catherine...
After extensive research, I found that the lightest
laptops were the Sony Vaio series, and the Samsung
Q series, however the Samsungs were more likely to
be available only by order on request.
The Sony Vaio PCG-SR31K is one of the first laptops to
incorporate Bluetooth. However, it doesn't come with a
built-in CD-RW/DVD. See the review here:
http://www.foxpop.ndirect.co.uk/pc/laptop_07.htm
The Sony Vaio C1MHP, VX71P, and R600HFPD all have
built-in CD-RW/DVD drives, but no Bluetooth, and
no indication of external monitor VGA ports.
The Sony Vaio SR17K and GT1 have external VGA ports,
but no Bluetooth, and only external CD-ROM. Also,
they are more available to the US market. The
GT1 is probably beyond your price limit, as well.
I wasn't going to post this as an answer, since I
didn't find a laptop with even 3 of the 4 requirements:
-lightweight
-CD-RW/DVD
_external VGA port
But then I did a search for those specifications:
notebook OR laptop lightweight CD-RW/DVD "external monitor"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=notebook+OR+laptop&as_q=lightweight+CD-RW%2FDVD+%22external+monitor%22
which took me to a .pdf file for the Notino R5400
sold by the Hi-Grade company in the UK!
http://www.higrade.com/nqcontent.cfm?a_name=notebooks_uk
The Notino R5400 choices are detailed on this page:
http://www.higrade.com/nqcontent.cfm?a_id=938
and it falls well within your price range, at
£1173 - £1526 INCLUDING VAT, AND you can add
Bluetooth for £75!!! It weighs about 2.6KG.
The M6400 and M6500 have more powerful processors,
and are still within your budget.
I want one of these!!!!!!!
Here is their contact information:
Hi-Grade Computers plc,
Hi-Grade House, 43 Thames Road, Barking, Essex IG11 0HQ
Tel: 020 8 532 6100 Fax: 020 8 532 6101
E-mail: sales@higrade.com
Here are the specifications for the Notino R5400, from
http://www.higrade.com/media/other_documents/pdfs/datasheets/NotinoR5400datasheet.pdf
"The Mobile Pentium 4-M processor offers notebook
users desktop-level clock rates and the P4’s
high-end graphics friendly SIMD-2 instruction set
extensions combined with Intel’s new power saving
technologies. Enhanced Speedstep automatically
slows the processor clock rate to save battery
when mains power is disconnected. Deeper Sleep
provides further savings by switching to an even
slower processor speed and voltage requirement
during periods of CPU inactivity."
PROCESSOR
Intel Mobile Pentium 4 1.4GHz – 1.8G Hz (uFC-PGA2)
CHIPSET
Via P4N266(north bridge), 8233(south bridge)
DISPLAY
14.1" TFT Panel with XGA resolution
Chipset Integrated VGA Controller
128 bit Ultra AGP 3D Graphic Engine with motion
compensation support
MEMORY
On board 128MB DDR DRAM
One DDR SO-DIMM Sockets for 128/256 MB DDR DRAM Module
(Max 384MB)
SYSTEM BIOS & PMU
PnP BIOS with 256KB Flash ROM
APM 1.2 Compliance & ACPI 1.0 Compliance
Power on Suspend, Suspend to Disk
Lid Switch for panel close into suspend mode
HARD DISK
2.5" 9.5mm high Hard Disk Drive
20/30/40GB ATA 100 Capacity Hard Disk Drive
Easily Removable HDD option by removing two screws
DVD ROM/CD-RW
8X DVD-ROM or 8x/4x/24x/8x CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo
AUDIO
Hardware Volume Control (Rotation Knob)
PCI Audio with AC-97 compliance
Internal microphone and two 1w speakers
PCMCIA
One Type II PC card slot
