ultra compact laptop

[shaveice]

i'm thinking of buying an ultra light laptop and saw one at costco this afternoon. i think it's this sony vaio:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...lance&n=541966

for the techies out there, any comments about the quality of the vaio line? suggestions for a better ultra compact?

thanks.

[Glen Miyashiro]

Re: ultra compact laptop

Dude, I think your link's broken.

Sony Vaios are very cool. I think they're better-designed than most notebooks. What's your your most important criterion -- light weight? power? style? versatility?

[pzarquon]

Re: ultra compact laptop

As I mentioned in an earlier laptop thread, I've owned several Vaios. I followed their ultraslim 505 line for three variations. I thought the build quality was great, although of course I've convinced myself the earlier ones were more solid than those that followed. (My first Vaio felt like it was made mostly of metal, my last one mostly of plastic.)

My reason for purchasing them, and I think the main reason for purchasing them, was indeed the form factor. Not the multimedia features, not the battery life (I always had to pay a pretty penny for a backup battery), just the size and weight. The width and length of a sheet of letter paper or smaller, the thickness of an older iPod, the heaviest one under three pounds.

When I was traveling a lot, I loved that it could slip into the magazine pocket on an airplane. Versus when I had to use an office-issued Dell which was gorgeous and huge, but couldn't open completely on an airline tray and required all kinds of struggling to pack away just to get up and stretch my legs.

Until Tablet PCs are more refined, an ultraslim/ultralight laptop is probably the best compromise between a desktop PC and a small PDA/smartphone. But make sure you're not going for the size because of the sex appeal, 'cause if your laptop really spends most of its day on a desk, you might as well get a more luxurious one, size- and power-wise.

[adrian]

Re: ultra compact laptop

I hope you have experience typing on a small keyboard, because those keys look tiny.

[shaveice]

Re: ultra compact laptop

Dude, I think your link's broken.

Sony Vaios are very cool. I think they're better-designed than most notebooks. What's your your most important criterion -- light weight? power? style? versatility?

. . . . . . .
that's strange. i just tested the link and it works. anyway, i'd say size/weight are the most important factors. in fact, i'd be very happy if someone suggested an alternative to a vaio only cuz i have the impression that sony products in general are pricey cuz of the name and they have so many proprietary things. in other words, if there's an ultracompact that looks ugly but performs well, i'll go for the ugly duckling vs paying for style/form.

also, this is a naive question but after reading the customer reviews on the amazon site, i'm confused cuz i get the impression that one needs a cingular account to access the web? i hope i'm misreading this. it should have a wireless card that can access any wireless network, right? if the answer is no, there's no way i'd buy a vaio.

btw, i thought this toshiba portege R200-S234 12.1" Notebook might be a contender:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...lance&n=172282

i know there are lots of products out there but i don't spend any time keeping up with what's reliable and what's not so i appreciate any suggestions you guys may have. thanks!

[Palolo Joe]

Re: ultra compact laptop

Have you considered a Mac? The 12" iBook is pretty compact...

[shaveice]

Re: ultra compact laptop

Have you considered a Mac? The 12" iBook is pretty compact...

. . . . . .

yup, i thought of that but i'm going to steer clear of macs just cuz all my software is pc stuff. and about macs being able to load pc and mac programs, i was given a brand spanking new mac (think it was a 17" screen) which just died when loading the various pc programs (someone else was loading the programs). this was just before a business trip so someone raced down to the mac store at ala moana and got a replacement mac but we didn't dare loading any pc programs on it cuz it was a risk we weren't willing to take. once we flew out of hawaii (next day), there would be no way to get tech support or a new mac if anything went wrong cuz we were going out of the civilized world! so i did everything using mac programs on the mac and it worked well but i'm a bit skeptical about using a mac with pc programs. as time goes on, i'm sure it'll be less and less of an issue. also, i recognize that it's just one experience but...

ps: i love macs and think they're cool but i don't have unlimited funds!

[i-hungry]

Re: ultra compact laptop

the vaio link works for me. but amazon doesn't sell it directly. its through one of their vendors. the lowest price $1582 is for a used one. new is $2474.

i was browsing through gizmodo today and they mentioned the gateway laptop, the e-100m sb. starting price is $1206. they did say the battery doesn't last that long though. but i'm not sure if its the extended battery.

i don't have personal experience with either item so i can't say much more than what i read.

[shaveice]

Re: ultra compact laptop

the vaio link works for me. but amazon doesn't sell it directly. its through one of their vendors. the lowest price $1582 is for a used one. new is $2474.

i was browsing through gizmodo today and they mentioned the gateway laptop, the e-100m sb. starting price is $1206. they did say the battery doesn't last that long though. but i'm not sure if its the extended battery.

i don't have personal experience with either item so i can't say much more than what i read.

. . . . . .
thanks for the tip; i'll check it out. you no work at you hungry by any chance, eh?!? (da loco moco is pretty good there!)

[pzarquon]

Re: ultra compact laptop

There's a relatively new Dell system that's essentially an ultralight and their answer to the slim Vaio series, the XPS M1210. It breaks the three-pound rule, but has decent specs, and starts at $1,300 (but you'll most definitely want to boost the base configuration). Just caught a video review of it on my TiVo.

[shaveice]

Re: ultra compact laptop

There's a relatively new Dell system that's essentially an ultralight and their answer to the slim Vaio series, the XPS M1210. It breaks the three-pound rule, but has decent specs, and starts at $1,300 (but you'll most definitely want to boost the base configuration). Just caught a video review of it on my TiVo.

. . . . . .
thanks for the tip; i'll look into it!

[i-hungry]

Re: ultra compact laptop

. . . . . .
you no work at you hungry by any chance, eh?!? !)

i wish....