Laptops

A custom spec'ed Alienware unit is top notch but expensive. I love mine. For good quality at a more affordable price go with HP or Toshiba. Good machines.

 

For ease of use and quickness and sharp display I find the Apple iPad is a super device that's FUN to use. Tons of apps. Sign onto Netflex to download tv and movies. Great for reading books, though some might look at the new under $150 Kindles that esp good for reading in sunlight.

If u can, I'd suggest wait for the 2nd gen iPad due out early next year.

 

I agree. The only problem I have with Alienware now is that fact that Dell bought them out couple years ago. N I HAAAATTTTE Dell.
There is a new alienware brand out there tho. The founder, after selling Alienware to Dell, started another PC company called Origin. http://www.originpc.com

 

I have found that the HP "Pavaillion DV" series are very good, long battery life, plenty of features.

 

Panasonic Toughbook.

 

I have the DV4. I thoughly enjoy it. I dropped it and it quit working.
HP support is A1 when you get by the 2 hours on the phone. I sent it in under warranty and they replaced the hard drive and motherboard free of charge. I had it back in 5 days. I just need to get home to pick it up.

I bought a little Acer Netbook Aspire One in the meantime as a back up. The Intel Atom processor is slow. Especially in games and video's. It works good for forums and email. It has 1 GB memory and 160 GB storage though. Plenty for this little thing. That's why I like it, it's little.

 

my choice

http://www-304.ibm.com/shop/america...Id=2576396&storeId=1&catalogId=-840&langId=-1

 

I have been using a laptop with a Jotto desk now for all 9 yrs+ I've been driving. I have gone through more trucks with this setup than I have gone through laptops! The first laptop I was using was a SONY high end (at the time about $4000) that had a hard drive failure 2 yrs after I started using it in the truck...the truck was a '96 MACK, and it was ROUGH. I replaced the hard drive in that SONY and got 1 more year of use out of it and had a memory module go out(RAM), it got retired. I started driving my first KW during that last year of SONY use, and it rode like a Lincoln! I went to Best Buy, (I buy all computers there, good price and onsite warranty work), started looking around for a new one. It was about this time of year, and they had a Toshiba Sattelite that was better equipped by far than that high end SONY from the yr 2000 for $500. I bought it and it has been sittin' in the stand beside me through that 1st KW, and now has been in my 2nd KW for 5 yrs and I have never even had a software glitch on it!
I was so impressed with Toshiba after my luck with that puter, I went back to Best Buy and found a very high end large screen notebook called a Cosmio and shelled out for it to use as a backup and as my non-work puter while on layovers etc. I use it at home when I get through here also. This puter has lasted about 5 yrs now also, and it gets a LOT of abuse, I'd say more than the sattelite on the stand, and it has the 17" screen, dual 60 gb hd's, 1024MB DDR2 SDRAM, 128 NVIDIA DDR SDRAM VRAM, the supermulti layer cd drive, and instant on TV/CD/DVD playback and built in Harmon/Kardon speakers. I was worried about shelling out 3 grand at the time, but it has been worth it in entertainment and when it goes out, I'll get another similar one to replace it. I would not recommend it for use in a stand or on the seat in the cab, you just don't need that kind of power up there, the sattelite does way more than anybody needs for e-mail, trip planning, GPS, and logbook. (I use Drivers Daily Log software...the best software trucking tool I have ever spent money on! I highly recommend it!)
Anyway, hope this has helped..my point is that you really need 2 laptops in a truck to separate work from rest periods in my opinion...they BOTH will last a lot longer.

 

Without a doubt, Apple makes the most durable trouble free laptop. I recently purchased a new 13" MacBook Pro, which replaced my 2004 era 12" Powerbook that actually still works well despite years of vibration and abuse. I upgraded because of need for a faster chip and newer software.

Actually though, I use my iPhone for most of my e-mail and dispatching needs. I browse GetLoaded.com's ap, and swap e-mail attachments with the brokers. I can swap documents with my MacBook Pro, so that I can print out confirmations or scan and upload BOLs.

My next purchase will be an iPad, which has a larger screen and with the new Apple OS (for iphone and ipad), l will soon have direct printing capability. As iTunes videostreaming becomes more of a wireless reality, the iPad will become even more useful, and the laptop necessary only to update iPad/iPhone or backup data.

 

Yeah, I've been reading up on Origin.