The Mobile Commuter

ULTRAPORTABLE LAPTOPS

As the new school year approaches and a fresh semester around the corner, I decided I needed something smaller and lighter for my commute. In the past, I lugged around my massive 15in Dell laptop, but that was when I was still driving my car to school. This summer, Ultraportable Laptops have been released left and right.

It all started with the 8.9in Asus EEE:



Asus was the first company to come out strong with an ultraportable laptop late in 2007. But I feel Asus has dug themselves in a hole as they seem to be far more expensive than their new competitors. As the only company in the market at the time, I can see why Asus would opt for higher prices, but as more and more companies join the battle of the best Ultraportable laptops, they'll need to lower their prices to match the competition and stay afloat. Price was the main reason I quickly passed up the EEE.

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Over the course of the summer, I've been following various ultraportable laptops and anticipating different models to come out.

Here are the few different laptops I've been reading up on and debating on:

Acer Aspire One:

Aspire One Website
Bit-Tech Acer Aspire One
LaptopMag: Acer Aspire One - An In Depth Look

I almost bought the Acer Aspire One. This was the one I was most interested with. It only cost about $375 and offered more bang for the buck. But with so many rumors of other ultraportables coming out, I held out and watched the competition.
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MSI Wind:

MSI Wind Website
LaptopMag: MSI Wind Review

The MSI Wind was another one I considered. But one of the main things that made me not want to go ahead with the Wind is that I did not trust MSI as much. I've never really heard of MSI laptops or anyone who owns one. The MSI Wind comes in 10in which seems to be the best size for ultraportables nowadays.

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Dell Inspiron 910:

This product is not released yet. The expected release date is this Friday, August 22nd.

One of the main reasons I did not want to purchase the previous ultraportables was because of this. Dell boasts their ultraportable at only $299. The cheapest price so far for an ultraportable. This Dell looks like it has the potential to sweep through the competition and come out on top. But having a Dell in the past, I wanted to try something new and I've always questioned Dell's lack of quality. Out of all the ultraportables so far, I expect this one to be amongst the top contenders in the field.

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After reading reviews after reviews and waiting for the Dell Inspirion 910 to come out, I finally pulled the trigger on the Lenovo IdeaPad S10.

Lenovo IdeaPad S10:

Lenovo IdeaPad S10 Website

I ended up getting a Lenovo. Having been IBM in the past, I've always heard nothing but great things about IBMs and Lenovo's. Before the MSI Wind and the Lenovo, you only had to choose from 13in laptops to 8.9in laptops. MSI and Lenovo really hit the sweet spot when they both came out with 10in models. I believe 10inches is just perfect. Small enough to be mobile and big enough to enjoy the screen.

It should take a few weeks to get my laptop, so I'll post up pictures when I can!