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.
|
|
Compaq Presario CQ62Z
$379.99
Offering a single-core 2.3 GHz AMD V Series V140 processor (512 KB level-2 cache), the Presario CQ62Z offers a 15.6" HD (1,366 x 768) widescreen display, 320 GB internal SATA drive, and 2 GB DDR3 memory in a machine weighing 4.85 lbs.
Features
Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 4250
Networking/Wireless: 802.11n Wi-Fi, 10/100 LAN
Connectivity: 3 USB 2.0 ports
Display Ports: VGA
Card Reader: 5-in-1 shared memory card reader (Secure Digital, Secure Digital High Capacity, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, MultiMediaCard) (adaptor may be required)
Battery: 6 cell lithium ion battery, up to 4 hrs. 34 mins.
Other: Energy Star
Software
Operating System: 64-bit Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium |
|
Dell Inspiron 14
$499.99
The G42T sports a dual-core 2.3 GHz Intel Pentium T4500 (1 MB level-2 cache per core, 800 MHz frontside bus) and comes equipped with a 14-inch (1,600 x 900) display, 250 GB internal SATA drive, and 2 GB DDR2 memory. It weighs in at 4.96 lbs.
Features
Graphics: Intel 4500MHD
Networking/Wireless: 802.11g Wi-Fi, 10/100 LAN
Connectivity: 3 USB 2.0 ports
Display Ports: VGA
Optical Drive: CD/DVD±R DL
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: 9 cell lithium ion battery, up to 8 hrs., 10 mins.
Other: 1.3 megapixel Webcam
Software
Operating System: 64-bit Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium |
|
Dell Inspiron 15R
$499.99
The Inspiron 15R base model sports a dual-core 2.4 GHz Intel Core i3-370M processor (3 MB cache) and comes equipped with a 15.6-inch 720p HD LED display, 320 GB internal SATA drive, and 3 GB DDR2 memory. It weighs in at 4.96 lbs.
Features
Graphics: Intel 4500MHD
Networking/Wireless: 802.11g/n Wi-Fi, BlueTooth 2.1+EDR, 10/100 LAN
Connectivity: 3 USB 2.0 ports
Display Ports: VGA
Optical Drive: CD/DVD±R DL
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 4 hrs., 2 mins.
Other: 1.3 megapixel Webcam; HD audio 2.2; one year LoJack for Laptops standard theft protection
Software
Operating System: 64-bit Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium; Roxio Burn 1.0 |
|
HP G42T
$449.99
The G42T sports 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 14-inch screen (1,366 x 768) widescreen display, 320 GB internal SATA drive, and 3 GB DDR3 memory. It weighs in at 4.85 lbs.
Features
Graphics: Intel HD (optional ATI Mobility RadeonHD 5470 discrete graphics)
Networking/Wireless: 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, 10/100 LAN
Connectivity: 3 USB 2.0 ports
Display Ports: HDMI, VGA
Optical Drive: CD/DVD±R DL (optional Blu-ray player)
Card Reader: 5-in-1 media card reader (Secure Digital, MultiMediaCard, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, xD Picture Card)
Battery: 6 cell lithium ion battery, up to 5 hrs., 30 mins.
Other: Computrace LoJack for Laptops; Webcam; Energy Star
Software
Operating System: 64-bit Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium |
|