I bought a $50 ThinkPad last year and put Linux on it. I'm obviously not the target market, but this seems to me like the "correct" way to use a PC laptop, and

I bought a $50 ThinkPad last year and put Linux on it. I'm obviously not the target market, but this seems to me like the "correct" way to use a PC laptop, and solves all the problems you mentioned. (I don't game though, which seems like the only reason most people get a PC in the first place.)