Dell Inspiron 710m

Pros: Fast, sleek looking, keys are not too small at all (and i have big hands), great price

Cons: Dell always pre-installs tons of advertisment software (Free 90 Days to AOL, etc) that's annoying to have to spend a half hour uninstalling when you first get the computer.

Summary: Though CNET may think that the price on the 710m is too high, we should all know by now that Dell online discount coupons are widely available for free that will get you sometimes several hundreds of dollars more off of your price. For me, I was able to find a $750 off coupon for any laptop over $1999, and I got my $2200 computer for under $1500. That's with a 2.0ghz Centrino, 1gb ddr ram, an 80gb hard drive, DVD-ROM/CDRW drive, windows xp pro, an extra extended life (5.5 hrs) battery, and a 2 year warranty with 2 years complete care accident protection.

Personally I don't understand how CNET's review can imply that the VAIO S series laptop with similar specs is somehow a better laptop. It's only 7% faster at similar specs, but you'll pay (after Dell Discounts, coupon or no) several hundreds of dollars more for it than the 710m.

Also, I was surprised to find it's incredibly quiet (I leave it on next to my bed at night and I can't hear it at all going to sleep) and it runs cooler than any other laptop I've used.

If I had to find a problem with it I'd say it was annoying to have to uninstall the tons of useless pre-installed ads (the desktop was FULL of icons for these things when I first booted it up). Also like the 700m before it the extended life battery adds a bit of weight (about .5lbs) and sticks out of the back of the laptop by about an extra half-inch.

P.S. Does CNET really think people care all that much about multimedia controls on the case of the system, I've probably used those kinds of buttons less than 10 times in 5 years of having them on various computers.