Recently, when my daughter asked me to help her out with a paragraph of my take on Dell, HP, Apple, and Sony Computers I had to chuckle. I used to have such formed opinions, but today computers and computing have changed dramatically. The choices are diverse with MacBooks, iPads, Netbooks, Laptops, and PC from the main competitors to varied new entrants into the market that make it much more complex.

Having touched Apple’s Ipad a few times, I can see some of it mobility advantages, as well as the smaller Netbooks. Yet, even the regular users tell me it’s great on the go for checking email, but when it comes to typing a document or spreadsheet they pull out their laptop or turn on their desktop.

Larger, wide screened Laptops of HP and Toshiba also have their appeal. I love my netbook, but it just doesn’t do it when I am working on a website project. Sony and Apple still reign supreme for graphic quality though and I doubt that will change soon. When shopping for my netbook about a year or so ago, I was happy to see an offering of Linux OS options in addition to Windows.

The average consumer is more concerned about price. The tech savvy consumer wants a huge hard drive and ton of RAM (random access memory) because they know new applications are memory hogs. They want stability in an operating system, but sometimes have to sacrifice due to application requirement. The fact is depending on your needs and the use for your computer will determine the best choices for you. I love Linux and Mac for their stability, but for application compatibility it has to be a Windows PC with Mac coming in second for me. Though for scientific application, graphics and stable OS you may really need an Apple MacBook.

For Windows based laptop with great graphics Sony Vaio reigns supreme (that’s what my son says anyway).

For business applications then you want Toshiba, Dell or HP and if you need a server Dell is usually the best in the business.

Finally for the budget strapped consumer looking for a great deal, there are many generic computers out in the market that offer many of the same options a brand computer will. So, they answer to the question on my take on HP. Sony. Dell or Vaio is “it depends”. I doubt my write up has been extremely helpful. It is what it is.