Need help in finding good portable laptop for college. Confused about many options.

[jitha]

Hi All,

I am new here and in desperate need of a laptop. I am masters student and I need a good portable laptop for college. I dont want a 15" laptop as it will not be portable. My main concerns are

1. It should be portable (weight less than or equal to 4lbs)
2. Strong build as I am sure it will gets its share of abuse from me..
3. It should look good and screen quality should be 1600x900 or higher.
4. I dont play games. So no graphics card needed.

As I am using my laptop for the past 3 1/2 years I havent been keeping up with all the brands and their quality. So I need your help.

I have these in my mind now.

1. Lenovo Ideapad U410
2. Lenovo Thinkpad T430/X230
3. Toshiba R835/P88
4. ASUS U46E or Zenbook



What is your budget?
$1100

What country will you be buying this in?
USA

What size notebook do you prefer?
Thin and Light (13 - 14-inch screen)

What brands do you like or dislike?
Dislike: Acer, HP, Dell

Would you consider a refurbished laptop?
No

What are the primary tasks you need this notebook for?
Web Surfing, Office and Productivity Software, Listening to Music, Computer Programming, Video Chat and Conference, Movie Streaming and Viewing, Casual Gaming

Where will you be using this laptop?
Will be used different places

How many hours of battery life do you need?
5-6

Will you be buying online or in store?
online

Which OS do you prefer?
Windows 7

List the screen resolutions that interest you:
Standard Resolution (1366 x 768)
High Resolution (1600 x 900)
Max Resolution (1920 x 1080)

Do you prefer a glossy or matte screen?
Glossy or Matte is fine

Is the laptops design important to you?
Yes

Approximately what date will you be buying this laptop?
Around 08/31/2012

How long do you want this laptop to last?
3-4 years

How much storage capacity do you need?
500 GB

Are you interested in SSD for storage?
Maybe

Do you want a built-in optical drive, what type?
DVD Burner

[jitha]

bump......

[booboo12]

The ThinkPad T430 would be my choice, it's a business laptop so it has features that surprisingly come in handy for college:

*matte display for glare free viewing in varied light (relevant ex: outdoor lectures on sunny days, fluroscent lights when inside)

*great battery life especially with optional batteries

*solid build quality: It'll likely last you through all 4+ years with reasonable care. I know many manage to bring consumer notebooks but to me those feel a bit "cheap" and insubstantial...not something I'd feel comfortable shoving in a backpack with books.

I'm still using a Latitude I bought in 07 for freshman year and it's still going strong so yeah...i'm quite the fan of business machines.

[jitha]

Thanks for the reply booboo12. In thinkpads what would you recommend? I am confused about X230/T430/T430s.

[Pseudorandom]

I recommend the T430s. Regular T430 won't meet your weight requirements, and the X230 has a low resolution screen and no optical drive.

[jitha]

Thanks Pseudorandom. I am worried about the T430s battery though. Can you suggest any other laptop which satisfies the above requirements?

[ralchevd]

I agree with booboo, these days ThinkPad are really good for any work. If I was not a Mac user, I would choose the ThinkPad or Vaio series. Good luck!

[jitha]

Choosing among the Thinkpads is what I am confused about. I will carry my laptop everywhere in college and I can carry a Macbook pro 13 inch easily. So I am looking for a thinkpad which has almost the same or slightly higher weight than a macbook pro 13 inch. I am very much inclined towards T430 but the only thing that bothers me is weight. T430s has somewhat not so good battery, and X230 has low resolution screen though it comes with IPS. Arrgh....I am so confused...

[jitha]

bump...can some one please shed some light on toshiba? How does it compare with rest. I read the reviews of R835-P88 in various websites. They are ok, but I need some input from ppl from here..I need to buy a laptop within next week. So please help.

[mutantblack]

May I suggest Sony Vaio S13 as one of the option? It has everything you need plus if you add battery sheet, even though the weight will be a bit over 4lbs, you can be without charger whole day.


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