Suggestion for Light, thin laptop/notebook

[nitevision]

Hi All,

New to forum - have a Q for you experts out there.

What's the current market offering for thin, light laptop/notebook/sub-notebook? Specifically, I'm talking about laptops with the following specs (roughly):

- < 4lbs(lighter the better)
- reliable hardware (no cheap keys falling out etc)
- no CD rom/disk drive necessary on the laptop but prefer on...
docking stations if available.
- dvd/cd-rw not necessary (but will consider)
- good battery life

It will be mostly used for business purposes (no gaming), MS office, presentations, internet, travel, usable on airplanes for work.

I recall walking into a store (year or so ago) and looking at a 12.1" (or may be it was a 10") screen sized, SONY Viao, PIII-500 with docking station. Is there something like that in the mkt? Dell has a few "light notebooks" but its still too big for my purposes as it's still about 4.3 or so lbs.

Any suggesetions would be much appreciated.

[Contemplating]

Try the Sony Vaio R505, P3m 1.2GHz, 256-512 base ram, 30-40gig hd, 12.1" screen, up to 48mb vid (shared), and a 24x cdrw on the dock. Weight ~4.4lbs and 1" thick I believe

Or Toshiba Portege 2000/2010/r100.
P3m 750MHz/P3m 833MHz/-M 900mhz,1ghz
256mb/256mb/256mb
20gig/20gig/40gig
12.1" screen
2.6lbs/2.6lbs/2.4lbs
0.7-0.75" thick
16mb/16mb/32mb video (not shared I believe)
mag alloy case
No internal disc drives, external floppy or cd/dvd/cdrw/cdrw-dvd

I'd go with the Toshiba Portege 2000
There's lots on ebay if you trust it.

Hope that helps.

[Contemplating]

Right, battery life on sony is ~3.5hrs
Battery on toshiba is 2.5hrs on internal battery, 6.5 with the clip on external battery

[Big Calhoun]

I own a Toshiba Libretto L5W that I use for business purposes - WInfax, Office, GPS Apps, etc. The machine weighs about 2 lbs, no CD/RW/DVD/RW or docking station. I/O wise, you have 1 type 2 PC-Card, 2 USB (1.0), Monitor Out, SD Memory slot (NOT SDIO compatiable), on board fax modem and LAN. In addition, it includes WiFi and can boot over LAN or through the PC-Card.

One of the negatives (not to me) is that the system is small. The screen is approx 10 x 7 and is comfortable for anything that DOESN'T require detail. Obviously, the keyboard is also small but with a surprisingly useful and comfortable pitch. Finally, the system is from Japan and doesn't come with a rescue disk. This is easily combatted with regular backups.

The plus side is the size. This machine is incredibly comfortable to use in cramped spaces (i.e NJ Transit Buses). Battery life changes depending on what deatures you're using. Typically, when not using the 802.11, I experience a little over 3 hours of run-time. When using WiFi, it drops down to just under 2 hours. Obviously if you use a pc-card, USB, etc.; battery life will also be shortened. The machine comes loaded with the Toshiba Power Management utility which offers alot of options to help control battery life. This machine also uses a Transmeta Crusoe processor which allows for greater control of power usage.

All in all I have been extremely happy with this machine. Prior to purchasing it, I was using a Sony NV190 which is a 10lb beast, but includes EVERYTHING. While the machine is slower than an Intel or AMD based machine, it does hold it's own. I haven't found the abscence of a CD drive to be a hinderence. I already had a Kingston DataPak drive and have been using Nero with ImageDrive to carry and use ISOs of discs I may need. While I do suggest it for a strict business machine, I also suggest you take a look at one and see if you can handle the 'mini-ness'.

[nuggettsmyname]

The IBM X31 and R40 are other options, as is the Dell Latitide lines. The Latitude X300 is just 2.9 lbs!! These are new models of course.. I though I would mention that since you mentioned an old Sony in your post.

[nuggettsmyname]

DP

[nitevision]

Hi Folks,

Thanks to all for your input - it is much appreciated.

Just thought I'd let you know what I ended up getting...

Dell Lattitude LS 400

PIII-400Mhz
128MB
6.4Gb HD
12.1" TFT
External Floppy
External CD-ROM
Docking Station with ports (all typical ones)
1 USB, 1 PCMCIA SLOT
1"inch thick
3.5lbs
Carrying Bag
Cost: $600 (shipping included)

A little weak on the processor but it will do for my business purposes. The big draw in this is that its a Dell (with the large module accesories options), and its light at 3.5lbs

Looked into the models that everybody mentioned - some are tough to find, others are still quite pricey. This Lattitude seemed to be a good solid middle ground. We'll see how it runs when I receive it.

Thanks again!

[nuggettsmyname]

Let us know how you like it? BTW what OS will you be running on it?

[cyr0n_k0r]

man did you overpay!!

I just bought an LS about 3 weeks ago.

Mine was a P3 500
256mb ram
10GB HD
and included cd-rom with cable.

All for only $400 shipped.


In fact, if you are still able to return yours I suggest you do. I am actually selling mine because I have some unexpected bills to pay. If your interested let me know.

[nitevision]

Hi All,

With this laptop, I am running Windows 2000 Pro, with MS Office XP, primarily using Excel, PowerPoint and Word. It works great so far, and I really like the "thin" and lightness of this laptop. It arrived in great condition ( I believe it was an off-lease from a Bank Exec.), runs all my business software, emails etc. I would recommend it to those that travel a lot and don't mind trading off the the lower cpu power/hard drive space with the portability of a laptop. It gives off a high quality and professional image - a definite benefit in securing your contract with your customers.

cyr0n_k0r, I wouldn't mind having a discussion regarding the sale of yours as I might have a need for an additional unit.

If you could, please email me your details at mycomputerstuff@hotmail.com and we can have some conversation about that.

Cheers