Light, affordable budget laptop

Hi, my friend is looking for a 14" - 15" sized notebook, but as light as possible, with decent battery life.

She's basically going to just use it for office work and browsing/email etc..., so nothing hardware intensive is required, however, a stronger processor would really help her out for picture viewing and minor editing. If it's not too much of a compromise, a strong processor would be preferable.

Also, an SSD would also be preferable, though I think she may also need some space for pictures and files. So, SSD if possible. Maybe a Seagate momentus could be a nice choice.

Other than that, the video card requirements are basically nil. Lightness is a key factor; throw me whatever you've got regardless of price since budget is not fixed, but will most likely stay at or under $1000.

Thanks everyone!

Most ultrabooks out there tick the boxes, although your friend may need to get an external hard drive as 128GB SSDs fill up real fast.

A few suggestions:
- Asus UX31E
- Acer Aspire S3
- Samsung Series 5
- Toshiba Portege Z835

Lightness comes at a pretty hefty premium, you can get much better specs for lower prices if you're willing to accept normal thickness laptops.

p.s. as Ivy Bridge is just a few months away I would wait for IB ultrabooks to hit the market, maybe that will kickstart the ultrabook movement and reduce prices.

Yes lightness does come with a hefty premium. Weight is important to a point, probably less than $1000 USD.

I'm looking for one in the near future...

Light 'weight' laptop.

Hi, You might consider the Sony VAIO Y series.
This one has reasonable performance, price and weighs 1.4kg.
Here is the review;
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/alist/value-laptop

Hmm, that looks like a great budget choice!
I'll definitely recommend it over... though it may be a tiny bit small/underpowered.
Thanks!