Re: [Thinkpad] Dell Vs IBM laptops

Gentlemen and Ladies:

I use the 'unbiased' opinion of such publications as PC World. They
rate IBM Thinkpads as the best laptop/notebook. They also rate IBM's
technical support and repair as the "best" and to be emulated by
others. They dropped their ratings of the Dell series of laptops this
year and they also dropped the quality of Dell's technical support.
They did not drop the ability of Dell's support team, just the ability
of them to communicate with average users. Now, this is something to
consider:

I can buy a Dell for $799 which is a 'good' machine according to several
reviews. I can buy an IBM T41 for about $2199 which is a 'great'
machine. For about $1400 this is for a machine with a 3 year at home
repair, more 'power' and a great technical support system, which is
available around the world. So, if I'm buying a system that I plan on
keeping for more than a year, and I really don't know what I'm doing or
I feel like overhauling it, or changing the operating system, then I'm
going to buy IBM. If I'm 'Joe User' and I really need to keep my costs
down and I don't plan on doing anything unusual, then I'll go Dell. I
would not buy anything else, be it Gateway, HP or any other manufacturer.

BTW, I've bought/used over 6 Thinkpads. I bought a Dell for someone
else, and I was not impressed with the quality of the machine. However,
I was impressed that the Dell system shipped with all installed
software, something that IBM should do.

So, which machine to buy depends on what you need/desire. Need a
machine that will get repaired in less than a week, get IBM. If you
need a low-cost machine that you will not be messing with and can wait
over a week to get repaired, get a Dell (BTW, the Dell did need repairs
and it took about 3 days for the 'overnight' repair person to show up.)

James McKenzie

richard wrote:

> At 11:28 AM 3/13/2004 -0700, Ray Bayles wrote:
>
>> Many of the people on this list upgrade an repair a number of
>> machines. It isn't difficult to spot design problems and
>> manufacturing defects, as well as stoopid ideas. Many of the machines
>> that look good in stores, simply do not look very good up to snuff
>> later on.
>>
>> Also, many of us are warranty repair technicians who talk to a
>> warranty center every day. We learn the feedback of other technicians.
>
>
> Given that this is a Thinkpad list, do you believe there's any bias in
> favor of Thinkpads? In other words, those who like Thinkpads come
> here, so we hear more positive reports regarding TP's.
>
> Support forums often attract people who are having problems. But
> long-time frequent posters tend to be fans.
>
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Received on Sat Mar 13 22:15:16 2004