SZ2xx (non-premium) battery life? Other questions.

Hi,

I just received my asus a8jm and it's a gorgeous machine, but it's heavier than I was expecting (closer to 5.5lbs). I'm also thinking I don't need all that power if my gaming need are relatively light (I play Civ4 but can't figure out what else to play).

So I'm thinking about the SZ (probably from portableone). Because my budget is ~$1500 (give or take), I'd probably be gettin one of those 1.66, 1gig, 60 gig HDD, CD/RW machines for $1469. So my questions are:

(1) What sort of battery life do people get on the non-premium SZ2xx's?

(2) If it comes without the fingerprint reader, will the trackpad buttons still have the space in between? It seems like it still would, but it would be nice if there wasn't?

(3) Is it possible to replace the HDD (both the hardware and the software)?

(4) How difficult is it to "clean up" the HDD and remove the bloatware or do a clean install?

(5) Can anyone suggest a better place to buy than portableone? I'd rather not buy from sonystyle (they'll charge sales tax and maybe shipping). Also, I am in US but outside of CA.

(6) EDIT: Anyone know of a good place to buy an additional AC adapter?

Thanks in advance.

 

Answer to Q 1: 3-4 hours browsing.

 

Thanks bobdare. I was under the impression that the SZ got a lot longer battery life than the A8JM, but maybe you only get 5+ hours if you've got the premium version.