Laptop Advice

[nin137]

about 2 months ago i posted a thread for advice on a laptop:
http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=146402
and since then i had to put it off for a while and now am finally taking the task up again. i got some great advice from thefultonhow and pretty much had my mind made up on a Dell Latitude D610.
now i am once again starting to mull over my decision. a quick summary of what i need:
a lightweight laptop with great battery life, that can run applications and has good wireless connectivity. i am using this primarily for law school. probably the most major component of my purchase other than what i listed above is service.
by service i mean everything from helping me if the computer inexplicably stops functioning, to me accidentally spilling 32 ounces of mountain dew on the thing at 3 am.
dell provides that package and my desired configuartion for about $1,500 (my max budget).
i have been looking at Acer Travelmates and Lenovo Thinkpads as well. i like what they each offer but my main bone of contention with them is that i don't see the same warranty for accidents or for service in case the computer messes up through no fault of my own.
does anyone have any suggestions? or should i just stick with the D610 and stop racking my brains on potential substitutes?
thanks alot!

[glc]

Well, look at what the majority of road warriors use - you will probably see more Thinkpads than anything else. However, the Latitude is Dell's business line and as such, the construction quality and support are geared toward mobile professionals. I would not consider any other manufacturer's business notebook line.

[PCBrandon]

I'm very happy with my laptop, although it's probably a bit more than you want. The specs are in my signature below. I take it back and forth between school everyday for the past month or two and have had no problems. The wireless on this thing is great, I was able to connect to a cheap (around $50) router through at least 10-15 stone brick walls.

It is extremely lightweight, considering the size of it. Plus I can play just about any game out there, currently I play Medal of Honor & Call of Duty 2 on it.

The laptop came about to be $2300 or $2400, but I was able to get a coupon for $750 off!

[thefultonhow]

If you've got a $1500 budget, a ThinkPad T-series, X-series or Z-series is within reach -- barely. Most of the ones you'll be lookking at will either have fewer features or older technology, or both. However, nothing in the non-ruggedized arena beats IBM for reliability and durability, and IBMs are also very lightweight. My T43p is only about 5.5 lbs with its extended battery. Of course, it was about $2100 with tax, shipping, accidental damage protection, and a second hard drive caddy, and that's after a substantial discount (I've heard something like 43%) from my college.

IBMs are worth the price, but you have to be in that budget range before you can get one.

[nin137]

Well after taking the advice into consideration I think I am still leaning towards the D610. One last question I have is the configuration.
Considering the speed of the processor (1.73 ghz) would I be better off getting 1 gig of ram? I will mainly be running applications (actually only applications), but I will most definitely be multi-tasking and having about 6-10 applications open at one time.
is it worh the extra 100 dollars to get that gig? or will i be fine with 512 mb?
also along the multi-tasking angle, i just saw that they have the dual core laptops out now the Inspiron 9400, would that be a better buy for my purpose?
thanks a lot for the help!

[glc]

The 9400 is an 8 pound notebook. You wanted lightweight and that one is far from it.

Yes, the 1gb upgrade is worth it.