A lightweight workhorse.

So after trolling for about a month in this section of the forum,I sincerely need your help to buy a light weight but sufficiently powerful windows laptop(I have a Dell latitude from office,but it is pretty heavy.So my very good employer has given me a budget of 65-70k for a windows machine)
Requirements not in order of priority
1.Screen size-Anything between 11-13 inch

2.weight-Maximum 2kg(this is important)

3.Battery life-at least 6 hours

4.RAM-4GB will suffice for now

5.Procy-I am not sure,usage will be limited to some(actually a lot of)medical statistics related software(they are lightweight,even my c2d mac can handle them),loads of MS office(mostly power point),browsing,hd movies and music.

6.Graphics-Intel HD will be more than enough.

7.Screen-will prefer matte screen(the only thing I hate in the MBP is the gloss)

Now the most important point-This machine has to be reliable and really well buit,I will be travelling a lot in the interior villages of North Eastern states,so no question of service centres.

So what are the options guys?

Try the vaio S series
Though i am not 100% sure if it has a matte screen

Check Lenovo Thinkpad X1

X1 has pathetic battery life and the screen is glossy
I doubt the built quality of vaios.Anyone here using X220?

Try Dell Vostro V130
It's build quality is good also has matte screen
but it's battery is pathetic(3hrs)

also see Lenovo - Laptops - IdeaPad - U Series - U260

V130 is outdated,replaced by V131.

Wait two weeks for Sony Vaio SB38GG. Win 7 Professional SP1
13.3 inch MATTE display
i7 2640M
4GB RAM
750GB HDD
AMD 6470M/Intel HD
Backlit keyboard
1.72 kg
6 hours battery life with standard battery, 12 hours with the sheet battery

OR if you are interested in extending your budget to close to 1 lac then you can get the ultimate mobile PC - Vaio Z
Z226
13.1 inch 1600x900 Vaio Display Premium (Better screen than 95% of laptops in the market and better than ANY MBP)
4GB RAM
256GB SSD
Intel Hd Graphics
1.1kg
Battery life 6.5 hrs standard batter; 13 hours with sheet battery
Win 7 Professional SP1

Dude,I have used vio Z for a very brief period,it is definitely good,but waaay too overpriced and overhyped.The built quality is nothing compared to a thinkpad x220 and definitely do not need that much of ssd storage,60_80GB will be enough.
Do not really mind spending around 1000k(only 25_30k from my pocket),but the Vaio Z does not deserve such a price tag.
Can not find x220 at any Indian online store,do not have time to import from US.
How is the Toshiba R700?

Check here
Buy Thinkpad X220 Laptop Lenovo I7-2620m 2.7ghz 12. | Lowest prices on Computers & Peripherals at Rediff Shopping.

Dude cart2india takes more than 2 weeks to deliver.SnS is far better but it will take 10 days and I have only 6-7 days before I go for another tour.
Thanks anyways.

You have mentioned in ur requirement that u want a laptop running windows,may I ask is there any particular reason behind that coz I personally suggest that if a person is not having any budget problem then one must go for Macbook pro or macbook air as u get good battery back up and a light weight lappy with a great hardware.

I already have a Macbook Pro.The company will provide windows laptop only as there are some software issues as well.

red dragon said:
V130 is outdated,replaced by V131.

So why don't you buy v131. It has decent battery and a matte screen and since it's a Vostro i think build quality will be good.

I am searching for some good reviews.

Sony Vaio S series is the best bet for around 60k.

At least that is what I concluded after a month of research.

Any S series model with on board gfx only?Do not need discrete gfx.

^Then don't turn it on. S series models come with discrete graphics. But they also have a button for speed/stamina mode. One of them always keeps the laptop on onboard Intel HD3000. In case you need the graphics, you can use it.

In case you don't want discrete graphics at all, you can consider Toshiba R805. Not sure about its availability in India, but in the US it costs around $750-800.

Asus U36JC is another option but then again I don't know about local availability.

You mean physical button?
Any X220 vs. Vaio S thread?

^Yeah physical button.

Sony VAIO SB Series review -- Engadget

Scroll down and there is a small compare chart. X220 has much better battery life, but AFAIK it has a slightly smaller screen (12.5"). You can get it with IPS display too, but I am not sure if that option is available in India.

Lenovo ThinkPad X220 review -- Engadget

X220 is probably your best bet, but it is pretty expensive. Vaio S falls within what your employer is giving you. You can buy the optional sheet battery too, which makes the laptop weigh 2.2 kg (1.7kg laptop + 500g battery). But it increases battery life dramatically.

Thanks a lot Krow,really appreciate it.

Let us know what you finally zero in on.

Sure,probably X220 from a TE member.

C

Is there any 14 inch laptop having weight less than 2Kg.?/

^Not that I know of. But if you can do with 13.3 inches, there are lots of options.

^
Well there is a 15 incher below 2Kg. Sony Vaio SE.

15.5 inch Full HD

1.98kg

C

^^ thanks.. is it available in India..problem with 13.3 inchers is u can't work for long hrs on them or atleast me.

^
Yes
SE17
i7 2640M CPU
640GB HDD
15.5 inch 1920x1080 Full HD IPS Screen
AMD 6630M 1 GB with Dynamic Graphics switching
1.98kg
MRP 79990.

VPCSE17GG : S Series : VAIO™ Laptop & Computer : Sony India

C

any one know abt U400. is this available in India

Eventually bought another Mac(the 11 inch Air,4GB,128GB ssd one)
Installed windows7 in bc,and boy!this thing flies even on windows and it is light indeed!!
Should have bought the X220,but as usual heart won over head!!

Congos MacBoy

Thanks! but I am ashamed of myself.

why so?

Now I have 3 Macs in the house!Could have saved a lot of money!!

Actually, i guess the saved money would sum up more than 50k

Niceeeeeeeee!!!!

Congrats

randomuser111 said:
^
Well there is a 15 incher below 2Kg. Sony Vaio SE.

15.5 inch Full HD

1.98kg

That seems really good. But I found the Macbook Pro to be too heavy (2.04kg). Ideally I would prefer something around 1.7kg. Those 300 grams between the Vaio S and SE are the heaviest 300 grams I have lifted.

I mean they make a huge difference in terms of load on back, according to my experience (may differ from person to person).

red dragon said:
Eventually bought another Mac(the 11 inch Air,4GB,128GB ssd one)
Installed windows7 in bc,and boy!this thing flies even on windows and it is light indeed!!
Should have bought the X220,but as usual heart won over head!!

Sorry I missed this thread earlier somehow. Congrats! The Air is fantastic really. I so wanted it, but I couldn't justify spending so much for what is essentially a netbook. Anyway congratulations again.

How is its trackpad on Lion?

Thank you sir!
Trackpad is ok.It is a good machine,would have been great if the battery was little better.
I have not used it much,my wife loves it very much and I rarely get to use it.
I am stuck with my old and heavy MBP.