Question:
Any suggestions?
General Questions
1) What is your budget? ~$1,000, max $1,300
2) What size notebook would you prefer?
b. 14"
a. Ultraportable; 12" screen or less
b. Thin and Light; 13" - 14" screen
c. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen
d. Desktop Replacement; 17"+ screen
3) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook? No real gaming, mostly just office functions and internet as well as statistical programs (SAS) and some recreational photo editing.
4) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk? Carry it around all the time
5) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games? Nope
6) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like? No
7) How many hours of battery life do you need? At least 2.5
8) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person? no, as long as they have good pictures and a no questions asked return policy if I don't like it.
9) Please select your country's flag as a post icon and tell us what country are you buying this in?
Screen Specifics
10) Would you prefer standard or widescreen? Widescreen
11) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?
I'm welcome to suggestions here. I'd probably go with the WSXGA, but I'm not sure. I do a lot of spreadsheet stuff on excel, so more room is handy, but I don't want to go blind either.
Standard
a. XGA -1024x768 - Large and easy to read text + graphics icons, but you fit less stuff on the screen.
b. SXGA - 1400x1050 - Compromise resolution between XGA and UXGA.
c. UXGA - 1600x1200 - Very small text and graphics icons, you can fit lots of stuff on the screen.
Widescreen
d. WXGA or WXGA+ - 1280x768/800 or 1440x900; Wider viewing version of XGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.
e. WSXGA+ - 1680x1050; Wider viewing version of SXGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.
f. WUXGA - 1920x1200; Wider viewing version of UXGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.
12) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?
I'd probably go with matte, but its not a deal breaker
Build Quality and Design
13) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
Kinda, but not a huge deal (I've got a Thinkpad right now- can't go any plainer)
14) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last?
Sometime in the next month, for 3-4 years
Notebook Components
15) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 160GB? 60-80GB
16) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a DVD-ROM, DVD-CD/RW or DVD-RW drive? DVD-CD/RW
Answer:
Re: Any suggestions?
Matte screen notebooks are getting more and more hard to find, other than business notebooks nowadays.
Don't know if you still want to stick to Thinkpads (you seem disgusted by their looks :D), but I'd recommend the Lenovo Thinkpad Z61t. Its configurable at the Lenovo site, and its 14.1 inch widescreen. Best keyboard, top quality, yada-yada-yada (you should know, you have a Thinkpad :P).
The Thinkpad Z61t can have Core 2 Duo from 1.66 GHz to 2.33 GHz, unfortunately it has an integrated graphics card, but then again you said you don't need gaming, so the graphics card won't be really important. Hard drive ranges from 40 GB to 100 GB, whatever you like.
Otherwise, you could go for the Dell Inspiron E1405, although its not really my recommendation, just a "maybe-you-should-look-at-it" kind of suggestion. Its cheap, and configurable. 14.1 inch, widescreen, glossy screen. Build quality will be worse than the Thinkpad you have now. I personally don't like the looks of the Dell Inspirons, don't know about you (some people don't mind its looks).
The Inspiron E1405 can have a 2.16 GHz Core 2 Duo, and up to 100 GB hard drive.
Answer:
Re: Any suggestions?
Welcome to the forums.
There is no WSXGA+ in a 14.1" form factor. The best you can get is WXGA+ (1440x900), but that will severely limit your options.
The only WXGA+matte screens I can think of are on the Dell Latitude D620 and HP nc6400. They will both likely run more than $1300 though. If you're willing to expand your budgets, these would make excellent choices.
WXGA+ glossy screens are on the Dell e1405, and Asus A8Js/A8Jp.
You can get SXGA on the Lenovo ThinkPad R series under budget.
Answer:
Re: Any suggestions?
The HP dv2000t is a good option. I do not think it comes with a matte screen but otherwise it is a good fit. You could also look at the Dell D620, I think thats the model, or maybe the Sony SZ. The Macbook might be worth looking into, if you want to try out a different OS.
Answer:
Re: Any suggestions?
Actually, as long as you configure it yourself, you can get the dv2000t with a matte screen, so that might be a pretty good option. The Sony SZ might be a little out of price range but some people like the C series (I don't like the looks of it personally) and it's closer to the right price.
The d620 screen gets so many complaints on the Dell.com forum that I don't recommend it.
If it's mostly for office work, the Toshiba M115 that's in the stores isn't too bad either.