HP laptops
 

I need to get a new laptop for work. They are letting me pick it out. I use a hp pavillion ze5470us at home. Any recommendations?

For work?

Honestly, I would always go with an IBM Thinkpad for professional applications.

Of all of the laptops I have had, the IBM's have been the best and most reliable for work (and I even ran AutoCAD on the last one).

More expensive, but worth it, in my opinion.

I would agree with KMA. IBM Thinkpads are very popular for work. I guess they have nice reliability, plus the IBM name.

Otherwise, most other laptops are fine. I'd go with Centrino technology (or Sonoma, the new stuff) because of battery life. That's what I value most in a laptop- portability and battery life. Maybe it's different for you.

Oh, and if the company is paying for it, see if you can convince them that a Hypersonic or VoodooPC laptop will boost productivity. hehe

toshiba's make a decent laptop.. my friend uses one.. has had it for quiet a while.. working very well.. decent battery life too

As an H-P laptop owner well over a year now (an custom ordered HP Pavillion ze4545us), I have had 0 (zero) problems with it.
And the workmanship and warranty that comes with it is unbeatable. I actually fried my power supply and they Fedex'ed a replacement from California in 3 days, no questions asked. I thought I had a problem with my DVD / CD burner and they offered to ship it to them and fix it, but I didn't feel like being without a laptop for a week. It's that they offered to fix it for free AFTER the warranty expired that had me sold.
Take the plunge. I only can imagine all the goodies you got on that one because it is a newer model.

For work? Dell or IBM hands down.

Blah on Dell AND Gateway...you want them to be a headache in 6 months to 2 years, go forth and buy one of those...the land of "waste your money". HP/Compaq Evo NX (pick a #) are all very reliable with a 90-98% positive rating. :)