M40-SF3 ending now?

Hi, i m considering getting a new laptop to replace my old one (IBM A21m). among all these laptops on the market, i found m40-sf3 suits me best. however, it's sold out in a lot of places( e.g. FutureShop, BestBuy). and i dont want to pay the original price for it, cuz i m still in the univeristy. however, the sales guy at futureshop told me that they are clearing out current M40 models because there will be new models coming in soon. Is that true? and should I wait for the new model or just go to get SF3 while i can still get it from a cheap place for CDN$1650+Tax??? is the new model based on 2nd-generation of Centrino??? Thanks a lot!

 

oh, btw.... one thing i concerned the most is the battery life for this model. cuz i have read some reviews here, and they confused me. some say just over 1 hour, some say a little bit more than 2 hours. Has anyone actually done the test for battery life???

 

For newer version, if the sales wasn't mean M50 (14")or M60 (17"), then I've no idea what that will be, but M50 and M60 are quite different than M40 and I don't see them as an advance version of M40 (you really can't beat the GeForce 6600 go found on M40 with its decent price). Update me if I'm wrong.

For the battery life, I've been using my notebook for 2 months (so the battery is considerably new), even I set to lowerest setting with Wifi on, (Nvidia PowerMizer -> Max. Battery Saving; CPU -> 433Mhz; Fans -> Off; Brightness -> Lowest), it can't last for more than 2.5 hrs. With Wifi Off, it doesn't help much which makes the battery last a little bit longer. So if you are looking for a notebook with > 3 hrs battery life, M40 is not your choice. But as a desktop replacement, it's cool.

 

I just found out that M40-SF3 was released in the mid of June, 2005. It has only been 3 months. Now TOSHIBA is planning to replace it with new models? I mean, that fast??? If this is the reason, I don't know why M40 models are out of stock EVERYWHERE!

I just dont want to pay 2G for something that is going to be replaced in a couple weeks. Or, you guys think that worth it?

 

Toshiba may not replace the model itself, but they my update the lineup with some new configs to keep up in the market. Since all of us Canadian's know, Toshiba does not sell customized notebooks like in the US. They have pre-config'd models that they sell. Once a model becomes out-dated, they update the config and come out with a new model.

If you must have the SF3, you can try getting directly from Toshiba.ca. If they're not available there, then just wait a bit and you'll probably notice an updated model of the M40 in the market.

-Vb-