Hi.
I am interested in buying a laptop in HK, however I don't know how to get it with an US keyboard and English OS. Is that possible?
I am interested in Toshiba, so I wonder if anyone has any useful information to share.
Thanks in advance for any help provided.
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No problem buying US keyboard/English OS laptops in HK. Just ask in the store. Try at the Wan Chai Computer Centre for example. Most brands are represented there.
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Dear Axptguy,
Thanks a lot for the advice. The thing is I am now in Shanghai and is going to be my first time in HK, so I will go directly to the place you recommended.
One more question, if you know: Can I also get the OS in English?
Thanks to you all for your help!
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´"One more question, if you know: Can I also get the OS in English?"
Yes. It's not a problem.
Remember to get an extended warranty. Pays for itself if the laptop breaks only once.
Fortress or Broadway are fine, but I think you'll find a better deal in a computer center shop.
If you want a Thinkpad, go to "Ultimate" in the Wan Chai Computer Centre. Lower floor pretty close to the entrance. Very professional shop.
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I have bought several computers from Dell in Shanghai. They will install an English OS for you, and the after sales service is very good if you need to use it.
You are also getting a licensed OS and MS Office. Seeing as MS are getting smarter, this might be an idea.
There are also sometimes issues with pirated OS that luddites like me cannot fix.
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Asiaptguy38, thanks again for your kind advice, but I am a hardware expert myself, so the extended warranty does not really do it for me. I have also found that not all pieces are covered, and the ones that do are cheaper than the warranty itself...I can only see that working for people who don't know how to operate on their machines, but again thanks anyway!
For the rest, and since we are on the topic, you wouldn't caught me death with a Dell laptop. Cheap materials, terrible keyboard feeling, heavy, unreliable batteries, low screen quality...I guess you get what you pay for.
In my professional oppinion, today the best machines are made by Toshiba and Sony, although you pay quite a premium for the last one. I have had Toshibas since years ago and never had a single problem. One of them travelled with me around the world for seven years. I have opened them and their components are really high quality. Their sound system is unbeatable.
Samsung is also a brand to notice. As you may notice, the common denominator is that all these brands make many of the pieces they put inside their machines. For instance, Sony does its own screen, Toshiba has his own hard drive and some comm hardware, and Samsung also have many of their own components installed in their laptops.
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We had a fleet of Samsungs in the company I worked for in spring 2008. 80% of them failed and needed new mother boards in two months.
Hopefully they have put this past them.
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Sorry, I should have said "recently, Samsung seems to get his game going". By the way, based on my experience those "motherboard changes" usually seldom happen. When a technician does not know what is wrong he usually says "is a motherboard problem" because it sounds good. Main laptop issues are commonly problems with overvoltage (5 minute fix that is charged like it was gold...if only owners knew...), LCD screens (that, by the way, don't need to be always replaced) or hard drives (a couple of hundred rmb will buy you a new one, and you don't even need to really open your laptop to make the exchange).
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"Asiaptguy38, thanks again for your kind advice, but I am a hardware expert myself, so the extended warranty does not really do it for me. I have also found that not all pieces are covered, and the ones that do are cheaper than the warranty itself...I can only see that working for people who don't know how to operate on their machines, but again thanks anyway!"
For desktops, I would agree. But for a laptop, you're talking all sorts of custom parts. For example I've had a cooling fan (ok, technically a blower) break in a laptop. On a desktop, I just replace the fan with any number of standardized parts. In a laptop, it has to be that exact one. And it tends to be priced absurdly by the OEM. In another case, the connecting cable ribbon between the monitor and the video card broke (twice!). Try finding that one at the Wan Chai Computer Centre.
"For the rest, and since we are on the topic, you wouldn't caught me death with a Dell laptop. Cheap materials, terrible keyboard feeling, heavy, unreliable batteries, low screen quality...I guess you get what you pay for."
I agree completely!!! Completely! The keyboard and utility software are my two biggest pet peeves with Dell laptops. "You pay peanuts, you get monkeys."
"When a technician does not know what is wrong he usually says "is a motherboard problem" because it sounds good."
So true. Also because "a motherboard problem" covers a pretty wide range of issues.
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Asiaptguy38, you would be surprised how many OEM parts laptops carry these days. Basically, with a bit of patience and a couple of known factories in Shenzhen I am pretty sure you could build your own. 5 years ago I would 100% agree with you, but today if you have curious fingers you can replace about evertyhing in a laptop.
Also, consider this: Salespeople get a higher commision selling warranties than selling the laptops themselves, because many of the internal pieces are already covered by the manufacturer. For instance, most "street brand" laptops carry hitachi hard drives, and they have a 3 year standard warranty. You can literally extract the hard drive yourself, send it to hitachi and have a new (refurbished, usually) hard drive in your home. Why would I pay for a warranty?
Finally, consider this: I recently bought a Samsung NC10 new for a bit over 3000rmb. Unless you want to use it for gaming, I have been using this one for a couple of months with Office '97, Internet, and even connecting it to my LCD TV and boy am I impressed! So, for such little money I don't worry to have it broke after a year, to be frank.
By the way, if you want a nice keyboard, Toshiba is among the best.
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For SONY u always pay double price becoz of BRAND NAME :) but machine is good!!!
Toshiba has same problem when u want to change OS
HP also have some problem with OS and Programs but machine is really good
ASUS good machine good program but not always good sound system
Samsung is mistake it's not Laptop :)
LG also same mistake
Fujitsu - I still have one and it's sometimes get so slow make me crazy :)
Dell not yet try to use new models but old models was be good
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