recommend me a small, cheap, light laptop

[dpopiz]

Hi, I currently use a Thinkpad 570 and I LOVE it. There are just a few things I'd change about it though, the biggest being speed. I normally use a fast desktop for all the stuff that really needs the speed, but I SO much prefer working on my laptop since I can take it anywhere and get away from my desk. I want to get a laptop that's a bit faster so I can completely replace my desktop with it. The Thinkpad 570 I have is 333MHz P2 by the way.

So here are my top priorities in order from highest to lowest:
1. Price absolutely no higher than $600. I'm happy to buy off ebay, so older laptops are fine.
2. Something around the 700MHz P3 range or anything comparable in speed (I mainly do office type stuff, web design, and Java coding)
3. I really really love the keyboard on my thinkpad 570, the best laptop keyboard I've touched for sure. So I'd prefer that my next laptop have something at least almost as nice.
4. I know people say thinkpads are very well built, and I think mine is as far as laptops go, but I still feel like I have to be really careful with it all the time. I'd prefer something that I can use very heavily without worry.
5.
5. My thinkpad is 4lbs, but really I'd prefer something lighter.

lower priorities:
- better screen than my thinkpad 570; brighter and maybe higher res too
- longer battery life; 3 hours or so might be nice

things I don't care about at all:
- built in cd/floppy drive; I have no use for these, they just take up space
- 3d graphics accelerator


so what are my best bets? remember, I'm willing to look at anything, doesn't have to be current. and again my max limit is $600, but that goes for ebay stuff too.

 

[gagan512]

compaq armada M300
p3 600, 12", 3lbs
<$300 on ebay

dell latitude LS
p3 400, 12", 3.5lbs
<$300 on ebay

dell latitude L400
p3 700, 12", 3.5lbs
~$400 on ebay

toshiba protege 3480CT / 3490CT
similar config and pricing as above (not very sure)

ive used the armada m300 and the latitude LS, love em both.

 

[dementedlemur]

Check out the toshiba portege 7200 and 3400 series (600mhz-700mhz PIII's) and the 2000 model (750mhz PIII).
If you were willing to settle for something a little slower (PIII 500mhz) the 570e would suite you pretty well, and is the same form factor as the 570.

 

[RedBeard]

I vote for the toshiba protege 3490CT. I sold mine a while ago on eBay. It comes with a P3700 and runs good. Also has a 8mb S3 video card that runs counter strike pretty well. It is extremely light and small. A++ design. It also uses a trackpoint like your old IBM. If you prefer the trackpoint over the touchpad, this will be a big deal.

 

[fbrdphreak]

I don't remember the models, but just look on eBay for used Thinkpad laptops around your price range. IIRC, you can get something in that range with a 700-1000MHz P3, 256MB, 20-40GB, CD/DVD (maybe RW). I love Thinkpads too and I wouldn't get any other used laptop GL

 

[jdiddy]

Might as well stick to IBM. Get a older X series thinkpad look at the x20 or x21 there both in your price range.

 

[dpopiz]

I dunno maybe I should stop thinking about another ultraportable. maybe I don't really need it....I think I'd perefer some extra speed and battery life.
so what's the cheapest thinkpad with a pentium-m? it's hard to find info about the older models on their site

 

[Connoisseur]

Originally posted by: dpopiz
I dunno maybe I should stop thinking about another ultraportable. maybe I don't really need it....I think I'd perefer some extra speed and battery life.
so what's the cheapest thinkpad with a pentium-m? it's hard to find info about the older models on their site

lol wait till black friday. Apparently, Circuit City will be selling an HP Pentium M notebook (unknown model) for $600 after rebate. May not be as incredibly light or sturdy as you'd hope for (def not Thinkpad range) but it'll def be much faster than anything you can buy on ebay for that price. Once again, tho, it depends on what usage. If you're gonna use it for just typing, surfing and spreadsheets you might want to consider a cheap lappie from ebay. If you plan on having multiple windows open, do heavy programming or run cpu heavy progs like Matlab etc. the 15" real estate and the faster Pentium M might be to your liking.