What I really want...

I'm using a venerable 14" T42. It's an extension of my own arms and my third and by far best laptop ever (the first 2 being Dell's, fatty Inspiron 8000 and teensy - for the time - Latitude D400). It's got another hundred thousand miles on it probably... but I need an upgrade for performance reasons.

I definitely want another Thinkpad, but I can't find what I'm looking for. Rather than waste everyone's time enumerating everything, I'll simplify it by saying the X300 is the closest thing yet, but I would really like more processing power and a regular hard drive option. I like the brighter screen and the overall form factor, and don't demand a lot of battery life.

I'm disappointed in the current T-series personally because they are so heavy and seemingly all bezel. I'm just not impressed with them, though I'm sure they are great machines. I'm encouraged by the sleekness of the X300, especially if it keeps the traditional Thinkpad build as it keeps most of its appearance, but don't like the weak processor for my purposes.

Generally I like standard aspect screens - I know I'm from a dying breed - but at 13.3" or 14" wide I could stomach it. I like the X61's but the 12" screen is a bit too small for me.

I guess I'd like a 14" (wide if necessary) T-series made lighter/smaller by the LED backlighting and other innovations of the X300, but with something more akin to a standard voltage Penryn. Maybe in the "T400" or the T70 or whatever they will call it?

I just keep waiting, but I can't put it off after this summer... so I hope something good is coming along soon! But maybe the perfect laptop for me just does not exist.

 

What about the R61?

 

Why not get a 4:3 T61? They seem to have less bezel space than the widescreen versions. It's thicker than your T42, but that's because of the roll cage inside the frame. Aside from the screen (which some complain of being too dim), it seems like it could fit reasonably within your needs.

 

Maybe enumerating would have been easier after all. My understanding was the R series was even heavier than the T, and thicker as well. Maybe I'm mistaken on that. I looked very seriously at the 4:3 T61, but I do prefer the brighter screen. If there was still an IPS option it would be a sell. Granted the worst T61 screen is probably brighter than this old T42 so maybe I should just make incremental improvements.

Ideally:

• bright 13.3" - 14" standard (or wide if needed)
• full voltage processor (Penryn)
• integrated webcam (i do a lot of video conference)
• 4 pounds or less

I don't game so don't care about discrete graphics and as stated battery life is secondary to performance. Probably I will just need to get the closest thing when I can no longer wait and try again in a few years

Thanks for your thoughts!

 

Heh, looks like the X300 really is your only bet. It's pretty hard to find a 13.3"-14" notebook 4 pounds are less, that enters the territory of the ultraportables.

I could always recommend an R61i, which has the option for a glossy screen. You can configure one with a webcam. R61s are thicker than T61s, but the WS R61 is around the thickness of the T61 4:3, so there's not much difference there.