ASUS UL30Vt-X1 Thin and Light 13.3-Inch Black Laptop (Windows 7 Home Premium) Review

There are many good reviews of the UL30VT out there already, so I'll just touch on what really stands out to me after using this computer for two weeks.

First of all, I really like the feel of the keyboard. I generally use an MS Ergonomic 4000 keyboard with my desktop system, but it didn't take me long to adjust to the keyboard at all.
However, there is one issue I have with the keyboard, and that would be the space bar. I have large hands, so my thumbs naturally rest on the middle area of the space bar. However, the 'buttons' on the space bar must be on the sides, as if you lightly tap the space bar, there are many times it will not recognize your keystroke. I'm getting used to resting my thumbs on the sides of the space bar, or pressing it more firmly, but initially I had many missing spaces in my writing.

Another thing worth mentioning is that while this computer is not a games laptop, it certainly can run them. It even runs CoD2 fairly well at medium setting. This wasn't what I expected or what I got the computer for, but it was a pleasant surprise.

The last thing of note is that if you like a certain screen brightness, or turn wireless on, even with the power save options you'll likely only get 5-6 hours of life out of your battery. This is still a respectable amount! If you drop the brightness and turn off the wireless, it looks like you do indeed get the 10 odd hours of battery life. (In battery-saving mode, etc.)

Overall I'm very happy with this computer, in terms of performance and utility it's quite good. I just wish it wasn't glossy. It attracts dust like crazy!


Get more detail about ASUS UL30Vt-X1 Thin and Light 13.3-Inch Black Laptop (Windows 7 Home Premium).

ASUS UL30A-A2 Thin and Light 13-3-Inch Silver Laptop - 12 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium)

We love this machine. I reseached like crazy before buying this for my wife. I ordered the black unit but the battery was the 4400 mah, not the 5600, so i returned it, paid the extra money, and was promised the same weight but the bigger battery. Well, of course the battery is heavier, but at least i got the bigger battery, and also an extra year of maintenance.

So far, this is a great laptop. I have set the touch pad so two fingers allow you to scroll up and down in IE, and three finger touches acts as a back key in IE. Everything is terrific about this system and i love the ability to expand the screen for IE.

The silver unit is close to 4 lbs while the black unit is more like 3.7. I felt the extra battery life was worth it. Amazon doesn't quite understand this, in part because ASUS gives them incomplete information.

Pros: Screen, keyboard, fit and finish, battery, speakers (amazing sound), touch pad, Windows 7, quiet, runs cool, weight, runs quickly (i don't play high end video games but didn't buy for that)

Cons: Except for the weight being a few ounces higher than advertised for the bigger battery, non so far but just had this a few days so will update later on, be nice if Bluetooth included but don't really have a need yet(would be nice i guess to transfer files to cell phone, and use a bluetooth headset for music - but easy to buy the tiny bluetooth transmitter)

Summary: great machine, hope Asus service is good and that the 1 year accident protection is for real, best of all my wife likes this and it was a present for her.Get more detail about ASUS UL30A-A2 Thin and Light 13-3-Inch Silver Laptop - 12 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium).

Shop For ASUS UL30Vt-A1 Thin and Light 13.3-Inch Silver Laptop - 12 Hours of Battery Life

I am told I over analyze purchases and must say I have been watching laptops for a couple of years. My goals were lightweight and portable but not so small I could not read the screen and LONG battery time. After all it is a portable! I tried a 15.6 but what a moose! A 14" seemed just right but the chassis was bigger and heavier. I was afraid of a 13.3 but then it dawned on me that is was the same resolution as the 14 and only .7" smaller, not a full inch. I went from store to store lining a 14's up next to a 13.3's and I really could not tell the difference! Listen my fellow middle agers,I have exceptionally poor eyesight so if it worked for me it will for you! (no offense to my eye Surgeon, Dr. Barry Lee, he did a great job with what I gave him to work with!).

I have a powerful desktop so I did not need a desktop replacement class Laptop. I also can't stand a slow poke so a netbook was out and so was a celeron. The T6600 CPUS are the sweet spot for price and value and they are plenty snappy but they are power hungry (compared to the SU's). The SU7300 was just the ticket. Yes, I got the TURBO 33 VT version but I don't think that matters at all. I wanted it for bragging rights only. Same goes for the separate GPU, I want to hedge my bets in case I do some vector art editing. I am NOT a gamer.

I wrestled with the lack of a DVD drive but hey you can download ANYTHING, DVD drives are really on the way out, don't sweat it!It's worth the size and weight savings. The keyboard is REALLY GREAT, I am not a touch typist and the keys have nice spacing and definition. (I would have paid BIG money for a back lit keyboard but that just narrows the field TOO MUCH. Touchpad is fine also but I live with my Logitech NANO V450 mouse anyway.

The battery life is the real deal and that sold me on this unit. I am coming up on 4 hrs with wifi, bright screen, remote desktop, iTunes, 2 browsers and only down 25% on the battery. Seriously! I charge it and leave without the power cord. I really wanted the silver cover after seeing a black one in person it really showed finger prints. Silver is GREAT!

Another thing I like about the VT version is a little bit faster DRAM and Bus, I don't believe anyone could tell a difference but it makes me feel like I have the latest and greatest and am hedging my bets regarding being outdated sooner then later. If you need to save a few dollars, don't worry about it!

There are no compromises here and if you don't know ASUS, they have been around FOREVER and have been an OEM supplier since, like FOREVER! Don't get hung up on the big name companies, it means nothing! The ONLY complaint is the lack of documentation. I got NOTHING to help me figure out the VT features like discrete graphics switching or the Turbo boost (That's the over clocking feature. It steps the CPU up 33% This is VERY unnecessary, I can not come close to pushing this thing in standard mode.) I suspect most will never adjust these features anyway but HEY ASUS, are you listening? Send me a manual, pdf is fine! If its on here somewhere then you made it too hard to find! :)Get more detail about ASUS UL30Vt-A1 Thin and Light 13.3-Inch Silver Laptop - 12 Hours of Battery Life.

Where To Buy Sony VAIO VGN-FW510F/H 16.4-Inch Gray Laptop (Windows 7 Home Premium)

I bought this laptop sony vaio vgn-fw510f about one mounth ago...I am really amazed by the way it lokks, because I have never imagined a laptop to look so bussiness...it's awesome...i really recomend it to everyone who needs a laptop...the screen resolution is 16:9...it's a little wierd at the beggining, but now I wouldn't change it for anything in the world!and the performances are really good... maybe the autonomy of the battery is a little small, something like two hours!but with all of this you will have the chance to have a really powerfull, fancy and performant laptop, named sony;))...thank you, and excuse my english, I am from Romania:D...enjoy it!Get more detail about Sony VAIO VGN-FW510F/H 16.4-Inch Gray Laptop (Windows 7 Home Premium).

Order HP G60-530US 15.6-Inch Black/Silver Laptop - Up to 3.75 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium)

I love this computer. It is my first laptop, purchased for everyday computing tasks like email and internet. It boots up and opens applications quickly. I even loaded my first Call of Duty PC game on it and it runs without issues. The keyboard feels great and the pointing device is smoother than many other models I tried in the store before purchasing from Amazon. It is a joy to sit back and use. Get more detail about HP G60-530US 15.6-Inch Black/Silver Laptop - Up to 3.75 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium).

Purchase Acer Aspire AS1410-2039 11.6-Inch Black Laptop (Windows 7 Home Premium)

I bought this about a month ago. I wanted something small to take on trips. It's fantastic, great resolution, good screen size, great keyboard. I can't say a single bad thing about it!Get more detail about Acer Aspire AS1410-2039 11.6-Inch Black Laptop (Windows 7 Home Premium).

Buy HP G71-340US 17.3-Inch Black/Silver Laptop - Up to 4 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium)

Design needs improvement, January 19, 2010
By D. D. Umstot "teka3" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

I bought this computer thinking it would offer hi-def capability, but it does not. It does offer an HDMI connection which I have not tried. There is no ability to play blu-ray dvds. Thus, it is just a nice wide-screen for playing non hi-def dvds. The wide screen looks nice, but it is more difficult to web surf because of moving the curser all the way across the screen. A standard size screen laptop would be lighter and easier to use if you are not using it to play dvds.

Other issues: 1. Shinny black cover shows fingerprints and looks awful unless you constantly wipe it down. 2. Only 3 USB ports means you need a separate USB dock or are constantly plugging and unplugging. 3. Sound built in is very soft--almost inaudible even at max volume--I had to buy external speakers. 4. Everything except sound plugs in at the side, making it very cluttered. Seems some of the sockets could have been placed in the rear. 5. Power plugs in the right side, an inconvenient location. 6. Stainless steel inside makes it difficult to feel mouse pad--everything feels pretty much the same.

