Please help me answer a few laptop questions

[Frippo]

Its mainly going to be used for pretty simple tasks, some office work next year when I'm planning to go back to studying. Will also be used for watching movies, listening to music, browsing, maybe some gaming from time to time, still have my desktop and I'm no big gamer. I play a bit of online poker with multiple tables open and also do some other work where I might want to have multiple windows open at the same time. Its not going to replace my desktop so I would want to have it as portable as possible.

1. Would a 12.1" screen be too small for me? I would love to have one as small as that but I have no experience of laptops so I dont know if I will be able to work with multiple windows side by side. Or should I go with 14" or 15"?
2. I was thinking of importing one to Sweden as they are so redicoulously expensive here compard to in the States, but it occured to me that they probably dont have the letters ÅÄÖ on their keyboard, do they?
3. Is Acer TravelMate TM3004WTMi a good choice? And could someone please give me some other suggestions on what model I should try to get and why. This acer seems to be the most price worthy in the 12.1" I can find in swedish stores. If you think I should go with a 14" or even 15" please give me some suggestions for those too.

Thanks a lot for any help, its so many models to chose from.

 

[ShellGuy]

no they don't have those letters on the keyboard you would need to learn the shortcut keys for those specific letters.



Will G.

 

[Frippo]

thanks for your reply, that would be too much hassle, would it be possible to exchange the US keyboard with a Swedish? and does any store sell those as accessories? Otherwise I'll better cough up the extra cash.

Can anyone please help me out with the other questions?

 

[Frippo]

sending it up to the top in hope of finding some more answer

 

[mehmetmunur]

You will be the best judge of whether or not you can use a 12 incher. I know some people who hate it, but I am used to my IBM X41. It is very easy to carry around, and definitely lighter than most of my books.
One of the biggest problem with 12 inchers is that their keyboards are not 100%, which might make it harder to type. This is not the case with the IBM. I do not know your price range, but IBM is up there, you could possibly get an X40 for cheaper ($1500) and the new X60 for around 2K. Here is an article that might be useful. And another review.

And think your best bet is to go to a local electronics store and try to use those laptops and see if you will enjoy them. If you have a friend that will let you take a look at it, that will be even better. Good luck with your search.

 

[cheesehead]

I like my NC4010. Great laptop, especially cosnsidering the normal-sized keyboard and below-1000$ pricetag.

 

[nomagic]

I know your could get replacement laptop keyboard. I have done so myself and the process was not difficulty. You could try calling the tech support of the laptop company. Some of them do sell replacement keyboards.

Alternatively, you could trying to get one online. I got mine online for 54 dollars shipped from an online retailer. However, I do not know any website that sells non-english keyboards.

Good luck

 

[ShellGuy]

Could use something like this. and then just change the language settings in windows to match the keyboard.


Will G.

 

[Frippo]

Wow, thanks for the replies!

I'm not too concerned about whether the 12.1" will feel to small at first, thats something I believe I will get used to. What I'm wondering is if I will be able to fit enough on a 12.1" screen (multiple windows besides eachother), is it a big difference between what I will fit on a 12.1" and a 14" or 15"? Or will I be able to fit about as much just that it will look smaller? I also have pretty small fingers so I'm sure I will get used to the typing.

The Acer TravelMate TM3004WTMi looks like a sweet notebook, but would go on about 1950 USD here in Sweden.
The Dell 700m looks just as good to me for the exception that I would have to get an additional battery and replace the keyboard, I could pick one up for about 1350 USD at ebay. But total price will probably be around 1500 USD with extra battery and shipping to Sweden.

Those 2 looks to be my best alternatives, now if I was sure I could get the dell to work with a swedish keyboard I would probably go with it cause its so much cheaper and doesnt seem to be worse in any way. I dont really understand how I would replace the keyboard language, on nomagic reply it seems like I would need to physically replace the hardware. From the link ShellGuy posted, it seems as I just have to buy a set of stickers and then change some software drivers. Could anyone please take a bit of time and explain it to me? Wouldnt a english keyboard have less keys as you dont have ÅÄÖ in your alphabet? Are you sure this method works? Cause I'd hate ending up buying a laptop I cant use properly.

Thanks A LOT!

 

[ShellGuy]

no all keyboards have the same amount of keys they just change from what i have seen.. Click on Start > Control Panel > Regional and Language settings > Languages tab > Under text services and input languages click on details and change to what you want.



Will G.

 

[Frippo]

yeah looks cool, just played around a bit with it here at my desktop... its a bit more hassle but can save me some money, and it gives me another alternative. I've heard the keys are smaller on those portable laptops, but the stickers made for laptops will still fit, right?

Now the only question left to answer Dell 700m vs Acer TravelMate TM3004WTMi?
Specs are about the same, the Dell would be around 1600USD with all additional accessories and the Acer 1950USD.

The only differences I see in the specs is that 700m uses p m 755 that has 400mhz fsb where the acer uses p m 760 that has 533fsb. The rest is almost identical, the acer has bluetooth, the dell doesnt. The acer weigths a bit less but instead it has an external dvdrw. Both seem to have 1 year guarantee. Please help me chose one of them and explain why. Or maybe there are other alternatives I should look into at ebay in the same category that are as cheap or cheaper and beats those 2 in performance?