Travel Technology - Choose my new work laptop for me?

I've been working off a Thinkpad X60 for the past 3 years. Time to retire it, or more accurately to pass it off to someone junior to me at work. ;)

What do I want as its replacement?

Primary interest is portability, though it is the sole machine I use. I carry it everywhere, work to home and back, and around the world. Not concerned with a small screen, I've been happy with the X60. And I got used to not having a trackpad after 2-3 days three years back. Battery life matters as well, for when I'm on a long flight without seat power and also because I carry it around with me to meetings all day and usually don't bring the power supply.

Usaully IT just assigns computers to folks, that doesn't fly with me and they'll buy me whatever I tell them to. At the same time I do not want to appear profligate in the current environment. Still, investment in productivity matters. Don't need bells and whistles, this is not a gaming machine, I want an efficient system for my daily work in email, excel, word, etc.

My IT folks' suggestion to me was the Toshiba Portege R500 or the Thinkpad X200S. (I gave them a description of my needs and that's what they came back with.)

Do I want either of those? If so, which one? If not, what do I want?

Thanks,
Gary

If you're not doing anything heave (and the items you listed don't seem at all compute-intensive) what about one of the netbooks? They're not the highest-powered things out there, but it seems like you may not need that.

You'd presumably want something with docking station capability, so that lets out my beloved Aspire One, AFAIK. But, surely, some of the other lower-priced netbook form factor machines do allow this.

Cheers.

Logging into our database can be somewhat heavy, as can our accounting system, but in both cases the actual processing is happening on a server.

I don't actually care about a docking station, I use one at work now but I don't hook a monitor up to it or a keyboard -- the only benefit it's bringing me is (a) I don't have to go searching for wherever the ethernet cable might have gone to since I unplugged last! and (b) the docking station has the CD drive, my X60 doesn't come with it in the computer itself .. more than fine, my need for such things is VERY rare, but once in a great moon I need it.

May be missing something but the Aspire One looks like it's pretty heavy? I like the base weight of 1.72 pounds on the Toshiba my IT folks suggested for me. But know nothing other than what I reading on the screen on their website...

May be missing something but the Aspire One looks like it's pretty heavy? I like the base weight of 1.72 pounds on the Toshiba my IT folks suggested for me. But know nothing other than what I reading on the screen on their website...

Aspire One is a little over 2 lbs with the 6 cell battery. I don't know the price point for the Toshiba, but the Aspire is in the $300-$350 range.

Cheers.

Oh, wow, now THAT is a price. Imagine what they're looking at for me iis more like $1500!

Oh, wow, now THAT is a price. Imagine what they're looking at for me iis more like $1500!

You're paying for small, light and powerful in that price range. I'm very happy with the Aspire as a travel computer for internet, some Office stuff, email, etc. I'm not sure I'd consider it enough as my one-and-only for work, though. I'd be more likely to have a "real" machine at work and just take what I needed on the road with my Aspire. I'm one that does want a monitor for a work computer. The small screen would get old working on documents and such after a while.

Cheers.

http://www.dynamism.com/#home

The Aspire 1 is in the netbook class, not the ultraportable class. For me the screen is too small and what you give away in performance is not worth it for everyday use. I am a fan these days of the Lenovo X200/s and the Dell Latitude 42/4300 series. All are solid ultra portables with screens between 12-13", with business users in mind (ie you can dock them).

If you're happy with the ThinkPad X series, I'd stay with them. Less of a learning curve on the new unit.

The Aspire 1 is in the netbook class, not the ultraportable class. For me the screen is too small and what you give away in performance is not worth it for everyday use.

For some a netbook may be enough. It will certainly run the things mentioned above quite easily. I think the screen is also too small for every day use, and the lack of "dockability" would kill it for me. All those points have already been mentioned, but some were not important to the OP. So, it could still be a veiable option for him, albeit not for you or me.

Cheers.

