HP EliteBook 6930P Notebook Review

The HP EliteBook 6930p is HP’s latest 14" thin and light business notebook. It is part of HP's premium EliteBook range of business notebooks that emphasizes mobility, performance and durability.

HP bills the 6930p as a business-rugged notebook, and with its brushed metal design, it looks both tough and elegant. It includes a brushed, anodized aluminum lid combined with a magnesium alloy chassis. Indeed, this 5.2-pound notebook is sturdy, but at 13.0 x 9.6 x 1.2 inches it’s a bit wider and thicker than the Dell Latitude E6400 (13.2 x 9.4 x 1.0 inches). To lessen the weight, you can opt for HP’s Illumi-Lite LED-backlit display for an additional $50.

HP Elitebook 6930P Specifications :
Processor : Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 2.40 GHz with 3 MB L2 cache
RAM : 2 GB DDR2 800 MHZ (Upgradable to 4 GB)
Hard Drive : 160GB SATA 5,400 rpm
Optical Drive : 8X DVD+/-RW DL
Display : 14.1″ at 1280 x 800 px
Graphics : ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3450 256 MB (Default: Intel GMA X4500)
Wi-Fi : 802.11 a/b/g/draft -n
Bluetooth : Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR
Operating System : Microsoft Windows Vista
Ports : 3 USB 2.0, Ethernet, Firewire, Headphone, Microphone, Modem, VGA, 2 in 1 Card reader, Expresscard
Dimensions : 13.0 x 9.6 x 1.2 inches
Weight : 5.2 pounds

What constitutes a computer for the elite? If there's anything in a name, HP may have the answer with its latest business laptop, the EliteBook 6930p battery is out to create some separation between its new EliteBook brand and the EliteBook's predecessors—the Compaqs—by serving up a metallic look and up-to-date Centrino 2 parts. Aside from good looks, the new design is crammed with "business rugged" features. Whether it's the DuraFinish lid, the DuraKeys, or 3D DriveGuard, the 6930p is prepared to run marathons around the competition.

As for other components, there are three USB 2.0 ports, an SD card reader at the front, a Smart card reader, an ExpressCard slot, a DVD-RAM GSA-T50L LightScribe drive, modem and Ethernet connectors, a FireWire 1394 port for digital cameras, a couple of audio jacks and VGA for an external monitor. Some users have complained about problems with the VGA but on our sample it plugged and played as expected. However, it would have been preferable to have also been offered a DVI output.

Under the bonnet lurks an Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 2.40GHz processor with 2GB RAM (expandable to 8GB) with a 160GB hard drive running at 5,400rpm, the laptop using the Mobile Intel 4 Series Express chipset. The hard drive is upgradeable to a 250GB and 7,200rpm model, or you can opt for an 80GB SSD. Even the basic set-up is decent enough to handle multimedia operations such as DVDs, spreadsheets and the Internet, all running concurrently.

This machine has also passed the same rigorous US military standard (MIL-STD- 810F) as the Hi-Grade, and can withstand drops from 2.9ft, sandstorms, vigorous vibrations and an altitude of 15,000ft.

The keyboard is mounted firmly on to the magnesium alloy chassis and, although there is a little flex, provides a crisp and responsive action. HP has coated the keyboard in a protective substance to enhance the longevity of the keys, and it gives the board an almost rubbery feel.

Consequently you'll only find standard ports on the device. There are three USB interfaces, Firewire, a modem, and a LAN connector as well as an analogue VGA port on the rear of the HP EliteBook 6930p battery. Of course headphone and microphone ports belong to the standard equipment. Unfortunately a digital video interface is done without, for instance a display or HDMI port directly on the device. If you want to save the cost of a docking station yet you want to connect an external monitor to the laptop, there's just the built-in VGA connection. In the test at a resolution of 1920x1200 pixels on our 24-inch test display (Dell 2408 Wfp) this produced an acceptable and thoroughly fit for work picture. Indeed this cannot keep up with the quality of a digital video interface.