HP service is also a problem. It has been outsourced to somewhere in South Asia and the people responding do not seem to understand what they are doing. I tried to get a fix on the low sound problem, but after many emails there was no satisfaction--you have to buy external speakers it seems. I also have a different dvd drive than the one specified. The service people could not answer why or what difference the drivers might make in performance. It took at least 7 emails to find out that this computer cannot do any form of hi-def.

I would not have bought this computer if I had known of these shortcomings. Get more detail about HP G71-340US 17.3-Inch Black/Silver Laptop - Up to 4 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium).

Buying Dell Inspiron 1750 17.3-Inch Obsidian Black Laptop - Up to 4 Hours 42 Minutes of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium)

I have been a happy Dell customer for a number of years, but I had a very negative experience regarding an order for a Dell laptop.

I ordered an Inspiron 17" laptop direct from Dell for Christmas on 12/6. I noticed on the Dell website that the estimated shipping date was 12/18. I thought, great, just in time for Christmas. My order was confirmed within a day with an estimated ship date of 01/11. Three weeks after the estimated ship time on their website.

The real problems began when I called customer service to cancel the order. Four phone calls were made on 12/12 totaling over an hour to cancel the order (unsuccessfully). I was repeatedly transferred and eventually was told that the people that could help me had all gone home for the night. My second attempt to cancel the order was on 12/14. I asked for a customer service manager and was placed on hold for approximately 45-50 minutes. A regular customer service rep picked up the phone and told me that the order could not be canceled because it was "in production". I told the rep that the computer had not been manufactured yet (shipping one month from now) and that I needed him to cancel the order. I was placed on hold again for a few minutes and the rep told me again that he could not cancel the order. When I threatened to call my credit card company to refute the charges eventually the rep relented and told me that he could now cancel the order.

I wasted two hours of my time just to cancel an order.

In the event of an order cancellation, is it Dell policy to place someone on hold until they give up? I am disappointed in Dell after having good experiences with them over the years and I ended up giving HP the business instead. Dell has been known for good customer service, but after reading some reviews and having a bad experience myself I feel like this may no longer be the case.Get more detail about Dell Inspiron 1750 17.3-Inch Obsidian Black Laptop - Up to 4 Hours 42 Minutes of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium).

Cheap Apple MacBook Pro MB986LL/A 15.4-Inch Laptop

Im originally a windows user but after awhile I decided to see what the big deal was with the mac.
3 Concerns I had:
Compatibility with Windows Products - Not a problem considering you can run parallels and dual boot windows xp,vista, and even 7.
Speed- 2.8ghz is fast and it runs adobe photoshop cs4 perfectly with no lag whatsoever. The apple website also allows you to upgrade it to 3.06ghz which is :0.
Durability and customer service & repair - The new body design on this is very sleek and slim feels amazing and not flimsy or anything. OKAY the biggest thing that impressed me was how fast and helpful customer service and repairs are. I plugged my apple headphones from my iphone into the jack and for some reason the speakers blew out, I called and got it shipped later that day and received it before the week was even over. The mac overall is very neat and if you are savy with technology there is alot more things you can do to unlock the macs Inner powersGet more detail about Apple MacBook Pro MB986LL/A 15.4-Inch Laptop.

Cheapest Apple MacBook Pro MB985LL/A 15.4-Inch Laptop

I bought the 15.4" mac after having gone through 3 PC in less than 5 years. Needless to say, I was fraustrated with each PC after a couple of years, it either dies on me or some apps fails to work properly because the forced upgrade that Windows kept pushing into the PC is not compatible with the apps. After my last Sony VAIO desktop died on me first with the blu-ray disc drive, and then the apps began to fail, I turned to Mac hoping this kind of problem will no longer happen and the macbook pro will last me years to come. I was debating between 15" and 17" because I like the bigger screen size (my Vaio desktop was 21") and the ease to carry around. After visiting the apple store I decided 15" is the perfect size and with Amazon.com's competitive pricing and fast delivery, I got it in two days. I'm impressed with the design of Macbook pro and how fast it is to start up and shut down. The resolution is amazing, particularly with iphoto, you can see every detail of the picture. I have yet to explore other apps other than itunes. The advertised battary life was 7 hours, I haven't fully tested that yet, although I noticed that the battery generally start at about 5-6 hours after a full charge. I would have given this product a five stars review if it wasn't for the mac freezes. For example, I was importing a CD into itunes, but after importing only 2 songs, the whole screen suddenly froze and I could not force quit the app or move the cursor. I had to hold the power botton for 8 sec to force the mac to shut down. Fortunately, there was no issue when I re-started the mac. However, for a product that is highly priced, this should not happen. Get more detail about Apple MacBook Pro MB985LL/A 15.4-Inch Laptop.

Discount Apple MacBook Pro MC226LL/A 17-Inch Laptop

Love this MacBook the screen is beautiful. You can feel the quality. The Resolution: 1920 x 1200. Its fast 2.8 GHz. Great Battery life. Large HD. Fast internet. Great software!
And $200 cheaper then a refurbished one from Apple.Get more detail about Apple MacBook Pro MC226LL/A 17-Inch Laptop.

Save HP Pavilion DV6-1360US 15.6-Inch Espresso Laptop - Up to 3.5 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium)

My wife and I purchased a slightly different version of this laptop for her mother and I have been very impressed with the features and build quality (there are several DV6 models but they are all built on the same chassis). It is well constructed with a metallic toned black exterior (HP also offers versions in white). Take a good look at the shell art since it is something that may not appeal to everyone. My mother-in-law definitely appreciated having something a little more individual than the usual dull grey exterior. Despite the glossy exterior we haven't noticed much in the way of finger prints or any scratches despite the helping hands of our kids who love to "help" grandma with her computer. (There are some older DV6 models without art work such as the older HP Pavilion DV6-1050US 16.0-Inch Laptop).)

The specs for this model are set well above what the average home owner needs today which (in my mind) future proofs it nicely. If you are on a tight budget you can get what you need for less (look at the HP Pavilion G60 line). If you have a little bit more to spend and you want some headroom to handle your computing needs for the next few years this is a great choice. The 1360 sits in the upper middle of the DV6 line. For me it makes sense to either step or step down the line depending on your needs, but this is a great notebook none the less.

CPU - 2.13GHz Intel Core2 Duo Processor P7450 is a decent notebook processor. It can handle two software "threads" which means you can have the virus scanner running while you surf the web with no noticeable slowdown. There is a quad core version of the DV6 out now that uses the new Intel "i7" processor, but I think for most home users the increased power requirements isn't worth the two extra cores. If you expect to do a lot of video and audio editing then stepping up to the i7 would make sense. If you are mostly looking to use Office type-applications and browse the web I'd suggest sticking with the Core2 Duo.

RAM - 4GB of DDR3 RAM running at 1066MHz is combined with a 64bit OS to which should provide more than enough memory for pretty much any application you can think of outside of extremely high end gaming.

HDD - The 500GB drive is the largest offered in this line and is far more space than most users need (few people will use more than 100GB). Most DV6 models come with 320GB HDD drives.

Graphics - This model is using an integrated ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 which is vastly superior to the usual low-end graphics that plague notebooks. You can actually do a some 3D gaming on those notebooks which is a truly rare thing. The cheaper DV6s use the Intel 4500MHD which isn't going to win any awards for performance will satisfy any non-gamer (it chokes on newer 3D games).

Display - HP has a reputation for high-end displays and this one delivers. Tuned slightly for indoor use the 15.6" HP Brightview display is good enough for outdoor use though not as much as a more matte display. Indoors it is brilliant with surprisingly strong blacks (too many notebook displays are all brightness with no depth). I like that the screen provides a decent amount of vertical space without overdoing it. The difference between this and a 14" is surprising.

Sound - Surprisingly good sound for a notebook. The speakers are well positioned and deliver a good range. I've heard better but it was on a $3K notebook.

Battery - HP bundles their standard 6 cell Lithium-Ion battery. The HP Pavilion DV6-1350US has a 12 cell battery (which you can also order separately from HP). If you are on the road a lot the 12 cell is nice. Home users who plan to plug in a lot may not care.

I don't have any serious "cons" for this computer. The "Touch Media Controls" for things like the volume (as opposed to buttons you push) are a little odd at first but we got used to them quickly and hey, they look cool when they light up. I also don't find the included remote to be that useful but anyone planning to hook this up to their TV might like it. I suspect most people will just put in a drawer and forget about it.

If you're staring at the various DV6 models trying to decide which one to buy my advice is: For non-gamers save some money and buy the 1350US. The performance for non-gaming software will be about the same as the 1260 and you get a better battery out of the deal.

If you are a gamer just skip up to the HP DV6-1361SB (Windows 7 Professional). Let's be clear: this isn't a gaming laptop. A real gaming laptop will easily run you another $500. But you can play newer 3D games at reduce settings and older 3D games will run at more aggressive settings. If you are a power user who needs the fastest CPU and memory the 1361SB is also your best choice. You get a small speed bump going to the 1360US but the real jump is the 1361SB (thanks to it's faster CPU).

