I'm traveling a lot (due to job-related reasons) and I've got very bad experiences with durability, functionality and overall quality of Chinese stuff (read: Lenovo) in such conditions. And I'm not talking about struggling through the jungle or crossing wast wilderness on the back of the camel and chasing away hungry predators by smashing them with the laptop but traveling by plane or car with your luggage in the cargo hold / trunk... In my opinion and experience Lenovo is bloody fragile and unreliable.

On the other hand, I'm pretty pleased with Acer products. Currently I'm using Acer Aspire 5745DG and apart from minuscule things (like no_longer_so_shiny cover) it's serving me really well.
So my advice is - go Acer. For example: [url=]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Acer-15-6-inch-Notebook-Processor-Integrated/dp/B00G48QIV2/ref=sr_1_2?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1386754199&sr=1-2&keywords=acer+aspire[/url]

Virtually the same price that Lenovo you originally posted, better (in my opinion) specs and better (again, in my opinion) quality.

Which Lenovo series? The T-series of Lenovo ThinkPads are generally considered quite sturdy (I think they are mainly targeted to corporate use, so they also cost more by default), but I am sure the cheapo Lenovos are similarly cheaply manufactured as cheap laptops from other vendors. Price gives quality, when talking about laptops of a similar age.

While I have been able to break two of the USB ports on my Lenovo T400 (I've come into conclusion that it was due to my actions, not due to them breaking easily; I rammed too big USB devices side by side to two USB ports, twisting the ports; should have used a short USB extension cable maybe), generally I've found it very durable.

I've had it since 2008 or so I think, and it has seen lots of abuse and hard use, and yes I have practically taken it even to a jungle with me several times (well, technically, rural area near Thailand/Cambodia border, but still), and it has always travelled with me in a cheap backpack rammed with lots of other hardware, with no padding.

Well I'll be... I think Acer is usually used as one example of a laptop brand that doesn't last. :) Then again, I've never owned one.

One thing I know: the Dell laptops that have replaced Lenovos at our workplace seem to be breaking easily. I already have many colleagues having their semi-new Dells breaking up. Maybe my employer made some good deal with Dell with some special cheap shipment...

The earlier T-series ThinkPads have been generally used here as long as they are supported. E.g. when we moved from Windows XP to Windows 7, many old ThinkPads were retired(*) just because Windows 7 didn't support their old hardware. On the other hand, I updated my OS on this Lenovo T400 from Windows XP to 7, it passed the Win7 compliancy tests after the BIOS was upgraded.

(*) Quite often those old ThinkPads became Linux machines for the test lab use, Windows XP was just replaced with Linux.

Curious experiences there. I've always though of Lenovo being held in high regard (probably because of those bombproof business computers, no idea how their consumer models hold up), which makes them unique among companies that don't manufacture their own hardware as well (ASUS, MSI). There have been a few Acers in the family and they've all been reliable, though, so those aren't out of the question.

I've got about six options lined up at this point, and choosing one is looking like a complete crapshoot. Not much variation in this price range, as timppu stated.

If you won't use it for gaming or non-Office productivity apps, then Surface 2 or anything equivalent. You will be pleasantly surprised.

Or the original Surface Pro or Venue Pro if you find them for a good price.

Overpriced options. If he is going to choose a tablet instead, could be an Android tablet too. They can display pdfs too, and will be cheaper (depending on the model). And have lots more apps.

Pretty sure the second line options can run everything that he can ever dream of. Of course, this is if he can find them for a good price, since he mentioned his budget in the first post.

EDIT: Personally, after having the Surface 2 Pro for about two weeks, I don't think I will ever by anything in a different form factor. The only thing missing is a good GPU, but heh, nothing can really compared with a G750JX regarding price/performance/portability.

Yeah, the Microsoft tablets (and tablets in general) come across as too expensive and inflexible to me (520 euros for a 32GB Surface 2 with a keyboard). They do come with a free license of MS Office Home & Student, but since Uni offers me a cheap two-license deal (= desktop and whatever I end up buying now), the advantage is neither here or there. Admittedly, a tablet would be more portable, but the weight penalty of a laptop is nothing that I can't cope with whenever I have to.

Kudos for not suggesting an iPad though.

EDIT: I've talked my financer into getting a Lenovo G500 i5. Whether it's good value or not is irrelevant at this point, so we can call it a day unless you need somewhere to discuss portable computers further. The game codes have been sent to the winner via PM.

There is an option to get Office for free, since the start of this month. Says that 35K institutions have been enrolled in this programme. Best to check with yours, since they are the ones that are able deploy the package.