Regarding the positioning of the individual interfaces it should be noted that they are limited to the rear area of the right-hand side of the case as well as the middle area of the left lateral edge. For this reason there are slight advantages for right-handed people but also left-handed people should generally get on well with the EliteBook 6930p. Ports which are potentially permanently occupied for example the VGA output and the connection for the power supply are fitted on the rear of the device.

The 6930p contains all the basic ports, but nothing exciting. There is a 1394 FireWire port, but no DVI or HDMI. There are three USB ports, but there is no charging over USB when the laptop is switched off. There is no eSATA. There is a dial-up modem, although we are not sure if anyone uses them anymore. There is also a MMC card reader slot on the front of the laptop.

Pre-installed software on the 6930p is fairly light; there are no anti-virus software trials or DVD burning software (or the Google Desktop, we're looking at you Dell), but there is the obligatory 60-day trail of Office 2007. You also get two different toolbars in IE, AOL and bizarrely, "Delio", which we haven't seen before. It appears to do nothing.

EliteBook 6930p also has hard disk protection (HP 3D Drive Guard) and keyboard with drainage system which results in ultimate protection of your hardware and data. Built to satisfy demands of Americas Army, HP guarantees reliability even under extreme conditions: temperatures above 60 degrees Celsius and below -29 degrees Celsius, extreme vibrations, high humidity and dust environment. HP DuraKeys and DuraFinish are technologies that are intended to provide better keyboard and other surfaces protection. All this speaks enough for itself when it comes to build quality of EliteBook series.

There is a trend with more recent notebooks to offer more granular power management, and HP have gone out of their way to maximise the battery life on the EliteBooks. In this respect HP have done well. We conducted our standard taxing battery test by setting the screen brightness to 50 per cent, and then playing a DVD. This produced an impressive 3 hours and 10 minutes of battery life, well above average. The battery for HP EliteBook 6930p has a 55 Whr capacity.

The 6930p contains all the basic ports, but nothing exciting. There is a 1394 FireWire port, but no DVI or HDMI. There are three USB ports, but there is no charging over USB when the laptop is switched off. There is no eSATA. There is a dial-up modem, although we are not sure if anyone uses them anymore. There is also a MMC card reader slot on the front of the laptop.

The HP Elitebook 6930p still uses a matte display, so it is easy to view under fluorescent lighting. However, some reviewers say the color output is a little lackluster. Testing shows that this business laptop provides good performance for office applications, and reviewers calls the HP Elitebook 6930p is a great value. If you need serious power and all the latest features, reviews point to the Lenovo ThinkPad W700ds (*Est. $2,100 and up). It's heavy and expensive, but this laptop is the closest you can get to desktop performance in a notebook.

The HP 6930p battery uses a 14.1-inch widescreen LCD, and the high-resolution (1440x900 pixels) panel is bright and exceedingly crisp. You can even read tiny on-screen text, although the high resolution means default text sizes on some Web sites and in Windows’ menus (like the All Programs list) can be pretty small. The LCD delivered vibrant colors in Windows apps, as well as good motion reproduction for video.

Above the screen you’ll find an integrated Webcam, ideal for video chat, video e-mail and videoconferencing applications. HP’s easy-to-use utility lets you set the camera’s resolution to eight different levels ranging from 160x120 (good for grabbing a tiny snapshot of yourself to append to your e-mail signature line) all the way up to 1600x1200 (for taking a photo as good as a 2-megapixel camera might). At the default 640x480 resolution, the camera showed good color accuracy, though lots of motion resulted in lots of blur. Icons at the bottom of the utility let you take a still picture, capture video or capture audio only.

When working with different windows at the same time, it was found that the HP Elitebook had a very good capacity to be able to handle some complicated programs at the same time. For example, you can use the video features and check on the e-mails at the same time and the speed of the computer is as good as any other, this is creating a very good impact on the way how people are getting what they really need.

