Laptop Recommendations?

[Doug Lee]

I haven't used laptops for chasing, but based on company history, I'd use either HP or Compaq.
HP started years before the PC boom making test equipment for electronics technicians. Some of the equipment was portable, so it had to be rugged. I'm sure they put some of that same ruggedness into their laptops.
Compaq started out making portable computers, so they must have considered how the things would be handled when they designed them.
Now HP owns Compaq. I imagine they may have consolidated their design expertise.

I'm not saying that other brands wouldn't be rugged enough. It just that I'd go with a brand with a track record that would give me the characteristics I'm looking for in a product.

 

[Matthew Havin]

Actually, Acer has a model or two out that is nicely priced (about $700), runs 4 hours on the battery, and weighs about 6.5 pounds. It has received good reviews as well.

For powering, keep in mind most laptops will take about 40-65W of power when running, something to keep in mind when determining wattage requirements on the road for all your equipment in the car.

Also, there are good deals to find in the used world (some risky). If you can find used Panasonic Toughbooks, try hard to get one. They can be dropped on concrete, take a bullet, and still keep downloading current radar animations and surface obs on Wi-Fi.

Keep in mind, reliability and ruggedness are extremely important when chasing, and there are good brands out there (new and used) that are also nicely priced.

Good luck!

 

[Glenn Schubert]

I was lucky. My 2 1/2 yo HP laptop just crapped out on me. I bought it at Best Buy and luckly I had the extended warrantee. So I got to pick out a new one for the price of the previous one. I got a new HP Pavilion DV1170 laptop that has a 1.8G Celeron processor, 100G HD, 512Mb ram, CD/DVD burner, wireless g LAN, built-in card reader, 3 USB port, Hi-def widescreen, extreme graphic and weighs only 5.3lbs. You guys are right that you don't need one with all of the bells and whistles, but I use this for business also.

 

[Court Hubbard]

I bought a new laptop today actually. The Dell 600m with some customized things including the mobile centrino processor, 60gb hard drive, wireless g lan, etc. Got it all for $1000. Not a bad deal, and I will let you know how I like it.

 

[Chris Sokol]

Only one choice...Panasonic Toughbook.

 

[Tomas Capolongo]

If I were in the market for a new laptop I would get a Dell..
or an IBM though they are a bit more expensive..

 

[Bill Hamilton]

Originally posted by Tomas Capolongo
If I were in the market for a new laptop I would get a Dell..
or an IBM though they are a bit more expensive..

IBM, yes! Dell, oh hell no! I have seen way to many of them with crapped out motherboards and/or fans that die and kill them.

 

[Tomas Capolongo]

Originally posted by Bill Hamilton
IBM, yes! Dell, oh hell no! I have seen way to many of them with crapped out motherboards and/or fans that die and kill them.

really?
everybody I know that has/had a Dell has been happy with it..

I am considering getting a new laptop myself...even though I don't NEED something better

 

[Bill Hamilton]

Originally posted by Tomas Capolongo+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tomas Capolongo)</div>

really?
everybody I know that has/had a Dell has been happy with it..

I am considering getting a new laptop myself...even though I don't NEED something better [/b]

I would save your money if you don't NEED anything better just yet. I have just seen way too many come through our shop in the past year. Not to many before that. There is a reason why they can sell them so cheap now, less than desired components! I will never own one.

<!--QuoteBegin-Chris Sokol
Only one choice...Panasonic Toughbook.

Nice choice Chris! They are VERY nice and durable but still cost a little to much for the average consumer. I would like to have one of those.

 

[Walker Ashley]

Originally posted by Chris Sokol
Only one choice...Panasonic Toughbook.

In the middle of my chase vacation last year, the LCD bulb in my relatively new Panasonic Toughbook went bad. They are NOT as tough as the name implies (at least from my experience).

Walker

 

[Brian Press]

I have a Powerbook G4 with airport installed. It rocks. Looking forward to getting Wxworx with Virtual PC. Looks like it should work. Just wonderig which GPS system to use. I love Final Cut Pro for editing all my stom stuff so Apple is the Laptop for me.

Shalom,

B.p.

 

[Scott Taylor]

With the recent reduction in costs of wxworx, I'm strongly considering that system over a laptop at this time. A laptop would still be wonderful for a variety of other reasons, but if I can get radar and surface obs anywhere in the field with wxworx, that seems hard to pass up. I'm still not sure though... I'll keep reading for another week or so and checking out laptops. Hopefully I can make a decision soon... bcuz this one has been driving me crazy.

 

[Andrew Booth]

I have a Powerbook G4 with airport installed. It rocks. Looking forward to getting Wxworx with Virtual PC. Looks like it should work. Just wonderig which GPS system to use. I love Final Cut Pro for editing all my stom stuff so Apple is the Laptop for me.

Shalom,

B.p.

I've also got a G4 PowerBook, but I decided that I don't really want to take it out on the road since its my main computer. I picked up a ThinkPad 390X from eBay for basic use while chasing (GPS, WiFi, etc) and it was only $150 to boot.

If you're still looking for a GPS solution I recommend the Rayming TN-200 USB GPS Receiver (OS X Compatible) and Route 66 Route USA 2004 (Also OS X Compatible).

Links
http://www.rayming.com/ - Rayming website, look for the TN200
http://www.66.com/ - Route 66 mapping software (Maps more accurate then Delorme, but interface is clunkier)
(Remember to get the Mac version! the default takes you to the Windows version)

 

[Brian Press]

Hey Andrew,

Thanks for the tips. I will look into them when I get a chance. Have you tired Wxworx on your G4?

Thanks again,

b.p

 

[Kurt Hulst]

Scott Taylor wrote:

With the recent reduction in costs of wxworx, I'm strongly considering that system over a laptop at this time. A laptop would still be wonderful for a variety of other reasons, but if I can get radar and surface obs anywhere in the field with wxworx, that seems hard to pass up. I'm still not sure though... I'll keep reading for another week or so and checking out laptops. Hopefully I can make a decision soon... bcuz this one has been driving me crazy.

Um Scott i dont know if you already have a laptop but you do need a laptop to run WX Worx. I dont think it will run on any Palm PC or PDA type thing.