Need a new laptop.. any opinions welcome...

[Crue4]

Just want a nice travel laptop... internet, email, word, excel, pictures of the kids to/from camera... I don't game or download movies... do use itunes occasionally... just the basic stuff..

Questions: (looking to keep it somewhere b/n $500-750ish...)

Will I notice the difference between a Intel I3 or I5? If so is the difference in price worth the upgrade for what I use it for? and help me with the different specs of the I3 and I5... for instance I5 450 or I5 480 (don't know what all that means or if there is much of a difference.) Any to avoid?

I have been leaning toward Asus as first choice with Toshiba next? Am I off base or are all the brands basically the same at my price point (Asus, Sony, Lenovo, Toshiba, Samsung, etc)

Any features I need that are worth the premium vs any that my "uses" will not utilize therefore the premium price addition is not worth it..

Thought about apple but company is going to Ipad2 for work, so I will get that free.. so want to stick with PC for this.. also don't want a tablet...

Any/all opinions and advice welcome..

[FlyPenFly]

Just get the lightest Thinkpad in your price range, done.

[toxicavenger]

If I were to buy a travel laptop it would have to be smaller than 15 inches, good battery life, HDMI port and enough USB ports. You definitely don't need a big hard drive. Also when you buy a laptop make sure it is from someone with no issues on returning it if there is a problem. Newegg and tigerdirect fits this profile for me.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834115977

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834157405

[toxicavenger]

one other thing is some of the laptops that are really light or have great battery life have really slow processors. which can be a issue if you do any multi-tasking at all.

[zepp21]

Spend the extra and go with a Macbook.

[ikkoku]

MBA - high end
x series (I have an i5 X201) - slightly over budget
netbook - most economical

[fastward]

I know you said that you weren't looking into a tablet, but you can pick up a 64gb iPad for around $500. The battery life is better than most laptops. You could also pick up a bluetooth keyboard and Microsoft Office and be under budget.
I still think that an iPad is easier to use than a netbook.

[SCM64]

I've always been a Dell guy for home stuff, and been quite pleased.

For what you want to do, based on your list above, have you considered an iPad? If you are just consuming info and not creating much, IMHO it's just a no brainer. And there are several apps that let you read/view PDF, Word, Excel, etc. Docs. If you need to Create spreadsheets, that's a bit clunky compared to a laptop/PC, but for most anything else, the iPad is just great. Awesome battery life and ultra portable.

[dshap]

iPad + bluetooth keyboard is a great combo.

[hazmatman]

Buy the alien technology!

Apple MacBook Pro or the iPad.

Got the MacBook Pro for the little woman, we both love it. I also have three Dell workstations and a Dell laptop...but they all have the same weakness...they all run some version of Winblows.

[ezcheese]

Buy the alien technology!

Apple MacBook Pro or the iPad.

Got the MacBook Pro for the little woman, we both love it. I also have three Dell workstations and a Dell laptop...but they all have the same weakness...they all run some version of Winblows.

Pretty much sums up my feelings on the subject! windows

[R@cerx]

Just get the lightest Thinkpad in your price range, done.

Yep.

apple

[Isthmus]

Buy the alien technology!

Apple MacBook Pro or the iPad.

Got the MacBook Pro for the little woman, we both love it. I also have three Dell workstations and a Dell laptop...but they all have the same weakness...they all run some version of Winblows.

A problem easily resolved by replacing Windows with Linux.

[ezcheese]

Linux FTW.

Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk

[giosdad]

I know you said that you weren't looking into a tablet, but you can pick up a 64gb iPad for around $500. The battery life is better than most laptops. You could also pick up a bluetooth keyboard and Microsoft Office and be under budget.
I still think that an iPad is easier to use than a netbook.

Sorry to thread jack but it could also help the OP. Tell me more about Microsoft office for the iPad. Cost? Reviews? Do you have it?

Thanks

[sharkfin]

Buy the alien technology!

Apple MacBook Pro or the iPad.

Got the MacBook Pro for the little woman, we both love it. I also have three Dell workstations and a Dell laptop...but they all have the same weakness...they all run some version of Winblows.

A problem easily resolved by replacing Windows with Linux.

+1

a Mac is always nice if you got the budget.
the macbook Air, so sweet, slick, & sexy.

[Isthmus]

I know you said that you weren't looking into a tablet, but you can pick up a 64gb iPad for around $500. The battery life is better than most laptops. You could also pick up a bluetooth keyboard and Microsoft Office and be under budget.
I still think that an iPad is easier to use than a netbook.

Sorry to thread jack but it could also help the OP. Tell me more about Microsoft office for the iPad. Cost? Reviews? Do you have it?

Thanks

I wasn't aware such a thing existed. I thought the only MS office that worked on the Ipad was the Office cloud service, which is a lot like google docs (and which you access from safari. As for native Ipad apps, I've heard of quickOffice and documents to go, both of which are supposed to be decent but not at the level of MS.

On the Plus side, if you get a netbook pushing linux, you can just load libre office and save your $200.

[fastward]

I know you said that you weren't looking into a tablet, but you can pick up a 64gb iPad for around $500. The battery life is better than most laptops. You could also pick up a bluetooth keyboard and Microsoft Office and be under budget.
I still think that an iPad is easier to use than a netbook.

Sorry to thread jack but it could also help the OP. Tell me more about Microsoft office for the iPad. Cost? Reviews? Do you have it?

Thanks

I'm not sure if there is Microsoft Office software for the iPad. At least there wasn't any last year. I have Numbers and Pages, the Apple version of Word and Excel.
Word and Excel are more user friendly, but Numbers and Pages can do the job just as well.
Both have the option to save the files as Word and Excel, so you won't be limited if you create or edit any documents on the iPad.
Both apps cost $9.99 and IMO are totally worth it.

[giosdad]

I know you said that you weren't looking into a tablet, but you can pick up a 64gb iPad for around $500. The battery life is better than most laptops. You could also pick up a bluetooth keyboard and Microsoft Office and be under budget.
I still think that an iPad is easier to use than a netbook.

Sorry to thread jack but it could also help the OP. Tell me more about Microsoft office for the iPad. Cost? Reviews? Do you have it?

Thanks

I'm not sure if there is Microsoft Office software for the iPad. At least there wasn't any last year. I have Numbers and Pages, the Apple version of Word and Excel.
Word and Excel are more user friendly, but Numbers and Pages can do the job just as well.
Both have the option to save the files as Word and Excel, so you won't be limited if you create or edit any documents on the iPad.
Both apps cost $9.99 and IMO are totally worth it.

Thanks Ed. Good info.

I found this office app review today that might be helpful.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-gadget ... he-go/4819