Hello, I am in the market for a new laptop and am having a difficult time finding one with all the options I would like. I need a 9 pin serial connection but I dislike the USB to serial adapters. I would also like a built in Modem.
I have heard the Express Card serial adapters work well so I was planning on going that route. Any suggestions on an alternate for an internal modem would be appreciated.
Looking for a 15" screen I7 with Express card slot. Would also like a built in SD card reader.
Any recommendations for a reliable laptop model would be helpful! THANKS!

I own a pair of Toshiba Satellite S-300's and a pair of Dell Latitude D620's. The S-300 has been with me for 5 1/2 years, the second one has an SSD drive. One has XP and the second one Windows 7 ultimate. The Toshiba has a USB 3.0 port and an SD slot. The Dell does not. Neither one has a modem, but I have Zoom external modems https://www.ebay.com/itm/Zoom-56k-USB-Mini-External-Modem-/161887000516?hash=item25b13797c4:g:AFEAAOSwm8VU0Yc2 that I can use...I don't ever remember needing a modem in the last 5 years though.

Carl







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I own two Asus touchscreen 2n1 Laptops with SD readers (model number Q503UA-BHI5T16) Currently on sale at Best Buy for 699 each which is a very good price. I also had an Asus ebook which I used in the field. I don't think you have much choice but to use a usb to serial adapter. I have had no trouble with an adapter. Very difficult if even possible to find one with a built in modem. I have found that most usb modems don't function well when connecting to phone system modems. That being said the one I own is is a HIRO modem and its quite cheap. A US Robotics or Zoom USB might work better. Newer phone systems don't use modems as much as a browser interface and that is a good thing considering that true point to point analog co lines are going away with most dialtone delivered per IP.

Also most if not all new laptops have no VGA/DVI connector. That has been replaced by an HDMI connection which may either be standard or mini depending on the size of the laptop/tablet. Its all about making them thin.

Panasonic Toughbook CF-30. It meets all of your requirements, and I'm making this post from one. It has a touch screen, which is pretty nice, and works very well. This one has a solid state hard drive in it, so it literally has no moving parts. It has Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Modem, and a serial COM port. I bought mine on eBay refurbished for a great price. The keyboard is by far my favorite out of all of my 5 laptops.

Unfortunately, it doesn't have an i7 processor or 17 inch screen.

Hope this helps.

Scott

Thanks to everyone for your input!
Toughbook has been on my radar but did not want to pay that much.
Great idea looking for a refurbished one.
Thanks again for everyone's help!

I use a nice Dell XPS 13" for day to day stuff since most of my stuff I do with a network connection. I keep a Dell 620 as a backup and when I need serial connections.

Today it is getting hard to even find a laptop with an Ethernet connection, much less VGA, serial, etc...

The most temperamental piece of hardware on a laptop is the hard drive, as its the only moving part. So find yourself any used laptop with at least an i5 processor, and order a SSD for it and go to town. Not only will you eliminate the only movable part, but you'll enhance the speed of boot times and application start up times (noticeably!).