HP dm3t - suggestions?

I'm considering buying a DM3t as a grad present for my niece. She is in law school and I imagine she would be using this primarily for word processing, email, etc., so the important features are battery life, slim appearance, pricing and potential for upgrade. If there are any other suggestions for entirely different laptops, please let me know. I walked through Best Buy the other day and I was surprised to see that most of the Windows laptops they have on display look like cheap plastic toys compared with the Macs. However, of course the MBPs are so much more expensive and they lack certain features I think should be included at that price point.

How do you like this model? What kind of battery life do you get in the real world? Do we need to get an extra battery? Which processor option is best? How about future upgrade possibility for USB 3.0? I was planning to get the option with 4GB RAM, which I assume would be delivered 2x2GB. Would she be able to upgrade to 8GB in the future or is one of the DIMM slots inaccessible?

Intel(R) Celeron(R) Processor SU2300 (1.20GHz, 1M Cache) w/Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
HDMI port included
Included in price

Intel(R) Pentium(R) Processor SU4100 (1.3GHz,2M Cache) w/Intel(R) Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
+$25.00

Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor SU7300(1.3GHz,3M Cache)w/Intel(R) Graphics Media Accelerator4500MHD
+$75.00

Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor SP9300 (2.26GHz, 6M Cache) with 512MB NVIDIA GeForce G 105M
+$225.00

 

I'd look up the acer 1810/3810/4810/5810

 

no don't! check out all the threads on here about the freezing issues, I myself had the same problems, I purchased a DM3, and no problems, well apart from the slight heat.

 

My dad bought the DM3t with the su4100. I ended up stealing it from him to use it during class and the battery life would last me at least two days before I needed to plug it back in (2-4 hours of use a day on word/internet). Great machine, but the chrome lining is cheap feeling, and it seems like some people are saying it actually chips, while I've used it for 4 months and it hasn't broken off or anything, I still think it may in the future...

 

SP9300 offers ~4 hours of real world use, although when you need power it definitely performs. As for USB 3.0, I wouldn't expect to see Dm3 offer them within the next year, if not more. Honestly going back I wish I had waited. The battery life is sub-par from what I expected, and the performance isn't what an i3/i5 can provide. Try an Asus U30J before buying a Dm3t [SP9300]

 

Have you tried undervolting? It can give you a bit more battery life.
With some tweaking 5-6 hours is not unachievable. I got mine a couple of months ago and I'm happy with it. I wouldn't have waited. The U30JC is definitely nice though. I'd probably swap the disc drive out for another HD and put an ssd as the primary.

I like the dm3t for it's performance and size. The build quality is great. I can see the chrome trim chipping over time but I carry it in a sleeve to avoid any unnecessary dings that could chip it. It's definitely tacky on it though.

I have no regrets for it. For a law student the SU4100 would be fine. It can be upgraded to 8GB of RAM, but it's a stretch as to what most would need that much for. 4GB is overkill for most, but generally accepted as the norm.

USB 3.0 is still a bit off to be mainstream. It's here, but I'd not consider it a deal breaker. The dm3t isn't the lightest around though, so if that's important I'd look elsewhere; the asus ul30vt is a nice alternative but the build quality is less than that of the dm3t. Another very good option would be the hp probook 5310m. It can only take 4 gb of RAM (one slot) but it's very slim and light (3.2 bs). I was actually between the two until I found out the dm3t was now shipping with switchable graphics.

I love my dm3t and not much entices me otherwise.
The 13" MBP is great but expensive.
The newly announced envy 14 looks and sounds great and has a lot of nice features but is a bit heavy.

Edit:
I forgot about the new dm4. It will be replacing the dm3t and is only .2 lbs heavier. It looks real nice and should be another option to look at.