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Laptop for word processing & web research

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00PS

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
May 5, 2009
Messages
1,798
I've been doing some research online for a new laptop for my wife, but there are so many options out there with so many different reviews it's hard to find the right one.

Purpose:
  • Web browsing & research
  • Word/Excel processing (I have an unused Office2013 license)

Requirements:
  • Power efficient (low heat) & long lasting battery
  • Light weight - will be used on the lap most of the time
  • High quality keyboard & trackpad - she types ~100wpm

Initially, I threw out the idea of a MBA for her (despite my hatred for Apple, this piece of hardware is pretty killer), but she didn't like that idea. I've looked into Lenovo's Thinkpads T430 and X230 (I'm a huge fan), but realistically, the laptop is not going to leave the house and she is very delicate with her stuff. I've never been a fan of HP and really don't have any starting point as to distinguish the good from the bad...mostly because I've only seen bad. Currently, I have a Dell Inspiron 15 (~2 years old) and I loath the keyboard. I type ~70wpm and this thing pisses me off...she won't even use it.

Anyone have any opinions on a Lenovo IdeaPad U310?

Price isn't much of a concern, so if anyone else has recommendations, I'd be glad to hear them.
 
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If long life and cool running are important, check out the new Intel-Haswell based notebooks that should start arriving any day. Look for the ULT or ULX suffix on the processor.

You are right to stay away from the consumer HP notebooks because HP decided to save a buck and put crap keyboards on just about all of them. My new HP G7 has one of those crap keyboards. My cheap, 8 year old HP-Compaq notebooks have excellent keyboards.

I was in BBuy the other day and was impressed with the keyboards on the new Samsung notebooks. My next buy will be Toshiba or Samsung.

I call these computers notebooks because you shouldn't use them on your lap. If they have a hard disk drive you risk crashing it. It is also easy to block the air intake. Get yourself one of these tables. They work almost anywhere. Medical Table
 
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What is your budget?

I've had great experience with Apple Macbook Pros and Air. They just work!
 
Why does your wife need to work in a construction yard to buy a thinkpad? Just get one, X-series have ridiculous battery life and the best keyboard in the industry, why are you turning away from it just because they have reputations for lasting through hurricanes, space stations, and vietnam?
 
Alchemic said:
Why does your wife need to work in a construction yard to buy a thinkpad? Just get one, X-series have ridiculous battery life and the best keyboard in the industry, why are you turning away from it just because they have reputations for lasting through hurricanes, space stations, and vietnam?
Click to expand...
/seconded
 
I'd recommend the Thinkpad x230 over the T430 because of the screen quality. The T430 screen (and every other 14 inch screen) is really bad. The resolution is fine, but the contrast levels are awful and the viewing angles are vpoor - http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Lenovo-ThinkPad-T430-Notebook.81802.0.html

If you use a laptop a lot the screen quality is really important, even if you don't realize it.

I've got to give credit to Apple for always putting a halfway decent screen in their laptops.
 
alot of exec's i know are moving to the Sony S series. Great screen (not matte tho unfortunately), sturdy case and great keyboard. I'm an old T series user but those bottom of the barrel, low contrast LG screens they use are are awful to look at.

Another thing to consider is an HP Elitebook. Keyboard on par with a T series, and you can get a very high resolution matte finish screen.
 
The S series is a nice combination of a good screen in a relatively light chassis with decent CPU options. Battery life is only so-so unless you get a slice battery, then it's outstanding. I know one accountant in particular that required a number pad, which eliminated some lenovos for them. Quite happy with the Vaio S 15 they ended up getting.
 
You should take her to an Apple store or Best Buy and have her actually use a MBA. Thats what I did with my wife 3 years ago and she decided to get a 13in MBP. She was skeptical at first but I couldn't replace it with a Windows machine if i tried.
 
none of the ultrabooks I've touched have fantastic keyboards. They primarily have OK keyboards and downright terrible ones.

I really wouldn't look anywhere my lenovo. I just recently picked up a P500 which stays nice and cool but the battery isn't that great.

If you're considering the U310 also look at the U510. My previous laptop was a 13" and so often I felt very limited by the size of the screen. They make some 14" and 15" that are pretty light with nice long batteries now
 
Well, yeah. When the whole machine is ~15 mm thick, key travel and height is a major design concern. My desktop keyboard is thicker than my entire laptop computer (and display).

Sufficient key travel: 2mm
Dished keycaps: .5mm
Full depth keycaps that would prevent terrible backlight bleed: 1mm

Now if you flatten those out, minimize travel, and use chiclet keys, you save 2mm-2.5mm! Which is a significant amount of depth when talking ultrabooks.
 
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