Laptop Advice

[00obrimw]

I'm looking at buying a laptop sometime soon and i'm not quite sure what to get. I'm looking at something small and portable with a good battery life for sue when im at university next year. Obviously money is a concern though im prepared to pay for something worth getting. A few models im looking at are:

Sony Vaio VGNS18GP
http://www.dove.co.nz/products/sony/VAIO/SY5018.htm

Dell Inspiron 700m
http://www1.ap.dell.com/conten...=nz&l=en&s=dhs

IBM Thinkpad T42
http://www-605.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/s...=2056940&dualCurrId=97&catalogId=-554

Toshiba Terca M2
http://www.isd.toshiba.com.au/...7392&CATOID=-8159#

Asus M5200N
http://au.asus.com/prog/spec.a...20Series&langs=25#

Living in New Zealand the range of laptops I can get is probably a bit less to in the States but im welcome to hear any opinions on the laptops above or any other ideas.

 

[NeBaWONG]

IBM T42, you get what you pay for.

 

[00obrimw]

The only one of those laptops ive seen in the flesh is the sony and I was very impressed with it. I'm a bit of a sucker for good looks and to me the sony did look good and we'll built (not sure if it was that well built though from only looking). The IBM laptops to me look a bit old looking. The IBM is cheaper than the sony but i think the sony was a bit smaller and lighter and was widescreen and the sony clearbright screen looked great too. The other laptops I just found by a bit of internet surfing but after reading the post about the dell 700m i was kinda interested but the battery life of the standard battery seemed a bit low.

 

[NordicNINE]

If you're looking for a sleek lightweight notebook with optical drive built in, I'd also consider the Compaq V2000.

 

[EvanAdams]

IBM is far superior. But it puts some hurt on the pocketbook

 

[NeBaWONG]

Its hard to compare those laptops. From what i hear the 700m has an amazing screen, better the the sony xbrites. I will admit that sony laptops do look good, but from what i hear their service and support sucks shit. IBM has traditionally been superior in their build quality and support. If you read the review from Anand Tech, they love the T42.