Netbook/notebook suggestion

[slackerinabox]

Will be taking a job in sales that has me out on the "road" (err, subway) quite often, and I will never be around a desk. Mostly office tasks (updating websites, replying to emails, light photoshop work) I have some fairly light notebooks (vostro v13 and hp dm3) but even those light (sub 4lb) notebooks are going to wreck my back.

Here are my requirements:
-Awesome trackpad / keyboard - HATE the one on my vostro v13 and hp.. Awful trackpads - selecting text is almost impossible on my dell, and photoshop work is impossible as well
-Good battery life. Let's say 6 hours as a realistic minimum. Extra battery packs sorta defeats the purpose of getting something light
-Relatively rugged. I'm not saying I need a toughbook, but my MSI wind had keys falling off after 6 months
-As light as possible - around 2.5 pounds would be great
-Screen size is NOT important. I'd rather have moderately powerful and light 10.1 vs. a powerhouse of a 13.3/15"
-Price, sub-$600 if possible but $800 would be my absolute max

Here are a few I've found while researching:

Hp Business netbook 1502 (1503 is coming out)
+Magnesium case
+Doesn't look like a toy
+Decent battery life
-Expensive for an Atom system
-I've had very bad experiences with HP trackpads so I'm a bit wary of buying it blind and no one carriers it locally

Asus thin and light system (U series)
+Good bang for buck
+Good battery life
-May be more computer than I actually need
-Not sure how rugged it is - will it take daily commuting and bumps from subway riders
-Display issues about viewing angles, but that's a minor issue to me
-Trackpad/ keyboard - not many people talk about it

Thinkpad x100e
+Adore thinkpads build quality
+Great keyboard and pointer
+Good price
-AMD mobile processors scare me
-Related to above, battery life is rated at 5 hours but I bet real world will be closer to 3 based on my similarly speced HP DM3

Toshiba Mini
Actually don't know much about it at all, but the reviews are good and the 11+ hour battery life seems impressive.

Thoughts?

 

[zod96]

I'm in the same boat. And after reading tons of reviews I'll probably go with the X100E myself, just because its a thinkpad...

 

[JWade]

its a bit heavier, but the latitude 2110 is rugged, can get a 1366x768 screen as an add on option. comes with the atom n470 1.83ghz processor too.

i have the 2100 and it is very nice and sturdy. i get about 5 hours of battery life on the six cell.

 

[slackerinabox]

I'm in the same boat. And after reading tons of reviews I'll probably go with the X100E myself, just because its a thinkpad...

It would be a no brainer if they slapped even a Pentium Dual Core in there, but AMD just scares me. My wife's uses a similar NEO processor and the battery life just isn't good. I doubt AMD even has a speedstep like throttling systems, so it's always running at full speed even unplugged, on an already power hungry platform.

 

[slackerinabox]

its a bit heavier, but the latitude 2110 is rugged, can get a 1366x768 screen as an add on option. comes with the atom n470 1.83ghz processor too.

i have the 2100 and it is very nice and sturdy. i get about 5 hours of battery life on the six cell.

Hows' the trackpad? My dell vostro v13 is a sexy little machine but the buttons on the trackpad are awful - I hold down the button to select text but the mushy mechanism makes selecting more than a few words impossible because the button disengages without reason.

 

[JWade]

i never had any issues with the trackpad/buttons. the left/right buttons are below the trackpad and are separate buttons, not on a rocker and not on the same space as the trackpad, they are two separate buttons, which i like, it does make selecting/highlighting easier than when the buttons and trackpad are all one part