Intel

The difference between Pentium M and Celeron M is this:

Pentium M Banias: up to 1.5 GHz, 1MB L2 Cache, 400 MHz bus
Pentium M Dothan: up to 2.0 GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 400 MHz bus
Celeron M: up to 1.5 GHz, 512K L2 Cache, 400 MHz bus

The Celeron M chips are Pentium M chips which have been stripped of some L2 Cache and which don't run as fast. You're much better off with a Pentium M Dothan.

YES IT IS A WASTE, YES IT IS A WASTE, YES IT IS A WASTE.

The original Pentium M Banias cpu (used in Centrino notebooks for best performance/weight/battery life combination) was from 1mhz to 1.6mhz and had 1mb L2 system cache -- this cache is faster than using RAM or your hard drive to access frequent web pages, programs, etc and is one of the reasons the Pentium M performs 1.5-2x its mhz speed in relation to the Pentium 4M (also the special chipset helps).

The new Pentium M Dothan Cpus have doubled the L2 system cache from 1mb to 2mb L2 system cache and they have a new chip manufacturing process. They were able to double the L2 cache as the rest of the cpu now takes up less space on the chip. This is a 715 Pentium M 1.5mhz or higher ... don't buy the 705 1.5 -- that is an older Banias chip.

Now, to net in people by pushing the price of the notebook below $1,000 the Celeron Pentium M has only 512kb L2 system cache !!! That is 1/4 the current Dothan Pentium M's and 1/2 the original Pentium M.

You can easily get a well configured Pentium M notebook with 64mb of dedicated video RAM (get shared/integrated for under $1,000 and you will learn the hard way also -- CAN'T MOVE FROM SHARED VIDEO TO DEDICATED VIDEO LATER) for the $1,000-$1,500 range for a 15.4" widescreen notebook in the 6.2-6.5 pound range.

See the HPZT3000 / Compaq X1000 twins at hpshopping.com for comparison and see X1000forums.com for best discounts and pricing if interested in this model (15.4 inch widescreen, 6.5 pounds -the lowest Dothan Pentium M you can order on this is the 725 1.6 mhz)

You can also get the HP DV1000 series with the full Pentium M Dothan 1.6 mhz chip which is 5.3 pounds with a 14" widescreen but this has only shared video memory -- it does have instant on use of the CD/DVD player though and 2 headphone jacks in front (great for airplane travel or back seat car use).

Both of these models are in the $1,000-$1500 price range after discounts (best to order at hpshopping but also on sale at retail stores like Best Buy, Circuit City, etc)