Looking for a laptop that is light enough to carry, but with a large enough screen for work.

April 15, 2009 3:03 PM

My Dell Inspiron 1100 is limping along, and its time to start thinking of replacing it. Ideally, I’d like a laptop that I can get a docking station, external larger monitors, and a keyboard, etc for later. But for right now, just something about the same size as my current laptop would work. I work doing program management for a web design team – no real coding on my part, mostly lots of email and checking over sites. I’m not doing a ton of graphics, but I do occasionally like to play games or visit Second Life -though that’s not essential in the slightest. Webcam would be nice, but not essential. XP would be nice, but I understand that I may be stuck with Vista.

I keep looking at the asus 1000he, and while I think I could type on it, I don’t think I could stare at that screen for 8-10 hours a day. (even though I really, really want it) I’d rather a laptop rather than a desktop because of space concerns, and because right now I’m traveling quite a bit. Price-wise I’d like to try to stay around $700-800 – but that may not be reasonable. Thanks for any feedback – I’m getting overwhelmed with all the possibilities.

posted by korej to Computers & Internet (7 answers total)

I just purchased the HP DV2. It straddles the line between netbook and ultraportable, and so far, I'm liking the compromises it makes. It costs $750, and it's pretty light (under 4 pounds). It's small, easy to carry around, but it has a nearly full-sized keyboard. It has a single-core processor that's still plenty fast for everything but games, and a surprisingly decent graphics card (along with a pretty big hard drive and 4 gigs of ram). I'm playing Fallout 3 on it on a slightly lower resolution than the screen's max (1200 x 800), and Bioshock at a *very* low resolution. Not great, but enough to have fun. It has HDMI out for the monitor or a TV.

It does run Vista, but I don't consider that a con, and it has a decent webcam built in.

Cons:

* You can get a much "better" 7 or 8 pound computer for the same price.
* Hulu streams are somehow more intensive than other sites', and there is a slight stutter unless they are put on medium/low quality.
* There is no built-in CD drive, though it comes with an external one.

I like it, but it's definitely not for everyone. It seems like it fits your requirements. The Costco in my area is selling them, so if there's one in your area, you may be able to stop by and see it in person.
posted by Number Used Once at 3:18 PM on April 15, 2009

Other than the webcam requirement, I don't know why any modern laptop wouldn't meet every single one of your requirements. I have a Toshiba that I bought for $350 in 2007 and it can do all the things you mention. Its battery life isn't terrific - about 100 minutes. And the screen is a bit dimmer than some, but I got used to that quickly. It has four USB ports and an external monitor hookup. It has a Celeron processor, which I have seen widely parried, but it's plenty fast (after I upgraded the RAM from 512 MB to 2 GB, anyway). Vista is as crappy as it is on any computer, but I usually run Ubuntu and it works great.

Dealnews usually has a few choices in the 15.4-inch widescreen size for $350 or $400.
posted by Dec One at 3:23 PM on April 15, 2009

Not sure where I got the idea to use parried like that, but as you probably guessed I meant something like disparaged.
posted by Dec One at 3:26 PM on April 15, 2009

I've got an Asus Eee 1000. If you're at the Press Club on Monday, you can check it out.
posted by signalnine at 4:26 PM on April 15, 2009

look at the dell outlet -- you just missed their "spring outlet clearance sale" where they had some pretty good deals but they usually have some good prices on things (and even limit it to ordered new/scratch and dent if you want to)
posted by knockoutking at 5:51 PM on April 15, 2009

Sounds like any modern laptop would suit you just fine. Keep an eye on Dealnews for sales, or just waltz into a store and buy whatever you like. Don't be afraid of Vista or go to any effort to downgrade to XP. As long as your computer is less than two or three years old, Vista is better than XP in every way.
posted by sinfony at 8:35 PM on April 15, 2009

Thanks all - I'll check out dealnews and the dell outlet. And signalnine - thanks for the offer! I'm out of town most mondays these days, but with luck I'll see you eventually.
posted by korej at 3:34 PM on April 16, 2009