Toshiba computers have a long lifetime, but Acer computers can take a drop to a hardwood floor, and it can survive having the back of the lid set on fire.
Only the hardwood floor deal is from my own personal experiance though.
The dorm I used to live in gave out Acer laptops for loan if you attended the school too, so we had a lot of people use the computers, computer nerds and computer dorks alike.
They used to have a bad rep for really crappy hardware, but I hear they worked that out.
Acer's computer production has skyrocketed lately too, so the new models are quite sexy and flashy. Some of them even have fingerprint locks and touch-technology buttons with backlights without actually being buttons.
I dropped one of the earlier models on the floor, and it didn't even get a dent, though the CD tray did come kinda loose as the laptop landed right on it. But the CD tray and the rest of the computer worked just fine.
Another guy opened his laptop near to a candle and burnt the back of it's lid.
So as for being sturdy and surviving a lot, Acer are the way to go.
So if you plan to carry it around a lot without a bag, an Acer will work quite nicely in case you do drop it.
My personal recommendation would be to get an Acer with some proper hardware or a Toshiba. All the others simply can't compare as far as I have heard.
If these are out of the question, a Zepto machine is said to work as well, but it won't compare with the other two in reputation I'm afraid, so I don't have an inside view on those.
Hope this helps
