I'm buying a laptop for the first time and i wanted to know if its worth buying the warranty ($250-$350ish). I'm going to be using the laptop for taking notes in class and surfing the internet (google,youtube, facebook ...etc)... no gaming. I have been looking for a laptop for few weeks now and I wanted to see if you guys know of any good deals. I would like to get something under $1000 and the maximum of $1200 (including warranty/tax/enviromental fee)

Anything under 14" would be awesome.

This is what i have been looking into but unfortunetly they are all sold out
http://www.bestbuy.ca/marketing/sony...id=EN&dm=DEBUG

edit: I do have a desktop at home that i use on everyday basis.

I got an extended warranty on my laptop, and it ended up really working out for the best in the end! Just before my warranty was about to go, my laptop went first, and Staples (where I bought it) bought me out of my warranty and gave me $360 towards my new laptop.

Wow, that's a large budget. xD You don't need to spend that much if all you intend on using it is for the things you listed.

a) I'd go with Toshiba. <3 toshiba.
b) Definitely get the warranty. You never know what could happen.

why is it that some people dislike netbooks? pros and cons of having a netbook anyone?

they're very portable/light

If you are only using it for notes and internet and not planning on running any intensive programs/games then you can spend way less than 1000, closer to the $700 dollar mark easily. You might want to look into dell, its nice how you can customize so you can get the features you want.

Go for the warranty, although they seem expensive if you are going to be carrying the laptop around a lot something is going to break. My laptop is in getting its hard drive, and DVD drive replaced and the monitor fixed. A lot of that i am contributing to taking it to class most days for the past 2 years. And my old laptop had to be replaced because buying a new screen for $700 was not worth it because i didn't buy the warranty.

Originally Posted by escape

why is it that some people dislike netbooks? pros and cons of having a netbook anyone?

they're very portable/light

I would absolutley never buy a netbook, but I'm also a gamer and a GIS student so I need a powerful computer.

Also, why have a netbook? Smartphones can do everything that a netbook can - email, browsing, chat, even word processing. I'd rather have a good smartphone for portable use and a powerful desktop at home - and that's one of the first things I plan on doing as soon as I get a job out of university.

My laptop (15.5 inch screen) has been good throughout university, but it was the best computer available when it was purchased and cost over $2000. In the end, the portability wasn't really worth the extra price IMO. I'd rather just spend the money on an awesome desktop.

Also, I'm not much of a note taker in class, and when I do take any notes, I write them down - don't need a computer for that.

Netbooks are great if you have another computer at home. They dont have the power or the size for normal-advanced tasks. They are light and easy to carry around, but i find the screen to be too small for extended use.

Originally Posted by Taunton

I would absolutley never buy a netbook, but I'm also a gamer and a GIS student so I need a powerful computer.

Also, why have a netbook? Smartphones can do everything that a netbook can - email, browsing, chat, even word processing. I'd rather have a good smartphone for portable use and a powerful desktop at home - and that's one of the first things I plan on doing as soon as I get a job out of university.

My laptop (15.5 inch screen) has been good throughout university, but it was the best computer available when it was purchased and cost over $2000. In the end, the portability wasn't really worth the extra price IMO. I'd rather just spend the money on an awesome desktop.

Also, I'm not much of a note taker in class, and when I do take any notes, I write them down - don't need a computer for that.

I have never seen anyone take down notes on a smartphone lol. I know what you're trying to say. I do have a great desktop which works perfectly fine.

Originally Posted by JeffB

Netbooks are great if you have another computer at home. They dont have the power or the size for normal-advanced tasks. They are light and easy to carry around, but i find the screen to be too small for extended use.

One of my friend who owns a netbook was telling me that she was having trouble downloading some files ( elm-related) last semester. I'm not sure exactly what the problem was but she ended buying a 16" laptop even though her netbook was like a year old

Is it cheaper to get a laptop around august. For some reason I thought after the holidays everything would be dirt cheap at futureshop/best buy.

netbook pros:
-light, portable
-good battery life

cons:
-no gaming power
-intel atoms (the cpu for netbooks) aren't the fastest processors but they will be fine for notes and browsing
-small screen

To answer your question, yes stores do push for more laptop sales during july and august. However, that isn't to say that there won't be any good deals for laptops in the meantime, its just a matter of finding a good deal.

