I live in Tokyo.  I have a Panasonic Let’s Note CF-W5 laptop that’s about 3.5 years old.  I bought it with a Japanese operating system but re-installed it with Windows XP ENGLISH version to change the OS.  I also have an older Toshiba Tecra laptop (English OS) that is only used as a desktop because the screen doesn’t work and it has to be hooked up to a monitor.

I feel like both LAPTOPS on there last legs and could break down permanently anytime!  As a result, I am considering buying a new laptop.  The reason I am posting is to seek advice about what I should consider buying.  I will explain what my needs are and hopefully I can get some good advice / feedback about what I should get.

1. Size / Weight: Most importantly, it needs to be fairly light because I take it with me everywhere everyday.  It doesn’t have to be that small, but weight is the most important thing. 

2. Speed / HD size: I use a wireless internet connection that plugs into a USB port when away from home.  I often run several applications at the same time, so memory is really important.  I currently have 60GB HDs on my laptops and really need a lot more space. 

3. Usage:  I use it mainly for high-speed surfing, skype, e-mail, TV/movies/videos, WORD documents, and stuff like that.  Like I said, I like to run several applications at the same time.

4. Power Supply: It would be really nice to have a machine with a long battery life.  It would come in extremely handy in some situations. 

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.  I look forward to some suggestions.
Well, you'll get a much larger hard drive with just about any new one.  As far as I've seen, the smallest HD you'll see in new laptops is 250GB.  From there, it generally ranges up to 500GB.  320GB seems to be the most common on new laptops.

I just LOOKED at a Toshiba on newegg.com that looks like it might be a very good choice for you.  It has 320 GB HD, 4GB of RAM, Windows 7 Home Premium, and, weighs 3.88 lbs, which I believe is quite a good, light weight for a laptop.  And, apparently, the battery life is exceptionally good; perhaps this is due to a slower processor than some other models.  I don't believe newegg.com ships to Japan but the laptop can be seen here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834114730 Thanks very much for the responses and great info.

Budget-wise... Well, I'm hesitant about spending the kind of $$$ I've spent on laptops before. This is because it seems that I'm only going to get 3-4 years max. with just about any laptop before needing to replace it anyway. As long as performance is really good, I'm not sure spending big $$ is anything more than buying a name. Or is it? My Toshiba Tecra (originally purchased in 2002 but replaced by Toshiba over 2 yrs. later due to so many problems) was upwards of 300,000 yen (over $3,000). My Panasonic Let's Note was just under 200,000 yen (or about $2,000).

What are you thoughts on that? I know that I always have to have at least 2 working laptops at all times, otherwise I run the risk of being laptopless if one breaks down.

I guess the most important things for me are weight, durability, speed, and battery life. Well, if you visited the link I provided, you would have realized that prices have dropped drastically since you bought your laptops.  The laptop in the linked page is currently selling for $600 plus shipping in the U.S.  I was in the local Staples store here recently saw at least two laptops selling for $400; I believe one of them involved a mail-in rebate to get that price.  And, even at those prices, the computers had 3GB of RAM and, as I recall, 250GB hard drives.  And, just about any new laptop on the market now will be sufficient for doing the things you mentioned.

Of course, I do not know whether prices in Japan are similar to here in the U.S., or higher. 

To find reviews on certain models, just do a Google search using the make and model of the computer, plus the word reviews.  And, even though newegg.com does not ship to Japan, you can still read buyer reviews posted on their site.  They have many models; see http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=32&name=Laptops-NotebooksThanks for the info.  Yes, I'm well aware that prices have dropped tremendously even since I bought my last laptop 3.5 years ago. 

If they don't ship to Japan, I could probably get it shipped to a friend in the U.S. or Canada and have it sent over that way.  We're planning to re-locate to Canada early next year but it may be too late to buy then.