Need an Ultraportable

[EcoLogic]

General Usage

What will you be using the notebook mainly for? Will you be using it to play games? Will you be using it for word processing / general productivity? etc.
I will be using the notebook for word processing, internet and an occasional game (not graphic intensive though, poker etc.)


Are you looking more at a very small notebook, a standard notebook, or a large desktop replacement?
I am looking for a small notebook (12 inch screen), weighing as close to 3 lbs or less as I can get)

Will you be carrying the notebook around a lot or be keeping it stationary most of the time?
I will take it with me often.

How important is battery life to you?
Not extremely important, however, it should at least be decent.

How long do you intend on using this laptop?
As long as possible.

Features

Do you need lots of hard drive space?
40 gigs minimum

Will you be burning DVD's or just CD's?
CD's (will use desktop for DVD's)

Do you tend to work with a lot of applications at once?
Yes.

Graphics & Display

How big would you like your screen to be? Do you care if it's widescreen or not?
12 (wide would be nice)

Are you willing to pay more for premium screens enhanced by XBRITE, Crystal View, or Bright View? (Go to the bottom of this post for an explanation)
Yes

(If applicable) Will you be playing casual games or the latest games?
Casual

(If applicable) Will you be doing work in a 3D modeling program like 3D Studio Max or Maya?
No

Miscellaneous

Do you care if your notebook looks good or not?
A little.

Are there particular brands you prefer or won't buy from?
Not really.

How much are you willing to pay for this notebook?
I want to keep it under $2K, preferrably around $1,500

Are there particular models you have already looked at?
Sure are:
? MSI S270
? Acer Travelite 3002
? Dell 700M


Lastly, I prefer a pointing stick, or whatever it is called (eraser type thing), like the one on the Thinkpad R51 I am currently typing on. I don't actually want another IBM though (this is R51 is for work).

Thanks in advance.

 

[Albis]

check out the fujitsus or get the 700m with one of those 750 dollars off coupons

 

[EcoLogic]

Any other thoughts on this?

Thanks for the info Albis.

 

[AtlantaBob]

The 700m is tiny--and very light. I didn't even realize that it came with the battery in it--that light. The punctuation keys are a little funny--they're half size--but they haven't been a real problem for me yet.

Sorry, but no pointing stick--I'm not a real fan of the tackpad that comes with this one either. Otherwise, really quite nice. Even pretty fast with just 256 MB of RAM--after making a clean installation, of course.

Any other questions, drop me a pm or I'll try to check back here.

 

[EcoLogic]

YGMPM ALTBob!

 

[Hacp]

One question about the 700M. Does the 700M have room for 2 battery slots or do the additional batteries require manual switching????

 

[AtlantaBob]

The two batteries require manual switching.

 

[Corporate Thug]

another 700m user. very light and portable with the regular battery, but bulkier and heavier with the exteneded cell

when i'm only in class for two hours at a time, i find myself using the regular battery to minimize the weight. on longer days, i will use the extended battery

 

[Hacp]

This is somewhat confusing. The extended cell is the 8Cell battery and the normal battery is 4 cells righT?

 

[Liver]

Originally posted by: Hacp
This is somewhat confusing. The extended cell is the 8Cell battery and the normal battery is 4 cells righT?

Yes

 

[0ptimist]

I have a Gateway 4025GZ (Cel-M 1.4GHz, 40GB, 2x256, 15.1", CDRW/DVDROM, 5.5 lbs, 1" thick) and it feels very light, but of course a 12" would be lighter, but not by much, my brother has an Averatec 32xx something, 2200+ Sempron, 40GB, 256, 12.1", CDRW/DVDROM, 4.5 or 4.9 lbs I think. It goes on BestBuy for ~$600 after rebate sometimes. If you go for bigger brands, smaller would be more expensive. If you can find a 14" lappy, it'll still be almost as light as 4.9lbs (or 4.5lbs maybe?), that's what I'd prefer to a 12" one (but then again, I haven't used a 12.1", but I have used an IBM T42 14", and I feel the size difference from 15" is an ideal trade-off between screen size and laptop weight/size, because a 12.1" light-weight won't be much lighter than a 14" light-weight).

 

[0ptimist]

BTW you don't need Pentium-M, Celeron-M would be fine (new Celeron-M's are Dothan core, same as the Pentium-M, but have 1MB cache instead of P-M's 2MB).
No gaming -> No ATI/nVidia chipset required (save money for RAM).
lots of apps at the same time -> more RAM, 512MB at least (it's usually cheaper to buy a configuration with lesser RAM and then purchase RAM separately, there have been 512MB So-DIMM DDR $30AR deals almost every week)
Battery Life -> Get 6 cell (4 cell would be too short, 8 cell would be overkill for your needs, and will add to cost and most probably to the weight of the lappy as well).

I have a 6-cell battery on my Gateway Cel-M machine and I get a little less than 3 hours with text/excel stuff (wi-fi disabled), a little less than 2.5 wi-fi enabled and medium workload like internet, text etc (using DVDROM would drain it more quickly, 100% CPU usage would drain it even more quickly). Even with DVDROM access, and wi-fi enabled it's at least 2hrs+.

I'm not sure about P4-M, but DON'T BUY CELERON non-M!! My previous 2.2GHz Celeron non-M (Dell Inspiron 1000) used to run slower than a 1GHz Duron when it was running on battery!! P-4 non-M would prolly be on a similar pattern. Celeron-M runs on the same speed whether the power is plugged in or it's running on the last 10% of the battery power (so would Pentium-M).

 

[artemicion]

If you're willing to pay closer to $2k, the IBM X41 is fantastic-writing this post with it right now.
Small, fantastic battery and gets everything about a hybrid tablet/laptop right.

 

[Illusio]

Powerbook G4 12" or an Ibook if you dont need as high of specs