Question:
Help me find a nice ultraportable
I've been looking for a new notebook but have not been able to find something that is exactly what I want. Maybe you guys can help me out? :)
1) What size notebook would you prefer?
--> Ultraportable; 12" screen or less.
2) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?
--> Word processing, photoshopping (including some heavy, very RAM-intensive photoshopping), watching video clips, surfing, sometimes some light video editing...
3) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk?
--> I'll take the notebook with me every day.
4) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?
--> No games.
5) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
--> Not really. I like the retro design of the Thinkpads and Apples computers are nice-looking too. Sony Vaios are cool as well. And probably many others that I can't think of right now. :)
6) How many hours of battery life do you need?
In most cases 2-3 hours would be enough. However, I'd really like to be able to bring my notebook to school and use it for an entire day, leaving the charger at home, in which case I need 8-12 hours.
7) What is your budget?
--> Max €/$1500-€/$2000.
8) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person?
--> No.
Screen Specifics
9) What screen resolutions would you prefer?
--> Something like 1400x1050 or 1440x900 seems good for a 12" screen.
10) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?
--> I don't know... I want to be able to use it both in darker as well as in more well-lit environment. Ideally, I'd like to be able to use it outside in broad daylight but I guess that's impossible.
Build Quality and Design
11) Are the notebook’s looks and stylishness important to you?
--> Yep. But it's not crucial.
12) How long do you want this laptop to last?
--> At least 3 years, preferably 5. And I want it covered by the manufacturers warranty during this time.
Notebook Components
13) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 120GB?
--> I WANT 1000GB, however, I guess 60GB would do for me.
14) Do you need a DVD, DVD-CD/RW or DVD-R drive?
--> No.
I added some questions...
16) How much RAM do you need?
--> At least 2GB, preferably more.
17) What kind of CPU do you want?
--> I run applications that are only compatible with 32-bit x86 so I need such a CPU (i.e. either an ordinary x86 or AMDs x86-64). It doesn't have to be very fast though, it's a lot more important that it's easy on the battery.
18) What about connectivity?
--> - Gigabit ethernet (I guess it would work with only 100 mbps fast ethernet, but when I'm at my desktop I want fast access to the hard drives on the file server). 802.11b/g, a and n would be nice too. ;) I also NEED Bluetooth. And I NEED IrDA. And I would very much like a Compact Flash card reader. If there is no one built-in I suppose that could be solved with a PCMCIA adapter. Also a SD-card reader would be nice. USB 2.0 obviously. 3 USB ports would be good. FireWire would be a huge plus but as I understand that's hard to find today. Could be solved with a PCMCIA card.
19) What kind of graphics card do you need?
--> Since I'm not very interested in computer gaming I don't need something fancy here. I am however very interested in being able to connect my notebook to my 21" monitor at home and thus needs a graphics card being able to output at least 1600x1200 to an external monitor.
20) Anything else?
--> Yeah, I want it to be quiet, ideally fan-less. And it has to be 100% Linux compatible (in case there are any notebooks out there that aren't).
I've been looking around for a laptop that meets my demands but I havn't really found any. The Thinkpad X41 comes pretty close, but 1024x768 seems like a very low resolution and max 1.5GB RAM isn't enough for me. One thing I like about the Thinkpad is that I found some huge all-day 13 hours battery pack at the Lenovo website. I'd much rather carry 1 kg/2 lbs of battery around than having to bring the charger with me to school every day.
Also, it has to be well-built. I'm just gonna drop it into my backpack every morning. Maybe I could fix some padding inside the backpack, but there is gonna be no notebook carrying case for me.
Is there anything on the market that meets my demands? Or will I have to wait? I don't actually NEED this computer until some time mid- or even late 2006 but I was planning on buying it now. Are there any models coming up that you've heard of that might suit my needs and that are worth waiting for?
Thanks a lot for any help, I really appreciate it! :)
Answer:
Re: Help me find a nice ultraportable
Well, I wouldn't buy the notebook if you don't need it now - wait until next year (Fall would be the best - Merom will be 64-bit enabled). However, getting back to now - the ThinkPad would be great for your needs, although I'm wary of Tablet PCs myself - I find the hinge to be somewhat weaker than on normal notebooks. The Sony TX series would be the best ultra-portable choice - it's miniscule with a 10.6" screen and it gets an amazing 7.5 hours of battery life with the extended battery.
Answer:
Re: Help me find a nice ultraportable
Yeah - if you don't need it right now, anything we would recommend to you would not be that valid.
Might want to try a Sony S-series with the Pentium M. The TX is nice for an ultraportable, but they have the 1.8" hard drives, which are pathetically slow and weak.
Also, the Asus S5a is a possibility.
Answer:
Re: Help me find a nice ultraportable
Yep, definitely re-post when you're a month out from purchase. The notebook scene is going to be changing quite a bit over the next six months (isn't it always?) - there will probably be a great model out that none of us have seen yet that will match your needs exactly. (Boy, I'm thinking positive today!)