To wrap it all up: you can always buy more features for more money but if you are looking for a laptop with some higher-end features and upscale build quality the DV6 line from HP is an excellent choice. HP spent money in the right places and has created a high-end laptop at a mid-tier price. I like this model but overall I think the HP Pavilion DV6-1350US is a better choice for home users. If you are a student you may want to check out HPs "Academy" program which offers student discounts (it can be hard to find on HP's web site so you may be better off searching for "HP Academy").
Get more detail about HP Pavilion DV6-1360US 15.6-Inch Espresso Laptop - Up to 3.5 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium).

Low Price HP Pavilion DV4-1540US 14.1-Inch White Laptop - Up to 4.25 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium)

We received our HP Pavililion DV4-1547SB about a month ago. At the same time we got the computer we bought an extended battery. One of the first things we did when we gor the computer is use the camera to see our great grandson who was about a week old and hear his cooing. We live in Kalamazoo, Michigan and our great grandson lives in Ottowas, Canada. What a thrill for my wife and I to enjoy this technology. The picture and sound were so clear. And of course, our grandson and his wife could also see us through the unboard camera located in the cover of this computer.

The computer is fast with the use of Windows 7, and by using PDF, I was able to send my Christmas with all its graphics by email to many friends and relatives. This got my message out guickly and without the cost of postage.

My wife sits down with the computer on her lap to play games and send emails. I use the computer to write articles. I use both Word and Word Perfect for my word processing.

I am 77 years old and my wife is 79, and we find this computer easy to use and fast. We looked up the manual on the internet, copied it, punched holes in the edge of the manual and placed iit in a notebook, so we can read up on any fine points we need to learn how to navigate.

Rev. Donald H. Severance

We are very satisfied with this product.
Rev. Donald H. SeveranceGet more detail about HP Pavilion DV4-1540US 14.1-Inch White Laptop - Up to 4.25 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium).

Lowest Price Toshiba Satellite T135-S1307 TruBrite 13.3-Inch Ultrathin Black Laptop - 9 Hours 22 Minutes of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium)

Whatever you do, don't send this notebook or any Toshiba notebook to their repair depot. My function keys failed to work out of the box. After spending months intermittently trying to fix them via Toshiba phone support and their web site, I sent it into their repair depot with the assurance that it would take 7-10 days to repair. That was two months ago. I talked with a "customer relations" representative today who told me that my only option was to wait however long it took for the repair - if it took forever, well so be it. Today I learned that it will be in the repair facility for at least another month! That's three months on a repair that was supposed to take 7-10 days. So what's the difference between this kind of confiscation and theft? I feel as though my notebook has been stolen.Get more detail about Toshiba Satellite T135-S1307 TruBrite 13.3-Inch Ultrathin Black Laptop - 9 Hours 22 Minutes of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium).

ASUS UL50AG-A2 Thin and Light 15.6-Inch Black Laptop - 12 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium) Right now

I really like this laptop. The main problem is finger prints. I'd suggest a coating over aluminum for future products. ASUS makes a good product.Get more detail about ASUS UL50AG-A2 Thin and Light 15.6-Inch Black Laptop - 12 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium).

HP Pavilion DV7-3060US 17.3-Inch Espresso Laptop - Up to 4.5 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium) Decide Now

If i can make zero i will.... it was a shock that i received my dv7 and it did not work at all.. even no hard disk indicator or light up... i couldn't even enter bios... nor any of the supporting center could help... now I'm waiting for the re- shipping it to company... i would recommend refurbished instead of new..
Get more detail about HP Pavilion DV7-3060US 17.3-Inch Espresso Laptop - Up to 4.5 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium).

ASUS UL80Ag-A1 Thin and Light 14-Inch Black Laptop - 12 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium) Order Now

I've had this laptop for about 3 weeks and have been fiddling with the touchpad sensitivity and trying to get up the learning curve for using it. My research tells me that it is an older hardware version than what the touchpad manufacturer now offers. Looks like ASUS cheaped out on this. Either that or it's a technical battle with ASUS and their customers as the losers.
Bottom line, it's disappointing and just doesn't work like it should. It takes away from the overall experience and ASUS should have their heads examined for making this offering.Get more detail about ASUS UL80Ag-A1 Thin and Light 14-Inch Black Laptop - 12 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium).

Acer Aspire Timeline AS1810T-8638 11.6-Inch HD Display Black Laptop - Over 8 Hours of Battery Life Buy Now

I've had my 1810T for about 60 days, and it became unstable. It would hard crash after about 5 minutes on battery. Basically became unusable unless it was plugged in. So much for a laptop.


I had been running x64 Windows 7 Ultimate. Prior to last week, I've had zero problems with it. The screen just locks up on a random color and that's it, game over.


I've contacted Acer about a replacement and they're trying to have me run through the same BS, use the erecovery to restore to defaults blah blah. Which does nothing. Problem is, I'm a business traveler and I cannot afford to be without my computer for a month while they fix this.

In the mean time I might just order one of the Asus 1201N's and once this POS Acer gets fixed, put it on ebay and be rid of it. So far I've had 2 Acer Timeline machines, the 1810T and the 3810TZ. The 3810TZ had a hard drive failure a week after I received it, and now the 1810T has failed after 2 months. This is pretty pathetic product for what I thought to be a reputable company.Get more detail about Acer Aspire Timeline AS1810T-8638 11.6-Inch HD Display Black Laptop - Over 8 Hours of Battery Life.

Compaq Presario CQ61-310US 15.6-Inch Black Laptop - Up to 4.25 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium) Get it now!

This is the second laptop I have purchased, both of which were Compaq.

I got this laptop to upload pictures, surf the internet, and for general use around the house. The monitor is great and the picture is crisp and bright. The speed of this laptop is just what I had hoped for. I love the keypad that this laptop has...a big plus for the price!

I got a great deal on this laptop. I wanted a good laptop without having a huge bottom line to spend. I would recommend this laptop...Great little laptop! I don't regret sticking with Compaq.

The options available on this laptop, including the battery life are very good. I am able to work on things for hours and not worry about the battery dying.

The overall feel of this laptop is also great...it is smooth and sleek and looks great just sitting on the counter.

Compaq Presario CQ61-310US 15.6-Inch Black Laptop - Up to 4.25 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium)Get more detail about Compaq Presario CQ61-310US 15.6-Inch Black Laptop - Up to 4.25 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium).

HP Pavilion DV7-2270US 17.3-Inch Espresso Laptop - Up to 4.5 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium) Best Quality

very good piture only thing I would have done different was to have 8 gis ram installed grafics card eats up 1024mb of ram Get more detail about HP Pavilion DV7-2270US 17.3-Inch Espresso Laptop - Up to 4.5 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium).

Toshiba Satellite T115D-S1125 LED TruBrite 11.6-Inch Laptop (Black) This instant

There is some conflicting information on Amazon for this netbook's specs. To make a long story short, Amazon's product info higher on the page is correct, but Toshiba's info farther down the page is inaccurate. What follows is a more detailed description of the problem.

While at one place on the page Amazon has the correct info (2 GB of DDR2 RAM, Windows 7 64-bit, 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi), in Toshiba's information lower on the page they list the RAM as 4 GB DDR2 out of a maximum of 8 GB, the operating system as Windows 7 32-bit, and the Wi-Fi as 802.11 b/g/n. This is incorrect! For this model, the T115D-S1125, the maximum RAM, according to Toshiba's own detailed specifications PDF, is 4 GB (2 GB installed by default). The spec sheet says both slots "may be occupied", but according to notebook review, an internet forum (thanks, Aerows!), it appears to be a single 2 GB stick. Also, the detailed specs list the Wi-Fi as 802.11 b/g, but no n.

This is a sweet little netbook, and I might get one; but since I was confused by the conflicting information, and I had to research around to figure out what's what, I thought I'd post this to hopefully set the record straight. I tried to submit a correction to Amazon, but their info is correct, and I couldn't find a link to submit a correction for Toshiba's info.

Also, there is a red version of this netbook at Toshiba's website (the T115D-S1125RD), but Amazon doesn't offer them at this time.Get more detail about Toshiba Satellite T115D-S1125 LED TruBrite 11.6-Inch Laptop (Black).

Dell Inspiron 1545 15.6-Inch Jet Black Laptop - Up to 4 Hours 34 Minutes of Battery Life, MS Home and Student Software Included (Windows 7 Home Premium) Top Quality

I've owned several laptops and would be considered an intermediate to advanced computer user. I've built my own desktops, tweaked a few laptops and owned various brands of laptops including HP, Fujitsu, Sony and Dell (Inspiron, Latitude and XPS series).

