It's almost new laptop time again so I just wanted to see if anyone has any recommendations for a subnote. The one on it's way out is a Sharp MM20.

I have been looking at the Panasonic R5 but it seems kind of thick. It does have incredible battery life and will with stand me sitting on it though

Is a MacBook too big?

The R5 is only 2.1lbs which sounds great. I saw it introduced on Gizmodo a while back and it sounded promising. Until...

My immediate complaints with not having seen or used one in person, would be the absurd track pad and the corrugated palm rest area. Why would anyone want or even think a circular trackpad would be at all useful or even attractive for that matter? The trackpad is also inset very far into the plastics which in my experience makes for an excellent crap-collector, but a terrible tactile experience (my GF's Toshiba Tecra is like this - and that machine is suited for nothing more than the trash heap).

What about a Fujitsu T70 or Sony TX90? Both are also listed on the same site you linked. Fujitsu also has a decent looking (and light) Lifebook Q series, which seems pretty thin, but has a bigger footprint sporting a 13" screen.

There's also the Fujitsu P1510 which has a rotating touch screen if you ever need it.

The Panasonic looks nice, but pricey. Last year's Dell X1 is still going strong, with better specs, but weighs in at a hefty 2.5lbs (rather than 2.1 for the Pany).

I bought an X1 second-hand, used for less than 30 power-on hours total (the hard disk keeps track of this in S.M.A.R.T. data), and it seems good enough for everything. But I'm no expert on fancy electronic toys.

Cheers

Yeah the macbook is too big.

Dynamism has the R5 for 1850 so it's a little cheaper.

I looked at the fujitsu 1510 but I would prefer to have a PCMCIA slot and it only appears to have CF.

I looked at the sony one at compusa but I would rather pay a little less and get something a little smaller the sony is 2 inches wider and heaver.

I was looking for the dell X1 but didn't know the model number and I did not see it while browsing their site. I found it now by searching but it also doesn't have PCMCIA. The X1 however is only 1250 so I am tempted to compromise.

Before my work gave me a laptop, I was looking at the X1. Does it have bluetooth? Personally, if I have to use a trackpad for periods longer than 5 seconds, I start to go insane. I can't stand those things. The only pointing device that's worse is those damn eraser head things in the middle of laptop keyboards.

So I carry one of these around in my laptop bag. I love it, and never use my laptop without it. Seriously, I can't recommend it highly enough. It's tiny, bluetooth, and has a much better feel than you would think. I've grown so acustomed to it that when I use standard mice they feel enormouse in my hand

Yes, it has Bluetooth -- with good controls in the BIOS to select how/when it gets enabled.

Cheers

My Fujitsu P7010 works flawlessly. It was the smallest I could find with an integrated DVD when I was looking to replace my Sony C1 unit. I wouldn't touch another Sony though - less than zero support. I like the mini IBM too (X41?) - but no internal DVD.

Regards

Mark

IBM/Lenovo's smallest, lightest is now the X60s. It is just about the same size/weight as the Dell X1 (a tiny bit heavier at 2.69lb).

The screen isn't as wide as the Dell's at 1024x768. However you do get an Intel Duo Core processor at 1.66Ghz, compared to the Dell's 1.1Ghz single core Pentium M.

It runs 3 hours on the lightest battery that they do. Add the 0.8 lb extended life battery and it will run for 11 hours !

Eryl has the X40 at work, which the X60 is replacing. I had never considered an IBM before, but after comparing the X40 with my Dell Latitude D610 I was very impressed. When my Dell expires I will probably get something like the X60s to replace it.

Thanks for all the suggestions and thanks Mark for the write up about the X1 but I decided to get the R5. I still need a pcmcia slot so that was the best one.

I just got it today and it's about the size I expected smaller and thicker.

I wish it was EVDO maybe someday.

I need it for updating firmware on old Ricoh copiers and printers. They use a proprietary (or so they say) 4MB card and there is a really old outdated program that writes the file to the card which does not work with a USB reader. I don't need to do it very much but I don't want to have to carry two laptops around.

Also I like to have the slot incase I do need to get some kind of high speed wireless.

Here are pictures Link on flickr