I got mine from PortableOne.com and I'd definitely recommend them. They're usually very good about giving fast and knowledgeable responses. And they can offer extras that others can't b/c their Fujitsu's primary outlet in the US (or maybe it's just the west coast).
I had my heart set on a T-Series before I decided to go with this little machine. I was dead set on finding a Sony alternative. Here's what comes to my mind when I think about the three:
IBM has the best build quality of any laptop brand - no one can touch them. That said, this little fujitsu is still excellent in the build category. The latch for the LCD is metal and sounds solid when closed. The hinges are sturdy; and the case doesn't creak or flex when it's being picked up with one hand. Also, the keyboard is great; no flex.
I always felt that the Sony keyboard (S-series) was uncomfortably shallow as far as key depth is concerned. The Fujitsu does not have that problem, and the keys are wider than the Sony's. The keys have a good feel to them; and it is a relatively quiet keyboard.
The screens on the Fujitsu and Sony are basically equal in terms of quality. Sony's is shorter and wider (it's 13.3" widescreen); whereas the fujitsu's is slightly taller and narrower (standard square screen). The thinkpads have the traditional matte surface screen and are not as bright or colorful -- but they're certainly just fine.
I think the Fujitsu is the lightest of the bunch but that's just my memory. If I remember, the weight difference b/t Sony and Fujitsu is negligable. IBM actually does a poor job of reporting wieght and dimensions on its webiste. But I think the IBM's are the heaviest (but still should be under or around 5 lbs). There's a pdf with all the correct information on their ftp server (you can find all the info about this at the FAQ on the thinkpad forums hosted by Bill Morrow). It realy just depends on the options (mostly screen size).
So yea...Sony and Fujitsu have the best screens. IBM has the best build quality. Fujitsu is probably the cheapest (but look it up yourself...I'm just talking from the price I got for this thing vs what I looked at from IBM and Sony).
IBM has the best service. Sony's is the worst. Not familiar with Fujitsu's.
Why I was determined to avoid Sony:
The Sony Disease - they partition your hard drive to make a restore partition instead of giving you restore cd's. If you format and clean install over it, you've voided your warranty.
I thought the keyboard was too shallow
I've heard nightmares about their tech support and they're information about their service on their website didn't exactly instill confidence in me either.
I don't like their touchpad or touchpad buttons.
The LCD is kept in place by the hinges. (kinda like a cell phone..when it gets close enough to being shut it kinda springs that direction). But hinges are usually the first things to go on a laptop from just normal use (barring a defective motherboard, video card, etc). So I decided I just wanted a latch to hold the thing shut.
I don't need a good graphics card in my laptop. I have a desktop as well for games. Integrated graphics does just fine for any photo work I do.
Why I didn't get an IBM:
Price - I got this Fujitsu with a 3 yr warranty, shipped, for just under $1500. And my university had just dropped their educational discount contract with IBM.
And in hindsight, I'm glad I got the Fujistu b/c of its screen. I didn't think it was all that important to me. But now that I see it and use it, I'm glad I did. I was sitting outside using this thing at medium-low brightness with the sun shining behind me, and I could see just fine. I can also do the same while in the car - something I could never do with my old laptop (had a matte screen).
A couple nice things about the Fujitsu:
I was able to order it without an office suite. My University allows me to have office for dirt cheap, so why waste money buying it from a PC company?
I'm impressed with the battery life, both for one battery and with the modular bay in there as well. I don't know how the Sony and IBM stack up here in reality (not just claims). But I know the Fujitsu lasts enough for me.
There's a little icon named "click me" on the start menu when you first boot up the machince. It finalizes any driver installations (updates from the web) and such to make your computer work right almost immediately. In particular, this helped with the wireless card. Once I ran the "click me!" and rebooted, everything immediately worked and I was able to configure my network in 2 clicks.
Anyway...I've rambled long enough, though I could for much longer.
If you want to look at them hand on, I found some fujitsu's at Fry's where I live. But I wasn't really looking at them then so I'm not sure if the S 6000 series was there.
Anyway, I hope that helped a bit. Basically I couldn't find anything else for this kind of value...under $1500 shipped w/ 3 yr warranty, great battery, great screen, good reputation for service, light, sturdy, and small. I love it.
