Traveling quite a lot, I've been through a number of ultra portable laptops and am sold on Toshibas, now having owned 4. The R500 is, in some ways the best, but is a step back in few. Basically, this laptop is as light as they come for a full featured laptop. This version doesn't have an optical drive but, as someone who doesn't watch DVD's on the road, I really don't want to carry one around anyway. At the refurb price there's just very little to dislike about this laptop. Early reviews complained about the screen on the R500, but mine is great. The only negative I have is that the construction is cheaper than the previous Toshibas I've owned. I think in their quest to be uber-light they added a little too much plastic, but if you're not abusive with the equipment, you won't care. Without an optical drive this laptop is so light that you won't actually believe it when you pick it up. Compared to an R200 I had sitting around, it feels like it must be hollow.