Archive for the ‘Laptops’ Category
So you find yourself in the market for a new laptop computer. Your last one was a complete beast and incredibly heavy to lug around. Being the savvy business man you are, you decide that this time you want something light and easy to open up just about anywhere to catch up on your email or go over the spread sheet figures from the sales meeting. Maybe you are a designer looking for a lightweight laptop to take with you so that you can show off your portfolio to potential clients or to wow a current client with your latest designs.
It’s a good thing for you that you stumbled across this list, because we’re about to show you 15 well performing highly portable netbooks and laptops that won’t break your budget.
- ASUS Eee PC
Need a netbook that you can pound on all day long? Look no further. The Asus Eee PC EPC1000HE will last you up to 9.5 hours, more than sufficient for just about anyone. It boots quickly, running off of an Intel Atom 1.66GHz processor with 1GB DDR2 memory, and you can add another stick of ram for even more speed. The 10” viewable widescreen and integrated Intel graphics allow you to view movies and more. While you’re not going to be playing the latest and greatest games, you can still get your game on with some of your favorite older titles.It comes standard with a 160GB hdd, as well as integrated WiFi, and Bluetooth for connectivity on the go.
Asus has been in the netbook industry for quite some time, and it really shows. The hinges are solid and will last for a very long time. With a price tag of around $389, this little buddy is rock solid and won’t hurt your budget.
- MSI Wind U100
MSI is traditionally known for making motherboards, and they’ve come out swinging with their line up of netbooks. The MSI Wind is powered by Intel’s Atom N270 processor running at 1.60GHz. Combined with 1GB of ram and Intel GMA950 integrated graphics and you have yourself a nice platform for staying productive even while away from the office. The included 3 cell battery only gives this netbook a solid 2 hours of stress usage, but the availability of an optional 6 cell battery really adds value to it.It has a wider keyboard than most of the netbooks out there, and because it is a larger netbook it does drain a little more on the battery than most. It has a 10.0” LCD screen and includes an 160GB hdd. For staying connected, integrated WiFi or Bluetooth is a big bonus. Weighing in at 2.9 lbs, it is a little bit heavier than some of its competition, but the price tag of just over $320 makes this netbook nicer on your wallet when compared to some of the others.
- HP Mini 1035NR
With one of the brighter screens on the market, the 1035NR also gains accolades for a well done keyboard. Its 10.2” WSVGA displays a resolution of 1024×600, and the Intel Atom 1.60GHz processor along with 1GB of DDR2 memory provides plenty of power for keeping up with your office productivity. As with several of it’s brethren, it relies on a hard drive instead of solid state. At 60GB and only 4200rmp, it is also has less storage and accesses information slower than a majority of the competition. Boot up time tends to be a little slower than many of the other netbooks out there because of this.It does come with integrated Bluetooth and WiFi allowing you to stay connected that much easier. The lack of a 6 cell battery might be a drawback for some, and requiring an adapter for VGA display certainly places a bit of a damper on what could be a rock solid offering from HP. With a recommended price tag of around $450, it may just be the most pricy netbook around with the least amount of features.
- Acer Aspire One AOD150-1165
The Aspire One netbook comes in with a $329 price tag. Standard features include an Intel Atom 1.60GHz processor, 1GB DDR2 ram, integrated graphics and Wifi. Everything you need to stay productive on the go is included. You’re certainly not going to be gaming or doing any serious graphic designing on this netbook, but if you’re planning on purchasing a machine with that in mind, then you’re probably not looking for a netbook anyway.It does not have integrated Bluetooth, which is something of a let down, and like most netbooks, it does not have an integrated optical drive. Getting your digital media onto this unit is a challenge, but the computer savvy person should have no issues with this.
- Lenovo Ideapad S10e
Always known for their quality products, Lenovo brings this netbook to the table. Integrated Bluetooth, WiFi, a netbook camera, and a 6 cell battery with up to 5 hours of operation are a great start. Add in the Intel Atom 1.60GHz processor, 1GB DDR2 memory and a 10.1” widescreen displaying at 1024×576 resolution makes the whole deal that much sweeter.
Puzzling though is the 160GB standard HDD in lieu of a solid state drive and sole choice of Windows XP Home. A 3 cell battery places the S10e behind a few of its cousins on this list. Priced at around $350, the quality of the S10e seems to overshadow the included features. (more…)
Ben Reitzes, an analyst with Barclays Capital, believes that Walmart is flirting with the idea to begin selling Apple computer products in their store in the future.
Apparently they are looking to fill the gap that now defunct electronics retailer Circuit City left. Walmart is working on revamping and doing a hefty makeover of their electronics section by expanding their HDTV and Blu-ray selections and expanding their smartphone line up. Walmart is also one of the select stores where you can buy the new Palm Pre in June. (more…)
Toshiba has released a 512GB solid state drive (SSD) in their newest Portegé laptop this week, the most storage space (and yet the smallest in size!) for an SSD drive on the laptop market so far.
