Buying a new laptop

[Tristam]

My Dell Inspiron 6000 isn't cutting it anymore. 5 1/2 years is too much to ask of any laptop, and it just took one step closer to the grave with a busted backlight.

I'm looking for something 14-15", under $1000, with decent battery life and a high-quality screen conducive to extended reading. The chiclet-style keyboard is a plus because it looks easier to clean than the standard keyboard. I dig dedicated media controls as well.

I like the look of Lenovo's Edge 14. Anyone else have any recommendations based on my criteria? Thanks.

[Tieno]

over $1000: macbook pro. Haven't regretted it, it's an amazing piece of HARDware.

[Van Cruncheon]

asus ul series: http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-U45JC-A1-14-Inch-Light-Laptop/dp/B003WIYMA6/ref=dp_ob_title_ce

i have one and adore it. crazy battery life, optimus graphics (switches to a discrete geforce 310m for games), great chiclet keyboard, great screem quality. i actually prefer it for work to my macbook pro.

[Tristam]

That Asus is slick and sexy (and holy hell at the 9-hour battery life), but then I'd be paying premium for a discrete graphics chip that I don't really need as I play little else other than Tetris these days. I'd kill for the exact thing but without the beefy graphics chip and at a corresponding lower price. Thanks for the recommendation, though--it is a sweet machine.

[Van Cruncheon]

eh, the gpu helps future proof it as well.