I have been thinking about getting a laptop. Seeing all the laptops at OSCON made me want to get one now. The problem is, I am not sure which one to get. I want to get a small, light one. I have never gotten the point of the big laptops; the point is to carry them around. I would also like a Core Duo processor.
Unfortunately, the really light ultraportable tend to be underpowered, expensive, or both. I really like the Samsung Q35 with Core Duo, but it is expensive (and not available in the US). The Gateway NX100X and Dell Latitude D420 both look nice and are not too expensive but are only Core Solo. The ThinkPad X60 is supposed to be great but is expensive.
I like the Apple MacBook. The keyboard is usable, the screen is good. The extras, like the camera, are nice. And it looks nice; the black one is really nice but the premium is too much. The low cost is also nice. The only problem could be the weight. It weighs 5 lbs, which is at least a half-pound heavier than the competitors. I am not sure if lugging that around will be a problem. I will likely install Linux, either dual-booting or using virtualization.
There are a few contenders at four pounds. The Lenovo 3000 V100 is heavier and cheaper than its ThinkPad cousin. Unfortunately, it only comes in two configurations either cheap and more limited, or expensive and more powerful than I wanted. The Dell XPS M1210 also sounds like a good compromise between power and cost. Dell and Lenovo also have 14″ models, the Latitiude D620 and ThinkPad T60 and Z60t.