Looking for a laptop, is this too much to ask for?

[Kroze]

I am looking for a new laptop with a few requirements:

- 14" or SMALLER screen. (Need to be portable and I don't want to lug around a lot of weight as I like to travel a lot. Also it need to fit on the plane's tray table.)

- At least 5 hours of battery life.

- Magnesium alloy or some sort of metal for the case & hinge. Not some cheapo metal cover/lid and plastic bottom.

- Have a DVD drive.

Is this too much to ask for? So far i've only found 2 candidate and that's the Macbook Pro & HP Envy. I'm sure there are more offerings from other manufacturer's that I don't know about that someone can shed a light on.

I was browsing on the Lenovo/IBM website and their laptop seem pretty high quality stuff. Any recommendation?

 

[biostud]

the new hp probooks

 

[Tom]

You don't care about price ?

 

[DaveSimmons]

If money is no object, visit http://www.dynamism.com/ for Japanese imports like the Panasonic S10:

12.1", under 3 lbs, Intel Core i5-2520M, DVD, 15 hour battery . . . starting at $3,199.

 

[Tom]

If money is no object, visit http://www.dynamism.com/ for Japanese imports like the Panasonic S10:

12.1", under 3 lbs, Intel Core i5-2520M, DVD, 15 hour battery . . . starting at $3,199.

OMG, are those specs for real ? I'm looking at it in wonder. What kind of battery technology could be so light and power that for so long ?

And what kind of dvd drive fits in there ?

 

[DaveSimmons]

Yep, Dynamism has been importing cutting-edge tech like this for many years. If you look at the photo gallery the DVD drive is built into the base with the drive spindle under a pop-up part of the keyboard.

 

[Zap]

If money is no object, visit http://www.dynamism.com/ for Japanese imports like the Panasonic S10:

12.1", under 3 lbs, Intel Core i5-2520M, DVD, 15 hour battery . . . starting at $3,199.

OMG! Move over, Sony Z series!

What kind of battery technology could be so light and power that for so long ?

The battery is probably no more high tech than batteries found in any other high end notebook. It likely gets so much battery life because of the platform, plus manufacturer tweaks. For instance read up on reviews of the upcoming Lenovo X220. It is 3.6 pounds with a 6-cell battery that wouldn't look out of place in a netbook, but it gets really solid 8+ hours of real world battery life. The Panasonic is "up to 15.5 hour battery" and the fine print somewhere said "10 hour typical use." A lot of this comes from Intel's new Sandy Bridge platform.

 

[hans007]

t420 when it comes out from lenovo will probably fit the bill.

 

[Kroze]

Darn those are pretty pricey laptops. I guess i'll be looking on ebay for used HP Envy.

 

[Tom]

OMG! Move over, Sony Z series!



The battery is probably no more high tech than batteries found in any other high end notebook. It likely gets so much battery life because of the platform, plus manufacturer tweaks. For instance read up on reviews of the upcoming Lenovo X220. It is 3.6 pounds with a 6-cell battery that wouldn't look out of place in a netbook, but it gets really solid 8+ hours of real world battery life. The Panasonic is "up to 15.5 hour battery" and the fine print somewhere said "10 hour typical use." A lot of this comes from Intel's new Sandy Bridge platform.

I don't know, this Panasonic is a full pound lighter than that Lenovo. That's a lot lighter, seems impossible.

 

[flensr]

Look at the lenovo t-series thinkpads. T410 if you want a heavily discounted last-year's model, T420 for sandy bridge, or wait for the T420s.

That said, the T410s was heavily criticized for short battery life, so a T420s might only barely meet your runtime specification especially if you go with one of the faster cpu options.

 

[Kroze]

UPDATE:

I bought a brand new HP Envy 14"

 

[Tom]

let us know how you like. looks nice, what's it weigh ?

 

[Kroze]

let us know how you like. looks nice, what's it weigh ?

I think it's 4.4 lbs. I got a amazing deal on it directly from HP for $750

Can't wait for them to ship it :biggrin: on April 18

 

[biostud]

The price of the envy 14 is $1825 in Denmark......

 

[Emulex]

looks like the 8460p/8560p

which looks like a aluminum unibody macbook ripoff with a crappier touchpad.

sad thing is once you go macbook trackpad you are forever tainted with the other brands lacking.

 

[Tom]

Sad is children starving, not one trackpad or another.

Why are you criticizing somebody else's just purchased computer based on your own personal preferences ?

 

[gsaldivar]

"Soft-button" touch pads are terrible.

 

[Tom]

"Soft-button" touch pads are terrible.

"Soft-button" touch pads are fantastic. Never had any issues with my Studio 14z.

 

[Kroze]

I guess they don't build these laptops here because it's shipping straight out of China.

 

[alent1234]

after my HP experience with a $1500 laptop and a 3 year warranty i will never buy anything except cheapo hp laptops that i don't care if they break

 

[gsaldivar]

I guess they don't build these laptops here because it's shipping straight out of China.

Correct. Google "JIT Manufacturing"

 

[Muse]

If it was me I'd get a used Lenovo T60 or T61 with 14.1" SXGA+ 1400 x 1050
screen and the extra sized battery. Quality on the cheap. The DVD-RW drive pops in and out. You could get it all for under $350 probably off ebay. I wouldn't buy HP, their rep for reliability sucks. $3000+ for a Panasonic? Maybe if you have the money.

 

[Kroze]

Woohoo the laptop came in today and it's nice!! The quality is superb!!

 

[TheStu]

That is some damned nice packaging. Well done HP. I hope you enjoy your new laptop OP.