Aside from the normal advantages of flash drives (no more hard-drive head-docking-clicks when you jiggle it on your knees), this new drive uses a parallel processing controller that Toshiba promises will get you around 230MB/180MB per second read/write speeds. (more…)
MSI has been a popular manufacturer of notebook PCs and has found a niche market with its MSI Wind line, but the company has made another bound with the debut of the GX630, a gaming notebook with a price tag under a grand. (more…)
Lenovo has been teasing a dual screen laptop for some time, and now we finally have a confirmation on the machine. The Lenovo ThinkPad W700ds features a 17 inch primary display with a 10 inch slide-out secondary display. Details are scarce, but sources say that the system will make use of high-end Intel CPUs, optional RAID HDD/SSD setups, NVIDIA Quadro FX graphics acceleration, up to 8GB of DDR3 RAM and dual-link DVI/Display Port/VGA support. (more…)
There are handy gadgets on the market these days that serve as a benefit in one way or another, and then there are the gadgets that satisfy some aesthetic but serve no other purpose at all. There are dozens, if not hundreds or even thousands, of gadgets out there that provide no benefit other than being cool, or funny, or even oddly disturbing.
Below we’ve got a list of gadgets that are superfluous in function, yet fun and entertaining. We present to you 19 weird and wacky gadgets that you will probably never need.
- RSStroom Reader
The RSStroom reader by Yi Tien Electronics is a news ticker style printer that will print your selected RSS feeds directly onto rolls of toilet paper. Read your news while you’re in the restroom, and then put your news to good use when you’re done.
- Rubiks Cube MP3 Player
The Rubik Cube Mp3 Player has the appearance of the classic Rubik’s cube puzzle, and even has a similar function, requiring that you solve different parts of the puzzle in order to operate the player. Each layer you solve has different functions, such as play, pause, and skip. You must completely solve the puzzle in order to turn off the player. Impractical? Yes. Entertaining? …Maybe.
- Ashtray Smoke Sucker
In order to accommodate non-smokers, smokers could make use of the ashtray smoke sucker, a small USB powered device that acts as an ashtray but also contains an internal fan that sucks in cigarette smoke, running it through a carbon filter.
- Aquaduct Bike
The Aquaduct bike by IDEO is a fully functioning tricycle with a built-in tank of water. Once you fill the tank and operate the bike, it will begin to purify the water. It’s handy for outings when you have to fill up the tank at a questionable public water source.
- Anti-Theft Car/Bike Stickers
This sticker set is designed to be used to make your vehicle appear rusted and undesirable, so as to prevent theft. How effective that is, I don’t know, but it sounds pretty weird and wacky. (more…)
If the PlayStation 3 is considered the most entertaining Blu-ray player, then the new Sony VAIO TT is now officialy the smallest, most mobile Blu-ray player on the market.
You can record up to 50GB of data to a single Blu-ray Disc. To complement your moving HD experience, an HDMI output is provided should you need to connect the VAIO TT to a compatible HDTV. The integrated stereo Bluetooth technology can also be used for wirelessly connecting to wireless audio capable speakers.
As a laptop the Sony VAIO TT is pretty solid, combining an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, a 256GB Solid State drive and 4GB of RAM. It has a black carbon-fiber casing and a backlit 11.1″ LED display. (more…)
Anyone who owns and iPhone or iPod touch can attest to the unprecedented level of computing power contained in those devices. In fact, the small size of the powerful media player can sometimes be frustrating, especially the tiny touchscreen keyboard. OLO plans to change all that with its iPhone-laptop dock.
Simply lock the iPhone into the spot where the trackpad normally sits on most laptops, and you suddenly have access to a full blown computer, all contained inside the phone itself. (more…)
It’s that time of the year when Apple updates their MacBooks. They now use a new manufacturing technique that allows them to create the casing from one chunk of aluminium. The result? A slimmer, yet stronger casing profile, and better-looking laptops.
The multitouch trackpad is now made from glass, and the 13.3 inch LCD now uses an LED backlight that’s brighter and better than the previous one. (more…)
Details concerning the release of a brand new, premium netbook were leaked earlier this week, much to Asus’ ire. The netbook is the new EeePc S101, and it comes with some features that are sure to please.
The specs include:
• Intel Atom chipset
• 1GB RAM
• Up to 64GB SSD with free 20GB online storage
• 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
• Three USB, 10/100 Ethernet, 4-in-1 memory card reader and VGA ports
• 0.3-megapixel Webcam
• Multitouch trackpad
• Five-hour battery life
• Brown, champagne, or graphite color options
• Windows XP Home or GNU Linux operating system
• About 20 inches by 7 inches by just less than an inch
• 2.2 pounds
The S101 will retail at $699 for a 16 GB Windows XP version. That will also be the price for a 32GB Linux version, but for an extra $100 you will be able to upgrade the storage to 64GB. (more…)
