Simple laptop with long battery life

[Nechushtan]

Hi folks, the girlfriend is looking to replace her aging 13" MacBook with a new laptop. She doesn't need anything fancy, just basic internet, youtube, email type stuff, occasional DVD watching, etc. But she does want a long battery life, its pretty much the only requirement she has for it (other than, hopefully, not being too expensive).

Anyone have any recommendations for me to look into?

thanks!!

 

[boonality]

My 15.4" dell with a 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo and a cheesy 7300go video card gets about 4~5 hours continuous just surfing and chatting out of one charge with the more expensive battery offered by Dell. If I game on battery power I still get about 2 hours out of it.

 

[lostandwandering]

Yeah, just about any basic Dell or HP would work fine. Technology has come to the point were even the simple 6-cell batteries can give decent computer around 3 hours of battery life. I would look at either the Dell Inspiron 1520 or the HP DV6700t. Also, if cost is really a concern, google "HP or Dell Coupons" and you can find some pretty good deals. Just make sure you pay attention to when they expire.

 

[Nechushtan]

thanks folks! I've got a Compaq V2000 with the "half battery" that I bought about 3-4 years ago and I can only get about an hour out of it, good to know the new laptops get so much more!

 

[rodney_ws]

My 15.4" dell with a 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo and a cheesy 7300go video card gets about 4~5 hours continuous just surfing and chatting out of one charge with the more expensive battery offered by Dell. If I game on battery power I still get about 2 hours out of it.

I have a basic Dell 15.4" laptop with the base model battery and I was getting a good bit over 3 hours when it was new... however, two years later the battery honestly will not hold a charge for longer than 5 minutes (seriously) That said... I know that the Lenovo laptops come with a battery maintenance applet that takes steps to keep the battery working as well as possible. I know I've abused my battery (leaving it plugged in for weeks/months at the time... but come on... 5 minutes?!?) Also, the Lenovo laptops we have at work seem to be considerably more sturdy than the Inspiron I have at home. My Dell has developed a serious screen wobble... the plastic hinges that hold the screen up have gradually loosened and it's really annoying. Again, the Lenovos have metal hinges that seen to contribute to a much sturdier laptop. It's really difficult to explain until you're able to put your hands on a Dell and a Lenovo side-by-side.

 

[soloman02]

Dell's new line of notebooks, the Vostro series fare pretty well. They are fairly cheap if you want them to be and have a similar aluminum alloy frame as the Thinkpad's. Dell Has announced a refresh of the vostro lineup. I think they look better than the current design. I have a vostro 1400 and have been quite happy with it. With the cpu at max speed and brightness at max, I receive about 3 hours of battery life with the small six cell battery. That is with me using a bluetooth mouse, surfing the web via wifi, and using MS office.

My Specs:
Core 2 Duo 1.4Ghz, Intel X3100 graphics, 2 GB ram, 160GB HD, Intel Wireless G, Bluetooth.
Link to vostro refesh pics:

http/www.engadget.com/2008/04/15/dells-vostro-1310-1510-and-1710-small-business-laptops-redefi/

I believe Dell will be using the new 45nm cpu's in the new vostro lineup. If intel has a newer mobile platform than Santa Rosa, dell may also be using that. You don't need to have a business to buy from dell small business.