Dell Laptop 2 cents request

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Like Fish, I’m in the process of looking a new laptop. Alas, it’s for my wife’s business and she wants a lower end machine (less than $1000 not including extended warranty). Does anyone have recommendations regarding Dell’s laptops, new or refurbished? I’m looking at the Inspirion 2650, unless I can talk my wife into a 4150. We’re buying it as a desktop replacement more than a truly mobile unit, so size/weight are secondary to features/performance (size/wait?).

Any comments on Dell’s current quality/service/support for laptops? Is the on-site service plan worth it?

Thanks!

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Hi Charlie,

I’ve had a Dell Inspiron 8000 (PIII 1.0 Ghz, 256MB, 32 MB nVidia GForce 2Go, 15″ LCD, CD-RW, DVD…) for over a year and a half. It’s been a GREAT machine. I realize that it’s in a different class than what you (and your wife) are looking for, but I have all good things to say about Dell’s sales and support.

Fortunately, I haven’t had any problems that have required technical support. I paid extra for the “Complete Care” warranty – providing coverage for accidental damage such as drops or spills. As for on-site service, I’ve heard good things about other people who have used that. However, if there are any major problems with a laptop, the odds are that the technician will have to ship it to a service center for repairs, which probably take the same amount of time as shipping it off to begin with.

When my desktop’s hard drive died, my laptop served faithfully as my ONLY machine for almost a month. Even with a new desktop, I still use the laptop as my main work machine – as you’ll see in other posts I’ve made, my current desktop is geared for gaming…

Bottom line – my experiences with Dell have been very positive!
Hope this helps.

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Mark,

Thanks for the excellent feedback. That’s pretty much the story I’ve heard about Dell – great product and good support (if you can reach them).

The 3-year on-site service is only $60 more than mail-in service. And for the next five minutes there’s a rebate on this option. (I’ve already read jscher’s reply, and I agree completely!) But I’ll make a point to ask about whether on-site techs can make the majority of repairs, and what happens if they do need to mail it in. Thanks for pointing that out.

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The Inspiron 4000 with Windows 2000 has been good. I got the 3-year mail-in service plan. Typically Dell will pre-mail a part and you can return the broken part later, but the hold times are insane. Luckily it isn’t me that’s on hold.

So far, optical drives have been the most common point of failure on my Gateway and Dell laptops.

Many of our Dell Latitudes also had an issue with a very noisy fan; they were willing to send the part, but it was somewhat complicated to change (it was a heat sink, too). The Inspirons usually are a better value anyway.

Last but not least, unless compactness is the primary motivation, the price/performance of notebooks simply cannot match desktop computers. Is there really a compelling case for a notebook in this situation? By compelling I mean “justifies an extra $500.”

One thing that is extremely annoying is how Dell offers different incentives and freebies in the Home and Small Business departments. The attached pages are a good example of this. Means a lot more clicking and checking before buying.

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The price discrepancy also applies to desktop PCs. Sheesh.

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The “compelling” part of this is that we’re wireless at home, and there’s a few business trips each year where my wife really needs to bring her work along. She’s been getting by with a Compaq Armada from the last century when she travels, but that’s starting to fade.

As for Dell’s pricing, they should be fined for deceptive trade. There’s a different offer every time I go to the site, and the price they show on the “featured” items jumps $150 as soon as you click Customize starting at… link! Just try to get the same price on the same system two days in a row – I dare you.

Ah, well. I guess I’ll just have to deal (no pun intended). Thanks for the feedback!

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Hi Jefferson,

I noticed the same thing when I made my purchase a while back. I did exactly what you did – priced it from several different “markets”: Small Business, Home, and Student (which I was at the time). I don’t know if the sales rep I spoke to on the phone would have eventually pointed that out to me or not, but she did admit it when I mentioned that I had discovered the difference.

I think that’s what economists call “Price Discrimination”… (a perfectly legal and accepted practice, as far as I know)

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The object of price discrimination in economic theory is to charge each buyer the maximum she or he is willing to pay for a given product. Dell is trying, I agree, but its technique of self-identifying yourself into one of three or four particular markets is absurdly crude. Actually, if you couldn’t customize your machine it might work, but since you usually can specify the identical parts in each channel, it ends up that you almost always get the best deal in Small Business. Economists probably would say that this can be explained by “competition.”

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Interesting idea, but I’d have to say that I’d never recommend anything in the way of a notebook to a client unless it came from a major player (Dell, IBM, Toshiba etc.) Notebooks have too many inseparable, proprietary and expensive parts – if something fails, it’s much more difficult to replace the offending part than when you’re dealing with a desktop. It’s crucial to have your notebook backed by a big company with ample stock, service offerings and some serious longevity in the industry. that’s my professional opinion – I might be willing to take chances with a personal computer, someone’s business mission-critical PC is another matter. YMMV.

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We bought a refurbished Compaq laptop – the Armada I mentioned in another post – from a local company that went out of business and took the money from our service contract with it. So we’re going with IBM or Dell direct, both of which will probably be around for three or four years. And with the cost and likelihood of repairs on a laptop, we’ll be getting a service contract.

Thanks!

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Unless I’m missing something, there’s no monitor or input devices on the Mini computer, right?

I used to work for a training company. When we did classes on-site for a company, we would often carry computers similar to those. Ours had built in LCD panels and keyboards (we brought the mouses/mice along as well). We called them “Lunchbox” computers. All of the main components were interchangeable with a desktop (except for the small motherboard).

I don’t think that kind of computer be compared with a notebook, despite its similar portability. It probably weighs twice as much as a notebook and is quite bulky. I’d love to see someone take THAT on an airplane!

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The shuttle is an interseting idea, but because the monitor and keyboard are separate, I think my wife would prefer a laptop. Doesn’t have to be the lightest, thinest one, but still needs to be easily portable. Size and weight are secondary, but they’re still an important factor. Thanks for the suggestion.

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