Yet another "which laptop?" thread . . .
 

I've read the other threads, but I'm looking for something pretty specific.

Right now I have a Sony V505ax -- this is a small, light notebook with a 10" screen. For me, it's the perfect travel computer, but also powerful enough to be a desktop replacement, particularly when used in conjunction with its full docking station. However, after 4 years, it's starting to fail, as well as physically fall apart, and I need to replace it with something similar.

I need:

1. Small form factor -- 12" max, 10" preferred, 4 x 3 preferred, will go with wide screen if absolutely necessary. MUST be lightweight (under 4 lbs). MUST be small, with a small power brick.
2. CD burner (DVD burner would be nice)
3. At least 1.6 GHz CPU -- the 1.0 GHz machines are too slow for what I do.
4. 80 gig HD -- speed doesn't matter.
5. 512 meg of RAM, 1 gig is better.
6. Full docking station available, i.e. drop the laptop in and use it with accessory monitor, keyboard, mouse, USB peripherals, printers, etc. -- port replicator is no good, as I need a separate monitor.
7. Reasonably rugged -- I'm rough on the machine but, then again, the Vaio wasn't the toughest one around and did fine for me.
8. Under (preferrably well under) $2,000.
9. Extended batteries are nice.

I really can't seem to find anything that fits these criteria.

c'mon..another one of these???? :o

http://www.powernotebooks.com/category.php?catId=53

Interesting company -- never heard of them before. Unfortunately, none of their 12-13" mahines have a docking station, and a port replicator with limited VGA capabilities won't do it for me. And, frankly, I'm uncomfortable about their, "We live to serve him" logo that appears on every webpage -- companies that feel it necessary to make their religious orientation clear make me nervous.

Have you looked at the Sony TX series?

What is your experience with Sony Service?

My Vaio was in 3 times over 3 years. I bought it at Best Buy, and found out quickly, after my first attempt to get it fixed, that I was better off bringing it in to Best Buy. When I called Sony to find an authorized repair outlet, they refused to give me the information for a warranty repair unless I first gave them my home phone number (this was an outsourced Indian call center -- big surprise). I refused, and they refused to honor the warranty. I gave them 415 555-1212 as my home number and, to my amusement, they had someone else associated with that phone number (apparently, I'm not the only one to refuse to give personal information out to get a warranty honored). I told them they were mistaken, and they "corrected" the listing for that number. They then gave me an address in San Francisco, I brought the computer there, left it for 3 weeks, and picked it up only to find it hadn't been fixed because the repair place was "delisted" or some such. I brought it to Best Buy, they sent it in for me, and it was repaired within 6 weeks.

The Sony TX series machines are all well over $2000 (the least expensive is $2,200) and the bottom line one have only 1.2 GHz processors.

Honestly I never paid much attention to the slogan. They are very highly rated at a rating website I trust ( www.resellerratings.com ) where they actually make you prove you made a purchase before you can rate.

Try this one: www.discountlaptops.com they are rated slightly less than Powernotebooks [9.97 (274 ratings) vs 9.99 (1109 ratings)] but I dont think they have any religious slogans. Both have mostly positive comments left behind.

You can call powernotebooks and talk about what you are looking for in a docking station. They will be very helpful and it WONT be a call center overseas. Its probably the same at discountlaptops although I have no personal experience with them.

Good Luck!

Worth noting as a point of reference Dell is rated at 4.36 (1187 ratings) with lots of negative comments left behind.