You can easily find many kinds of HP laptop battery and laptops in the market at present that are giving you the best features available, however, you should definitely check up the Free HP Elitebook 6930P and make sure that you check the specifications and prices, as this is considered to be the best that you can find in the market for all your needs. This is a computer which is especially designed for the people that need to be on the move at all times, however, you can also find that some of the features are worth having even if you are not so mobile, as well.

Dell Studio 1537 Review

The first time we laid eyes on the Dell Studio 1537, we couldn’t help but get interested and want to know more about it. Smooth. Sleek. Striking. This laptop is a thing of beauty. It’s as if an artist was commissioned to create it. Every nook and cranny fits and contributes to the whole design.

The Dell Studio 1537 battery is a sight for sore eyes, with our model coming with a red lid to round out its overall smooth appearance. It also comes with some decent firepower behind that standard Studio beauty, packing a latest generation Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 2.26 GHz to go along with 4GB RAM, a 320GB HDD and a dedicated 256MB ATI Radeon HD 3450 GPU. When you consider that you can get all this for a cost that won’t exceed three digits, the Studio looks like a solid value.

Specifications:
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5750 (2.00GHz/667Mhz FSB/2MB cache)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition SP1, 64-bit
Glossy, widescreen 15.4 inch display (1280x800)
8X Slot Load CD / DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
3GB * Shared Dual Channel DDR2
Size: 250GB * SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
High Definition Audio 2.0
Dell 1510 Wireless-N Card
56 Whr Lithium Ion Battery (6 cell)
Midnight Blue

The monitor is 15.4″ at 1280×800 with LED backlight. The first impression is excellent, since it is very bright and with vivid colors, better than most laptops at this price point. But when compared to my HP ProBook 4510s battery, contrast and vieving angles are not so good. Viewing angles are better than in other laptops I have used. As I do not make a professional use of color, I cannot tell about the colour gamut, but I have raised a bit the red level in the Catalyst Control Panel since the skin colour in pictures seems too dull. The glossy surface of the screen is not annoying to work if there is no light behind you, but if there is a window or similar, the reflection can be distracting. In the dark scenes of films and games the reflection is more noticeable, even without light from behind. Outdoors, even with the brightness to the maximum and working with clear background, the reflection of myself in a sunny winter day is too visible. It is possible to work, but it is annoying.

It is very difficult that pictures of the screen reflect what the eyes see, but here you have some images: the first is quite blurry, but it was made with low light and can help to get an idea of how the colours and brightness are; the second is less faithful to the reality, but you can see that the contrast and color are not as good as in my usual monitor, an HP L2245w.

The battery for Dell Studio 1537 can be best described as a multi-media laptop. Powerful, long battery life, and a great designed machine. A laptop with over 200+ customizable patterns for your notebook design. After using the machine for about a month, it’s been a powerful and reliable machine. Supporting almost all new media from blu-ray with packed surround sound and it’s gorgeous 15.4 HD Led display which makes your video look lifelike. The machine has its flaws and its great pros…

The green Dell Studio 1537 used for this laptop review has an impressive 4 GB of DDR2 memory installed, which is the maximum this model will take, and is fully capable of playing high level games as well as watching DVD movies on pure battery power. We hooked up the laptop to a home theater system (nice audio and a HUGE plasma TV via the laptops HDMI connector) and were impressed with the overall performance of this color laptop. We found that the battery life is greatly improved and highly recommend the 9-cell instead of the 6-cell Studio 1537 battery.

If you're in the market for a sleek new laptop that won't break the bank, the Dell Studio 1537 might be up your alley. Our affiliate Laptop Logic has a full review. Dell may not first come to mind in enthusiast circles when discussing desktop machines, but their laptops do quite well and garner a better reputation in most instances. But if you are one of the multitude of users that need connectivity and portability, then the Dell Studio 1537 might be up your alley. Our affiliate Laptop Logic has a full review of this laptop that we're sure you'll find interesting.

