook’s don’t change frequently. It can be very disappointing to see the price of the laptop you purchased a month ago become cheaper now, but the good thing is, Apple products don’t do this. Lastly, the quality of the laptop is easily distinguishable from the other laptops, and even the performance of the Operating System. Moreover, both the Mac OS and the Microsoft Windows run smoothly on the Macbooks and the Wireless LAN connectivity range is impressive and one of the best when compared to all the laptops. But for all these great features, there is always a heavy price tag. The Macbooks surely charge a heavier price when compared to its competitors with the same configuration, but it sure is worth each penny if you can afford it. They have only three product lines in this, one is the Macbook which ranges from AED 5,500 ($1,500) to AED 7,000 ($1,900), the Macbook Pro which ranges from AED 9,000 ($2,500) to AED 18,000 ($4,950) and the Macbook Air which ranges from AED 6,800 ($1,799) to AED 7,950($2,099) approximately. Also, if you are a student, you can avail a Student Discount or Corporate Discount on the purchase of your laptop depending on the country you reside in. For gaming purpose, the Macbook could be insufficient as it doesn’t have a dedicated Graphic Card and also the size of the screen is only 13.3-inch. So for high end graphical purpose the Macbook Pro is amazing and will surely satisfy your needs and for lightweight technological use Macbook Air is the best. For further information you can visit www.apple.com.

Apple

 

Pros: Very stylish and distinctive from all the rest of the laptops, the best laptop for graphical purpose, Amazing warranty and service worldwide.

Cons: Really Expensive, Little different keys and functions from the regular Windows which can be irritating, Not much variety of software and games.

According to me, Dell is a very good option if purchased in the USA. They provide an amazing number of options to their wide variety range of laptops. I personally feel no other laptop brand provides such a wide variety of choosing the options and modifying the laptop. The only reason I would not buy the Dell in Dubai is because of its Warranty and Service. But the Warranty and Service in the States is pretty good and no troubles at all. Since they have a wide variety of laptops which meet different types of end users, and can satisfy each user’s needs individually, I would recommend Dell if anyone lives in the U.S. and wants to custom build the laptop.
Dell Laptops range from AED 2,000 ($499) to AED 12,000 ($3,300). Since these prices are for different machines For further information you can visit www.dell.com.

Dell

 

Pros: Great variety of options when ordered online, Wide Range of Laptops, Good Warranty and Service in the U.S.

Cons: All the benefits are meant for the U.S., More well known for Desktops than Laptops, Available options in other countries not that appealing.

My personal favorite laptop would be HP laptop if I am limited in budget and if I don’t want to get Acer because I want something with better quality. They have an amazing configuration for a decent price. I never had to try out their warranty because they lasted quite long. I had heard ‘rumors’ that the motherboard of the HP laptops is quite weak and blows off right after 1 year, but I never faced any of these problems. The main competitor of the HP laptops is only Toshiba Laptops, but according to me HP wins hands down because they are comparatively cheaper and of the same value. They have a wide variety of laptops too, but they can be the mid-range in the laptop market. They range from AED 2500 ($700) to AED 7,300 ($2,000). The only disappointment in the HP Laptops is their Tablet PCs because mostly their Tablet PCs have the AMD processor which I will never suggest to buy.

Pros: Value for money, Good variety in the mid-range market, Good Looks.

HP

 

Cons: Many people still prefer Toshiba, Could become the most common laptop in the mid-range, No options can be added like Dell.

They are the most ugliest laptops ever in the whole range. I think IBM is known for bringing the concept of PC and they should stick to it. What I am trying to say is, they cost alot, approximately AED 9000+ ($2,500+), and provide the same configuration with an ugly body. The only positive point of the body is that it is too strong and can sustain the impact of a fall. But how often is someone likely to drop his laptop? I find it insanely priced for nothing, but that is my point of view. Also, another positive feature is the trackball in between the keys but then we could always attach an external mouse. Therefore, there is nothing special and pricey which is not a good combination.

IBM

 

Pros: Very good body of the laptop, the trackball between the keys, Brand Equity.

Cons: Expensive, Ugly, Low Specifications comparatively.

The first question which will arise in anyone’s mind is “Do they even make laptops?”. That is right, they have an image in home appliances and entertainment systems, and they should have stuck to that. LG is not able to create any competition for the existing brands of laptops. The quality of the parts used in the laptop are very poor, and also, suck in performance. I am guessing most of the places would not even deal in LG laptops because there are rarely any buyers. So if you own a LG laptop and are reading my blog, please don’t get mad at me, all I can say is, Why would you do this?

LG

 

Pros: Its a laptop, It has keys, It has a screen.

Cons: Well known brand in other products, Cheap parts, Not worth at all.

Sony Vaio laptops have good looks but are really bad at performance. Sony is well known for its Televisions, Handy cams, cameras, Walkman, etc. Maybe this is why Sony because of its brand equity has priced its laptops really high. But the price does not meet the performance, as mostly all the Sony Laptops are slow. The parts used in the laptop are just the same parts used in the above mentioned laptops excluding Apple but still the Vaio laptops are overpriced. The only positive point is that all the Sony laptops are very light weight and easy to carry. To sum it up, it is a competitor with Acer when functionality is considered and with Apple when looks are considered. I personally feel that if you are buying a laptop for a fashion statement, or to show it off more than use it, Sony is the right brand for you.

Pros: Stylish looks and light weight, Wide range of laptops, Well known brand equity.

Sony

 

Cons: Over priced, Slow Performance, nothing exclusive.

Toshiba laptops are the biggest competitors with the HP laptops. The price of the Toshiba laptop is generally a little higher than a HP laptop with the same configuration. I have owned two till now, and after a year with both, my keyboard and DVD-Writer got spoiled. I am not sure if it was a coincidence or it happens with everybody, but yeah, it happened to me both the times. They have a good variety of laptops and their high end laptop called Qosmio is a high end machine with powerful graphics and a good entertainment system. The only drawback is that it is huge and heavy which is not what a laptop should be. If I had a choice between HP and Toshiba, I would choose HP but then there are many people with a different opinion. They range from AED 2,700 ($750) to AED 18,000 ($4,950).

Toshiba

 

Pros: Good quality mid-range laptops, wide variety of laptops, great competition with HP.

Cons: Pricier than HP, Some parts like keyboard and DVD-Writer get spoiled easily, A little uglier than its competitor.

Well, this was my review on the laptops. This is my personal opinion and all I can say is, if I am even a little bit of help to you in deciding, please do leave a comment.

Cheers!

Posted in: review

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 21st, 2008 at 2:08 am and is filed under review. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.