Travel Laptops
 

Hey all.
I lug around this 15 inch widescreen laptop now and it kills me. The weight and also it doesn't fit anywhere.
I'm in the market for a 12inch. Mainly on the plane i watch a dvd or two and do some work. mainly for international flights and US east-west flights.

does anyone have suggestions?
i've been debating between
dell 700m vs dell x1 vs ibm x41/40

those seem to be the choices most people look at.
i can never find battery info about dvd watching only like web browsing and word documentation because i guess they aren't really meant for watching movie

wanted to hear your opinions

I was in the same boat as you, with a big laptop killing my back, until I bought MiniMe, aka an HP pavilion dv1000. It's a great travel computer: light, small, sleek, great screen, wifi, even has a little remote control (stores in the PCMCIA slot when not in use) for use with DVDs and CDs. And two headphone jacks, so you can watch a movie on DVD together with a travelling companion if you like.

I also like the 6-in-1 card readers on the HP pavilions, which are handy for copying photos from a digital camera card, or using an SD card to move files between the laptop and my PDA.

I bought my dv1000 for about $1100 about six months ago; I saw an ad on TV the other day for them for about $895.

Dell does a great job on their website now of giving you comparative weights on laptops so it is easy to find lighter ones, I however was not willing to downgrade for weight - loved my Dell. I also worried that going with a lighter machine might also mean one that easier to damage when transporting. I instead bought a great swissgear bag wtih wheels, it is very easy to navigate with and very flexible with a bunch of pouches and a SUPER inner bag for those few times I do want to carry my laptop (for example if I gate check the bigger outer bag I just take the little bag on the plane with me, it holds all my stuff). I say solve shoulder strain by stopping carrying instead of being forced to a machine you might not be happy with.

You might want to consider the Fujitsu LifeBook S6000 or S2000 notebook. Very lightweight.

X40 user here. Been with me on three RTWs in the past year and wouldn't trade it for the world. No CD/DVD drive, of course, but when docked at home it has one. Never once needed a CD/DVD on the road (even with older laptops that had the drives). Make sure you get at least 512MB of RAM.

Deleted as I just found out they don't make it anymore.

I agree with the DV1000 advice, it is an excellent choice as it will let you watch DVD's without turning the machine on, or having to boot. I get at well over 2 full length movies out of mine :)

i've been using a 2.2 lb vaio for 3 years and still love it for traveling and meetings. never looked back. it is the size of a piece of paper, only thicker. i have 2 batteries. rip dvd's that i record and buy onto hard disk which obviously makes battery last a lot longer. add boosteroo with tiny external non-amp speakers for use in hotels.

I agree with Scott, I love this HP. It works like a charm.
I took Scotts advice and am verry happy ^

Dell had a recent promo ($750 off a 700m), so I helped configure laptops for my sis-in-law and my niece (who's going off to college). They haven't gotten them yet, but their shared config had XP Pro, the 8cell battery, 60GB HD and CD/DVD burner. The BTO 700ms just shipped, but it'll take 3-5 days to deliver. I didn't add extra RAM (base RAM is 256MB) for them, as that's cheaper elsewhere than to get it from Dell.

I have a friend who recently bought a Toughbook, but dropped it and the top loading CD tray lid broke off and messed up the laser eye. He's bummed.

Interestingly, the price for their Dells was roughly equivalent to my 12" PB 1.5GHz G4, bought through the EDU discount. But my PB was BTO with 100GB HD, builtin BT and a slot loading CD/DVD burner. It shipped for free via FEDEX next day and arrived from my office in New Orleans all the way from China! Amazing! (why is it taking Dell so long to ship??)

All things being equal, I'd get a Dell if I were buying a Windoze laptop. Maybe the Vaio, second.

Before you jump, figure out what percentage of the weight you are carrying around is your laptop. For me, my computer bag weighs 20+ lbs. A reduction of 1 lb by selecting a smaller laptop is a weight reduction, just not a really noticeable one. I stayed with the IBM T series (instead of the X) for that reason.

I carry at Stinkypad ;) T41 with extended battery ... its bit heavy, but can most of my work done on plane

Its a really soild laptop

I've got the IBM T41 with the extended battery too. A nice thing about them -- you can also put another battery in the ultra bay in place of the CD for an even longer flight...

Instead of changing your laptop, you might consider changing what you carry it in. I go all over the world with a "desktop replacement" laptop with a 17" screen, plus all the usual other stuff and lots of etcetera depending on where I am and what I'll be doing. I have no problems with this load because I put it in a serious backpack with a waist belt and a sternum strap (the same one I use for long day hikes). If I had a typical "book bag," let alone something with a single shoulder strap or just handles, I'd feel differently about adding a 6+ pound computer to the mix.

(Of course, the places you go have to be backpack-friendly. It wouldn't fit into every business environment. And you have to be personally OK with the approach.)

Forget the backpack. Better yet, get a computer bag on wheels. I used to carry a shoulder computer bag, then a backpack-and got tired of lugging stuff on my shoulders. My bags kept getting stuffed with more and more stuff-to the point where it wasn't feasible to carry it around.

My wheeled computer bag can hold more stuff (currently weighs around 42lbs) and I can get around the airport faster, and look more professional when I arrive at an appointment than with a backpack. My laptop is in a separate, neoprene case in my bag-so when I just want to travel light, I can.