The laptop in general is aimed for those into video & audio and all around usage. Great for internet browsing and powerful to do video editing and audio work. Packed with a HD display and 5.1 surround speaker set its built for all your media purposes, with its 4gb of ram and dual core processor the laptop is even powerful to act as a home media machine, with its HDMI & VGA port it is a very versatile machine and can be used in many ways through different consumers. Pricing is anywhere from 600-900$+ depending on how you customize your machine specs.

Dell Studio 1555 - 15.6in Review

Dell's Studio range of laptops first debuted last year in the shape of the Studio 1535, but to keep things fresh the PC giant has updated its 15in mainstream offering with the Studio 1555 (15 for short) we're looking at today. Primarily this is to make the switch to a 16:9 aspect, 15.6in display, but there's also been one or two design tweaks, new features and hardware options added, so there's a little more to it than a simple change of scenery.

Dell's Studio laptops are an alluring bunch; fitting snugly between the brand's budget-conscious Inspiron line-up and the premium XPS ranges, the Studio 15 and Studio 17 battery blend classy good-looks with surprisingly affordable prices. Adaptation is the key to survival, though, and the newest arrival, the Dell Studio 1555, marks an evolutionary step forward.

You'd be forgiven for not noticing any dramatic changes over its predecessor, but there are some subtle changes. Most notable of these is the disappearance of the 15.4in, 16:10 ratio display. In its place there now stands a 15.6in, 16:9 replacement.

Pre-installed with the Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium operating system (64-bit version), you'll be able to easily create a home network and share all of your favorite photos, videos, and music. Windows 7 is the easiest, fastest, and most engaging version of Windows yet. Better ways to find and manage files, like Jump Lists and improved taskbar previews, help you speed through everyday tasks. Windows 7 is designed for faster and more reliable performance, so your PC just works the way you want it to.

Dell Studio 1555 Specifications:

• Windows Vista Home Premium (SP1, 32-bit)
• Intel Core 2 Duo processor P8600 (2.4GHz, 3MB L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
  15.6" High Definition (1920x1080) High Brightness LED Display with TrueLife and Camera
• 3GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz System Memory
• ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 graphics (256MB)
• 250GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
• 6X Slot Load Blu-ray (BD) Combo Drive (BD Read Only)
• Dell Wireless 1397 802.11g Half Mini-Card
• Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Internal (2.1)
• Weight: 5.8 lb. including 9-cell battery
• Dimensions: 1.0-2.0 x 14.6 x 10.0 inches with 9-cell battery (H x W x D)
• Battery: 9-cell 85Wh
• Dell Design Studio Custom Lid: XenoMayan - Haab3 by Tweeqim

Quite frankly, we were surprised to find a Dell Studio laptop on the shelves at Staples. We would have guessed that as Dell's upscale, entertainment-focused laptop line, the Studio would have ceded shelf space to Dell's mainstream Inspiron line. Both laptop lines are present at the office-supply store, however, and representing the Studio line is the Studio 1555 (4285MBU) ($749.98), a 15.6-inch desktop replacement. Its size and specs make it a good fit for the office or the home. The dual-core Intel processor and 4GB of memory make for a smooth Windows 7 experience, the 9-cell battery delivers more than 6.5 hours of running time, and at just shy of 6 pounds, it's still light enough for daily travel. This Dell Studio 1555 battery is nearly identical to the Editors' Choice award-winning Dell Studio 1555 (USE006CS) reviewed earlier this year; it bumps up the processor a notch while knocking $50 off the price. Given that this model follows the same recipe and does so for less, we think the Studio 1555 (S1555-4285MBU) deserves to keep the Editors' Choice that the preceding Studio 1555 earned.