If you are accessing office systems, before you even consider a netbook you need to see if the screen size will allow you to access whatever it is you have to access. Most of them do not go past 600 for height (you can not for example install some HP printers on them unless you hook up an external monitor), so check to see if they would work with your system.

Not that you are looking at a $300 computer if they are willing to drop $2,000 for you.

Given those choices, I think the primary difference is the Lenovo does not have an optical drive on it, the toshiba does, and that the Lenovo has an 8 or 10 hour battery. Personally I would probably go with the Lenovo. It just feels more solid. Not sure if it's because it's a bit larger, or it's got more metal, but it just seems like it will hold up better.

My only gripe with a netbook: 1024x600. Ouch.

That being said, I love mine.

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What's wrong with your X60? Considering the popularity of netbooks today, which aren't that different in size and I'd guess somewhat slower based on benchmarks I have seen, I don't see anything wrong with keeping the X60 if it does the job. In fact, I am typing this on my own X60 (tablet, actually, but I rarely use it as such), and have little desire to spend money on a replacement right now. Why? Because I haven't learned to type faster or read faster in the last two or so years. And that's what I mostly do on this machine. I might replace my battery again in a few months, but everything else still meets my requirements.


Given those choices, I think the primary difference is the IBM does not have an optical drive on it, the toshiba does, and that the IBM has an 8 or 10 hour battery. Personally I would probably go with the IBM. It just feels more solid. Not sure if it's because it's a bit larger, or it's got more metal, but it just seems like it will hold up better.

Not to nitpick, but IBM doesn't make the Thinkpads anymore. Lenovo bought IBM's PC business in 2005.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thinkpad#Lenovo_purchase

I fixed it so as not to send others searching for references.

IBM is so much easier to type, I'll always think of the thinkpad as theirs.

If you're happy with the ThinkPad X series, I'd stay with them. Less of a learning curve on the new unit.

X200 works very nicely for me...

What do I want as its replacement?Why are you looking for a replacment?

It sounds like all the criteria for your new laptop are met by your existing one. (Other than the I must have the latest toy criterion. :))

And yes, sometimes it's a spend-their-money-or-lose-it-forever situation...

The x301 is out of your price range? It's out of my price range, and I really don't like the way Lenovo is pricing entry level $2,000+ machines with vista home basic and 1GB of memory. Stupid marketing. Memory is easy though.

How about this? http://tiny.cc/CUWU0 (don't believe the weight on that page. it's 2.9 pounds.)

-David

Thanks all. I'm looking for a replacement because after 3 years I've beaten this machine up pretty good. Pretty much full hard drive, of course I could swap in a larger drive but the machine itself isn't in the best physical shape. Battery dangles a bit, front right corner cracked, it's seen better days :o

They'll buy me whatever I tell them to buy me. I'm senior management. But I'm not just looking for the latest toy, I'm looking for a machine that will maximize my productivity given my usage patterns over the next 3 or so years before my machine becomes a hand-me-down [after being completely and THOROUGHLY wiped/shredded/etc :eek: ] elsewhere in the company.

Thanks all. I'm looking for a replacement because after 3 years I've beaten this machine up pretty good. Pretty much full hard drive, of course I could swap in a larger drive but the machine itself isn't in the best physical shape. Battery dangles a bit, front right corner cracked, it's seen better days :o

I am glad I am not the underling receiving that hand-me-down beauty :)

They'll buy me whatever I tell them to buy me. I'm senior management. But I'm not just looking for the latest toy, I'm looking for a machine that will maximize my productivity given my usage patterns over the next 3 or so years before my machine becomes a hand-me-down [after being completely and THOROUGHLY wiped/shredded/etc :eek: ] elsewhere in the company.

If you've been happy with the Thinkpad, I'd stick with that brand. I definitely like mine.

I fixed it so as not to send others searching for references.

IBM is so much easier to type, I'll always think of the thinkpad as theirs.

