Small, Portable, Lightweight Laptop (12")

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***See post 19***

At the moment I'm using a FS Amilo A1630 which was made in 2004 (if I recall correctly), so I think I need a bit of an upgrade.

I'm looking for a small, lightweight laptop, preferably with a screen either 12" or smaller.

Needs:
- Lightweight
- Small screen
- 2GB RAM

Wants:
- Slim and stylish
- 120GB or greater HDD capacity
- Something which can take a bit of abuse
- Good battery life

This will be used for normal "office" applications (work processing, email, internet browsing) and maybe a bit of image editing and other such things. It won't be used for gaming so having a decent graphics card isn't one of my priorities.

The XPS M1330 is quite an obvious, small laptop to suggest but I think I'd really rather have something a bit smaller, as the extra size and weight will make a fair bit of difference when I'm carrying it around.

I'm assuming whatever I'll get will have Vista pre-installed. I'll probably dual-boot with XP, though this probably won't have any impact on the laptop choice.

I really don't want to spend more than £800 on this. I am only a poor student, after all! Though ideally I'd like to keep it around the £400-500 figure.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

 

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One thing to bear in mind is that I can get 10% off any laptop bought at Tesco, meaning I could get that Acer for £360 which certainly seems like quite a good deal. However, the brand puts me off a bit, and I fear it's not going to be the best-built laptop in the world plus the processor isn't anything to write home about. Though there is a slightly better model for £500 (£450) which has a better processor and larger HDD, but it's still made by Acer!

Hmm, that HP Pavillion does look nice, but I don't think I'd ever use the touch screen or tablet functions so I feel I'd be paying a premium for features I don't need. Though I could get it for £630 at Tesco.

beermonster, I'll bear that in mind. It's just that the jump from 12" for 13", though small, still seems significant in the extra size and weight it brings with it. I will have a look though to see if a 13" laptop will suffice, as this will certainly open up a lot of doors.

How about this:

Advent 4401 (£450)
* 12" Screen
* Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T5550
* (1.83 GHz, 667 MHz FSB, 2 MB Cache)
* Genuine Windows Vista (R) Home Premium
* 2 GB Memory
* 160 GB Hard Drive

Also, how does the brand (Advent) compare to Acer?

Thank you very much for your help so far everyone.

 

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Thank you for bringing that to my attention to that, MTA99. I've never really considered getting a Thinkpad. I'd jump on that deal like a cat but the specs don't seem all that great and it isn't widescreen (thus the resolution isn't exactly what I was looking for, but still OK I guess). I'll still have a think about it though.

Mmm, Plexman, that Sammy could be exactly what I'm looking for. I'll have to have a look around to see what sort of price I can get it for. More importantly, though, I need to try and find a highstreet store that stocks it so I can have a play around.

If necessary, I could wait a few months before I make this purchase; I don't know if this changes anything or whether there are some new laptops on the horizon that would be appropriate, anybody know there's anything due to be released soon?

Good luck with your search, too, Hxc

Oh and cheers, sr4470, I'll probably stay away from Acer then.

 

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I still haven't made a decision yet and I'd really like to get a new laptop soon as I start university on the 22nd. Right now, here are the 2 main ones I'm considering:

Titan Mobile - 12.1" WXGA Laptop - £753.09

- CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 2.40GHz
- Memory: 4GB
- O/S: Vista Home Premium 64-Bit
- HDD: WD Scorpio 320GB 7200RPM
- Graphics: Intel GMA X4500 HD
- Screen: 12.1" WXGA LCD Widescreen (1280x800)
- Bluetooth: Bluetooth 2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate
- Ethernet LAN: 10/100/1000
- Sound Controller: High Definition Audio
- Speakers: Stereo
- Expansion: 54mm ExpressCard Slot
- Card Reader: SD Card, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro & MultiMedia Card
- Camera: 2.0 Megapixel
- Security: Kensington Lock Slot
- Connections: 3x USB 2.0, 1x VGA 1x RJ-11, 1x RJ-45, 1x Microphone & 1x Speakers/Headphones
- Battery: 4-Cell Lithium-Ion
- Dimensions: 299.0mm x 219mm x 35.7mm
- Warranty: 2 Year

Samsung Q210 - £649.98

- CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 2.26GHz 3MB Cache (1066MHz FSB)
- Memory: 3GB DDR2 RAM
- O/S: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
- HDD: 320GB 5400RPM
- Graphics: Nvidia GeForce 9200M GS 256MB
- Screen: 12.1" WXGA SuperBright LCD Widescreen (1280x800)
- Bluetooth: Bluetooth 2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate
- Optical Drive: DVD Super Multi Dual Layer Drive
- Wireless LAN: 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g & 802.11n
- Ethernet LAN: 10/100/1000
- Sound Controller: High Definition Audio
- Speakers: Stereo
- Expansion: 34mm ExpressCard Slot
- Card Reader: SD Card & MultiMedia Card
- Camera: 1.3 Megapixel
- Security: Kensington Lock Slot
- Connections: 3x USB 2.0, 1x HDMI, 1x VGA, 1x RJ-11, 1x RJ-45, 1x Microphone & 1x Speakers/Headphones
- Weight: 1.95kg
- Battery: 6-Cell Lithium-Ion
- Dimensions: 304mm x 226mm x 36.7mm
- Warranty: 1 Year

I'd like to get the Titan but I'm unsure how long the battery will last, how much it weighs and what the build quality will be like. I also don't know what the Samsung's build quality will be like, does anyone have any input here?

One more thing, how do the screens and graphics cards compare on these 2 models, and are there any other laptops I should be considering?

Cheers.

 

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To be honest I wouldn't touch either of those with a barge pole, particularly for an ultraportable I'd only go for the big corporate manufacturers. Out of the two the samsung is the one I'd choose if I had to but it's stupidly heavy, the Dell 1330 you mentioned at the start is lighter and probably better...

Hmm, it's interesting you say that. Why exactly, do you think the quality of the Samsung and OcUK models won't be up to scratch?

I'd like to get the Dell--for one due to its customisability--but I'd really rather get one with a 12" screen I think. Plus it's only 150g lighter than the Samsung with a 4 cell battery, so I imagine would be pretty similar in weight with a 6 cell. The Samsung isn't that heavy, is it?