The keyboard feel, is on the silent/soft side. It feels very sturdy and there is hardly any flex – good for people who slam their keys a lot or “key mash”. It does not have the springy feel as like the Dell Inspiron keyboard but more of a Logitech G15 or Microsoft Digital Media Pro. There is no dedicated keypad, nor is there a “Num lock” or “Scroll Lock” keys, or numbers seen on I, O, P etc which require the use of the FN key. All the numbers are typed using the number keys above QWERTY. This may prove a problem for people dealing with figures all day. There is proper spacing between each key and the travelling between each key is very marginal. Typing should not cause any problems and should be a breeze. The orange button, make the laptop less attractive and makes a mess of the overall tone of the white led’s, black keys and silver palm rest. What were they thinking? Perhaps the designer had the Walkman W800i in mind?

Take a look at this review of the Dell Studio 1555 Laptop. Online shopping at Beansaver.com is quite a fun. While shopping online one can always expect good online deal. The best part is that one can browse through umpteen numbers of products from your home in any place in the world. Be it a car or a bunch of flowers, you will find everything here. The online deals we provide are very attractive and will help you save your hard earned dollars. The website has been designed in a way where every user can find a product of their choice instantaneously. Cheap Stuio 1555 battery is high on demand because of its ultra portability and price. It completely fulfills the demand of computer user without much fuss making it a very desirable package and that too at a very reasonable price.

When we originally reviewed the Studio 15 (1555) we certainly weren't impressed. The stereo speakers located beneath the screen produced weak and flat sound and we couldn't detect anything from the built-in subwoofer. We sent our review unit back to Dell for service and upon its return all we can say is, WOW!

The subwoofer adds a surprising impressive level of bass to the speakers in the battery for Dell Studio 1555. The bass is actually strong enough to feel with your hand on the keyboard. Overall the sound pretty good with crisp high notes from the main speakers and milder bass from the subwoofer. In short, the fixed subwoofer makes a world of difference and is much better than before. I still think the audio could use some tuning to lower the volume of the main speakers to match the subwoofer, but it's a minor issue.

Overall, the built-in speakers and subwoofer are good and external speakers or headphones are only a must-have accessory with this laptop if you want privacy.

HP Compaq Business Notebook 6735s Review

HP’s offering the Compaq 6735s notebook for as low as $399 thanks to a $100 rebate. The Compaq 6735s is a 15.4″ business notebook, geared towards office workers.

The HP Compaq 6735s battery has a good screen on it and it never struggles with anything im doing - (I do not play games on it though, so can't comment about that). Its also light enough to carry about and have on your laptop. Battery wise, It can last a 2-3 hours of surfing the internet, but please note I don't use settings to make the battery longer, so could be longer!

Technical Details for HP Compaq Business Notebook 6735s:
Product Description: HP Compaq Business Notebook 6735s - Turion X2 Ultra ZM-84 2.3 GHz - 15.4" TFT
Recommended Use: Small business, corporate business
Dimensions (WxDxH): 35.8 cm x 26.7 cm x 3.2 cm
Weight: 2.5 kg
Localisation: English / United Kingdom
System Type: Notebook
Built-in Devices: Stereo speakers, wireless LAN aerial, Bluetooth aerial
Processor: AMD Turion X2 Ultra mobile technology ZM-84 / 2.3 GHz ( Dual-Core )
Cache Memory: 2 MB - L2 Cache
RAM: 2 GB (installed) / 8 GB (max) - DDR2 SDRAM ( 1 x 2 GB )
Card Reader: Yes
Hard Drive: 320 GB - Serial ATA-300 - 5400 rpm
Optical Storage: DVD±RW (+R double layer) / DVD-RAM - integrated with LightScribe Technology
Display: 15.4" TFT 1280 x 800 ( WXGA ) - BrightView
Graphics Controller: ATI Radeon HD 3200
Audio Output: Sound card
Telecom: Fax / modem - MDC - 56 Kbps
Networking: Network adapter - Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, Bluetooth 2.0 EDR
Wireless NIC: Broadcom 4312G
Notebook Camera: Integrated
Input Device: Keyboard, touchpad
Power: AC 120/230 V ( 50/60 Hz )
Battery: Lithium Ion
Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista Business
Microsoft Office Ready: Includes a preinstalled image of select 2007 Microsoft Office suites. Purchase a Medialess License Kit (MLK) to activate the software.
Environmental Standards: EPA Energy Star , EPEAT Silver

The most affordable Compaq 6735s configuration comes with an AMD Sempron processor, 1GB of RAM, DVD burner and 160GB hard drive. It’s MSRP is $751, but HP is offering a $252 instant discount and $100 mail-in rebate on this model, dropping the final price to just $399. This configuration doesn’t have a whole lot of horsepower, but there are richer configurations available that have more memory and a more robust processor.

