I've been doing a lot of research on laptops lately. I bought a T61, and it turns out there's something wrong with the new Lenovo's and mine crashed every 15 minutes so I returned it.
I then ordered a Sony SZ480 which arrived yesterday. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a lemon. The Ctrl keys don't work, the speakers don't work, the headphone plug (only tested because the speakers weren't working) is f'd up, the bluetooth doesn't respond to the control panel and as I was using it, all of a sudden, for no reason, it started getting really really hot. The temperature was fine for several hours, but suddenly, while the computer was more or less idle it turned into a frying pan (Mac book owners should know the feeling well
). To top it off, it corrupted the date on an external hard drive I used to load some photos and music onto it. Anyhow, I spent several hours with two different tech support people (I must say, they were really nice and answered the phone within a minute each time) who concluded that the computer is a lemon, and I'm returning it.
For anyone looking for small, thin, light, really sexy with an awesome screen, the Sony SZ is for you; however it's kind of expensive. I believe my lemon was a fluke, but I actually decided that it's probably too fragile for me, so I'm not getting another one. I had heard that Sony support wasn't good, but in my experience they were extremely responsive.
The strange thing is that I've never had a single problem with any of the notebooks I have used in the past. I've had 4-5 of my own, and 2 others through work, and experienced nary a single problem. Even my cheapo Acer has never had a single problem. This time around, when reliability is my #1 concern, I get 2 lemons in a row.
So, now onto my third choice. I just ordered a Lenovo V200. It's smaller, but shares many characteristics with my original first choice the T61. It's not as cool as the X60/X61, but it includes a built in optical drive, and that's important to me. Most importantly, I haven't seen a single report of any errors with it. I ordered it from Euclid Computers after a recommendation from a friend. With free shipping and no tax, it's actually pretty cheap at $1,243. I decided to tack on a 3 year on-site Lenovo warranty for 2 bills (they are a Lenovo dealer and offer factory extended warranties). In the past, I always considered extended warranties to be a waste of money, but, once bitten, twice bitten, thrice shy I guess. For anyone that wants to join me, here's a link to the V200. I think it's a solid choice for carrying around business school and the reviews have been very good:
https://www.euclidcomputers.com/frameset ... vo+07642CU
If you're set on buying an X61, Euclid offers some pretty good prices, as well as free shipping and perhaps no tax. For those interested in the X60, Lenovo has a current sale going on. 15% off until 7/12 with this coupon code: USPX60FOR48. You can get a very reasonably equipped system for about $1200 or so, but you'll need to buy a separate optical drive (and carry around an extra part + power supply, which sucks).
For those of you that have some time before school starts, check out the Dell M1330. I'd be very interested in one of those (it's like the Sony SZ), but unfortunately they won't be available in time for me. Darden requires that you drop off your laptop for configuration and that you go through computer orientation before the start of school. If you're willing to look at an older model, the M1210 has been heavily discounted. I think it's very similar to the Lenovo V200 with a 12" screen and built in optical drive, but it's on the older Intel platform. This means it's a little slower, but might mean it's more stable.
So, do I get the fairy job or what?