I purchased this exact laptop directly from Dell (got a better deal than current Amazon pricing) based upon Consumer Report's November 2009 article recommendations where the Dell Inspiron 1545 was rated a 'Best Buy' for every day computing. I purchased it for my husband who will use it primarily for watching an occasional movie from Netflix streaming wirelessly on our home network, emailing to share jokes and videos with his friends, and browsing the Internet.

After setting it up, which other than running into a snag with my home network was a breeze, and playing with it for about an hour, these are my impressions.

The PROS:
+ Comes with Windows 7 - no need to upgrade, and the 64-bit combined with the more than adequate memory makes things move nicely. Slightly different than Vista's look, but should be easy to use.
+ Adequate hard drive (mine came with a 320) for storing photos, videos and music.
+ Great 1.3mp webcam which delivers pretty nice snapshots (not too grainy) as well as excellent video (very little drag of movement).
+ Good speakers! Better than those on my Dell XPS, for which I paid 30% more less than a year ago.
+ 3 usb ports
+ Bright 15.6" display; nice size. I sometimes find the 13" on the XPS too small and the Fujitsu had a 17" which is fine for a desktop replacement but really adds weight to the overall unit.
+ Virtually silent running. No fan noise to speak of and yet...
+ Stays cool to the touch! Not worried about overheating on this one.

The CONS:
- Keyboard is OK, but not as responsive as some others I've used.
- The touchpad seems a tad small and the buttons (left/right click) seem too low by comparison to the keyboard. It could be the size of my hands (small...) but I tend to think it's just the layout.
- The high gloss finish inside and the glossy display (versus matte finish) look cool, but do show fingerprints and reflect light to the point of sometimes being a nuisance.
- There is no 'media only' button like on the XPS where you don't have to turn on the computer to watch a movie, but this is something that higher end laptops would have and may simply be a perk to paying more.
- Heavier than some others, but at under six pounds, it's still not too bad.
- Matte finish on the outside shows greasy smudges where you've touched it. I have the same issue with my XPS, but frankly I've never found a finish that doesn't show something.
- Not a multi-media or gaming powerhouse. It will play dvd's and games, but if you're buying a laptop and really into those things, spend a bit more and make sure you upgrade your video and audio to support your interests. The 4GB of memory really helps as much as anything and I didn't notice any issues with the media I tested.

SET-UP:
The only issue I had with setting up this laptop was with my home network not being accepted because Windows 7 didn't like the security settings I had in place. I could get the 1545 to recognize my network, but it wouldn't connect until I changed the settings. I had my wireless settings on WEP and Windows 7 wanted WPA. Once I changed the settings, the laptop connected. I then had to go to 8 different devices on my network and make sure they were happy. Only one item: Myine Electronics IR001 WiFi Internet Radio Adaptor wasn't happy, but eventually accepted the settings with some concentrated tweaking.

BATTERY LIFE:
Battery life seems to be about 3.5 hours. I think the 4+ hour estimate is high, but that undoubtedly is also based upon what things you are doing on the laptop and mobile power settings.

CONCLUSION:
If you purchase this Dell you are getting a solid workhorse for every day computing for a fair price. I think it's quality is certainly higher than an Acer with the same specs, and backed by a 1 year warranty from Dell. (Having had a Dell laptop that needed the keyboard replaced recently, I truly think the warranty service provided by Dell - they came to my house the next day - is exceptional and worth the small price hike over some other brands.)

The Dell Inspiron 1545 is perfect for a student, a grandma who likes to email or wants to keep up with the grandkids on Skype, or anyone who has no need for the latest and greatest gaming, multi-media computer. For a laptop with a webcam, 4GB memory, and Windows 7 (64-bit) that's ready to fly right out of the box... it's a good choice.

**WIRELESS NOTE: If you are having trouble connecting to a wireless network, be sure you check the included 'set-up guide', page 10, to find the wireless key on your keyboard. You can inadvertently press this key and turn off your wireless capabilities. Handy on airplanes... not so handy at home.Get more detail about Dell Inspiron 1545 15.6-Inch Jet Black Laptop - Up to 4 Hours 34 Minutes of Battery Life, MS Home and Student Software Included (Windows 7 Home Premium).

Acer AS5738PG-6306 15.6-Inch Touchscreen Blue Laptop (Windows 7 Home Premium) Review

This touchscreen laptop is amazing for its price. You can buy a similarly spec'd Dell for the same price W/O the touchscreen.

I've had it for a month and it hasn't given me any troubles. The only con is the bloatware. If you remove those, you have a laptop that kicks butt.

As for the graphics, I've tested Resident Evil 5 on it. It can play high settings, but still works best on low to medium settings.

Mine came with a stand so that the screen doesn't tilt when you use the touchscreen, and a cloth cleaner to wipe out your fingerprints.

What more can you ask? Buy now!Get more detail about Acer AS5738PG-6306 15.6-Inch Touchscreen Blue Laptop (Windows 7 Home Premium).

Shop For Dell Studio XPS 1640 15.6-Inch Obsidian Black Laptop - Up to 3 Hours 8 Minutes of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium)

This Dell Studio XPS 1640 was a very good buy. Its battery lasts a little less than three hours when browsing the web and some light work in Word with the help of Dell Extended Battery Life. All the newer games I've tried have very acceptable framerates with most settings at High. Om most older games such as Oblivion and The Sims 2 I can leave the options at Very High and I haven't found any noticeable slowdown.

I also do all my programming and college work in this computer and I'm very happy with it. Get more detail about Dell Studio XPS 1640 15.6-Inch Obsidian Black Laptop - Up to 3 Hours 8 Minutes of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium).

Order Apple MacBook Air MC234LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop

My wife purchased one of these and, as usual, I got to load it and make sure it works. Her win is that it works great, her loss is I don't want to let go of it.

Some background: iMac 24"/2.8 GHz on 10.5, Powerbook G4 12"/1.0 GHz, Powerbook G4 12"/1.5 GHz.

This is a very user friendly machine. I'd almost suggest don't get embroiled in the tech specs as its a lot more than that.

Some things I've noticed in using it (a lot) for a week.

4 to 4.5 hours of battery life.

Gorgeous ergonomics, light, solid, well balanced, great screen and the heat is no big deal (comparable to any MacBook I've used), virtually silent. Comment on the screen; I've read all sorts of badmouthing on the glossy screens and here's my experience with the Air as well as moving from a 22" Cinema display to the iMac. I no longer get eye strain. Anything that's on the screen looks great. Reflections are no big deal as, when they're there, you look right through them. I use Shades on the iMac to dim the display more than Apple allows, the Air does not require Shades. This screen will be the most significant reason why I finally retire my Powerbook and probably get an Air.

The lack of firewire is a consideration for those with multiple Macs all depending on FW for file transfers. I did a fresh install and needed access to multiple backup disks. You have to make sure you have everything you need in one drive (fat chance). Other than an OS install or a major load, I can't see an issue. The remote disk helps, I use wifi. As an only machine, or with a Windows box, the lack of firewire is not an issue.

The Air can be your only machine as long as disk space is not an issue. I've pushed this little thing and its just fine. Our impressions are its more responsive than any of the above machines in general use. Taxing the cpu, you get what you expect, the iMac (no speed demon) comes out on top and the Powerbooks slightly below. Start-up is comparable to our Powerbooks but quicker than the iMac (perhaps upgrading to Snow Leopard will fix some, or all, of this). Coming out of sleep and opening apps, the Air is tops by a wide margin.

Overall I'd say if you're contemplating a move up from a Powerbook or a MacBook, don't do it for speed as its not worth the price. That's why we still have 2 PB's in the family, every time there's a new Apple portable we take a good look at it and leave with the impression the PB's don't give up much. However, the Air is a joy to use. For us, that's why its worth the money. Its a unique blend of art, function and performance all rolled onto one.Get more detail about Apple MacBook Air MC234LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop.

Where To Buy Dell Inspiron 1470 14-Inch Cherry Red Laptop Up to 5 Hours 29 Minutes of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium)

The I1470 is a top performing Win7 optimized thin and lite business package. Packed with DDR3 4gigs of ram and an ultra low voltage CPU for outstanding battery life. The laptop is not an ultra lite but it is a great lite weight package that does it all with few frills and all the hard working ports and output requirements. Great battery life and enough processing power to do most anything required (but not gaming) this is a hard hitting low cost package with Dell quality and reliability. The omission of wireless N is the biggest mistake here (what were you thinking Dell?).Get more detail about Dell Inspiron 1470 14-Inch Cherry Red Laptop Up to 5 Hours 29 Minutes of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium).

Purchase Acer Aspire AS1410-2954 11.6-Inch Notebook - Red

Windows 7 64-bit with 11 inch display and ergonomic keyboard, weighting a lot less than a heavy notebook and much better than the tiny netbooks ? integrated webcam, very slim, 2G and 250GB HD ??, Wi-fi (draft-N very fast) and 6-hour battery ?

