Reading this article from The Register got me thinking about my recent laptop purchasing failure. Hannah and I tried to buy a very nice Sony Vaio laptop with bells and whistles, but both of us got refused the credit to buy the laptop. The current financial “credit crunch” is such that your everyday bloke can’t afford to simply spend £1,500 upwards on a nice shiny new laptop. There’s the other end of the rope where the retailers (or rather, the lenders who lend to the consumer so the retailer can sell their products) aren’t willing to give credit to consumers. It’s not a new situation, and anyone even remotely keeping up to date with news will know this.
It fustrates me though when people (even an established name like Intel) are trying to lower the cost of laptops (or in this case Ultra Low Voltage technology) such as the Macbook Air when, even at reduced prices, most consumers still can’t afford them, and lenders still can’t afford to give out credit. All they’re doing is reducing the value of these laptops and (although ULV tech is a bit expensive even for the current climate) making them almost a “cheap” alternative to a decent laptop. Essentially, the market won’t be stimulated until people have money again. How that happens isn’t really my area of expertise.
In my personal situation, I can afford repayments on a laptop but no-one will give me credit in these “exciting” 0.5% base rate times. That means I won’t be getting a new laptop any time soon.
Now is the time I really wish I was one of those fat cat execs with $1.2 million bonuses after 5 months of work. I want a new laptop, damnit!
March 5th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
“The current financial “credit crunch” is such that your everyday bloke can’t afford to simply spend £1,500 upwards on a nice shiny new laptop.”
I don’t get it. If you really were trying to “simply spend £1,500″ on a laptop, then surely you already have the £1,500, slap it down on the counter and you’re sorted.
You’re saying you can’t buy a new laptop because you can’t get credit. Well, do you need a £1,500 Sony Vaio with “all the bells and whistles”? If not, why are you trying to get credit to buy one?
If you really want that Vaio, then why not just save up the cash and buy it upfront? Otherwise, you have to ask yourself whether or not you actually need the all-singing all-dancing Vaio?
You can get a perfectly servicable, modern laptop that will suit the majority of needs for about £300. Less than that in some places. Ultimately they’ll both run Windows (unless you linux it up), and perform the same tasks.
Yeah sure, the “everyday bloke” may find it trickier to buy a £1,500 laptop, but the everyday guy doesn’t need a £1,500 laptop.
I would have a think about what it is you want and why you want it before claiming that the “credit-crunch” means you can’t buy a new laptop. Because you can. Maybe just not that one, but there is no shortage of laptops in a range of price brackets out there.
P.S: The MacBook Air is simply an expression of wealth. Anyone who was looking for an actual computer for themselves, for using, as opposed to parading themselves about with wouldn’t buy a MacBook Air. (Take that from a long-standing Apple fan) All laptops are getting thinner and lighter as time goes by anyway. Want grab-and-go portability? Get one of the plethora of teeny-weeny netbooks about now. That’s where the lowering prices in ULV tech are going and they’re only going to get better.
P.S.S: Didn’t expect this “comment” to get so long, sorry. :/
March 5th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
Interesting comments, its nice to hear other people’s opinions, and good advice
Generally new laptops with the latest & fastest processors etc. are grossly overpriced, and to get the latest technology, you pay through the teeth. Its the same with all technology, but I think with certain laptop brands (Sony Vaio and Mac laptops) it’s more obvious. Sure, you can pick up a mid-range laptop for anywhere between £300-1000, but the equivalent desktop PC I imagine would cost much less comparitavely. It’s unfair to compare Desktops vs Laptops – laptops are inherently more expensive because of the compactness and portability, but you pay for that luxury.
In my opinion, spending £1,500 up (have a look at some of the top of the range Alienware or Dell XPS laptops!) you are not only paying for the latest technology, but you are paying a high premium for the best quality, sturdy and durable laptops. I had a Sony Vaio in my previous job as I travelled to/from California frequently, and I dropped that Vaio at least 3 times on marble & concrete – and it never stopped working.
You’re probably right, it’s not the credit crunch’s fault I can’t personally buy a laptop right now, its more my financial situation (baby coming up, having to pay of vast amounts of existing credit), and I did realise this after both of us were turned down for credit. We both realised we needed to get rid of our existing debt first, and just make do with the ancient Dell Inspiron 1300, even though I can only just about run Eclipse on it. It also means I can’t run Linux on it because Hannah is comfortable with Windows – which is fine, but I’d like to have my own laptop with a flavour of Linux on, that I can take with me to the office or at home. Right now, I don’t have that choice, but as you clearly outlined, I don’t need to spend that much, and would probably be fine with a more mid-range laptop.
As for netbooks – they’re ace, but I prefer something a bit bigger
Don’t worry about comment length, I just did the same
March 5th, 2009 at 4:52 pm
Inspiron 1300? That is getting on a bit now.
Personally I wouldn’t bother with a Dell XPS or Alienware, especially since they’re pretty much one and the same since Dell swallowed Alienware. A little OTT too, it has been a while since I last saw an alienware in the flesh but the last I saw was more “luggable” than “laptop”. But it did have a proper graphics card in which others didn’t so swings-and-roundabouts.
You just need to identify the need. I got a MacBook Pro because I had my iBook for four years, and felt it was about time for an upgrade, that and there were things I actually couldn’t do with it. The move to the Core2 Duo processor was a tremendous benefit. Horray virtualisation!
Then if you want to run linux on it anyway, I would probably recommend a modern but not bleeding-edge laptop anyway, Linux is generally quite happy on less resources than Windows seems to want (in my experience). That and the hardware support will be better if it’s already been out a little while.
(not always a problem I know but thought I’d mention it anyway)
Netbooks are ace, and I really want one.
But I can’t think of a need so-far so I’m resisting. Maybe once they start coming with 3G/HSDPA modules built in, I dunno. Still not really a need though. :/
Just keep in mind that there’s no point in trying to have the “latest technology”, because it’ll only be the latest for about six months if you’re lucky. Use the money you save on bleeding-edge to get a really nice monitor you can plug into it for your desk if you must.
March 5th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
Yeah, but the OTT-ness of XPS or Alienware hardware is so tempting – to have needless gadgets and LEDs blinking everywhere – it’s almost a primitive desire heh.
I think you’re right though – for a Linux workstation, you don’t need the amount of memory and stuff that Windows needs (especially the Glass Aero effect – I turned that off and saved a huge chunk of memory!), so a mid-range but recent laptop would make more sense – and good point about driver support. If I do manage to get some cash together to buy a laptop, that is one thing I will be looking into prior to buying, as Linux can have issues. As far as I know, there are no Linux printer drivers at all for my printer for example, so that may have to be a NDISwrapper job, or it may not even work at all.