Looking for a notebook

[imported_Spoot]

Im looking for a notebook going into college in the fall. I can eliminate the need for a desktop replacement because im taking my desktop with me. What im looking for basically is a notebook with good battery life >4hrs, at least 512mb ram, preferably a DVD/CD-rw, good mobility. The price range is around 1000 USD.

At the moment im looking at the Fujitsu LifeBook S7020 and the Toshiba Tecra A4-S211

ANY suggestions and/or info would be appreciated.

 

[esun]

Lenovo has a sale on some nice notebooks right now. They're a bit more than your budget by a few hundred dollars, but they are nice laptops.

http://www-131.ibm.com/content/home/store_LNV_PublicUSA/en_US/sale/sale_SOTS05_t43.html

I'd highly recommend a T43 for a 14" laptop, and an X40 for a 12" laptop (X41 if you want a tablet). There are some newer widescreen options (Z60) if you're interesting in something widescreen but heavier, and also some cheaper options (R51) in case you really need to stick by your budget.

Other than that, I have heard a lot of good things about Fujitsus and some good things about Toshibas, so those would still be viable options.

 

[cheesehead]

IBM is nearly unbeatable for Windows-based laptops.
An Apple iBook would'nt be a bad choice, either.
From what I recall, Fujitsu is good, but Toshiba is a mixed bag. Some laptops are good, some are not.
I would, however, avoid Dell.

 

[MaxDSP]

Ive got a similar budget but looking for lightweight laptop that I'll primarily use for DVD viewing, work (e-mail, office, term svcs), and some gaming (if possible on todays laptops)
I was looking for somthing similar to Dell's 710m. The size was perfect and the screen was awesome. Are there similar offerings from IBM for this type of machine?

 

[BrianH1]

iBook is very reliable, and good battery life.

 

[theslickvik]

Get a mac and never go back

 

[simms]

I 3rd (or 4th) an IBM/Lenovo. A used X31 meets your needs and way less than $1k.

 

[HomeAppraiser]

I like my Compaq v2000z with

AMD Turion 64 ML-28 (1.6GHz/512KB L2 Cache)
Windows XP Home Edition with SP2
14.0 WXGA BrightView Widescreen
256MB DDR SDRAM Added a 512MB stick for 768 total
40 GB 4200 RPM Hard Drive
8X DVD Drive
ATI RADEON(R) XPRESS 200M(128MB shared)
54g Integ. Broadcom 802.11b/g SpeedBoster WLAN & Bluetooth
6-in-1 card reader, IEEE 1394 port and an expansion port for the HP xb2000 Notebook Expansion Base and
12 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

Only thing I would have ordered differently would be to upgrade to the 60 GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive for the speed.

They go on sale every other week at Staples, Office Depot or Office Max starting at $499 configure to order. Current Deals at
Staples
Office Depot
Circuit City

It takes about two weeks to build and ship from China if the above deals are not on the shelves.

 

[HamSupLo]

Asus z63a

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: Cheesehead
IBM is nearly unbeatable for Windows-based laptops.
An Apple iBook would'nt be a bad choice, either.
From what I recall, Fujitsu is good, but Toshiba is a mixed bag. Some laptops are good, some are not.
I would, however, avoid Dell.

and when u can pick up a 700m for under 999 with 2 year accidental damage warrenty u still think thats a bad idea?

 

[Busithoth]

the only downside to the thinkpad x-models is lack of optical drive.
that only helps battery life and keeps the weight down, though.
also, they're tough as nails, which is a good thing.

 

[Commodus]

Why would you ask about laptop recommendations for next fall right now? That's several months away, and the laptop market will almost certainly change dramatically by then.

I wouldn't be surprised, however, if by next summer I was recommending an Intel-based iBook to you.