Help me find the right laptop
May 28, 2008 1:25 PM Subscribe
Can you recommend a laptop that is (in order of importance) a. inexpensive, b. small enough to use relatively comfortably on a coach tray table, c. has a looooong battery life.
There have been lots of AskMefi questions about laptops, but since new models come out so fast, none of these are current. For me, processor power and RAM are not big issues. If it can run Word and play movies ripped to .mpg, it has enough power for me. I plan to install XP, so XP drivers are necessary. But what I really need is something that can last on cross continental flights. My fantasy is to be able to pack my laptop (and maybe 1 extra battery) and be able to use it in transit without having to search madly for an outlet on layovers. Also, I want one that is cheap enough that I can justify it to my wife. (Always tricky . . .)
There have been lots of AskMefi questions about laptops, but since new models come out so fast, none of these are current. For me, processor power and RAM are not big issues. If it can run Word and play movies ripped to .mpg, it has enough power for me. I plan to install XP, so XP drivers are necessary. But what I really need is something that can last on cross continental flights. My fantasy is to be able to pack my laptop (and maybe 1 extra battery) and be able to use it in transit without having to search madly for an outlet on layovers. Also, I want one that is cheap enough that I can justify it to my wife. (Always tricky . . .)
Here's another comparison of interest. The Thinkpad X300 looks really nice, but might not pass the wife-justificiation criterion.
posted by Zed_Lopez at 1:43 PM on May 28, 2008
posted by Zed_Lopez at 1:43 PM on May 28, 2008
The pricing on the X300 is going to start at around $2,400, our configuration is closer to the $3,000 mark since it's fairly loaded with options. Needless to say, this isn't something John Doe consumer will be dropping their money on in place of an $800 Dell.
No, it might not.
posted by Dec One at 1:52 PM on May 28, 2008
No, it might not.
posted by Dec One at 1:52 PM on May 28, 2008
If you want a cheaper version of the X300, check out the X61 series.
posted by fengshui at 1:59 PM on May 28, 2008
posted by fengshui at 1:59 PM on May 28, 2008
Dell Latitude D430 - their Inspiron models, etc, get a deserved bad rap, but one of my coworkers picked up the 12" widescreen D420 for a song as they were phasing it out for the new model, and he's very happy. It's svelte, not too expensive, and gets OK battery life. If you're not squeamish about ebay, you can get the previous model, the D420, for much less.
posted by thedaniel at 2:33 PM on May 28, 2008
posted by thedaniel at 2:33 PM on May 28, 2008
Update, you can get a d420 refurb from dell for $7-800: dell outlet
posted by thedaniel at 2:44 PM on May 28, 2008
posted by thedaniel at 2:44 PM on May 28, 2008
Love my EEE. I have the 701 (so small screen, but I'm really happy with it).
posted by i_am_a_Jedi at 2:51 PM on May 28, 2008
posted by i_am_a_Jedi at 2:51 PM on May 28, 2008
What's the battery time like? Any experience with spare batteries?
posted by Artw at 2:59 PM on May 28, 2008
posted by Artw at 2:59 PM on May 28, 2008
You may want to look into a EEE pc 4g and a battery from batterygeek.net which should give you pretty great battery life.
All done with a portable external drive you'd be looking at about 1k for probably 15 or so hours of total life, more if you go with a bigger battery pack. The nice thing about the batterygeek packs is they can be used to power all sorts of stuff.
posted by iamabot at 3:17 PM on May 28, 2008
All done with a portable external drive you'd be looking at about 1k for probably 15 or so hours of total life, more if you go with a bigger battery pack. The nice thing about the batterygeek packs is they can be used to power all sorts of stuff.
posted by iamabot at 3:17 PM on May 28, 2008
Just a thought: Are there restrictions on air travel with large batteries these days?
posted by Artw at 3:30 PM on May 28, 2008
posted by Artw at 3:30 PM on May 28, 2008
Movies will burn batteries fast. Can the eeePC handle your average downloaded AVIs at a good clip? If so I think that's your puppy.
And yes, there are restrictions on large batteries on some airlines lately, but only if they're LiOn. I keep worrying that someone's going to make me check my (non-rugged) briefcase-with-laptop one of these days. Might as well just kick it goodbye. :/
posted by rokusan at 3:39 PM on May 28, 2008
And yes, there are restrictions on large batteries on some airlines lately, but only if they're LiOn. I keep worrying that someone's going to make me check my (non-rugged) briefcase-with-laptop one of these days. Might as well just kick it goodbye. :/
posted by rokusan at 3:39 PM on May 28, 2008
I and co-workers routinely travel oversees with laptop sized external batteries and haven't been hassled as long as we demonstrate that they are err..batteries. APC also makes an external battery that is pretty shiny, but battery geek is supposed to be a bit "greener" and has higher capacity.
posted by iamabot at 3:45 PM on May 28, 2008
posted by iamabot at 3:45 PM on May 28, 2008
If the battery life is a concern you could get a dedicated portable DVD player, because many of them have USB and can play MPEG1/2. I imagine that because they're dedicated devices you'd get better battery life too.
posted by holloway at 4:21 PM on May 28, 2008
posted by holloway at 4:21 PM on May 28, 2008
fujitsu makes small machines with insane battery life, but they're probably expensive (can't check it out right now). A year-old used fujitsu, on the other hand...
posted by trig at 7:40 PM on May 28, 2008
posted by trig at 7:40 PM on May 28, 2008
I read your question and, like many others, I immediately thought of the Asus EEE PC as being a good choice for you... The 9" screen model is out now, so you could get that one and revel in the 1024x768 screen! I suggest you do try it first in store though, as I personally found the keyboard VERY cramped when I tried it.
Other than the EEE PC, have you considered something non-traditional? A Pocket PC device with a Bluetooth keyboard will do what you want, as long as you don't mind the small screen. If your focus is more on watching movies than on typing documents, how about a device from Archos (like the 704/705 WIFI) or the Nokia N800 Internet Tablet?
posted by ranglin at 9:48 PM on May 28, 2008
Other than the EEE PC, have you considered something non-traditional? A Pocket PC device with a Bluetooth keyboard will do what you want, as long as you don't mind the small screen. If your focus is more on watching movies than on typing documents, how about a device from Archos (like the 704/705 WIFI) or the Nokia N800 Internet Tablet?
posted by ranglin at 9:48 PM on May 28, 2008
I have a first-gen EEE PC 4G (the one with the tinny tinny screen) and I'm not too impressed with the battery life. It lasts me between 2-4 hours, depending on screen brightness, intensity of use and whether I've got the Wi-Fi turned on.
posted by WalterMitty at 1:07 AM on May 29, 2008
posted by WalterMitty at 1:07 AM on May 29, 2008
I dropped in to recommend Dell Vostro 1200, but it doesn't seem to be available on the Dell US site. Odd. If you don't mind the 13" screen, the 1310 might fit your needs.
posted by cholly at 6:05 AM on May 29, 2008
posted by cholly at 6:05 AM on May 29, 2008
The MSI Wind seems to have won the hearts of the geek and gadget bloggers who were previously atwitter about the Asus EEE PC. Early reviews are suggesting the 6-cell battery provides 7 hours of runtime. It goes on sale in June for $399.
posted by PueExMachina at 7:42 PM on May 29, 2008
posted by PueExMachina at 7:42 PM on May 29, 2008
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Artw at 1:30 PM on May 28, 2008