I actually DID get a message center notification on my X61 Tablet just a couple days ago.

I don't run the message center or TVSU on my new T60p, though.

Of course, what about the IdeaPad U110? USB optical, but...

Shame a TrackPoint won't work for you, the X series is an excellent machine, and the X200 is reasonably priced. (The X200s even has a 1440x900 screen. Would you be willing to get used to a TrackPoint for that? Hint: turn the sensitivity and pointer speed all the way up.)

So you mentioned the MacBook Air.. hmm, with the recent price drop and an upgrade to a 2.1Ghz C2D, it is undeniably the fastest ultraportable out there. The one thing that is probably hurting it is the 5h battery.

Adi

#50: I actually often wish more connectors had screws... Nothing like someone jostling your laptop "just right" at Starbucks to make the typical USB connector snap. And, yes, it happened to me...

I like that Acer Timeline a few gerbils have commented about, hadn't seen that before. I'd take the 14" one with dual core and switchable discrete/integrated graphics... Very nice!

Acer Aspire Timeline 3810T is very near of what you are searching. They have a 13.3" at 1.6Kg and a 14.1" with optical drive at 1.9Kg, CULV notebook with 8 hours of battery, good build quality, possibility of discrete 3D card (Radeon 3410 I think). Less pricey and better than MSI X-340.

Here is a review in english of the 14" version:
http://www.trustedreviews.com/laptops/review/2009/05/15/Acer-Aspire...

There's actually more than one CULV-class processor available:

Celeron M 723
Core 2 Solo SU9300
Core 2 Duo SU9400

among others, surely. You might be able to get an inexpensive 13.3" Celeron or Core 2 Solo based subnotebook that might meet your needs well. (Unfortunately it seems these are going to be priced well above the netbook range -- up to $800.)

There are actually enough small-business-grade 13.3" notebooks in this price range if you don't really care about the thinness so much. (They are slightly heavier, though, because of the cooling apparatus, and may require larger batteries to meet battery life expectations.) Notebooks like the venerable Dell XPS M1330, Dell Vostro 1310, ThinkPad SL300 and HP business notebook 2230s aren't expensive and meet the size and weight requirements.

when i got my laptop this year, i selected raw power at the best price possible under 800 (bang for buck) an i ended up with my asus x83... but i kinda wanted that it had a better...well, MUCH better battery life... its not that its bad, its that it really can't compare (even in its newness) to my gf's toshiba satellite m105 battery life, that is 3 years old ; i'm not saying that i would like another laptop because i love mine, but im even willing to drop more money for an extended battery or something... that would get me to the
3 hour full power - 4 hour balanced; battery time, instead of almost but not quite without-giving-the-battery-a-beating-and-killing-it-prematurely 2 hours (on full power) mark (i live in a really hot country and its wrecking my battery life...) :(

I picked up a studio xps 13 refurb for $900, it's brand new really, not even a scratch on it. Same warranty and support as a retail unit. Sexy, fast, feature packed and cheap. I get 6 hours of runtime on it while working.

Alternatively the E4300 is the business class counterpart and you can add a Mini 10v for $150.

TR has always been a bit, how should I say it, weird, when it comes small things. Netbooks are similar to the SFF systems (aka novelty) IMO. Though I guess with the adoption rate of netbooks they will actually stick around.

Acer Timeline? Dell Studio 14z?

If you're willing to live without a built-in optical drive and a 14" screen the Dell is very hard to beat in every other regard. 9400M, Core 2, form fitting 8-cell battery option all available at $841 last I configured a unit. Though it is heavy.

The Timeline is a CULV is an actual usable body. You're talking near 8 hours of battery life as well. Intel graphics though. But it fits all your other requirements, especially if you're actually willing to use an Atom based system.

Wooohoo, ThinkVantage update lives!! (unlike the abomination from HP, which is worthless)

As far as netbooks, the HP Mini 2140 has a 1366x768 screen option, but it's not yet available in any of the pre-configured/additionally-discounted models, so it's pricey. Battery life is also only 5 hours or so, tops-- I have one on my desk right now. The keyboard is excellent, though.

I find it too slow for serious use, though, as editing files from my Panasonic LX3 is painful. I picked up a refurb Dell Latitude E4300 (13.3", about ~3.8lb or 4lb with 6-cell and DVD-RW for 5 hours battery) from Dell Outlet for just over $700 w/3yr on-site warranty upgrade for that... works pretty well. Not perfect, I'd rather have an X301, but hell, for the price, I can't complain...

Macbook anyone?

My pops just got a Dell Latitude E6400 recently. That would be a 14.1" screen.
Edit: 16:10 12x8 Quadro.

I used one of my friend's Macbooks for awhile, and I couldn't get used to the strange chiclet-style keyboard. I kept making typing errors and the short backspace key made those errors more frustrating. I loved the giant, clickable touchpad, though.

Samsung NC20 c'mon do it, you know you want to. Your credit card is just right Over There.

Just got a Lenovo S10 yesterday, which will be a dual-boot Win7/MacOS Hackintosh by next week. (Just so my bias is clear.) I'm pretty happy with it so far, but only as a second machine.

Scott, you might consider the Lenovo S12, which is their Ion-platform netbook/notebook crossover launching (I think) in the next month. Since work pays for all of my toys, I figured I'd get an S10 for now, and if the S12 turns out to be a reasonable Hackintosh platform, I'd try that next...

You think your old laptop is slow? My ONLY laptop is a hand-me-down I received. It is a Gateway PII (that's Pentium II for all you n00bs) 333Mhz with a meager 256MB of RAM. I barely use it because it is barely usable. It currently has Ubuntu on it and even that is pretty slow. But it's what I have. I just can't afford a new laptop right now. Hopefully I'll be able to get one after I get this wedding out of the way. <fingers crossed>

Well I have a Compaq V2630CA laptop which is now a little over three years old and still in great condition. It serves as my only PC at the moment. The hard drive is a little on the slow side at only 4200RPM, and the laptop only has 512MB of system RAM (128MB of that goes to the (slow) Radeon Xpress 200M graphics), but other than those things, I'm quite happy with it. Then again, I am not really into PC gaming anymore and just have a few oldies hanging around which run alright on here.

I value having a reasonable sized screen and an optical drive inside the laptop, so a netbook is out of the question for me. Different strokes for different folks. I have the upgrade itch a little bit as well, but am waiting for Windows 7 to be officially released and then I will give it a few months in case there are any early kinks.

Thanks for the tip on the ThinkVantage update. Time to go get it.