I'm looking into getting a smaller netbook or something to take to campus that will last me for a few years. I want it to be as small as possible (partly because my daily driver/ride to campus is a motorcycle) before I start sacrificing power and advanced function; still want to be able to use it for some higher-power media applications at home if possible (or as much can be expected from a laptop).

I've been looking at Lenovo specifically, I don't want some cheap "student-oriented media machine with kazaa v9 and volume controls right on the keyboard!!1"

Looking for a lean, mean adult machine. Doesn't have to be Lenovo if there are other reputable machines out there for less than $1k (my hard max budget, would prefer to spend less). Any specific model recommendations from that brand or others? I've been out of the laptop game for a while and really don't know what to expect from them now.

Thanks in advance--

7/30/2010 12:45:39 PM

wow, just saw the netbook thread. In my defense, the last post was over 4 hours ago and I assume laptop technology has changed significantly.

7/30/2010 12:46:44 PM

other thread, but you do not want a lenovo.


trust.

7/30/2010 12:51:09 PM

why? i've heard lots of good things from people whose opinions I'd prefer to continue having faith in

7/30/2010 12:52:11 PM

as long as its a thinkpad

7/30/2010 12:54:42 PM

I would suggest a Lenovo X-series tablet. Small, lightweight, powerful, and I personally loved the ability to take notes on the screen in class or use it like a standard laptop at home/work via the swivel-screen tablet functionality. But I don't think you're going to get one new for less than $1K.

Nothing but good experiences with Thinkpads here, though to be fair I haven't dealt with them at all in the past year.

7/30/2010 1:06:51 PM

I thought about those, but I'm not enamored enough with the touch-screen advent to spend that kind of money on one...just need something to take to school and do some work on here and there

7/30/2010 1:40:19 PM

http://www.thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=599500&page=2

7/30/2010 1:44:17 PM

pick up an SU- or i3-series off craigslist

7/30/2010 1:50:15 PM

Do you know anyone who works at IBM or Lenovo? The employee discounts are pretty good.

7/30/2010 2:54:46 PM

yeah that was one reason i was thinking lenovo first

7/30/2010 4:12:59 PM

Maybe it's just me and every other IT person I've ever met, but Lenovos have a failure rate that's like whoa.

7/30/2010 5:26:02 PM

^Seriously, I have no idea why they're so hyped at NCSU...

Oh wait it's because we carry them.

7/30/2010 5:34:26 PM

I was under the impression that the Thinkpads were good, but the Ideapads are trash.

7/30/2010 5:47:56 PM

Haven't worked with enough ideapads.

7/30/2010 7:52:19 PM

I had quite a bit of experience with the Thinkpad line up until last year, and the failure rate was quite low in my experience.

I wouldn't touch an Ideapad with a 10 foot pole though.

7/30/2010 9:57:44 PM

You want a Thinkpad not really an Ideapad. I cannot stress this difference enough.

I've used... geez... 10 models of Lenovo? They're all pretty sweet. My only complaint was with the new Thinkpads with the colored tops use the AMD/ATI processors - they run hotter and eat battery. Other than that I've loved the T, R, X and W series.

T/R = Everyday computing
W = Workstation/Workhorse (with appropriate price tag)
X = Thin and lite (think 13+ hours on a battery)

We got a pink Ideapad S-10 for my best friends mom - it's a solid machine, but it's no Asus eee. Asus makes netbook tanks - full of plastic to keep them light, but they run for freaking EVER on a charge.

If it was me I'd look at 3 items: Asus netbook with super long battery (around $400), Asus wish ION/ION2 ($500ish), and a Thinkpad X series. I'm looking for a used one for one simple reason: taking notes on that bad boy. Something like OneNote can take your chickenscratch and make it well organized, color coded, and easily accessible. Back it up to google docs or a NAS in the basement and your stuff is with you everywhere.

7/30/2010 10:39:09 PM

I use a lenovo S10 netbook.

I do quite a bit of programming on it. I bought it for 150 bucks from the ibm employee site. I have an 80gb hard drive with 2gb of ram. I bought an extra ac adapter, and battery off ebay. I hook it to a monitor when I need to and have a wireless keyboard and mouse.

I've used it for over a year now.

if I could change anything, I would go with the slightly larger one for 400-500 with the ion, so i could play 1080p movies...but that wasn't out when I got this.

7/31/2010 3:50:59 AM

get a tablet, onenote is damn awesome for taking notes and keeping organized as a student

7/31/2010 7:48:47 AM

i have a 2.5 year old asus that has yet to freeze or blue screen, best laptop ive ever owned

7/31/2010 4:46:42 PM

I have a < 1 year old ASUS that we're having to send in for the second time for warranty service...not because it's failed twice, but because despite my very clear instructions/description when talking to tech support, they replaced the wrong part.

I don't think I'll be buying another one. But maybe mine was just a lemon.

[Edited on July 31, 2010 at 10:24 PM. Reason : d]

7/31/2010 10:24:08 PM

even if you get a lemon you get a free 2 year warranty. i had some piece of the case fall apart and they said i'd have to send it in and i was like "look i know what im doing can you just send me the part" and they fedexed it the next day

7/31/2010 11:29:53 PM

Thank you for the input everyone...after comparing a lot of Lenovo, Asus, Toshiba, and various other models I think I'm about to pull the trigger on a Asus Eee 1005PE

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to tell me what I could get for around the same price that is better! I can get it for $369.99 (exactly--free shipping and tax-free this weekend) on amazon

[Edited on August 7, 2010 at 1:56 PM. Reason : asfd]

8/7/2010 1:55:43 PM

but you know, i'm starting to think that i want a little more functionality than a netbook. my main concern is that i want something smaller and easily portable (my current laptop is a freaking monster) to tote to and around campus every day, as well as not overly expensive. I've changed my budget to about 500. I've been out of the laptop loop for so long I really have no idea what's out there


How about the Toshiba Satellite T215D-S1150? Seems to be a good balance of price, power, and size...any advice?

[Edited on August 7, 2010 at 2:29 PM. Reason : toshiba]

8/7/2010 2:02:37 PM

Also looking at refurbished Asus U50F Intel Core i3 notebook for $500


nah think I'm going with that toshiba!

[Edited on August 7, 2010 at 3:19 PM. Reason : sadf]

8/7/2010 3:09:23 PM

Trigger pulled. got http://laptops.toshiba.com/laptops/satellite/T210/T215D-S1150 for 479.99 exactly (no tax or shipping) from amazon. I'll let you know how it goes in a couple days

8/7/2010 3:26:09 PM

posting from my new toshiba...sweet little machine this is

8/10/2010 8:20:46 PM

8/10/2010 8:28:36 PM