You would say it would be impossible to find for less than USD 500. This is just an excellent buy.

There is NOT any other better alternative than this as a cost-benefit choice.

Get more detail about Acer Aspire AS1410-2954 11.6-Inch Notebook - Red.

Buy Acer Aspire AS1410-2990 11.6-Inch Notebook - Blue

I spent weeks looking for an affordable travel companion and Acer 1410-2990 turned out to be the perfect choice for me. The computer arrived as described. I like its design - simple and business friendly look. Definitely doesn't feel cheap. Fingerprints are less noticeable on a blue cover. HD streaming from Hulu, ABC and such works perfect. HD Youtube streaming sucks but as I understand it's due to Adobe Flash not being available for 64 bit systems (yet) and not because of the processor which seems to be quite powerful. This notebook is very quiet and doesn't get as hot as my older 15" Acer Aspire laptop. Battery life is pretty respectable; I get steady 5 hours with various tasks performed. I also like the touchpad a lot (though it is smaller than that of a regular size notebook)

Some of the cons:

- RAM comes in two sticks 2x1GB so upgrading to 4GB is not cheap
- Webcam, though of a very good quality, is a low resolution one (640x480 for both video and images) which kind of sucks because 1.3MP resolution (standard these days) would fit the screen perfectly
- Bluetooth supported by hardware but not included. However, you can purchase Acer internal Bluetooth module from ebay for 20$ and install it yourself. I ordered it already, will report back once I get it.
- Keyboard is very flat, takes time to adjust

Overall, I think this model is powerful enough to serve as a primary computer for many. Any other notebook similar to 1410-2990 will easily cost at least 100-150$ more so it is really a bargain.


Get more detail about Acer Aspire AS1410-2990 11.6-Inch Notebook - Blue.

Buying Gateway EC1433U 11.6-Inch Cherry Red Laptop (Windows 7 Home Premium)

This Laptop is everything I wanted. There is not one thing I have negative to say about it, it runs fast, Windows 7 is great and I love the size. I just purchased an external dvd/cd player for it and now is nice to be able to watch dvd's and burn music.Get more detail about Gateway EC1433U 11.6-Inch Cherry Red Laptop (Windows 7 Home Premium).

Cheap ASUS UL50VT-A1 Thin and Light 15.6-Inch Black Laptop - 11.5 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium)

I am kind of disappointed. I had to send the computer after not even a month to ASUS because it was freezing up several times during a days work. It has been completely cleaned out by ASUS and I had to start all over and put all my files in again.
I got it back Monday and I had problems again (freezing up) and I have to shut it down manually, I will try for another few days and see. Get more detail about ASUS UL50VT-A1 Thin and Light 15.6-Inch Black Laptop - 11.5 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium).

Cheapest Toshiba Satellite L505D-S5992 TruBrite 15.6-Inch Grey/Black Laptop - 2 Hours 20 Minutes of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium)

Love my machine, love the webcam, love the fact that I have my number pad on the side just like a desktop!!! The windows 7 is a little different from Windows VISTA. Love the "note" feature in Windows 7. Got it on sell at Amazon for less than $500 with free shipping. This is my second toshiba laptop. Passed on the first to my sista. Good product Get more detail about Toshiba Satellite L505D-S5992 TruBrite 15.6-Inch Grey/Black Laptop - 2 Hours 20 Minutes of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium).

Discount Acer Aspire Timeline AS3810TZ-4925 13.3-Inch Aluminum Laptop - Over 8 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium)

I've researched for about a month whether to buy this Acer 3810TZ or Asus UL30A.
I almost was about to buy UL30A because it has better ram, CPU and Hard drive than Acer 3810T.
However, the reason why I switched to Acer is that UL30A has serious problem with wireless connection.
My primary reason for buying laptop is for the school. I need to bring laptop to class and do research and stuff.
UL30A seems to have problem with wireless dropping signal.
Even though some of the owners claimed that they don't have any issues, it changed my mind to go with Acer 3810T and I think I made a right choice.

This machine works perfectly right out of the box.
It does not look like $600 laptop. looks very sexy!

Here is Windows Experience Index for this machine.

Processor : 4.0
Memory(RAM): 4.7
Graphics : 3.2
Gaming Graphics: 3.2
Primary hard disk: 5.6

Graphics is supposed to be this because Intel graphic cards are not for gaming.

I ran one of the 720p movie and it runs without any lag. great!
One of the thing is 5-1 card reader supports SDHC memory card.
I saw somewhere that people were asking whether SDHC works on this machine or not.
IT WORKS!!
I only had it for few hours but I already know that this will be the best purchase of the year!

Despite the fact it is good machine, there is few cons.

1) Keyboard tracks fingerprints easily. (You cannot touch my laptop while you eating something with your hands!!)
2) As other review mentioned, yes it is hard to press mouse button on this laptop. (I have external mouse so it really doesn't matter)
3) Also sound volume definitely too low, but it doesn't matter to me since I don't plan on see movies that much with this.

I runs really quiet, cool and very light.
Those of who want something like this, I highly recommend this product!


Get more detail about Acer Aspire Timeline AS3810TZ-4925 13.3-Inch Aluminum Laptop - Over 8 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium).

Save HP Pavilion DM3-1040US 13.3-Inch Silver Laptop - Up to 10 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium)

I bought a DM3 series computer in early December 2009. At first I was amazed at how great the system was. Then I found that it would freeze up every time I tried to close the lid and reopen it. This is pretty fundamental for a laptop, so I figured I had loaded something that was having a problem. After talking with HP tech support, however, I found out this is a known problem with the unit and that their solution was to shut the unit down every time you want to close it. Unbelieveable that they would ship it with this kind of known error!!

DO NOT BUY THIS COMPUTER!!

Once they finally acknowledge this as a problem and they work on fixing it, it will be a great system. For now, however, don't buy it unless you are willing to reset it every time you want to close it.Get more detail about HP Pavilion DM3-1040US 13.3-Inch Silver Laptop - Up to 10 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium).

Low Price Acer Aspire AS1410-2497 11.6-Inch Blue Laptop - Up to 6 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium)

Windows 7 64-bit with 11 inch display and ergonomic keyboard, weighting a lot less than a heavy notebook and much better than the tiny netbooks ? integrated webcam, very slim, 2G and 250GB HD ??, Wi-fi (draft-N very fast) and 6-hour battery ?

You would say it would be impossible to find for less than USD 500. This is just an excellent buy.

There is NOT any other better alternative than this as a cost-benefit choice.

Get more detail about Acer Aspire AS1410-2497 11.6-Inch Blue Laptop - Up to 6 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium).

Lowest Price Acer AS5738-6969 15.6-Inch Blue Laptop (Windows 7 Home Premium)

A review video taken on the Acer Aspire 5738-6969's built-in webcam. It's pretty good quality.

I've had the computer for about a month now since this video was taken and it is still running great. I really like it!

A couple more notes:

The widescreen format is nice for movies (what I wanted) but the keyboard is thus not centered relative to the screen.

Snappy processing and memory.

Acer makes great-quality products.

Acer Backup Manager doesn't work so well. But Window's 7 Backup Manager works pretty well as a replacement.

Great sound.

Great price.Get more detail about Acer AS5738-6969 15.6-Inch Blue Laptop (Windows 7 Home Premium).

Sony VAIO VGN-FW520F/H 16.4-Inch Gray Laptop (Windows 7 Home Premium) Right now

I bought this notebook to replace my older Vaio.

The screen is beautiful, it plays blu ray movies, I love the keyboard and Windows 7 is excellent!

The only thing I dislike is the placement of the USB ports. Other than that, I'm very happy with my purchase.


Get more detail about Sony VAIO VGN-FW520F/H 16.4-Inch Gray Laptop (Windows 7 Home Premium).

Lenovo Ideapad U-350 (2963-47U) 13.3-Inch Black Laptop - Up to 5 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium) Decide Now

ultralight laptop, i was very suprized to see how fast is the intel ULV4100 processor.

the screen is very clear (HDReady res), it also has amazing brihtness (i work at 40%).

after 3-5 hours of use, it still cold.

i am very pleased that i bought it, recommand it to every student.Get more detail about Lenovo Ideapad U-350 (2963-47U) 13.3-Inch Black Laptop - Up to 5 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium).

Sony VAIO VGN-NW240F/B 15.5-Inch Black Laptop (Windows 7 Home Premium) Order Now

After months of misery trying to adjust to a Toshiba (annoying track pad, cumbersome double-clicking system, slow noisy start-up, highly unstable environment with spontaneous crashes, permanent sleeping sickness (unable to awake from sleep mode) etc, etc.) I ante'd up a few dollars for this machine. A wonderful change for the better. The keys and track pad are great, the machine was easy to set up and so far, two weeks in, everything is great. Two thumbs up for the affordable VAIO. BTW: the 'pink' is a really nice muted color, and $35 cheaper to boot.Get more detail about Sony VAIO VGN-NW240F/B 15.5-Inch Black Laptop (Windows 7 Home Premium).

