Mobile Computing | January 2011 Product Roundup
Laptops for the Price of an iPad
Sure, those tablets are adorable, but for less than $500 you can get a whole lot of computing power and a real keyboard to boot.
This laptop guide is a companion piece to the January 2011 product roundup in the print edition of Campus Technology. All laptops are consumer models released in 2010, and prices are the suggested retail price. Product descriptions are based on manufacturers' specifications; CT has not done any product testing to verify manufacturers' performance claims.
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Dell Inspiron 17R
$499.99
The Inspiron 17R base model comes equipped with the largest display in our sub-$500 laptop roundup, a 17.3-inch (1,600 x 900) screen. It runs on a dual-core 2 GHz Intel Pentium P6100 (265 MB level-2 cache per core, 3 MB shared level-3 cache) and comes equipped with a 250 GB internal SATA drive, and 2 GB DDR3 memory. It weighs in at 6.67 lbs.
Features
Graphics: Intel HD
Networking/Wireless: 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, 10/100 LAN
Connectivity: 3 USB 2.0 ports; 1 combo eSATA/USB 2.0 port w/sleep and charge
Display Ports: HDMI
Optical Drive: CD/DVD±R DL (optional Blu-ray player)
Card Reader: 7-in-1 media card reader (Secure Digital, Secure Digital High Capacity, Secure Digital High Density, MultiMediaCard, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, xD Picture Card)
Battery: 6 cell lithium ion battery, up to 3.8 hrs.
Other: 10-key number pad; 1.3 megapixel Webcam; Energy Star
Software
Operating System: 64-bit Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium |
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