Business and consumer laptops tend to be built to a different set of criteria. Stolid dependability is usually the order of the day with business machines. HP is one of the main players in this market, and the Compaq 6735s, available for around £540, is one of its more popular models. Well-made and with a no-nonsense design, the HP Compaq Business Notebook 6735s battery will no doubt appeal to those seeking a low-cost, dependable laptop, but there's little to get excited about and the specification is rather lacking.

AMD business class solutions and an impressive combination of mobile office features make the HP Compaq 6735s notebook PC an affordable productivity tool, also ideal for students. This sleek notebook is newly designed and equipped with enhanced security and excellent battery life, making it one smart investment. An array of multi-layered, customizable security solutions help defend your network, your applications, and your data. Drive encryption for HP laptop battery encodes all information on your hard drive so that your sensitive information is unreadable to an unauthorized person if your notebook is lost or stolen. Experience web conferencing and other multi-media content with no additional hardware to buy or carry. The HP SoftPaq download manager provides a simple, powerful way to download software updates to your PC environment in as few as three steps. HP 3D DriveGuard, using a three-axis accelerometer which detects any sudden movement and initiates protective action, helps protect your notebook's hard drive against impact, bumps, or drops so your critical information is easily protected while you are on the move. HP business notebooks undergo over 95,000 hours of rigorous quality testing to ensure your notebook is ready to go the distance. The HP Compaq Business Notebook 6735s features 2 GB of RAM and a 160 GB hard drive.

If you intend to buy HP Compaq Business Notebook 6735s - Sempron SI-40 / 2 GHz - RAM 1 GB - HDD 160 GB - DVD?RW / DVD-RAM - Mobility Radeon HD 3200 shared video memory - WLAN : 802.11b/g - Vista Home Basic - 15.4″ Widescreen TFT 1280 x 800 BrightView - Smart Buy - Microsoft Office Ready? You’d better select 2-4 or more to the business compared to the difference of the HP Compaq Business Notebook 6735s - Sempron SI-40 / 2 GHz - RAM 1 GB - HDD 160 GB - DVD?RW / DVD-RAM - Mobility Radeon HD 3200 shared video memory - WLAN : 802.11b/g - Vista Home Basic - 15.4″ Widescreen TFT 1280 x 800 BrightView - Smart Buy - Microsoft Office Ready immediately to exercise the power of your choice. Use your wisdom and common sense to judge the correctness to select best laptop computer.

HP have also included an array of multi layered, customizable security solutions help defend your network, your applications, and your data. Drive encryption for HP ProtectTools encodes all information on your hard drive so that your sensitive information is unreadable to an unauthorized person if your notebook is lost or stolen.

The 6735s battery is available with the 160, 250 or 320 GB hard disks which all run at 5400 rpm. The hard disk in our test model is the Hitachi hard disk with 250 GB. That should give enough room for storage, and the data transfer speed of 50.1 MB/s (average) is a good value. Additionally, the hard disk makes hardly any noise, and, thus, sets a high standard of comfort. The HP Drive Guard, which is provided as an extra feature by the producer, prevents, in the case of a possible system failure, data from getting lost by stopping the read-and-write head.

The optical drive from Samsung has a good response time. It may take a few seconds before the drive starts working with the CD/DVD placed in it's holder. Otherwise, the technical details are pretty much standard. One pleasing additional feature is the Lightscribe function which is a very nice way to label CDs and DVDs.

