The debate continues.

I snuck out of work a little early this afternoon to visit PCworld in Oxford.

To my surprise they actually had Macs in the store - I didn't know they carried them - as well as a bunch of other laptops. It was far more useful than I expected, and I'm very glad I went.

First, the PC based systems.

Standout machines for me were the Sony Viao range. Some looked better than others, but all were well presented. The couple I tried seem quick and responsive, not too heavy and with acceptable feeling keyboards. I hadn't realised how spoilt I've been using IBM/Lenovo machines for the last 7 years, but they really are a cut above the rest in terms of build quality, even if they tend to be a little heavy in the non-extra light versions. Best aspect of all was the displays: these were crisp, bright, sharp and a real pleasure to view. Definitely best in store.

I had a look at Dells too - somewhat smartish, with decent screens, though feeling a little less refined than the Viaos, except with better keyboards (a non-issue, as I plan to use an external monitor and keyboard in the office). The HPs and Toshibas were also similar, but still more consumer-oriented again.

Finally, there was a tiny 12" Packard Bell that I'd seen reviewed in Computer shopper. It was looking battered, and it was SSLLLOOOOWWWWW (not surprising, 1Gb RAM with Vista) but the screen was great (better than the Toshs, HPs, Advents etc) and it WAS very cheap. Tempting to grab and upgrade the RAM, maybe even install XP as I'm sure it would run much better with lower overheads, while being VERY portable at 1.5Kg. Wonder if it could run a 22" monitor at 1680*1024? The worst thing was the control pad, which was circular! Marketing fail.

So after browsing the PCs I wandered over to the 'business' section, only to be disappointed that they didn't mean business computers, but instead selling networking services etc. Next to this area they had a whole isle dedicated to Macs, and at last I was able to fiddle, so I spent about 30min with the various Macbooks.

First up I tried the new aluminium-chassis Macbook. It looks really smart, although compared to some of the 13 and 14 inch PCs it felt like a brick - nice stiff chassis though. The keyboard was a little lifeless but usable, the screen OK but not great and the control pad easy to use, but missing an external button (I know you can just press it down, but there are times a separate button is just nice to have). Having read about guestures, I quickly adapted to using 2 fingers to scroll. I liked the behaviour of the dock, and it felt for all the world like a really well sorted version of Linux in the way applications opened and closed etc. However it did feel very disconcerting and unfamiliar, like a new Linux install, but without the reassurance that if I didn't like it salvation was just a format away. It didn't strike that it was particularly fast either, and seemed on a par with any well sorted PC.

Next I went to the polycarbonate-shelled Macbook (with 2GHz processor). I've been reading reviews, and many found that features they felt missing in the ali Macbook commented that they were still present in the 'older' version. First and most obvious issue was that the display was just poor. More of that later. The dock also behaved differently, and I couldn't find ways to change the behaviour to match the ali macbook from within software settings. Worse, the control pad didn't perform 'click' operations when tapped. Now it might be a setting that's changeable within software, but tapping the control pad to click is essential. In addition, this one felt sluggish, with some apps distinctly lagging before opening (to the point I had to go back and check that I really HAD clicked).

Hum.

A little way down the isle was another white poly Macbook, but £50 cheaper (I confirmed with the staff it was the last of the previous model - same spec, but fluorescent lit screen, slightly older version 20GHz processor). The screen on this was decent - about the same as the Dells, though not in the same class as the Sony screens - but otherwise very similar. Performance seemed a little better too - I questioned the sales guy about why the price difference and he mentioned the older/newer model thing, also the LED fluorescent display and that the processor, despite being of the same clock rate, was actually a higher spec model in the older machine.

So it was interesting, and I reckon, very useful. Most likely contender is a Viao - reviews have been strong, although if that Macbook were available I'd be tempted. If only Office wasn't stupid-expensive for the Mac.