Window Shopping for Laptops
March 22nd, 2008 Roshan Posted in Gadgets |
I’ve been looking for a laptop and so I’ve been poking around on HP’s site. I chose HP because the HP Compaq NX 7300 I have has near mythical Linux compatibility, everything here works better than it does on the pre-installed XP and with no effort whatsoever.
This is what the dv9700t’s look like:
I’m not the fashion conscious kind, but this looks pretty reasonable anyway. Unfortunately, while I can get a 14.4″ laptop it comes to much more with either the same specifications or much less and powered much lower. Hopefully, I’ll be able to buy one of those cheap UMPCs that are becoming so popular, so I won’t need to lug this giant around if I do buy it. What struck me the most was that it costs so much more for inferior hardware here in India. That dv9700t laptop comes with Windows Vista, an Intel Core 2 Duo T8100, 17″ wide-screen, 3GB RAM, a 512 MB nVidia GeForce 8600M GS, Intel 4965AGN, 250GB drive, LightScribe DVD±RW DL. All that comes to slightly less than 50,100 rupees. I can’t even get the same configuration here, and if I tried I’d be priced out of my head.
March 22nd, 2008 at 2:44 pm
[…] George could use the money to buy himself a new laptop. Splurging, I […]
March 22nd, 2008 at 9:59 pm
A laptop with that specifications comes just for 50,000 RS.
India is Cursed, thats all i can say
March 23rd, 2008 at 2:40 pm
I can’t say that the duties imposed are unfair, but I hate them, personally. If they got everyone paying their taxes right, we wouldn’t need these duties I’m willing to bet.
March 23rd, 2008 at 4:47 pm
If you have someone coming from US, then ask them to get it for you. A Sony Viao comes for < 1000 $. My sister got a 14.1″ HP with Core2Duo(slightly inferior to the one in Viao) and 3GB RAM for 900 odd dollars.
March 23rd, 2008 at 5:04 pm
In my experience, most Vaios are overpriced. They cost way too much for what they do. However that second bit sounds pretty nice, but I have a budget that goes up to $1250 so I’m trying to make the most of it.
I think I’ll just get 4GB RAM, I already run a 64-bit OS anyway.
March 24th, 2008 at 5:38 am
Yea, I am against Sony myself for their overpricing strategies. (They make a product look better in quality compared to others by overpricing it.) Which is why I advised my sister against buying one, But then, the processors they use are much better than the ones HP is using. (for whatever reason ? )I don’t think HP line has Core2duo 1.8 GHz and above. (if I am not mistaken)
DELL XPS seems to be good as well. And DELL has dealers now in India. Check out the IT depot in Thiruvanmiyur. They have a nice line-up of laptops.
March 24th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
I have a Core2Duo T7200 (2.0 Ghz) on this laptop and it’s around a year old. The one I priced out above has a T8100 (2.4 Ghz) . I’m definitely not downgrading.
Thanks, I’ve seen those brochures they send out and I can’t justify buying something that costs 15% more than an equivalently specced machine from abroad.
March 24th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
You remember how you predicted my laptop will cost me 52,000 min. if i buy it here? Did i ever tell you that i got it for a little over 46? So double check on the prices before you make someone carry it all the way!
March 24th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
Not everyone perpetrates fraud on vendors like you do. I said 52,000 possibly, not minimum, stop making me out to be a clueless nutcase ;)
I’ll double check the prices, but I can’t even find anything like this here. It doesn’t even exist to be priced.
March 24th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
you said approx. I’m sure of it! And i got it with vista.. I thought you didn’t use windows! Oh, don’t go by what’s given online. Talk to the dealers. Esp. the ones who supply universities and institutes.
March 24th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
This one has a $150 rebate if I get it online :) and sounds good for the price. You got an educational discount? That’s not even fair, that’s cheating.
I’ll settle for approx. and remind you that it doesn’t mean minimum. I don’t use Windows, but it’s hard to get a laptop without it and I’m not taking the effort to not accept the licence and get a refund. It’s a complicated process.
March 26th, 2008 at 9:34 am
No i don’t! Thoe guys supply in bulk so it’s likely that you’ll get it for a lower price!
March 27th, 2008 at 7:02 am
Of course, of course. That makes sense. I’ll remember that, when I see an equivalent machine here.
April 18th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
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April 20th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
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May 8th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
till just two weeka ago i owned an HP Pavilion dv2119tx. It was everything I expected and more… at least for the first 9months.. then one day out of the blue it just crashed (eventhough I was not a power user) it was under warranty at the time so when i checked it out they told me that the graphic card had malfunctioned…and the main board had to be changed. it was.. now less than 3 months later it crashed once more.. same problem.. now its gonna cost me IRs.19,000!thats nearly 1/3 its cost! so i junked it and now im currently using a DELL… and it cost less than my old one! so if you would like my sincere opinion, i’d go for a mac book anyday…
May 8th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
Thanks Karthik, I bought a Dell in the end too, and my dad bought a Toshiba. The HP laptops available here just weren’t worth the price but the macbook is way too expensive. Ridiculously priced even. The Macbook closest to my XPS M1330 costs 5000 more and has less RAM.
May 8th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
in my sincere opinion… HP laptops are definitely Beautiful to look at nice to hold… Buy one though, and consider yourself screwed!!
May 8th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
Oh definitely. I agree, especially about their newer ones in the TV ads. They look beautiful.
Funny though, I had a HP Compaq NX 7300 laptop for around a year and it was pretty good, no complaints whatsoever till the time I switched to my current laptop.