Product Focus: Laptops for the Price of an iPad


Toshiba Satellite T215D-S1140

Powered by a single-core 1.7 GHz AMD Athlon II Neo K125 chip, the Satellite T215D-S1140 comes equipped with an 11.6" HD (1,366 x 768) widescreen display, 250 GB internal SATA drive, and 2 GB DDR3 memory. It weighs 3.3 lbs.

Features
Graphics: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4225
Networking/Wireless: 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, 10/100 LAN
Connectivity: 2 USB 2.0 ports; 1 combo eSATA/USB 2.0 port w/sleep and charge
Display Ports: HDMI
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 5 hrs.
Other: Webcam with integrated digital microphone; multi-gesture touchpad; Energy Star
Software
Operating System: 64-bit Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium

Toshiba Satellite L455D-S5976

The Satellite L455D-S5976 is powered by a single-core 2.1 GHz AMD Sempron SI-42 chip. Weighing in at 5.78 lbs., it offers a 15.6" HD (1,366 x 768) widescreen display, 250 GB internal SATA drive, and 2 GB DDR2 memory. It weighs 5.78 lbs.

Features
Graphics: ATI Radeon 3100
Networking/Wireless: 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, 10/100 LAN
Connectivity: 3 USB 2.0 ports
Display Ports: VGA
Optical Drive: CD/DVD±R DL
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
Other: Webcam with integrated digital microphone; Energy Star
Software
Operating System: 32-bit Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium

Dell Inspiron 15R

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

Toshiba Satellite C655D S5087

Toshiba Satellite C655D-S5087

With its single-core 2.3 GHz AMD V Series V140 chip, the Satellite C655D-S5085 includes a 15.6" HD (1,366 x 768) widescreen display, 320 GB internal SATA drive, and 3 GB DDR3 memory. It weighs 5.5 lbs.

Features
Graphics: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4250
Networking/Wireless: 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, 10/100 LAN
Connectivity: 2 USB 2.0 ports
Display Ports: VGA
Optical Drive: CD/DVD±R DL
Card Reader: 4-in-1 shared memory card reader (Secure Digital, Secure Digital High Capacity, Mini SD, MultiMediaCard) (adaptor may be required)
Battery: 6 cell lithium ion battery, up to 3.4 hrs.
Other: 10-key number pad; multi-gesture touchpad; Energy Star
Software
Operating System: 64-bit Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium

Dell Inspiron 14

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: 802.11n 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

Toshiba Satellite C655D S5046

Toshiba Satellite C655D-S5046

With its single-core 2.2 GHz AMD V Series V120 chip (512 KB level-2 cache), the Satellite C655D-S5046 offers a 15.6" HD (1,366 x 768) widescreen display, 320 GB internal SATA drive, and 3 GB DDR3 memory. Weight: 5.51 lbs.

Features
Graphics: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4250
Networking/Wireless: 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, 10/100 LAN
Connectivity: 2 USB 2.0 ports
Display Ports: VGA
Optical Drive: CD/DVD±R DL
Card Reader: 4-in-1 shared memory card reader (Secure Digital, Secure Digital High Capacity, Mini SD, MultiMediaCard) (adaptor may be required)
Battery: 6 cell lithium ion battery, up to 3.8 hrs.
Other: Integrated Webcam with digital microphone; 10-key number pad; multi-gesture touchpad; Energy Star
Software
Operating System: 64-bit Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium

Toshiba Satellite C655D S5085

Toshiba Satellite C655D-S5085

Running on a single-core 2.3 GHz AMD V Series V140 chip, the Satellite C655D-S5085 includes a 15.6" HD (1,366 x 768) widescreen display, 320 GB internal SATA drive, and 2 GB DDR3 memory. It weighs 5.5 lbs.

Features
Graphics: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4250
Networking/Wireless: 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, 10/100 LAN
Connectivity: 2 USB 2.0 ports
Display Ports: VGA
Optical Drive: CD/DVD±R DL
Card Reader: 4-in-1 shared memory card reader (Secure Digital, Secure Digital High Capacity, Mini SD, MultiMediaCard) (adaptor may be required)
Battery: 6 cell lithium ion battery, up to 3.4 hrs.
Other: 10-key number pad; multi-gesture touchpad; Energy Star
Software
Operating System: 64-bit Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium

Dell Inspiron 17R

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