T61: battery life / trip to Thailand

With the current sale on Lenovo, I'm really about to buy a T61. The only thing I'm not not sure about is its battery life.

I plan to go for a couple of months in Thailand and I may have to work on the laptop for a full day without having access to any electricity. I was looking at some of the HP models (the 6910p in particular) because HP sale HUGE batteries that may last for more than 10-11 hours.

I think the biggest battery for a 14" T61 is the 7 cells battery that may last for 6 hours.

This is going to be my first laptop so I want to be sure I make no mistake. Should I buy the T61 plus 2 extra 7 cells batteries? Or is it really a pain in the *** to always carry an extra battery? Should I go for a model like the HP 6910p that accept one huge battery that would last the full day?

What would you guys buy to work in a place like Thailand? Do you think the T61 is a good choice? I want a 13-14" matte screen.

 

Either choice it's a good choice, however, with the T61, you're going to run into the problem of charging the batteries. But if that isn't a problem for you, then I don't see any reason not to get the thinkpad. You'll get better build quality (IMHO) and the better keyboard to type on. And no, extra batteries aren't a pain to carry around.

 

The Dell D630 gets excellent battery life. I'd think with the nine cell and the six cell modular battery, you'd be in pretty good shape.

If you're going with a ThinkPad, the X61s with the eight cell battery is probably more likely to give you what you seek. I think six hours on the T61 with the seven cell is unlikely. Maybe with the screen on the lowest with WiFi off which I think is not the way most people work.

 

If you go for a Thinkpad, you may want to consider the lauded Ultrabay battery as well.

 

Thanks to both of you!

I've been to a store where they sale both the T61 and the X61s, and the X61s is too small for me. I know it would be easier to carry and will have better battery life but I wouldn't feel confortable working on it for a full day.

So I still hesitate between the T61, HP 6910p and Dell D630.

But In the end I think that anyway I'll have to carry an extra battery so any of those three may be ok. And the ThinkPad seems to be of a really good quality which is important since I'm going to carry it a lot.

 

What is that please?

Is it a battery that is plugged into a docking station? Because I do not plan to carry a docking station..

 

I would go for a Dell D630 with a 9cell battery along with another battery in the Dell version of the "Ultrabay" ( The space where you can remove your media drive .. ) . You're garanteed 8hrs of autonomy and I've seen my friend's go over 9hrs and a half easy...

 

The Ultrabay battery is a 3-cell battery that goes where the CD-drive goes. IMHO, it's not worth it to get the ultrabay battery....but if power is all you really need, then by all means go for it.

 

Aye. I was perhaps jaded when I said it was "lauded," but it will add a non-trivial amount of battery life, replacing your DVD/CD-ROM drive. I don't have one but I hear they add an hour-and-a-halfish of battery life.

 

Can you swap the ultrabay battery and the CD-drive on the fly? Or do you have to choose this option when you buy the laptop?

I guess you can swap them but I want to be sure!

Thanks

 

Of course!

 

yes they are hot-swappable meaning you can plug either of them in or take them out when the computer is on.

that's what the ultrabay was meant for. it comes with the T-series standard, you just don't get the battery as that is an additional purchase, not so sure about the R-series.

 

Thanks everybody for your help.

But I think I'll go with the HP 6910p. Its 12 cells ultra battery is exactly what I'm looking for and it seems to be a good laptop too.

 

glad we could help! enjoy your new laptoP!

 

you can swap them.

in fact, you swap them while the laptop's on.