Question : Problem: Help me choose the right ultra-portable

Good day, experts.  I'm in the market for a new notebook to replace my heavy old one.  I don't have the time to navigate vendor sites to come up with my various options, so I'm willing to trade my points for your time and expertise in this area.

To participate, please help me find a suitable Windows notebooks that meet my criteria:

Must-haves:
- It must be relatively light, i.e. 5lbs max.  (My current one is more than 8 lbs!)
- It must have an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU.  Generally I don't care which, but any with the 4MB cache are preferred to the 2MB cache, but don't rule that out.
- It must have at least 1GB RAM, but 2GB is better.
- It must have decent graphics e.g. for Vista's Aero Glass UI, with minimum 1280x800 or 1368x768 wide-screen resolution.  Screen size of 12"-15".
- It must have integrated 10/100/1000Mbps (Gigabit) Ethernet.
- It must have an integrated wireless adapter supporting 802.11g and WPA.
- It must have a touchpad pointing device.  It's OK if it also has a nipple pointing device but I don't want only one of those.
- It must have an integrated 56K modem.
- It must have at least an 80GB hard drive.
- It must have USB2, speaker/headphones line-out, mic line-in, VGA out.

Nice-to-haves:
- It would be nice to have an integrated DVD-RW drive, but an external connecting DVD-RW is acceptable.
- It would be nice to have an integrated SD/MMC card reader, but a PC Card slot is acceptable since I have a PC Card card reader in my current laptop.
- It would be nice to have a Firewire/IEEE1394 port, but none is acceptable.
- It would be nice to have Bluetooth, but none is acceptable.

I am located in Canada.  I definitely have access to major vendors (Dell, Toshiba, HP, Sony, Lenovo, etc.) but I am also willing to entertain other vendors that will ship to Canada (Gateway?, etc?)

Please provide specific model numbers and a brief summary of features.  It's absolutely OK to suggest a base model that is customizable *when ordering* (but not after the fact), however please mention what components would need to be customized to get it to match my needs.

Try not to repeat a previous expert's suggestion unless you would like to strongly "second" the recommendation among yours, or if you have additional information that either eliminates it as a possible choice, or reinforces it as a possible choice.  For instance, if you prefer/dislike the quality/service/etc. of a given vendor, do say so.

My generous points will go to the answer(s) with the best options listed and likely to lead me to a specific purchase, but I will award the points to the best answer(s) before I buy, on the merit of the answer(s).

Answer : Problem: Help me choose the right ultra-portable

Well, the Dell Latitude D620 systems (Dell Small Business notebook) weigh in at 4.3lbs w/ a 3-4 hour battery, and then vary by a pound or so, based on more powerful battery options (around 5.5lbs w/ a 7 hour battery).

It offers a 256mb Nvidia (Quatro) upgrade for improved graphics power.

I know lots of folks will comment on Dell's service these days, especially for consumer and small biz users.  If you have any options to buy from Dell through an EPP (employee purchase program...available for most large companies who do business with Dell, or thru K-12, Higher Ed., medical, etc), then you can qualify for Dell's Enterprise Level support, with uses north american techs exclusively, and is some of the best support on the planet.

Finally, Dell is one of the few (only?) notebook manufacturers who will service your notebook computer ONSITE (like at your home or biz).  Most others will require you to send it to a depot for service...1-4 weeks till it comes back.  Of course, that's only if there's a problem....

Here's the specs I built just now:

Components
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7200 (2.00GHz) 4M L2 Cache, 667Mhz Dual Core
Genuine Windows® XP Professional, SP2, with media
Express Upgrade to Windows Vista Business from XP Professional, ENG  (NOTE:  I really suggest you wait a while before installing Vista on any machine!)
14.1 inch Wide Screen WXGA+ LCD Panel
2.0GB, DDR2-667 SDRAM, 2 DIMMS
80GB Hard Drive, 9.5MM, 7200RPM
8X DVD-RW drive with Cyberlink Power DVD
256MB NVIDIA® Quadro NVS 110M TurboCache™
Wireless: Intel® 3945 802.11a/g Dual-Band Mini Card
Wired: 56K v924 Internal Modem
Wired: 10/100/1000 Gigabit5 Ethernet network interface adaptor
Standard Touchpad
Accessories
9 Cell Primary Battery
90W A/C Adapter
No Floppy Drive
Software
Resource CD - Contains Diagnostics and Drivers
Service
3 Year On-site Mobility Plan


$1673.00 US

-TechInsider