Have a Sony VAIO VGN-SZ140P notebook bought in CA some 22 months ago. 

The screen has gone. To replace the LED is going to be a minimum of $850. I have also bashed the casing a bit. To repair those elements would take the total bill to $1250. I'm a business user running XP, Office. Nothing too major. At 22 months with my hard drive and system conflicts already 'beginning' to give some bother, wouldn't I be crazy to spend this kind of dough?

DELL have a notebook coming in at 1.7 kgs Here's a slice of a review from Good Gear Guide I just read:

When it comes to big things in small packages, the Dell XPS M1330 is a prime choice. This super slim, high powered notebook is packed with style. Named in part for its 13in screen, the black and silver XPS M1330 that we tested is one of the slimmest notebooks we've seen, and topped the charts with its benchmark scores. It offers good battery life, a nice LCD and even sports an HDMI output.

It's no surprise that Dell has built the M1330 on Intel's latest Centrino platform (codenamed Santa Rosa). In our review model Dell has installed the high-end T7700 2.4GHz CPU with an 800MHz front side bus and a 4MB L2 cache for the maximum performance results. There's also a tasty 2GB of DDR2 RAM installed and one of NIVIDA's new mobile graphics chips, the GeForce 8400M GS for good measure.

Windows Vista Ultimate has been installed. The 13in screen has a native resolution of 1280x800 which looks great for its size. Watching DVD's is a pleasure. The colours are nice, the contrast is good and the brightness is fair. The viewing angle is one of the best we've seen in a notebook for some time.

As far as battery tests go, the Dell XPS M1330 performed as well as other notebooks using Intel's latest Centrino platform, lasting 90 minutes in our DVD rundown test. This test was done within Windows, using Windows Media player, not Dell Direct (like all our other notebooks are tested) and the test is considered a worst-case scenario due to the added strain of the optical drive and speakers. Subsequently we expect it should last longer under normal load.

Only two USB ports are installed, which seems a little limited. In addition to HDMI, VGA is also included as a video output. One FireWire port is present a well as one Express Card slot. There is an Ethernet connection and Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g and draft-n, but the usual 56k modem has been omitted. A 160GB (7200rpm) hard drive has been installed, which is a nice extra touch of speed.

The keyboard is quite comfortable to type on and doesn't feel cramped. The touchpad is nice and responsive and its silver finish blends into the brushed metal palm rest. Unlike other XPS notebooks and PCs this model doesn't have the garish flashing lights that advertise "gamer" or "nerd" even if you still do. As an added little pleasantry, the M1330 comes with a custom made bag. It's not a carry bag; it is more of a protective sleeve.

I can pick this up for perhaps A$1800. COMMENTS WELCOME!

Definitely more worth the money to get a new one!

Plus it looks better than the Vaio too

Here's a different angle:

Would you believe it, I found a video review of it too!

Lots more if you search on youtube

Looks like a good deal.  I prefer Dell to Sony any day as driver support is better on Dell's site.  My not yet 3 year old Vaio does not have an Invidia driver that supports 1440X900 for my new screen, so I had to get a generic one from Invidia that does not support Sony's hot keys.  \

Dell is a good choice, as are Toshiba.

Though it's not as sexy (and more expensive), you may want to check out the Thinkpad X300. It's a direct competitor to the just released Macbook Air. Here's a comparison from Gizmodo.

I had this exact question and ultimately bought the new Sony SZ670. Lighter and more power. Drivers were not much of an issue; I just installed the LaptopDrivers.com hack. I could have easily bought the Dell though, it's a really nice machine.

And yeah, if you want cred get the Air...

I wish I had an AIR....

(on the lighter side of Dell - fire sale)

Does anyone know how strict (or not) Dell is about the distinction between home and business?

There's a laptop only available in the "Small or medium business" section that's much better value than any of the home machines.

I thought that was just a silly classification system. HP has it too.

Can they stop you from buying something if your intended use isn't according to what they specify?

Super-King. My impression is not strict at all and it is fundamentally a sales-driven exercise to better marry-up specs with need.

Kewl, 'cause it really is a lot cheaper for what you're getting

2.4GHz Core 2 Duo, 3GB of RAM, 250GB hard drive, 256MB GeForce 8600M GT, 6 cell battery & built in camera for £480. Any upgrades make it quite expensive quite quickly, but the base spec is pretty damn good. (Vostro 1500)

Compare to one of the XPS range from the Home section and the price for a similar thing is stupid, £900+ just for the XPS name.

Even from the Inspiron line-up you'll be paying at least £700 for those specs... although the Inspirons do give you an extra 2" of screen size (the ones you can customise up to that level at least, the 15" ones are all stuck with integrated graphics)

Just had a quick look at the UK site, note these start at £189 excl. VAT. That's unbelievable! Why would I be paying 3.5 x that for the XPS? Cannot be all looks?

I think it's because you'll be buying in Australia... electronics are waaay more expensive here for some reason.

I got a friend to buy me a 120G ext hard drive from Singapore, cost about A$75.

Over here, the same drive costs twice as much at the cheapest place you can find!