

Ask HN: I have two most basic requirements for a laptop. Why can't I find one? - motiejus

1. 8+ hours of battery life running only vim and Erlang unit tests on Linux. Would honestly enjoy 12 hours.<p>2. &#60;=1.6 kg (3.5 lb)<p>I don't care about GPU or processor. It can be ARM (well.. Vim implies it has to have a workable-size physical keyboard).<p>Why is it so hard to find one? Or do I miss the one?
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jdietrich
The x220 with a 9-cell battery weighs 1650g. It is in every other respect the
perfect development ultraportable - it's powerful, extremely frugal in lower
power states and has a mSATA slot allowing for both an SSD and a HDD. It'll
run for 8 hours on a realistic workload and 12 hours on idle, although like
any laptop you'll want to run linux in a VM under windows, as you'll get
better battery life.

Unless you're taking it into space, just suck up the extra two ounces and buy
the better machine.

~~~
ericabiz
Seconded. Typing this on an older X200s and very happy with it. It gets 8+
hours of battery life (well, 6-7 these days, as it's nearly 3 years old.)
Battery is fully swappable/replaceable.

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nextparadigms
Asus Transformer Prime should last about 15 hours with the keyboard dock. It's
based on ARM. I have no idea if Vim can work on Android, though. Maybe this
will work:

[https://market.android.com/details?id=com.aor.droidedit&...](https://market.android.com/details?id=com.aor.droidedit&feature=more_from_developer#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEwMiwiY29tLmFvci5kcm9pZGVkaXQiXQ.).

[https://market.android.com/details?id=com.touchqode.editor&#...</a><p>There
are others, too. If you need it right now, this is the only one that can last
that much. But if you're not in a hurry, you might want to wait for a larger
screen combination, which I think will appear by summer or so.<p>Here it is,
even lighter and half the price of a Macbook Air:<p><a
href="http://eee.asus.com/en/eeepad/transformer-prime/specification/"
rel="nofollow">http://eee.asus.com/en/eeepad/transformer-
prime/specificatio...</a>

~~~
motiejus
I will be able to run Linux happily on it. Looks nice. However, it doesn't
have a nice-to-have: RAM.

However, really considerable. Thanks!

~~~
nextparadigms
I agree, I wish it came with 2 GB of RAM (not much more you can ask for in the
ARM world right now). There are actually a couple of Lenovo and Toshiba
tablets with that much RAM that have been announced, but they don't have an
integrated keyboard like the Transformer.

As I said, you might want to wait a few more months otherwise. The next
Transformer should come with 2 GB of RAM, 1920x1200 resolution, and might even
have a 11.6" version (but just totally speculating here, based on how Asus
might think for a future device).

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GoldenMonkey
How about macbook air? You can run vim on it.

1.35kg, 7 hrs (using wireless web).

<http://www.apple.com/macbookair/specs.html>

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gte910h
With the wireless off, the 13" mba should do that

[http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook-air/macbook-
ai...](http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook-air/macbook-air-
faq/macbook-air-mid-2011-real-world-battery-life-core-i5-core-i7.html)

<http://store.apple.com/us/configure/MC965LL/A>?

$1300

Ubuntu installs on them fine.

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Artagra
11" Macbook Air = 1.08kg HyperJuice 60Wh external Battery = 0.36kg

Comes in under your weight limit, will give you 10+ hours. Only disadvantage
is it's a cumbersome / weird form factor, macbook plus external batt.

However, if you find a decent small bag, it won't really be that much of an
issue.

[http://www.hypershop.com/HyperJuice-External-Battery-for-
Mac...](http://www.hypershop.com/HyperJuice-External-Battery-for-MacBook-
iPad-60Wh-p/mbp-060.htm)

------
webreac
Archos 9 pc tablet SSD (800g) \+ Microsoft Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 5000
(415g) \+ battery 6000Mah (around 8h on Windows 7, I do not know for linux)

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may
I like the Lenovo ThinkPad X120E w/ an SSD. However, you could get a better
lenovo with longer battery life for more than 500.

------
SamReidHughes
Panasonic SX1 with large battery, weighs 1.39 kg, claims 16 h of battery life,
i5 processor.

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revorad
What's your budget? What size do you want? Which country are you going to buy
it in?

~~~
motiejus
Hopes for $1k (it shouldn't be more, should it?), budget is up to $2k.

UK or USA (I could ask a friend to bring me one easily).

Size: I need a workable keyboard, that's all. As mentioned in description,
there are 2 requirements: battery life and weight. In practice, I feel
comfortable enough with 11'.

I don't like Macs for many reasons, one of which is I can't change its
battery.

~~~
caw
You could try looking for a larger netbook, those had fairly decent battery
life, and you could trade out batteries. However, the screen probably won't be
as nice.

You could also look at Ultrabooks (similar to the Air), but they'll have the
same problem of changing batteries.

~~~
gunhinta
Sony x series with extended battery. Light and 10 hours plus.

