Like anything, you can get a lemon. Acer today is awesome I understand, had one years ago, and it ran for yrs. Currently, I have a gateway laptop with Vista. It really has been a good computer but cheaply built. Won't buy another one for that reason. I have an older Dell that has been great, and a Toshiba netbook with Windows 7 that is awesome. My son has a Hp, my other son has a Mac, they all work.Most likely anything you buy today will have Win 7. So, asked yourself perhaps not the brand, but what size, battery life, price, etc. Do you want the keypad on the side? Check out the stores return policy to, so many have a restocking fee that is high. Walmart is easier to work with on this, but I have never bought one there, I know people who has. One thing I like about Dell, is you can order just want you want, pay for what you want rather than all the garbage the manufactuers put on it and then the stores such as BB and others charge you to take off. Do yr homework, watch sales and don't get in a hurry. Ask lots of questions.
Also, the smaller the laptop, the better lasting the battery will be, also will you be traveling with this if so,perhaps the smaller one will be best, if your a scrapbooker then you will probably want the larger lt. All kinds of things to consider. If I was closer, I would help you shop :)