Thus, HP delivers a laptop which offers balanced performance, and, due to the price, is able to compete.

HP ProBook 4515s Laptop Reviews

The HP ProBook 4515s (£369 inc. VAT) strikes an effective balance between power and mobility and proves a success despite minor flaws. Overall, the ProBook 4515s is a feature-packed and highly usable laptop. Its mixed performance and low-quality build mean that it's not ideal for intensive use, but for an affordable, fully-featured business laptop, it's a great choice.

While the 2.5kg chassis quite wide, the use of lightweight plastic means it isn't very heavy. If the size doesn't put you off, you can work quite comfortably on the move, thanks to the excellent 205-minute battery life.

While build quality is suitably sturdy for most use, it has a slightly low-quality feel to it and lacks the resilience we'd like to see in a business machine. Glossy plastics are used on the lid and throughout the user interface, and are quickly covered by smudges and fingerprints, requiring regular cleaning.

Built to handle every corporate and business user requirements, the HP ProBook 4515s notebook is performance on par with design elegance. The AMD Turion X2 mobile processor installed in the HP ProBook 4515s battery runs at a speed of 2.3 GHz and is backed by 3GB DDR2 memory for smooth execution of routine tasks. You can even improve the processing time by increasing the RAM capacity up to 8GB. The Windows Vista operating system offers a good balance between energy efficiency and computing power. The Intel AMD Turion X2 lets you enjoy your work for longer hours and doesn’t make you feel any interruption or slowness in overall performance.

The 17-inch version, the 4515s, is only available with Intel processors and discrete ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 graphics with 512MB dedicated memory. It has a full number pad, as noted above, HDMI output, and a Bluetooth option. It is only available in black.

Featuring genuine Windows for a familiar and intuitive environment
• The innovatively designed spacious keyboard is made out of a single part with keys raised from the surface underneath, leaving fewer places for dirt and dust to settle and thus making it easy to clean and more maintenance free than ever before.
• Built to simplify. HP QuickLook 3 provides read and write capability of email, calendar, task and contact information in seconds at the touch of a button, without having to boot up.
• Built to protect. HP File Sanitiser permanently deletes files, folders and personally identifiable information from your notebook.
• Built to conserve. The battery for HP ProBook 4515s reduces its impact on the environment by eliminating or reducing substances of concern and reducing energy consumption. It is ENERGY STAR® qualified and is EPEAT™ Silver registered.

In a first for its business models, Linux is offered as a pre-installed option as well as Windows. HP has also announced the Intel-packing 4410s AMD-powered 4415s today in the States. HP told Crave these 14-inch models will cross the pond sometime soon.

Where this laptop really stands out is its excellent extra features. The DVD drive provides full LightScribe functionality. This allows you to burn images and text directly on to the surface of compatible discs, providing an easy and tidy way to catalogue your discs with style.

The hard drive features 3D DriveGuard technology to protect your data. Should the laptop be dropped, the disk automatically parks its heads to prevent scratching the disk's surface. Finally, an integrated camera is fitted above the screen for live video-conferencing.

Overall, the ProBook 4515s battery is a feature-packed and highly usable laptop. Its mixed performance and low-quality build mean that it's not ideal for intensive use, but for an affordable, fully-featured business laptop, it's a great choice.

HP ProBook 4710s Review

A few months back we told you about the ProBook 4510s, HP’s all-new 15.6-inch notebook aimed at business users who need just the essentials at a good price. The newest member of the ProBook family is the 4710s, a 17.3-inch desktop replacement model that also delivers a good mix of features and performance for an attractive $1,099. Unfortunately, some questionable design and component decisions—no doubt aimed at keeping the price down—hold it back.

The HP ProBook 4710s battery is a low-priced 17-inch business notebook designed to provide businesses with a good desktop replacement notebook without breaking the bank. If your company wants the HP Elitebook 8730w but has a tight budget, the ProBook 4710s might be a good alternative at a starting price of just $899. Is this budget-priced notebook as good as it sounds? Keep reading to find out.