HP TouchSmart TX2-1370US 12.1-Inch Black Laptop - Up to 3.5 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium) Buy Now

Pros: It has almost everything someone would want. My 4 year old loves the touch screen for websites that allow him to interact (ex fisher price website). Mine came with Windows vista, and I've been waiting for my windows 7 upgrade for 2 months now, hope to see it soon. Screen is bright, touch screen is great, finger print id is awesome, and computer is fast once you remove the bloat software HP installs.

Cons: I've owned this laptop for 3 months now and while it's great to have all these bells and whistles I can't stand the Fan noise. The fan is running 100% about 75% of the time and it's noisy. Also the heat from this laptop is crazy. My dell 6400 insp. ran somewhat hot but not as bad as this. Like I stated above I'm still waiting for my copy of windows 7, but looks like this one comes with windows 7 already.

Conclusion: Being this is the only one like this on the market (reminds me of my ipod touch) I'd buy it again. Hope HP comes out with a solution to the fans making so much noise.
Get more detail about HP TouchSmart TX2-1370US 12.1-Inch Black Laptop - Up to 3.5 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium).

Sony VAIO VGN-FW520F/B 16.4-Inch Black Laptop (Windows 7 Home Premium) Get it now!

I bought this notebook to replace my older Vaio.

The screen is beautiful, it plays blu ray movies, I love the keyboard and Windows 7 is excellent!

The only thing I dislike is the placement of the USB ports. Other than that, I'm very happy with my purchase.


Get more detail about Sony VAIO VGN-FW520F/B 16.4-Inch Black Laptop (Windows 7 Home Premium).

Apple MacBook Air MC233LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop Best Quality

I'm a PC, but I'm also a Mac. A Macbook Air (MBA) to be exact. I'm very much into design so it just made sense. I first considered something like the Dell Adamo, Latitude Z or the HP ENVY13, But the Dells were heavily under-powered processor-wise. The HP was crazy powerful, but heftier than I would have liked. The Latitude's Euro design gave the MBA's design a run for it money, but it starts at over two grand and you'll easily knock on $2500 with the bells and whistles, Yikes! The HP ENVY 13 is very powerful and the only ultra-portable with the i7 processor. But for what I'll be using this for, the mobility and price is more important to me. The Adamo seemed to match the price and features of the Macbook Air best, but finding that the design, feature and price pretty much a draw (I personally thought the MBA had a very small edge on Design), I settled on the MBA because of the fact that I can run Windows 7 as well as Mac OS X(which I also use for different purposes)and the better build quality. I have to say, the unibody design really makes the thing feel as if it was carved from one piece of aluminum. There's minimal flex to speak of. Closed, it just feels so nice in your hands.

The 1.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor is a lot better than the 1.2 and 1.4 that are available in the Dells; more than enough for my usage. This might have been a bit meek had I not already had an Intel Core 2 Quad Desktop computer at home. This also made HP ENVY pointless.

The screen is more than adequate and much better than a netbook. Since it's so light, it really can go anywhere a netbook can. The nice Keyboard and trackpad was also refreshing.

The Solid State Drive is also nice, but after some usage, I really don't find them all that different from a standard HD, perhaps a bit faster, but not that noticeable. It certainly is cooler and less noisy. Some users have complained about it getting a bit warm, but I'm thinking they've got an HD instead of an SSD.

And now for the few CONs:

No optical drive - since I won't be needing this too often it's not a big deal. I already have an external Blu-Ray Drive that I used to install everything. Once that was done, I can only image using it for an occasion Blu-Ray/DVD movie, but even this will be rare, unless I'm in a hotel room somewhere and bore out of my mind.

Connectivity:
No Ethernet, big deal! It's all about wireless!

Weird Mini Display port - also not a big deal since I don't imaging connecting an external monitor to this much.

Only one USB - This one, I admit, is pretty significant. It was a bit of hassle to swap USB devices a bit, but again, I only use multiple devices a handful of times (mainly a USB DJ Console Mixer and an external USB HD containing the music I want to mix). I got a little griffin USB "Splitter" which was nothing more than a very tiny USB Hub, but it did have some trouble getting enough power to the HD from this one USB port, so I did have to add a USB power cable to the mix (the audio was clipping heavily during mixing and transition). So keep that in mind if you're planning to daisy-chain three hard drives, a soda cooler and a reading light to the USB port- just don't. It works fine with the majority of other (low powered) USB devices.
RAM - Here's the other big CON! While 2GB of RAM will probably be ok for now, but I would have loved having the option of adding more. I have 8GB on my desktop and I actually use it (photo and video editing, media center functions, terminal services, etc.)! While I'm not doing much of that (maybe a little Photoshoping) on this thing, all it takes is that killer application that requires at least 4GB of RAM that I can't use that will drive me nuts!

I have a first generation Macbook Pro from work and I always loved the design of it. This takes things to the next level. I'm primarily a Windows user, and this seems to work a bit more seamlessly with Windows than the Macbook Pro(although with the latest drivers and software updates for bootcamp from apple, it got better). It's kinda odd that I went with an Mac to run Windows, but it was a calculated choice. Had I been looking for a full-function laptop, it would have likely been an HP or Dell. Get more detail about Apple MacBook Air MC233LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop.

Toshiba Satellite T115D-S1120 LED TruBrite 11.6-Inch Laptop (Black) Immediately

Whatever you do, don't send this notebook or any Toshiba notebook to their repair depot. My function keys failed to work out of the box. After spending months intermittently trying to fix them via Toshiba phone support and their web site, I sent it into their repair depot with the assurance that it would take 7-10 days to repair. That was two months ago. I talked with a "customer relations" representative who told me that my only option was to wait however long it took for the repair - if it took forever, well so be it. Now I've learned that it will be in the repair facility for at least another month! That's three months on a repair that was supposed to take 7-10 days. So what's the difference between this kind of confiscation and theft? I feel as though my notebook has been stolen.Get more detail about Toshiba Satellite T115D-S1120 LED TruBrite 11.6-Inch Laptop (Black).

HP G61-320US 15.6-Inch Black/Silver Laptop - Up to 4.25 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium) This instant

After a more than 5 year hiatus spend in the Apple camp, I'm back to a PC. I've had 3 Apples in that time and am a heavy user - daily, work, part-time professor and graduate student. Apple's couldn't stand up to my heavy, daily use. Period. The last straw was the screen on my 17" going bad, and Apple not covering it under AppleCare.

Having gone OUT OF MY WAY for 5 years to use Apple i.e., buying Parallels to run QuickBooks (QB for Mac is a hassle for most accountants, so they require QB for PCs), I've decided to put Apple on the shelf. They are over-priced, of no better build quality (Made in China), and are more hassle to use than they're benefit.

I found the HP to be of good build quality, Windows 7 looks good (much better than XP), and the HP screen is beautiful. I like the 10-key number layout on the keyboard as well. Although I never had Vista, Windows 7 didn't appear loaded with bloatware. I replaced Norton with AVG and may remove some games and junk at a later time.

I paid $599 + tax for this machine at Costco, valuing the premium price paid for Costco's fabulous warranty and return policy.Get more detail about HP G61-320US 15.6-Inch Black/Silver Laptop - Up to 4.25 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium).

Acer AS5738Z-4111 15.6-Inch Blue Laptop (Windows 7 Home Premium) Top Quality

This is a great computer! My previous laptop was a 2003 Gateway that lasted me through the end of high school, all through college, and the beginning of graduate school. In fact, it still works pretty well, although it has a tendency of shutting off when overheated and/or when the power cord shifts slightly. So, given my relationship with the Gateway, I was reluctant to get a new computer. However, when my computer-savvy partner purchased this laptop as a gift for me this holiday season (he was more frustrated by my prehistoric computer than me), I found that the update was a wonderful change. I'm still getting used to the keyboard and touchpad, but this is likely because I'm used to the old keyboard (very chunky and close-together keys and a recessed touchpad). The screen resolution is clear and wonderful. Windows 7 has so many excellent features (especially in comparison to XP), that I'm still finding new things to do. The sound is excellent as well. I am not a fan of the special features of the touchpad (such as the ability to "pinch" with it), so I turned that feature off (I was accidentally minimizing screens and moving things around without intending to). I have also found that the built-in microphone does not offer the best quality sound. Other than that, I highly recommend this computer -- especially for those who, like me, are hesitant to "upgrade." Get more detail about Acer AS5738Z-4111 15.6-Inch Blue Laptop (Windows 7 Home Premium).

