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Laptops: Work, Gaming, or Entertainment on the Go
Ready for a
"headtop" computer? |
When you come right
down to it, the basic benefit of a laptop is freedom. Freedom to move
around the house while working, freedom to work outside in the back
yard, freedom to work in the airport, on the plane, or in your hotel
room. In this issue of HEJ, we’re reviewing two portable computers
at different price points, and giving you a peek at a new generation
of laptops without the traditional hard-disk drive.
All the
best,
Steven
R. Mitchell
Editor — Home
Electronics Journal
P.S. Our next
two issues will focus on great gadgets for gifts. E-mail
me with your ideas of the cool gifts to give — and receive
— this holiday season.
Our
Top Picks for Laptops
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Toshiba
Satellite A110-ST1111 – starting at $549.00
The Satellite
A110-ST1111 is a great, low-priced option for students or
basic computing. It’s lightweight, has a large screen,
and has high-speed wireless built in. It also has an interesting
feature, Toshiba’s Express Media Player, which lets
you play your favorite CD music or DVDs without launching
Windows.
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Specs
at a Glance:
• Intel Celeron 1.46GHz CPU
• 256MB RAM
• 40GB HD
• 15.4-inch screen
• CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive
• Windows XP Home Edition
• 5.8 lbs.
• 2.22 hours battery life
• 10/100 Base Ethernet
• High speed wireless-LAN
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Specs
at a Glance:
•
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz CPU (up to 2.33GHz)
•
1GB RAM (up to 4GB)
•
60GB HD (up to 100GB)
•
17-inch screen
•
CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive
•
Windows XP Media Center Edition
•
8.8 lbs.
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Dell
XPS M1710 - starting at $2,299.00
Dell
calls its XPS M1710 the “ultimate gamers’ notebook”
and, with a recent upgrade, it lives up to the hype. For the
first time, Dell lets users "overclock" the processors
for improved performance. The overclocking of the already
speedy Intel Core 2 Duo processors can be accomplished with
software that ships with the computer — which is far
simpler than cracking open the case and tweaking the motherboard.
The M1710 also has one of the most advanced graphics cards:
the NVIDIA GeForce Go 7900 GTX — giving you up to 512MB
of dedicated graphics power. And Dell’s MediaDirect
allows you to play videos, music, or slide shows from your
hard drive, optical drive, or from the integrated 5-in-1 media
card, without having to start Windows. With the optional Intel
Pro/Wireless 3945 wireless card, you get access to the Web
for surfing, e-mail, chat, and gaming.
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Samsung
Q30-SSD (to be launched in 2007)
For those
of you who want the latest hot products, keep your eyes out
in 2007 for the Samsung Q30-SSD, the world’s first PC
embedded with a NAND flash-based solid state disk (SSD). With
SSD, Samsung is aiming to provide optimal portability for
road warriors. SSD is more secure and can withstand impact
that would easily cripple a traditional hard drive if a laptop
was dropped. Flash disks use less power and weigh less, which
increases battery life. And SSD reads and writes faster than
normal hard drives, while operating in complete silence. Already
available in the Korean and Japanese markets, an SSD computer
from Samsung is expected to be available in the United States
and Europe early next year.
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Specs
at a Glance:
(for
product currently available in Korea)
• Intel Celero M 753 Processor
• 512MB RAM
• 32GB SSD
• 12.1-inch screen
• Super-multi Drive
• Modem/Lan Combo (802.11 b/g)
• 2.5 lbs.
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