Well I've been reading more online reviews & the general theme is that the AJP laptops go wrong within a couple of months & then it's a nightmare trying to get ajp to fix them and to take responsibility for it. This chap really liked his D500E when he got it, but it's just started to go wrong, so maybe it'll be a good idea to keep an eye on his reports
http://www.whatlaptop.co.uk/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=7006&whichpage=1
Thing is, computers & especially laptops do go wrong. If they don't go wrong at all ever you've been really really lucky with your lappy! So you really need a company that is going to provide good customer service & technical support. And I don't think that AJP do.
So far I'm loving my Inspiron 9100. It's basically the same spec (hasn't got a second swappable drive...and, um, that's it...), was a couple of quid cheaper & comes with a much better service pack: worldwide, next day, onsite for only £85! The foot-wedge-thing under it does make it look a bit 80's in the pictures. But you really don't notice it. It's about quarter of an inch wider, but for me that's just fine. Oh, and I like the fact that the keyboard doesn't keep popping out!
As for weight, I think it's either the same weight or a little bit lighter then the D500P. But it does feel better built & sturdier. However, with something that highly specced you've got to expect the weight with it. The battery life is about the same too - about 1-1.5hrs (although I haven't tested it properly yet, just going on the written specs). But again, I don't think you're going to get such a high specced machine with a longer battery life. And lets face it, if you're planning on using it away from a plug, you're probably not going to want to get something that heavy & that highly specced in the first place. So maybe the 8600 would be better? Especially if the difference in spec isn't going to make any real difference in your end use.
BTW foudn one chap who said this in April:
"Product: 6200 Laptop
Buyer beware - If you ever need to return a laptop for repair 1) take several pictures of it 2) have them signed by a solicitor.
My laptop needed a new cpu power supply circuit board, when I collected it after repair it had scratches on the case and the hard drive was broken. They of course deny any liability and produced paper work to say the damage was already there when they received it (I suspect that this was typed in and re-printed while I waited).
Two weeks after I bought a new hard drive and reinstalled everything the cpu power supply fault recurred – I haven’t used the laptop since."
http://www.romulus2.com/feedback/company.php?3 (His is the review under my lengthy one!)
To add to your confusion though, a friend of mine recommends the ACER!
