What's the best laptop with a trackpoint in April 2006
- all are new models
- all have trackstick
- all have gigabit lan and g wireless
- all have readable displays (not unreadably high res)
- all have built in DVD burners
- all have useable but not massive 14” screens
- all in the same price range of about 1k)
The list is: Tecra M5, IBM T60, IBM Z60t, Fujitsu S7020. All have S-video apart from the T60. The Z60t and Tecra have SD card slots.For performance the new T60 and new Tecra M5 are the best as they use the new Core Duo chip. They are v similar in size and weight and battery life (4 hrs) and everything else. The Tecra is a bit bigger, but with a better keyboard layout.
Getting lighter there is the Z60t at 2.1kg and even lighter at 1.7kg is the featherweight Fujitsu.
For CPU power and flexibility, the brand new M5 is the best choice, it does everything and its cheap. For size and battery life, the Z60 is the winner, and you get more on the screen. For weight, the Fujitsu is a lightweight king at an amazing 1.7kg. It still has a whopping 14.1” screen and the keyboard is not too bad, although not up to the IBMs or Toshiba. The Fujitsu apparently runs quiet and cold and I expect is the best in this area.
tecra M5
31.5×26.1×3.12cm
+ full featured, fast, good keyboard, nice 1400×1050 screen – heavy 2.4kg, biggest here, 4hrs batteryt60
31.1×25.5×2.54cm
+ fast, keyboard backlight, well made, runs cool and quiet – heavy 2.4kg, 2nd biggest, no S-video, no SD card, 4hrs batteryz60t UM3FFUK
33.4×22.8×2.66cm
+ small, best battery life, light, backlight, higher res screen but not silly, full featured – 1yr warranty (all others have 3yrs), not Core DUOFujitsu-Siemens S7020
30.6×24.8×3.4cm
+ very light (1.7kg!!!!), full featured, good battery life 4.8hrs, Dual layer DVD burner – no SD card slot, not core DUO, keyboard a bit dodgy (although CTRL key is in right place unlike IBM)The T60 is a storming performer but lacks S-video and lacks SD card and its pricey. The Tecra is a better choice for multimedia and price. The Fujitsu runs cool and quiet, and the CTRL key is in the right place, but the keyboard is no way up to a Thinkpad or Tecra standard. The Z60t on the other hand is smaller, slightly better battery life, and has an SD card slot. Still I’d lean towards the Fujitsu as it has a 3yr warranty too.
So my final choice: for a light laptop, get a Fujitsu. For a work laptop that’s slightly less mobile, I’d go for the T60 if you can live without the Tecra’s extra features.
The Winner
I actually ordered a T60 but it was delayed and so switched and bought a Tecra M5 with 2600 core duo chip and DVD burner. The windows software it came with was all a bit silly so I decided to use Kubuntu operating system instead – it installed fine and everything seems to work including wireless, graphics and sound. Have not setup bluetooth yet as it will prob require some more effort.