The Buyer’s Guide to Laptop Computers an Personal Technology eBook contents []The Buyer’s Guide to Laptop Computers This content was adapted from Internet.com's Hardware Central, and SmallBusinessComputing Web sites. Contributors: Eric Grevstad and Jamie Bsales. 3 Acer Aspire One: No. 1 in Value Eric Grevstad 6 Lenovo IdeaPad U110: An Attractive Idea 3 Eric Grevstad 8 Lenovo ThinkPad X200: A Three-Pound Hatchling Ready to Fly Jamie Bsales 6 8 10 Gateway M-1626: 64 But Not Hardcore Eric Grevstad 14 Lenovo ThinkPad X300: You Know You Want It Eric Grevstad 10 14 17 HP 2133 Mini-Note: Eee-clipse? Eric Grevstad 20 HP EliteBook 6930p: Keep Your Data and Hardware Secure 17 20 Jamie Bsales The Buyer’s Guide to Laptop Computers, An Internet.com Personal Technology eBook. © 2009, Jupitermedia Corp. 1 []The Buyer’s Guide to Laptop Computers The Buyer’s Guide to Laptop Computers ith laptop computers available that are e-mail and the Web would be a good complement. about as powerful as a desktop model, The hardware editors at Internet.com review dozens Wthere's no excuse not have a PC you can of computers, accessories, and gadgets every year. take with you when you hit the road. If you're still tied Here's a sampling of the models they tested in the to your desktop computer, then perhaps a new net- past year to digest before you go hunting for the per- book that can go anywhere and keep you in touch via fect system. Good luck and happy shopping! “ …we created this guide for Internet.com members researching mobile computers that keep them in touch wherever they go. ” 2 The Buyer’s Guide to Laptop Computers, An Internet.com Personal Technology eBook. © 2009, Jupitermedia Corp. []The Buyer’s Guide to Laptop Computers Acer Aspire One: No. 1 in Value By Eric Grevstad e have a winner,if not in the sales competition at book wars, the Aspire One. True, "impressed" doesn't least in the nomenclature contest: The low-priced, mean "enraptured"; Intel's new Atom processor's per- Wlightweight laptops inspired by last fall's Asus Eee formance is underwhelming, and our test unit delivered PC and since described as everything from mini-notebooks disappointingly brief battery life. to kneetops to Microsoft's catchy acronym ULCPCs (ultra- low-cost PCs) are now universally called netbooks, after their But the Acer is a handsome and classy ultraportable primary purpose of simple Web and e-mail access. with a high-quality 8.9-inch display, a remarkably usable keyboard, and the familiar environment of Windows XP They're also selling like mad to students Home Edition with an ample 120GB hard disk for and traveling professionals who don't installing applications and storing data, want to carry a heavy full-sized laptop music, and image files. just for going online or doing some word Considering that it cost the processing or presentation work -- and same $399 as the 7-inch, key- who don't want to pay big bucks for an board- and storage-cramped upscale ultralight such as Apple's Eee PC 4G we cheered last MacBook Air or Lenovo's ThinkPad November, we decided fairly X301. That's why Asus has been joined quickly to give it a thumbs up. by HP, Acer, MSI, and (soon) Dell and Lenovo, all trying to find the And that was before Acer low- sweet spot of reduced-but- ered the price to $349. not-too-reduced features and performance ver- Go Get Your sus price. Own, Kid Trouble is, the plunging prices of full- Actually, Acer has introduced what it fledged notebooks are screwing with the sweet calls back-to-school savings on two spot. HP offers a bare-bones, Linux-based configuration Aspire One models. Our review system, of its 2133 Mini-Note for $499, but the top-of-the-line model AOA150-1570, combines Windows XP Windows Vista Business model is a hefty $829. with 1GB of memory and the abovementioned 120GB hard disk. And while the original 7-inch-screened Eee flew off the shelves at $400, Asus' current 10-inch Eee PC 1000 For $329, the Aspire One AOA110-1722 stays closer to costs $700. That's not even mentioning the online buzz the first Eee recipe with the Linpus Linux Lite operating about an Asus presentation this summer that outlined a system, 512MB of RAM, and an 8GB solid-state drive confusing crop of more than 20 Eee-branded PCs at (SSD) instead of a hard disk. Like the Eee 4G's variation prices up to $900. Can you say "losing sight of simple on Xandros Linux, the