2010 Laptop discussion

i need to pull the trigger in the next day or two and im really liking this lenovo thinkpad v460 i found, can someone spot the error here?

$711 including shipping + tax
2.26GHz intel dual core processor
win7 home premium 64
320 GB hard drive
4GB RAM
14" screen
standard wifi + bluetooth
webcam + fingerprint
vga + hdmi ports
6cell battery (4hrs)
4.8lbs

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ok scratch that. everywhere i look its says that the battery life sucks.

plan b: thinkpad edge 14" at $719 (including ship+tax)
2.14GHz intel i3 processor
win7 professional
320GB 7200rpm
4GB RAM
standard wifi + bluetooth
webcam + fingerprint
vga + hdmi ports
6cell battery (4.5hrs)
4.9lbs

would just get a t410 (love my t61), but with my elevated features above it doesnt seem worth the extra coin. thoughts?

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i pulled the trigger on this. ended up sneaking in a price drop for a grand total of $689. if anybody cares about usage performance PM me.

The following are my criteria for a windows laptop that I will practically live with throughtout school:

Features listed in priority:

1. 12-13.3 inch (11.6 is too small, 14 is too big)
2. < 4 lbs weight (~3 lbs would be awesome)
3. battery life > 5 hrs
4. core i3 (or i5 if possible. SU7300 and SU9400 would be OK for now, but will feel slow in a couple years)
5. 3 or 4 GB ram
6. $600 - $850 price range
7. HDMI out
8. webcam
9. inbuilt DVD drive
10. Dedicated graphics card

The only ones that I can find given these are:

1. Thinkpad X201 Recent Deals(compromises on 6,7,9,10)
   12.1", i5/i7, 9+ hrs, 4 GB, ($900-$1100)
2. Acer 3820T Amazon Link (compromises on 9, 10)
   13.3", i3, 8 hrs, 4 GB, $700, HDMI, webcam
3. Acer 3820GT (yet to be released)
   13.3", i5/i7, 8 hrs, 4 GB, ~$850, HDMI, webcam, graphics card
4. Asus UL30JT (yet to be released)
   13.3", i7, 12 hrs, 4 GB, ~$900, HDMI, webcam, graphics card

Any other suggestions? I am gonna wait it out for a couple weeks and order it mid-July. In addition to this, I am carrying a very powerful desktop with a 25" Samsung 2570HD LCD/TV for all my home entertainment needs

Those are basically my requirements as well, though I can go up to 14 on the screen. I'm also okay with top-end AMD.

I'm going to hold out until August or September. I'm expecting substantial price drops later this summer, and have a crappy, old desktop and a netbook to hold me over. Once I upgrade, I'll hook the desktop up to my LCD tv to run emulators and hulu.

I'd love to see a similar analysis for 14" laptops only with the above list that you made. 13.3" is too small and 15" is too big, but 14.1" is the sweet spot for me.

you're going to quibble over 0.7" (diagonal) of screen size? remind me not to be on your business school study group / team

I noticed that 14" laptops tend to have built-in optical drives, dedicated graphic cards, and faster processors (mininum i5 or i5 ULV-like performance) with budget prices unlike their 13" counterparts...so yeah, these are all quibbles for me.

Gkumar, I agree with your viewpoint, and 14" might have better value, but 14" laptops seem to be 4+ lbs and weight is really high up on my criteria. All my MBA friends have really convinced me that I will carry the laptop everywhere and it absolutely needs to be as light as possible, even if I need to sacrifice speed.

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Anyone know if this deal is still available? I can't seem to get it working.

Seems to have expired. The current Lenovo SPP deal is not that great ($900-$1000) and none of the coupon codes (USPLENOVO etc) work for me anymore. The current SSP offer expires 6/30, so I am hoping there will be better deals for the July 4 weekend, and hopefully some coupon would surface on the forums.

I just ordered a Tohiba Portege R700. Starts at $900.

Good points:
Lightweight, under 3lbs
8+ hrs battery life
i3 processesor
13.3" screen
Less than an inch thick
Optical drive included

https://laptops.toshiba.com/laptops/portege/R700 - I got the S1330 which was pricey at $1600, but it has a SSD and i7 processor.

The only bad thing I've heard is that it gets quite hot to have on your lap.

I have a Toshiba R600 at the moment which is significantly more $$$ ($2600+) but it is absolutely faultless. I'm hoping this one will also deliver.

The only other comparable business laptop for portability to the R600 is the HP Elitebook, which is thicker and slightly heavier.

My friends going to LBS have all purchased the Asus UL30JT (yet to be released) which is also an excellent laptop.

Consider it exercise.

I really don't get the weight issue, but then I have lugged 5lb+ machines for long enough now not to whine about it. I mean, I carry enough books alone to take me over that weight, plus the laptop. a 15-20lb bag for a 1 mile walk twice a day is good exercise.

I've been using my Thinkpad X201 over the past few days and I am super happy with it. The weight and form factor are both amazing, and so is the performance with the new Core i5 processor. The only things really lacking are graphics/video card for gaming performance and a CD/DVD drive -- I personally don't play games nor use the CD/DVD drive, so neither of these shortfalls affect me.

I have a family friend who has one of these with the solid state HDD and his is a touch faster than mine. If you have the extra money to spend, that might be a worthwhile upgrade.

What are the differences between the X201 and X301?

The X301 offers a 13.3" screen vs. a 12.1" screen on the X201. It manages this with a very marginal increase in weight (like 0.3 lbs I think), but a large increase in cost (most X301s are selling for north of $1,500-2,000).

There may be other stuff as well but I'm not sure. The X301 was never really in my budget.

Hmm, there's a X301 selling for $959 according to this link via the Microsoft store: https://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=2103156

Is there a catch? This is about the same price as the X201.

I'm really not sure.

i got the 15" Macbook pro and it works fine for me. not too heavy.

honestly i'm not sure how you guys are able to stand 12" or 13" laptops. Yes they are slightly lighter, but the resolutions tend to be low, so an IM window takes up half your screen, or you have to scroll all over the damn place in word/excel