I need to buy a laptop to eventually become our main computer but I don't really know where to start when it comes to getting a good deal.

I need to buy online or through our local little computer shop as we live nowhere near a PC world or such like (can get to a large Tesco/Asda though).

We need it for a lot of internet browsing, outlook express, word processing and storing photos & videos of kids and dogs so need decent storage and RAM etc...  We don't do any gaming or watch DVD's or do any music downloading.  The only TV we may watch on it will be Crufts!!

Any help appreciated... oh, and we are planning to wait until Windows 7 comes out, whenever that is!

Thank you!

Don't know a lot about laptops, but been looking into getting one myself, though funds aren't very willing right now.

A friend who knows a lot about them has told me for what i want, which is similar to your needs is a Sony Vaio, i would be looking at ones with large screens, especially if you are looking to watch movies and Crufts on it. Can't see the desire for a small screen for that..

I know others may not agree on many parts, though they are expensive and if you can get to the States, they are about £400 cheaper over there.

Comet is a good site for comparing models and getting good deals.  They sometimes have special online prices too.  Delivery direct to you at home isn't very expensive or you can choose a 'collect in store' option if you decide you want a trip.

You can Google for reviews online via computer magazine sites or price comparison sites like pricerunner.

I'd recommend Toshiba or Acer at the moment for innovation and price.  We have had several Toshiba over the years and been very pleased, we currently have an Acer netbook too which is great.  We've also had Dell, and had no problems, but they seem to be going through a duff patch!!

Shop around :)

Well, my computer is broken at the moment so I'm using my OH's laptop, it's a HP but cant find what model it is - it's really good though and simple to use. At work I use a Sony Vaio which is good too.

Dell do quite good laptop deals the colour Inspirons are quite good I think the dual processor is the better option than the cheapest one.

My boss just bought a new one for his house and he looks into things in great detail.  He opted for a Dell Inspiron and is really pleased with it.

Toshiba here, I have one that is now three years old and has been great - and not that expensive either, my daughter has had hers for two years and again no problems (touch wood :-) ). I find the Dell's quite heavy and clunky looking although I haven't looked at new ones for a while. With Sony you are paying over the odds for the name IMHO but they do get good reviews. We bought ours from PC world as we have a shop quite near.

Windows 7 is on general release on 22nd October so should be on new PC's from then. If you have children at school or university check out software4students for deals on applications - you don't need an academic email address for this one, or theultimatesteal but you need an academic email address ie user @ college.ac.uk

software4students
theultimatesteal

I've had an Acer via Amazon for a very good price and works beautifully, my daughter, who builds my desktop pc's is so impressed she's nicked it!

I had a Toshiba for three years and had dreadful overheating problems with it.  I now have a Dell XPS and love it. The great thing will Dell is that you can build your own, choose a basic model and upgrade the bits you want to on it.

I currently have an acer and it is great but before that had a fairly unknown name that was around the same price and it was a nightmare.  On checking after it broke (less than 3 years old) they were prone to mother board failure that is unfixable.   grrrr!  I bought my acer from the online BT shop as it had the best deal at the time for that model.

So I've a short list of Acer, Toshiba, Dell, HP & Sony Vaio!  Gawd, and I suppose it's the age old situation of horses for courses and one man's poison etc etc.... So okay, does anyone have any great recommendations for 'where to buy' i.e. a particular online computer company? Do the likes of comet stock a big range i.e. they would be able to offer good deals??  Thank youuu!

yep i have just bought an acer, its great.
also if you do buy from comet there refund/replace policy is great no arguments at all.

Comet have a pretty good stock - certainly enough for you to get an idea of what you like.  I suggest you make a note of your must haves, in terms of applications, functionality etc then go have see what you like the look of.  Screen sizes make a big difference to the whole portability issue, keyboards come with flat or shaped keys and the navigation options are easier on some models.

It's well worth just getting a feel for your preferences.  I prefer Comet but choose a big store, it's handy if you can find a retail park with Currys and perhaps a PC World too.  Once you know what you like then shop around for the best price online :)

Hello there

We've had a Toshiba for 7 years and it's only just died. We decided to branch out and get an Apple .. you can buy reconditioned ones on the Apple store - they're ones that have been used as demos and you can get a good deal (ours had £400 off).

In general you can buy any brand cheaper on the internet than at Currys/Comet/PC World. You can always go in, try out and find the make and model you like, and then get it cheap on the net. Ours was 24 hour delivery as well.

Hope that helps :-)

I got my latest Dell Inspiron from Tesco of all places, and if I recall it was only about £350. It gets quite a bit of use, and performs admirably, including rescource hungry graphics programmes. Prior to that I had a large widescreen Toshiba which cost four times the price and although it had a far higher specification, seemed much slower, especially for surfing the web.

Another thing I have found is that the Dell is much easier to have sat on my knee, as it is much lighter and balances easily, whereas the widescreen Toshiba was really heavy in comparison.

I can agree with that.. I have my bright yellow sitting on my lap as I type and watch TV :-)

I've got a Dell 1525 Laptop and i would recommend it, can get some good deals all on line and they deliver straight to your door, choice of spec and colour you want etc. Pleased with mine upto now, and mine was last years christmas pressie

I bought  the Dell Studio 1555 a month ago and is great.  We bought it from PC World.  They sell them online too.  I would highly recommend it.

I've just bought a nice little Toshiba from John Lewis ( "who wont be beaten on price") and it was around £300.
Saw it in store, bought it online and collected it localy 2 days later.

Advantage is John Lewis are probably (IMO) the best folk to deal with if anything goes wrong...they sort it!

tooolz, your right there with regards john lewis, they have no messing - either fix it or replace it, do it when they say they are going to do it no arguments