Gateway NV7802u 17.3-Inch Black Laptop - Up to 5 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium) Review

Bought this laptop as a larger screen product for my home network and I am very pleased. Better than the Sony we have and egual to a Toshiba I use at work. You get a ton of features for your $$$. Only thing I would ask for is a better paper manual which explains all of the features. Overall I am very happy weth this product.


Get more detail about Gateway NV7802u 17.3-Inch Black Laptop - Up to 5 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium).

Toshiba Satellite T115-S1100 11.6-Inch LED TruBrite Black/Grey Laptop - 8 Hours 22 Minutes of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium)

Recently a Sony tx770p given to me had it's hard drive die on me after 2 months of really getting used to using the laptop. I have had my eye out for a long time for a replacement for it that would be comparable: 11.x screen, 1366 x 768 screen res, light weight, excellent battery life, excellent trackpad, and a particular type of keyboard that is similar to "chicklet style" but slightly different. Well, I finally found a replacement in the person of the Toshiba T115-S1100. Essentially it is a more-than-standard powerful netbook style computer.

Pro's:

1. Screen and size - LED backlit and "TruBright" ... lovely, crisp and clear! And 1366 x 768 screen resolution to boot, which is the minimum screen resolution I find actually usable when doing day to day things like browsing the internet and reading docs (both .pdf and word processing). It weighs roughly 3.5 lbs - nice and light on your shoulder as you carry it around!
2. Battery life - with everything turned off I have been able to get a little over 10 hours doing simple word processing or reading docs on this machine.
3. DDR3 RAM - the machine comes with a 2 gb chip in one slot, with another slot available to upgrade the memory. It maxes out at 4 gb. The ddr3 makes a noticeable difference in netbook level machines in my opinion.
4. Windows 7 Home - that is, a full installation of the OS, giving you way more options than Windows 7 Starter. The OS is only the 32 bit version, but it works fine considering the physical specs of the machine proper.
5. Keyboard - I personally really like the keyboard "style" used on this machine - there is spacing in between the keys a 'la "chicklet style", but the part of the keys you actually hit with your fingers are a teeny bit smaller than the bottom part of the keys, providing extra space and in general a sturdy feel when typing.
6. Trackpad - a pleasure to use. Responsive and just plain well made.
7. HDMI port - for those of you interested in such things this is a plus!
8. Web Cam - a 2 mp camera, a bit more for those of you who would use this than can be found on your average note/netbooks.
9. Intel 4500 graphics card - true, not that great, but still enough to use the hdmi port out and provide good battery life. Much more powerful than most offerings on netbooks in general.
10. ULV CPU - yes, it is single core and it is a Celeron (something many might associate with poor performance or "second rate"). However, the fact that it is an ULV means that not only is it good for battery life but it can actually crank out a fair amount of speed. This cpu runs at 1.3 ghz, 800mhz FSB, and has 2 mb of cache on it. Combine that with the ddr3 ram and a sata hard drive and you get quite a nice bit of speed for a machine its size and price.
11. Hard drive size - you get 250gb, whereas most netbook style machines give you a 160gb. Nice!

Cons:

1. Fingerprint Magnet - Argh! This thing (like many of the black colored machines produced today) attracts fingerprints to the outside of the machine and all around the outside of the screen proper. Frustrating.
2. No bluetooth - would have been a nice extra feature to add in. One should note, though, that built-in bluetooth is not an option on any of the Satellite T115 models available out there. It would be easy enough to get an external adapter though if it were really needed.
3. Mouse buttons - the mouse buttons used are "rocker style", that is, one button over the area that goes downwards on either side. I am not a fan of the rocker style buttons myself and find them difficult to use. Fortunately I had an external wireless mouse already.
4. Audio card - I have read accounts of people who have found the audio card far too weak to send noise out through the laptop speakers, although the sound through the headphones is quite fine. For me this is not an issue as I use it only with headphones. A simple "fix" for this is simply to uninstall the specific drivers for the audio card and opt for the microsoft standard drivers instead - they are reported to be a big improvement over sending sounds out of the speakers directly.

Middle-of-the-Road:

1. Heat control - it can get moderately warm when doing somewhat intensive tasks, like watching video files, for example. Nothing bad, but it is noticeable.
2. Wireless card - it is 802.11b/g rank only. This is kind of "for the par" on netbook style machines in general, but why not put in an N rank?
3. "Fusion" finish in Nova Black - the external decorations on the machine proper - it does not really excite me, but on the other hand it did not turn me off to considering to purchase the machine in general.
4. Indicator Lights - there are nine of them, and they are all on the front of the machine. If they were all active your machine would look like a small string of Christmas tree lights! :) Seriously though, it is not so bad, I simply prefer fewer indicator lights on a machine in general.
5. Standard port offerings - 3 usb 2.0 ports, mic/headphones jacks, sd card slot, vga out port, kensington lock, 10/100 ethernet.
6. USB sleep and charge - basically some software by which you can configure a certain device to draw a charge form the laptop while it is asleep. Not really something I can use or am interested in, but perhaps some may find it useful.
7. Overall Build - the machine is fairly sturdy and the screen and keyboard do not flex much at all. Good build in general overall from a "home line" product.
8. No optical drive - either internal or external. Again, I had one of these already, so this was not much of an issue, but to make dvd recovery discs you will need one.

****

Conclusion: Overall I must say that I am very satisfied with this little machine. It is an excellent replacement for me, basically a "super-powered netbook": that is, one that portability, connectivity and battery life of a netbook, yet has more options and "umph" than most offerings out there. For a little more cpu speed and wireless N you can pay $40 more or so and get the T115-S1105. For me, however, this machine more than does everything I would want it to do for its size and price.Get more detail about Toshiba Satellite T115-S1100 11.6-Inch LED TruBrite Black/Grey Laptop - 8 Hours 22 Minutes of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium).

Shop For HP Pavilion DV6-2170US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

If you are looking at the DV6 line of notebooks you may have noticed that there are several new models out with model numbers like "DV6-21xx". These are basically the same notebook as the previous models with a new CPU/graphics combo that greatly improves performance. Like the previous DV6 generation it is well constructed with a metallic toned black exterior (HP also offers versions in white). Take a good look at the shell art since it is something that may not appeal to everyone. I bought mine for my mother-in-law and she definitely appreciated having something a little more individual than the usual dull grey exterior. Despite the glossy exterior we haven't noticed much in the way of finger prints or any scratches despite the helping hands of our kids who love to "help" grandma with her computer.

The specs for this model are set well above what the average home owner needs today which (in my mind) future proofs it nicely. If you are on a tight budget you can get what you need for less (look at the HP Pavilion G60 line). If you have a little bit more to spend and you want some headroom to handle your computing needs for the next few years this is a great choice.

CPU - This is one of the first models from HP that sports Intel's new "Core i5" line of CPUs. The short version is that it outperforms the older "Core2" chips and is slightly better than the (also) new "Core i3" chips. As noted in the description it's 2.26GHz part that can "Turbo Boost" up to 2.53GHz. What isn't mentioned is that this is a dual core part with 3MB of cache. That may sound a lot like the old Core2 chips but don't be fooled: this chip will outperform the old Core2 by 20%-50%. If you are trying to decide between the "Core i5" and "Core i3" I would recommend the Core i5 to gamers and people who run high end applications (like CAD software) and the Core i3 for people running business applications (like MS Office) and web browsing. If you want to know more read on. If nerd stuff bores you then just trust me, this is a great chip to have in your laptop.

Okay here is why the Core i5 is a big deal: The Core i5 (and Core i3) have Intel's newest, fastest and smallest CPU core (also known as the "Westmere" core) which is two generations newer than the "Penryn" core used in the Core2 line. Because with each generation the parts get smaller they get cheaper to make. Also with the Westmere core Intel has bundled the chipset and a new graphics chip onto one package which also reduces cost (and allows Intel to do some new and cool performance tricks). One thing the Core i3 and i5 have that Core2 does not is "hyperthreading." Hyperthreading is a feature that makes two CPUs act like four. To do this Intel has enabled each CPU core to act on two software threads at once. So the two CPU Core i5 is almost as good as a four CPU part for a lot less money and requiring a lot less power (there are a few four core mobile CPUs out there but the battery life is terrible and I don't recommend them). Hyperthreading is something that every user can benefit from: no more watching your computer slow to a crawl because your anti-virus kicked in. Windows 7 just dumps that off on a new thread and you keep humming along surfing the web or playing a game. The main difference between the Core i3 and i5 is that the Core i5 has "Turboboost" (which can speed up your CPU or the graphics chip as needed) and the Core i3 does not. If you aren't stressing the CPU or the graphics chip then the Turboboost found in the i5 isn't going to do a lot for you.

RAM - 4GB of DDR3 RAM running at 1066MHz is combined with a 64bit OS to which should provide more than enough memory for pretty much any application you can think of outside of extremely high end gaming. Note that most older notebooks come with "DDR2" and this one has "DDR3". The main difference is that "DDR3" uses about 20% less power "DDR2" which of course equals slightly better battery life.

