I'm using an HP Pavilion G6 series laptop for more than 2.5 years now, its doing OK.
Pros:
* HP laptops are quite durable. Since the day I bought, I've dropped my laptop from serious heights and nothing serious happened except some scratchs on paint.
Cons:
* Support is not good, seriously. Drivers never gets updated, no good support comes from forums etc..
This one should be enough to not to choose HP (for me).
I would definitely suggest Dell, ASUS or Lenovo, because :
Dell:
*** Unbeliveable support. I've seen it with my own eyes.(lol) My friend's laptop had died from a motherboard error, and the next day, the guys from Dell support came to his house, fixed the part in front of our eyes, wrote the letter of fix, and gone. That was quite awesome.
*** Great quality materials, prices are a little high for the similars but support earns that difference, in my opinion.
* My brother using a Dell, which is now like 4 years old, and it's still rocks.
ASUS:
*** Most parts of hardware (components) of laptops are mostly produced by company itself, that means, the support for a laptop model is more easier to focus on. So, the idea of support or *getting supported* is more clearer to see.
** More quality materials than the other brands are used in process of making ASUS laptops. (my opinion but what I see)
* The market price is *normal* for that quality hardware.
LENOVO:
*** IBM based technicians and materials included in the process of produce.
** Market share grows undeniably fast, that means, [more people use a model -> more people needs support for that model -> user gets support for the model (granted).] Price tag of Lenovo's also a plus.
* My friend has bought a Lenovo laptop, about 6 months ago, and he's the most happy man in universe with it, at the moment.