Well, yeah, and in your defense, my Lenovo Thinkpad, bought in 2007, still has the "IBM Thinkpad" logo on it. I think they dropped the IBM logo last year. It was part of the purchase agreement that they were allowed to use the IBM name for a certain period of time.

But I'm not just looking for the latest toy, I'm looking for a machine that will maximize my productivity given my usage patterns over the next 3 or so years before my machine becomes a hand-me-down [after being completely and THOROUGHLY wiped/shredded/etc :eek: ] elsewhere in the company.



That's pretty subjective because I have no idea what that means for you. :) That's all management-speak. hahaha.

If you like the x200, go for it. I would prefer the x301, but it's expensive. I also like the TT, which seems to be a full featured notebook that's almost netbook sized and is certainly netbook weight. The one I gave you the link to is around $1700, because it's a low-end TT model that's probably being discontinued as they refresh that line. As with the x301, the entry level seems to be around 2k for the TT. Compared to the x301, the x200 is fat and ugly. :) (not that there's anything wrong with being fat and ugly.) On the plus side, the x200 is a brand you like and in the price range you want.

Anyway, this is all subjective, so take it for what it's worth. My thoughts on this might be worth nothing to you. That's ok too.

-David

Battery dangles a bit, front right corner cracked, it's seen better days :o


Might I suggest a Panasonic Toughbook :D.

Thanks all. I'm looking for a replacement because after 3 years I've beaten this machine up pretty good. Pretty much full hard drive, of course I could swap in a larger drive but the machine itself isn't in the best physical shape. Battery dangles a bit, front right corner cracked, it's seen better days :o

They'll buy me whatever I tell them to buy me. I'm senior management. But I'm not just looking for the latest toy, I'm looking for a machine that will maximize my productivity given my usage patterns over the next 3 or so years before my machine becomes a hand-me-down [after being completely and THOROUGHLY wiped/shredded/etc :eek: ] elsewhere in the company.

Then a ThinkPad X200s with 4GB of RAM (3GB if there are no plans in 3 years to go to 64-bit Windows) and a 320GB HD, and a 9-cell battery, should serve you well. Probably $2K or so.

I have a ThinkPad T60 and I think it is well made. I dislike the one they gave me with a 15" non-widescreen display and this generation had no built-in memory card reader or Firewire. Of course, they add them for the next-gen T series. :(

I'm also in the throes of an agonizing decision on a new notebook. (Current one is a Fujitsu P7010D which is a great notebook but the CPU is old and simply surpassed by my resource demands). My main requirements are a good screen which is not too big, a good keyboard, good disk speed (7200rpm or SSD) and a great battery life.

I think I'm stuck between the Lenovo X200 and the Samsung X360. The X200 has all the features I need and I usually like IBM/Lenovo keyboards. But I saw some reviews complaining that the bezel is very large which makes the notebook footprint larger than needed and makes the notebook look not very sexy. It is available on ebay for around $1100 with a 7200rpm disk or $1400 with SSD.

The X360 is new, and Samsung is new to the notebook game. It is getting good reviews, and it looks like Samsung is trying to make a splash with this new model and offering a very good price... It is widely available on ebay for around $1200 with 128gb SSD. What makes me hesitate is that the screen is 13.3" and I'm worried it will be too large for me, and that Samsung is very new to making notebooks and there may be weaknesses in their design that are not apparent yet.

(I also looked seriously at the Vaio TT, TZ and Z series, but they appear to offer almost the exact same specs as both the above with a much higher cost. The only really feature I see in the Vaio which differentiates it from the ones above is the ability in the TZ to have both a SSD and a 7200rpm disk at the same time).

Any advice anybody can give to help me pull the trigger would be welcome...

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I've used an X200 for extended periods of time and I really enjoyed it, great portability but had that mix of speed and battery life that helped maintain high levels or productivity. I'd say go for that one.