HDD - The 500GB drive is far more space than most users need (few people will use more than 100GB). HP also offers 320GB and 640GB drives in some models. This one runs at 7200RPM but HP has version that run at 5400RPM. The 7200RPM drive offers better performance but the failure rate is slightly higher than the slower 5400RPM drives. I have a slight preference for the slower drive just because I hate HDD failures but honestly the 7200RPM drives have improved to the point where there's not much difference in failure rates anymore.

Graphics - This model is using uses Intel's new "HD" graphics which is vastly superior to their old "4500MHD" chip. You can actually do a some 3D gaming on this notebook though newer high-end 3D games will need to run at reduced settings. Online games like World of Warcraft will run best at reduced settings. It can do 1080p HD graphics but notice this model doesn't have a Blu-ray drive so I'm not sure it matters that much (the only DV6's I know of with Blu-ray are custom models ordered direct from HP).

Display - I don't like that about a year ago HP switched the DV6 from a full 16" display to the slightly smaller 15.6". Still the 1366 x 768 widescreen LED Brightview display on this model doesn't disappoint. Indoors it is brilliant with surprisingly strong blacks (too many notebook displays are all brightness with no depth). Outdoors you'll have some issues with glare but it's better than a lot of competitors. I like that the screen provides a decent amount of vertical space without overdoing it. The difference between the 15.6" and a 14" is surprising (go compare them in a store if you haven't had a chance).

Sound - Surprisingly good sound for a notebook. The speakers are well positioned and deliver a good range. I've heard better but it was on a $3K notebook.

Battery - HP bundles 12 cell Lithium-Ion battery on this model but most DV6 models have a 6 cell. If you are on the road a lot the 12 cell is nice. Home users who plan to plug in a lot probably won't care. Personally I prefer the 12 cell. The 6 cell will give you 2-4 hours of real use and the 12 cell will give you 3-6 hours (HP claims "up to seven hours" on their website but that's only if you do everything possible to conserve power). The 12 cell will bulge out a little in the back and adds about 1/5 of a pound to the weight.

Operating System - This model the "Premium" version of Windows 7. The "SB" (small business) models have the Win 7 "Professional" version. Win 7 premium is fine for most users but the Pro version lets you back up over a network and better support for older software (it can basically run Windows XP in the background for your older programs). Most homes users will be fine with Win 7 Premium but if you have a lot of old software you may consider getting a notebook with Win 7 Pro (which will add a little to the cost of the notebook).

Optical Drive: The standard HP DVD/CD RW Drive with Lightscribe. If you haven't used Lightscribe it basically allows you to burn black text or images onto LightScribe compatible CD or DVD media. A typical image burn takes 20 minutes or so. It's nice to have but be aware the images are a little dull. I've noticed mine fade over but I mostly burn copies of CDs for my kids and they are rough on them.

I don't have any serious "cons" for this computer. The "Touch Media Controls" for things like the volume (as opposed to buttons you push) are a little odd at first but we got used to them quickly and hey, they look cool when they light up. I also don't find the included remote to be that useful but anyone planning to hook this up to their TV might like it. I suspect most people will just put in a drawer and forget about it.

If you're staring at the various DV6 models trying to decide which one to buy my advice is (based on the models available when I wrote this):

- For home users who aren't gamers you can save about $100 if you go with the HP Pavilion DV6-2150US 15.6-Inch Laptop which combines a Core i3 with Win 7 Premium and a 6 cell battery. The performance for non-gaming software will be very close to the more expensive i5 models and you'll save money by going with Win 7 Premium and a smaller battery.

- If you need good battery life, run higher end software, or like to game a bit go for the HP Pavilion DV6-2170US which combines the Core i5 with the 12 cell battery. The Intel graphics aren't the best but it's a big improvement over past products. This is the model I think has the best balance of features.

- If gaming matters more than battery life you should probably look at other laptop lines but if you are sold on the DV6 go for the HP Pavilion DV6-2190US which has a quad CPU Core i7 and NVIDIA GeForce GT 230M graphics. It's only got a 6 cell battery and that CPU and graphics are going to drain it quickly. You'll pay about $200 over this model.

- If you have a lot of older software consider the HP Pavilion DV6-2157SB Small Business Editionwhich comes with Windows 7 Pro (which can run older software in a WinXP kernel). It has a Core i3 and a 6 cell battery. It also has a different finish ("Plaid Mocha") but I haven't seen it so I can't comment on it.

To wrap it all up: you can always buy more features for more money but if you are looking for a laptop with some higher-end features and upscale build quality this is an excellent choice. HP spent money in the right places and has created a high-end laptop at a mid-tier price. I think the HP Pavilion DV6-2150US 15.6-Inch Laptop is one of the better values out there today but I prefer the features offered in the HP Pavilion DV6-2170US. If you are a student you may want to check out HPs "Academy" program which offers student discounts (it can be hard to find on HP's web site - just search for "HP Academy").
Get more detail about HP Pavilion DV6-2170US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black).

Where To Buy Acer AS5738DG-6165 15.6-Inch 3D Blue Laptop (Windows 7 Home Premium)

3D effects of preloaded 3D content is amazing. Normal content can also be converted to 3D using preloaded software and looks reasonable. Only challange is to find good 3D content.
Get more detail about Acer AS5738DG-6165 15.6-Inch 3D Blue Laptop (Windows 7 Home Premium).

Order HP Pavilion DV6-2157SB 15.6-Inch Black Laptop - Up to 4.25 Hours of Battery Life

I posted a long review of the current crop of DV6-21xx series of notebooks here: HP Pavilion DV6-2170US. The models are mostly the same with different CPUs (one has a discrete graphics chip). All include the newest mobile processors from Intel which eclipse the older Core2 line in terms of performance. Those with integrated graphics include Intel's new HD graphics which are also a big improvement over Intel's old 4500HD graphics (which are still inferior to discrete graphics chips from AMD/ATI and Nvidia when it comes to 3D gaming).

The one thing to note about this model is that it is the "Small Business" edition which means it comes with Windows 7 Pro. Besides that the specs are the same as the entry level HP Pavilion DV6-2150US 15.6-Inch Laptop.

Here is the summary of models I've looked at:

If you're staring at the various DV6 models trying to decide which one to buy my advice is (based on the models available when I wrote this):

- For home users on a budget who aren't gamers you can save about $50 (over this model) if you go with the HP Pavilion DV6-2150US 15.6-Inch Laptop which combines a Core i3 with Win 7 Premium and a 6 cell battery. The performance for non-gaming software will be very close to the more expensive i5 models and you'll save money by going with Win 7 Premium and a smaller battery.

- If you need good battery life, run higher end software, or like to game a bit go for the HP Pavilion DV6-2170US which combines the Core i5 with the 12 cell battery. The Intel graphics aren't the best but it's a big improvement over past products. This is the model I think has the best balance of features.

- If gaming matters more than battery life you should probably look at other laptop lines but if you are sold on the DV6 go for the HP Pavilion DV6-2190US which has a quad CPU Core i7 and NVIDIA GeForce GT 230M graphics. It's only got a 6 cell battery and that CPU and graphics are going to drain it quickly. You'll pay about $200 over this model.

- If you have a lot of older software consider the HP Pavilion DV6-2157SB Small Business Editionwhich comes with Windows 7 Pro (which can run older software on a WinXP kernel). It has a Core i3 and a 6 cell battery. It also has a different finish ("Plaid Mocha") but I haven't seen it so I can't comment on it.
Get more detail about HP Pavilion DV6-2157SB 15.6-Inch Black Laptop - Up to 4.25 Hours of Battery Life.

Purchase HP Pavilion DV6-1361SB 15.6-Inch Black Laptop - Up to 3.5 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Professional)

I've bought this Laptop because it's the best option with Win 7 Pro. It has the best price - value i've seen in laptops with similar configurations.

Runs fast and smooth. I'm now in the process of adpatation to Win 7 from Win XP, and i still use mi old ZV6100 with XP, because 10 years with XP is not easy to forget.

The transition of software to Win 7 is not too difficult, but there are a lot of programs that don't have version for x64 yet. The compatibility options like de Virtual Win XP, and the compatibility options y the contextual menus seem to be a good solution until the software migrates, or even better, gets 7 x64 compatible too.

The design of this laptop is nice, the only CON it has is it's shiny finish. It's a dust and fingerprints magnet.

The sound quality is good but not more than that.

I could recommend this laptop to everyone who wants good quality and Win 7 Pro. Sony Vaio would be nicer, but is too expensive.

Please excuse my poor english....

Merry X- Mas!

Get more detail about HP Pavilion DV6-1361SB 15.6-Inch Black Laptop - Up to 3.5 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Professional).