Linpus platform hides the open- and affordable"? source OS' complexity behind point-and-click icons in categories such as Connect (browser, instant messen- That's why we're impressed with Acer's entry in the net- ger, e-mail), Fun (media player, photo manager), and 3 The Buyer’s Guide to Laptop Computers, An Internet.com Personal Technology eBook. © 2009, Jupitermedia Corp. []The Buyer’s Guide to Laptop Computers Work (the OpenOffice.org word processor, spread- Like all netbooks, the Acer's keyboard reflects some sheet, and so on). downsizing -- the A through apostrophe keys span 7.25 inches, compared to 8 inches for a desktop keyboard Both of the above Aspires come with a three-cell bat- and 7.5 inches for the category-leading HP 2133. tery pack that fits flush with the back of the case. Acer has assigned the $399 price point to a new Win XP But it's considerably more comfortable than the 6.5 configuration (AOA150-1447) with a 160GB hard drive inches of the original Eee PC 4G, with a sturdy, first- and six-cell battery. class typing feel that encourages almost-full-speed touch typing after just an hour or so of practice or con- We'd like to get our hands on the six-pack, because we sciously precise fingerwork. rarely got the One to run for more than two hours unplugged -- maybe two hours and ten minutes doing Considering that we could come up with only one light productivity work with the Wi-Fi radio turned off, minor gripe about the layout -- the lack of dedicated but that proved the best-case scenario. Two hours is all PgUp and PgDn keys (they're Fn-key combinations with right for a luggable desktop replacement, but a toss-it- the Home and End keys) -- you're left with a keyboard into-your-briefcase-or-backpack netbook should last that ranks near the top of the netbook category. much longer. Unfortunately, we can't say the same for the cursor-con- At least Acer's advertised lifespan for the three-cell trol touchpad below the space bar -- it's awfully small, pack -- a maximum two and a half hours with the hard with stiff and noisy mouse buttons mounted on either disk, three hours with SSD -- is less exaggerated than side rather than beneath the pad's perimeter. most notebook vendors' battery claims. So when the company estimates six hours for the six-cell, we can Tinkering with the controls enables handy features such hope for an honest five. as virtual scrolling (moving your finger either up and down along the right edge of the pad, or in counter- or Am I Blue? clockwise circles next to the edge), but these reduce the already cramped room to maneuver. Overall, the The Aspire One measures 6.7 x 9.8 x 1.1 inches and touchpad is tolerable, but a notebook mouse would weighs 2.3 pounds -- an even three pounds with its AC make a good holiday gift for an Aspire One owner. adapter. It's also available in white, but we vote for the Aspire in Mini-Hyper-Threading our test unit's deep blue, which manages to be both Speaking of scrolling, the Acer's screen's 1,024 x 600 one of the best-looking and best fingerprint- and resolution will oblige you to do a bit more vertical smudge-collecting shades we've seen. There's no pol- scrolling than you're used to, but at least spare you the ishing cloth in the box for buffing the netbook's lid and chore of having to move horizontally to see a whole palm rest, but there's a soft, snug-fitting carrying Web page as the 7-inch Eee's 800 x 680-pixel panel pouch. did. A tiny slider switch on the Acer's front edge turns the The 8.9-inch Aspire One display is crisp and bright, at 802.11b/g wireless on and off. Microphone and head- least with the LED backlight on the top three or four of phone jacks, two USB 2.0 ports, and an its ten brightness settings. Colors looked great, albeit SD/MMC/xD/Memory Stick flash-card slot are on the sensitive to nudging the screen tilt a few degrees for- system's right side, with a third USB port, VGA and ward or back, with less of the shaving-mirror effect Ethernet ports, and an additional SD card slot along we've seen with other glossy LCDs. If you do want to the left. look at your reflection, there's a bare-bones 640 x 480 webcam above the screen. On the Linux model, this slot performs the nifty trick of merging a memory card with the SSD as seamless main Under the hood, you'll find 1GB of DDR2/667 memory storage, rather than appearing as an additional drive.