In terms of warranty, your must get it if you're getting a HP. In general, you should decide based on well you take care of your fragile belongings, eg. do you have kids in the house/drop things a lot/clumsy. You shouldn't really be spending all that much for a laptop that fulfills what you need (unless you're getting a mac). The money spent on extended warranty could be spent to purchase another laptop. I wouldn't pay more than 600~ for the sony you were eyeing. Most companies do provide 1 year limited warranty on their laptops so make sure you find out what advantages they offer in extended vs included warranty. Good luck!

If you're willing to wait, laptops get insanely cheap at the end of summer for back to school shopping. You can get decent laptops for $300-$400, which is really good!

I wouldn't get a warranty. They sound great but a lot of things aren't covered. On my first laptop (Acer), my keyboard broke and it wasn't covered under the warranty so I had to buy a new one for $100. Then the touchpad stopped working and I had to get that fixed (luckily someone paid for that for my birthday, so I don't know how much that cost). Then the screen turned blue/green and blurry, but that also wasn't covered under the warranty.

I bought a new laptop (Vaio), and still didn't buy the warranty. I don't know what types of things the warranties are supposed to cover, but most don't cover the things that break the most often/easiest.

I bought my Vaio in May 2008 for $600. It went down to $400 three months later.

Originally Posted by Kathy2

If you're willing to wait, laptops get insanely cheap at the end of summer for back to school shopping. You can get decent laptops for $300-$400, which is really good!

I wouldn't get a warranty. They sound great but a lot of things aren't covered. On my first laptop (Acer), my keyboard broke and it wasn't covered under the warranty so I had to buy a new one for $100. Then the touchpad stopped working and I had to get that fixed (luckily someone paid for that for my birthday, so I don't know how much that cost). Then the screen turned blue/green and blurry, but that also wasn't covered under the warranty.

I bought a new laptop (Vaio), and still didn't buy the warranty. I don't know what types of things the warranties are supposed to cover, but most don't cover the things that break the most often/easiest.

I bought my Vaio in May 2008 for $600. It went down to $400 three months later.

I've gotten my entire keyboard replaced with my 1 year warranty with Toshiba. And when I called, they said if my warranty wasn't up, they would have replaced the LCD free of charge (it burnt out).

Originally Posted by Kathy2

If you're willing to wait, laptops get insanely cheap at the end of summer for back to school shopping. You can get decent laptops for $300-$400, which is really good!

I wouldn't get a warranty. They sound great but a lot of things aren't covered. On my first laptop (Acer), my keyboard broke and it wasn't covered under the warranty so I had to buy a new one for $100. Then the touchpad stopped working and I had to get that fixed (luckily someone paid for that for my birthday, so I don't know how much that cost). Then the screen turned blue/green and blurry, but that also wasn't covered under the warranty.

I bought a new laptop (Vaio), and still didn't buy the warranty. I don't know what types of things the warranties are supposed to cover, but most don't cover the things that break the most often/easiest.

I bought my Vaio in May 2008 for $600. It went down to $400 three months later.

I'm very interested in getting vaio 14" and they are expensive!. With everything included ( tax/warranty), it came up to $1505 !!

I'm willing to wait if the price goes down by $300- $500.

How do you like your new vaio laptop? Have you encountered any weird problems ?

Originally Posted by escape

I'm very interested in getting vaio 14" and they are expensive!. With everything included ( tax/warranty), it came up to $1505 !!

I'm willing to wait if the price goes down by $300- $500.

How do you like your new vaio laptop? Have you encountered any weird problems ?

You're wasting your money if you get that. There's no reason to get a 1500 laptop for the stuff you're gonna use it for.

If you're gonna waste your money like that, at least get a Mac. >_<