T60 widescreen vs. macbook: my impressions

I bought a refurbished black macbook a week ago for $1150 + tax CAD, which i think is a good price. Now I've been having this dilemma between the Lenovo T61, Dell D630 and macbook. I didn't opt for the D630 because there aren't many reviews of it yet, and the T61 I had heard had a really dim screen. The non-refurb macbooks were too expensive for their specs, but the refurb price is what sealed the deal.

But today I saw a T60 15.4" for the 1st time, and from what I understand the screen is very similar to that of T61. And you know what? I thought the screen was pretty good. And I loved the feel of the laptop, from the hinges to the screen, everything. And of course I've heard that it's a quiet, cool, good performing laptop overall, and the battery issues seem to be connected mostly with windows VISTA.

So my conclusions is this: if OS X isn't that much of a big deal for you, and you have more money than a refurbished black macbook (around $1050 USD + tax), the Lenovo T61 is almost superior in every way. Better quality inside and outside, ability for more customization, and of course, cheaper than the macbook at the same specs.

If I hadn't seen the refurbished macbook prices, I would've chosen the T61, hands down.

 

i find there are too many people on the boards who would take their forum fellow friend's recommendation to heart too quickly, and take others' opinions as their own deciding factor to buy one computer over another. after all, one person's opinion of a dim screen does not necessarily reflect your own standards.

i had the same experience as you where i read so much about lenovo's dim screens, and i went to the store to see the T60 and it was fine for my standards, even if it wasn't the brightest screen there--i foudn the lighting to be much more uniform than HP or toshiba screens, and the colors were more "pleasing." My eyes hurt when the brightness of my current 4 yr old HP laptop is cranked up to max anyways, and it is far dimmer than the T60's new screen. plus, i never use the laptop outside, so a bright screen for me is not as important as uniform lighting of the screen.

it also has to do with the lighting above the display models, one store had shiny bright lights right on top of the macbook and i thought the screen looked unimpressive until i realized the light above.

in the end, people can tell you what they think of the computers, but only you can decide for yourself whether the computer is right for you or not.

i ended up ordering the T61 14" WS(which i dont' think has the same screen as the T60 15.4"WS, but i'll risk it), it should here in early june. i am also trying to decide on a Dell laptop for work, as I just got a new job and they will buy me only Dells. i wish i could see a D630 or something similar in person.

 

please don't double post. i'm closing this thread.