KEYBOARD
85(US)/87(JP) Keys with windows 95 Keyboard
(spill proof keyboard)
INTERNET HOT KEY
4 Internet Launch Key (Browser, E-Mail, Search,
Favorite can support bootable function)
Function disabled automatically while LCD lid is closed
POINTING DEVICE
Built-in Mouse Pad with two buttons & scrolling button
BATTERY
Standard 18650 x6 cell 43.2W Smart Li-Ion Battery Pack,
Battery Life: For P14N is 2.5 hrs
WIRELESS/COMMUNICATION
Internal 56K V.90 Fax/Modem and Integrated 10/100M
bit Ethernet LAN
Built-in 802.11b module(field option) or GPRS
module(field option)
AC ADAPTER
100-240v Auto-sensing 60W, 50-60Hz, Charging AC adapter
System on charging time 5hrs
LED STATUS INDICATOR
AC power: AC power / Flash while in Power on suspend
- Front Edge
Battery power: Battery power/Flash while in Power
on suspend - Front Edge
Charging: Green when system is fully charged,
Orange when battery Charging – Front Edge
Wireless communication module power (Green)
HDD(Green) CD-ROM(Green) Caps lock (Green)
Num lock (Green) Scroll lock (Green)
Wireless traffic indicator LED(Blue)
FUNCTION KEY
Fn+F1: Display off
Fn+F3: Power on suspend/Suspend to HDD
Fn+F2: LCD/CRT Display Switch(LCD->CRT->LCD+CRT)
Fn+F6: Brightness Decrease
Fn+F7: Brightness Increase
I/O PORT (MEET PC99 COLOUR REQUIREMENT)
One type II PC card sockets support 32bits Card Bus card
Three USB connectors(USB2.0)
One 15 pins D-sub connector for external monitor
One Line Out phone jack for external Speaker
One Mic In phone jack for external Microphone
One RJ-11 jack for internal 56Kbps V.90 modem
(FCC-68 & CTR-21 & JATE & IC approved)
One RJ-45 jack for internal 10/100M bit Ethernet LAN
One S-Video port for TV set
DC-In jack
One IEEE1394 connector
One IrDA port, support SIR/ FIR
DIMENSIONS/WEIGHT
312 (W) x 257(D) x 30 – 35mm (H)
2.6kg
ENVIRONMENT
Operating Temperature°G5¢J~35¢J
Storage Temperature°G-20¢J~ 60¢J
Operating Humidity°G20% ~ 80%
EMI/SAFETY
FCC class B , CE , VCCI , BCIQ , UL/CUL , TUV, CSA
DROP SPECIFICATION
26 drops of 36 inches to plywood over concrete
with unit off and display closed. 5 units to pass.
MIL STD 810E, Method 516.4, Procedure IV,
Height Modified
VIBRATION
MIL STD 810E, Method 514.4, Procedure I, Category 10,
Fig 16 & 17/ASTM 4169, Truck Transport, 11.5.2 Random
test, Assurance Level II
SPILL PROOF KEYBOARD
Water should not leak to electronics if water
spill on C face area.
OPERATING SYSTEM & SOFTWARE
Windows XP Home/ Windows XP Pro (optional)/
MS Worksuite 2002
Power DVD. McAfee antivirus
SECURITY
Kensington Lock
Administrator password
Boot password
OS CERTIFICATION
Windows XP Home/ Windows XP Pro/ Windows 2000Pro logo
Tough, lightweight, power notebook
Built-in Mic
LED indicators
LED for wireless traffic
IEEE1394
Line-out
Mic-in
Battery
LAN Kensington Lock
2 x USB TV-out DVD/CD-RW
Modem PC Card socket External monitor
DC-in USB
Volume Control
IrDA
Hi-Grade PCs use genuine Microsoft® Windows®."
Useful searches done, via Google:
notebook OR laptop lightweight CD-RW/DVD "external monitor"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=notebook+OR+laptop&as_q=lightweight+CD-RW%2FDVD+%22external+monitor%22
If you need further assistance before rating this answer,
please feel free to post a request for clarification.
sublime1-ga |
Clarification of Answer by
sublime1-ga
on
18 Sep 2002 19:36 PDT
catherine...
