I agree with you on the Thinkpad. I can actually get discounted Thinkpads through my company however even with the discount a similar Thinkpad is about $200 more. This Laptop will not travel, will mainly be used as a spare laptop (there are already 4 desktops plus my personal T43 Thinkpad at home) by my wife and kids to do basic tasks so it does not justify the $200 difference. I had bad experience with cheap HP and Compaq before and will not got with these brands anymore.