Saturday, January 26, 2008

Dude, I'm Getting A Dell

When folks ask me for laptop buying advice, I usually tell them two things: (1) buy locally, that way, if there's a problem you can easily take it back. And (2), don't bother buying a Dell, you're just paying extra for the name.

And tonight I bought a second laptop for i2x, and what did I buy? A Dell Latitude D630, discarding all of my own advice in one pithy move.

I actually had quite a number of reasons that got me to change my tune, including:

  • The folks at CNet rank it highly. I find the reviews to be pretty harsh on CNet, so any laptop that can score a 8.2/10 seems like one worth paying attention to.
  • Shira's had a Dell 620 from her office and she loves it. I've used it a bit, and I have to say it's, a remarkably solid machine.
  • We bought ours refurbished, which made the price quite reasonable (about $1,000 after taxes, shipping, etc.)
  • It has a 9 cell battery which should last a bit longer. Great for the nomadic lifestyle.
  • It came with a 3 year warranty for "free"
  • Shira made me.

I feel like I bought the Honda Accord of laptops. It's sturdy and dependable, and doesn't have a sexy feature on it. But, I need it for cranking out code, not for attracting chicks at the local Starbucks.

I'm anxious to see if discarding my advice was such a smart move. Guess I'll know soon enough.

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