Laptop Decisions!

[placentrino]

Alright guys, long post ahead, please bear...

Considering between Acer Travelmate 3202, Travelmate 8104 and Sony Vaio S28GP

ACER TM 3202 US$1650
512MB RAM (no free slots)
1.6Ghz 725 Pentium M
ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 64MB
60GB HDD 4200rpm
DVD/CD-RW combo drive
14.1" XGA TFT LCD
Built-in Bluetooth
Windows XP Home
2.18kg

ACER TM 8104 US$2445
1024MB RAM (no free slots)
2GHz 760 Pentium M
ATI Mobility Radeon X700 128MB
80GB HDD (not sure of rpm)
DVD-Super Multi Double Layer
15.4" WSXGA+ TFT LCD
Built-in Bluetooth
Windows XP Professional
2.86kg

SONY Vaio S28GP US$2445
512MB RAM (1 free slot)
1.6Ghz 725 Pentium M
ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 64MB
60GB HDD (not sure of rpm)
DVD±RW
13.3 WXGA TFT LCD
NO Built-in Bluetooth
Windows XP Professional SP2
1.89kg

Basically, the configurations are all similar...perhaps with the Acer TM 8104 being slightly better. Currently, I stay in Singapore but I am going to study in US Ithaca. (Will be using the laptop for college as well as occasional gaming.) So, international warranty should be very important right? Battery life and portability are important too. My budget is US$2500, so in actual fact, the TM 8104 and Sony S28GP fits just nice. Whereas for the Acer 3200, I would be upgrading to Win XP Professional, as well at upgrading other areas like RAM or HDD. To make up to same budget.

Shall state the BAD points of each laptop, since good points don't help much in shortlisting.

ACER TM 3202

Warranty Support: The lady told me they only had international TRAVEL warranty...which means that if you reside in the country for more than 3 months, the warranty does not apply. That was really shocking! Anyone willing to confirm this? Or was the lady having hangover or something? Also, even for travel warranty, there is only carry-in warranty...which means I have to pay to send the notebook to their repair depot...

ACER TM 8104

Warranty Support: Same as TM 3202. DUH. Very shocking.

Portability: Is 2.86kg too heavy to be portable? Read from reviews that it's not very portable.

Sony Vaio S28GP

Warranty: Sonystyle replied to my mail and said Singapore notebooks won't be supported in US...but Sony Singapore confirmed that there will be warranty 1 year...dunno who to believe...and do they pay 2 way shipping for warranty repairs?

Screen: Is 13.3" a bit small for typing reports and papers? I love the screen quality, no doubt the best, but can't really gauge whether there will be eye strain or not. (I can't stand there staring at the screen for hours...)

Bluetooth: NO Bluetooth! NO options for in-built! That really sucked...

Fan noise: Many posts on fan noise being irritating and loud. But the salesman told me Sony fans are very quiet in general, and Acer fans are louder. Any comments?

Alright people, any help or suggestion is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[RealBlackStuff]

Take your money with you and buy a laptop in the States itself.
Look e.g. at www.chemusa.com for a really nice collection.
A Dell laptop should get you worldwide warranty. Look for special offerss in the Dell Outlet.

 

[Masque]

Take your money with you and buy a laptop in the States itself.
Look e.g. at www.chemusa.com for a really nice collection.
A Dell laptop should get you worldwide warranty. Look for special offerss in the Dell Outlet.

RBS is right on the money. If you're going to be spending the majority of the lifespan of the computer stateside, it only makes sense.....and you can get a very good Dell (or any make for that matter) for the money you're willing to spend. Hence, if you've got an issue with the laptop, you're not sending it overseas for support....that'll make it quicker as well.