I'll be going to China for 17 days and a colleague suggested that I look for a new laptop for my son while there. If I did so, I could choose, my Chinese associates say, between IBM and Lenovo--essentially the same machine, but one with a warranty (IBM) but much more expensive and the other (Lenovo) without a US warranty.

But then I asked another friend who works for IBM what I should do and he suggested that I might not be able to import a laptop from China.

Any suggestions on either of these issues will be appreciated. You can also contact me by e-mail if you have advice--since I'll be off to Japan and away from FT in a few days. Thanks myuch.