Need advice on screen type and resolution for a laptop.

[Blairgowrie]

I recently bought a new Acer laptop so that I could stay in touch if I had to go away on vacation etc.for any length of time. After playing with it for a while I started to realise I probably would not use it that often and

[DD_Brando]

My 24" (1920x1200 native resolution) wide-screen monitor is a WUXGA type. The advantages of this production method seem to be low glare and good readability, so it may be that this type of screen is just "easier on the eyes" than others.

That's my 2 pennyworth Jim - maybe head to your local store and take a peek?

B

[B16Enk]

If I were to buy a laptop purely for 'staying in touch' (so it is for email and forum lurking ) then I would go for a netbook, something along the lines of the Asus EEEPC 900.

I have 2 of them, both came with Linux and both now have XP pro on them.

They are my kids PCs, Jake uses his @ school and gets around 8 hours out of a single charge.

The screen is small @ 9" but surprisingly readable and of a good quality.

The great advantage is they are tiny, being 10" wide and 8" to 9" deep, so are eminently portable.

However you probably would prefer a larger screen, and are not concerned with portability the way a 12yr old walking to and from school is..so..

The Lenovo/IBM Thinkpads have a good reputation that is deserved, using titanium for their chassis keeps the weight down, battery life is reasonable and the screens are good.

Resolution wise, high resolution on a small screen sounds good, but can make for difficult reading so you will likely find that you don't use it's full potential and run it at a more comfortable 1280 x 800.

Consider the weight too, as I am sure you know a couple of kilos can soon feel like you are toting a dead elephant...

The Asus EEEPC range are really good and very reasonable price too @ £200 - £300 new (depending on model).

[Blairgowrie]

Excellent advice guys. I really enjoy researching this kind of stuff, almost as much as getting the end product.

I had looked at Netbooks Rog but ruled them out because of the small screen size. My first choice would be a T series IBM notebook but it is hard not to keep on upping the desire level until I get up to a T60 but then have to step back and say to myself, "you don't want to invest that much".

I always thought that terms such XGA and WUXGA were a way of quoting quality distinction. But after reading this excellent article, I find that is not the case: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=26696

[Cold_Gambler]

For what it's worth, I think you're right that the 14.1" screen is better. Myself, I'd go even smaller, I think Roger's suggestion about the Eee (or equivalent) is a good one

I bought a Vaio TZ-160 (11 inches) and though it took a short while (about a month) to get used to it, it's fantastic when I have to go out of town- thin and light and the screen size is just fine.

I recently bought a 15.4" Dell XPS and I wouldn't especially want to travel with it. its seven pounds compared to the Vaio's pound is a huge a difference.

The Vaio TZ series are on the pricey side, but the netbooks are very reasonable.

[JensenPark]

I ran "staying in touch" through Babelfish and it came out "surfing porn"

[Jabo]

This maybe closing the door after the horse has bolted Jim, but I'd steer clear of Lenovo, we've had a ton of trouble with them as they have no DOA policy, and the support is nightmareish. A customer recently bought 30 laptops, half of which were DOA, and three months later only half of those have been repaired...Not good.

In fact we have an unofficial department policy of trying not to sell them now, the above situation is not a one-off.

~S~ Jabo

[Blairgowrie]

Just got back from a trip to Toronto and looked at all kinds of laptops in used laptops store. They had three IBM T series laptops. One was a T43P

[Jabo]

Looks like a nice machine Jim. I agree with you about the Dells, the XPS machines are great, but are on the heavy side.

~S~ Jabo