Here's a review of the Notino R5400 from PC Advisor -
it's not the best for high end video games, but you'll
see they like the price, the durability, and the 2-year
international warranty:
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/index.cfm?go=hardware.view&product=1130
As for Sony Vaio, I found some here:
http://www.comet.co.uk/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ExecMacro/Comet/makelink.d2w/report?subcatname=Laptops
The PCG NV109M, at a heavy 3.9kg has CD-RW/DVD and TV out:
http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/320_845947.html
So does the PCG-VX71P, at only 2kg:
http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/320_865997.html
...and the PCG GRX315MP, at 3.2kg:
http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/320_833275.html
...and the PCG-FX605, at 3.2kg:
http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/320_845921.html
and the PCGFX805, at 3.3kg:
http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/320_862410.html
and the PCGFX802, at 3.1kg:
http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/320_862402.html
So the PCG-VX71P is by far the lightest, though the price
is up there.
As for Samsungs,
In my answer, I said:
"... the Samsungs were more likely to be available
only by order on request."
I thought that would rule them out, since your
deadline of a fortnight would preclude waiting
on the order. Additionally, a search for a Samsung
laptop or notebook with external VGA and DVD-ROM
returned no hits (See searches below).
Have you thought about the Apple Powerbook G4?
It has a lightweight titanium case and external
monitor capacity. Here's a PDF on the specs:
http://www.macworx.demon.co.uk/Pbook.pdf
Oh! - I just looked at the price for a M8591B/A
that has what you want, on this page, for £2160.11:
http://www.iiid.co.uk/auto/ON24.HTM
One search for a lightweight notebook, external VGA,
and DVD-ROM turned up this Acer TravelMate 620:
http://www.starcomputersinc.com/tm620.htm
It seems light enough, at 2.66kg for the unit
with the DVD-ROM, but Star Computers is in the
US, so I searched for one in the UK - all I found
were accessories and batteries.
Then I found that the Travelmate 632XC and 634LC
have DVD/CD-RW drives, and S-video TV-out (NTSC/PAL):
http://www.acer.co.ae/products/notebooks/tm630_01.html
So I searched for them in the UK. Here's where to buy the 632XC:
http://www.getech.co.uk/education/acer_notebook_pricing_page.htm
and
http://www.kmhcomputers.co.uk/acer.html
They weigh in at "2.58 kgs with DVD Module, 14" Screen", and the
prices are in range. I couldn't find a review of that model,
but with a 1-year warranty, I doubt it's as good as the Notino.
I didn't find the 634LC in the UK, at all.
Well, after 4 more hours of searching, I've only found
two viable alternatives to the Notino. I still think the
Notino is your best bet, but you might like the Acer or
the Sony better - the Sony is definitely the lightest!
searches done, via Google:
"Samsung laptop" "external VGA" DVD-ROM
://www.google.com/search?num=50&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=%22Samsung+laptop%22+%22external+VGA%22+DVD-ROM
"Samsung notebook" "external VGA" DVD-ROM
://www.google.com/search?num=50&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=%22Samsung+notebook%22+%22external+VGA%22+DVD-ROM
uk notebook "external VGA" DVD-ROM
://www.google.com/search?num=50&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=uk+notebook+%22external+VGA%22+DVD-ROM&btnG=Google+Search
uk lightweight notebook "external VGA" DVD-ROM
://www.google.com/search?num=50&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=uk+lightweight+notebook+%22external+VGA%22+DVD-ROM
"Acer TravelMate 620" UK
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22Acer+TravelMate+620%22+UK
"Acer TravelMate 620 notebook" UK
://www.google.com/search?num=50&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=%22Acer+TravelMate+620+notebook%22+UK&spell=1
Powebook G4 CD-RW
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=Powebook+G4+CD-RW&btnG=Google+Search
"Travelmate 634LC" uk
://www.google.com/search?num=50&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=%22Travelmate+634LC%22+uk&btnG=Google+Search
"Travelmate 632XC" uk
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22Travelmate+632XC%22+uk
"Travelmate 632XC" review
://www.google.com/search?num=50&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=%22Travelmate+632XC%22+review&btnG=Google+Search
If you believe I can be of further assistance, please
feel free to request another clarification before you
rate my efforts on your behalf.
sublime1-ga
|
