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We have an E4200 and it's great except for anything involving HQ video - Dell chose a terrible chipset for anything involving quality video playback. Battery life on the internal is okay but with an extra battery slice on the bottom it's incredible - you pay for it with extra weight though. I would consider it a great alternative to an Air if price is a concern. You can also use it with an internal Verizon aircard for 3G connectivity, which works quite well. ---- Jack Kramer Manager of Information Technology University Relations, Michigan State University w: 517-884-1231 / c: 248-635-4955 On 7/27/11 11:50 AM, "Gary Schrock" <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >On 7/27/2011 11:27 AM, Kramer, Jack wrote: >> Really though, if an ultralight is desired - why not an 11.6" Macbook >>Air? >> Light, powerful, pretty easy to use, and 5hr+ battery life. > >Another option is you can get refurbished Dell E4200 laptops for around >the $600 range. I went this route myself for a laptop to travel with >because I was finding the netbook just didn't cut it. The only way I >could tell it wasn't new was the refurbished sticker on the bottom (and >compared to the new price for those, it's a steal to get refurbished). >I think my price was $550 or so, but only came with 2G ram, so I >replaced the chip with a 4G chip for a total of 5G (1G built onto >motherboard), for a total cost of about $600. 128G SSD drive also. Not >as fast as a truly modern computer, but I'd guess 90% of the people out >there wouldn't notice. Weighs 2.5 pounds, and is actually 1 ounce less >than our 9" Dell netbook, and far more usable. > >I'd seriously considered the Macbook Air route though but had held off >because of the price for what I wanted, I was planning on running >windows exclusively on the thing. :) > >> ---- >> Jack Kramer >> Manager of Information Technology >> University Relations, Michigan State University >> w: 517-884-1231 / c: 248-635-4955 >> >> >> >> >> On 7/26/11 4:08 PM, "John Valenti"<[log in to unmask]> wrote: >> >>> Pardon me for my dinosaur-ways, but I don't know anyone that is using a >>> tablet as their primary computer... >>> >>> I'm trying to advise an MSU retiree. Her XP laptop is getting creaky, >>>she >>> is trying to decide how to replace it and wondering if a tablet might >>> work. It would basically be used for MSU email and web browsing. >>> (reserving the old laptop for word processing) >>> >>> Are there people that are using tablets as their main system, and what >>> limitations does that involve? >>> >>> I think she is drawn to the tablet due to the light weight and ease of >>> carrying around town. >>> >>> She spends some time in the UP, it is still a dialup world there ... >>> anyway to connect a modem to an iPad? >>> >>> thanks for any comments! >> >>