So in that case would you advise staying away form something like a Giant Warp which can be got for around $600-$700?
Usually FS bikes under a grand are really really heavy, and due to the higher cost of adding pivots, more welds, and a rear-shock, they are adorned with cheap (also heavy) parts.
I've ridden the Giant Warp, and it's not a "bad" full suspension bike, but if you start riding a lot, you'll quickly outgrow it in it's stock configuration. By the time you upgrade it to better the performance, you can buy a whole other bike.
The suspension design is a single pivot and the ride has a lot of pedal induced bobbing (esp. in the granny gear) and due to the rear wheel travel path (rotation around pivot) the chainstay length changes as it moves through it travel. This can produce the bobbing and Brake Jack (where the rear end rises quickly during hard braking).
IOW, I'd spend the extra money and get a better bike.
The concensus from a lot of people seems to be that Specialized is the best. Which manufacturers license the FSR susp. and are those bikes as good as the Specialized bikes?
If it's licensed from Specialized, it'll be stamped, and indicated. I know Iron Horse does this on the upper end frames, and I imagine on all their frames, but I could be wrong. If it is licensed, it's very comparible to Specialized.
What a lot of companies do, is they change the pivot location from in front the rear drop-out on the chain stay. They change it to the TOP of the drop-out on the Seat stay. These bike work almost as well, but do have a tendancy for brake jacking.
Why is this? Is it because it is stiffer?
Yes, it's stiffer and not FULLY ACTIVE.
The FSR suspension works all the time, when you're pedaling, when you're braking, when you're coasting...etc.
Other designs tend to LOCK out from either pedaling forces or braking forces, so if you're going down a steep chute, and are HARD on the brakes, the suspension STIFFens up (not locks out completely, but stiffens), you hit a large rock and FEEL it! This is fine if you're a XC type and just want the bike to absorb the really big impacts, but you're running the suspension so stiff it's almost has a hardtail feel while climbing.
Hope that helps.
BTW these are some really good deals right now!
Freeride Bike
This may be more BIKE than you need for an all around bike, but it is a good price.
Here is a 4-bar, but NOT an FSR, but a decent bike for an all arounder type:
XC Type, NOT FSR