Key Specs

• Processor: 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8700
• Memory: 4GB RAM
• Storage: 500GB hard drive
• Optical Drive: DVD+/-RW
• Screen: 17.3 inches (1,600x900)
• Graphics: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4300
• Weight: 6.8 pounds
• Dimensions (HWD): : 1.3x16.2x10.6 inches
• Operating System: Windows Vista Business

With the exception of screen size, the 4710s is identical to the 4510s. It, too, has a glossy, fingerprint-prone black lid, with an interior whose textures include a glossy keyboard deck, a satin palm rest; and the speaker strip lines the top of the keyboard. Because the bezel is thin, it’s easy to focus instead on the bright 16:9 display. As an added touch, the power and QuickLook 2 buttons and LED lights all glow turquoise blue, which also keeps the design interesting. At 6.6 pounds, the ProBook is light for a desktop replacement, and, indeed, we had no problem shuttling it around the office.

The ProBook 4710s keyboard fits a notebook of this size, in that it's mostly quite large, with a deliberately huge space bar row (including CTRL, the function key and Windows key), which we found mostly pleasant to type with. The only real oddity here is that despite the amount of space on offer — which includes allowing a full number pad — the cursor keys are oddly tiny. They're not impossible to hit, but they're solidly out of scale to the rest of the keyboard.

The ProBook 4710s battery performed well in our standard performance tests, racking up a score of 2854 in 3DMark and 5308 in PCMark. As a working machine then, the ProBook 4710s should work quite hard, something that's backed up by its battery life. We can't imagine too many scenarios where you're going to want to lug the ProBook 4710s around too much, at least for the sake of your shoulders, but if you do, the increased size of this laptop does extend to the battery. With an eight-cell battery on board, the ProBook 4710s managed a very healthy three hours and 16 minutes in our DVD playback test with screen brightness at full whack. Considering how much screen it's got to run doing that, it's a very pleasing figure indeed.

This laptop impresses when it comes to gaming and 3D performance. It's not as powerful as the Acer, but its ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 graphics card offers enough performance to play games and run graphic-intensive programs.

The keyboard features a design where each key protrudes through an individual hole in the chassis (sometimes known as chiclet keys). There's more space between each key as a result, making it easier to type at speed without mistakes. It's a comfortable board, but it's also one of the noisiest, and there are no dedicated buttons for controlling your media files.

The HP Probook offers a base connectivity including all important interfaces. Among others it offers four USB-2.0 ports, a VGA-out, and an HDMI-interface for all-digital video and audio transmission.

In case you need further connectivity, HP also offers a USB docking station for the Probook 4710s. E.g., the compatible HP USB-2.0 docking station (FQ834ET) features a Kensington security slot, audio-in, audio-out, LAN (RJ45), a VGA-out and a DVI-D port for connecting an external screen. However, it does only support a single external display. Some users might miss sleep-and-charge support via USB. This would allow to charge mobile devices by connecting it to a USB-port of the turned-off laptop.

The 4710s has the typical system protections you’d expect from a HP System, spill resistant, HDD 3D DriveGuard, Disk Sanitizer in the event you need to wipe the drive and HP ProtectTools which will help you protect your sensitive information and manage passwords.

While HP says the 4710s is “Designed for small business professionals who want a stylish, affordable, 17.3-inch diagonal notebook with enhanced graphics, separate numeric keypad and a very large display to work on big documents and spreadsheets” I wouldn’t be surprised if some of HPs consumers bought one for themselves.

Overall the 4710s is a hell of a system for small business professionals to corporate executives and is just simply a great machine for any professional on the go.

The 4710s features the Intel Core 2 Duo processor, the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 512MB dedicated video card, up to 8GB of DDR2 memory, up to 500GB of hard drive space, and a DVD burner or Blu-Ray Combo drive, depending on model.

The 17.3-inch LED-backlit display has a resolution of 1600 x 900 pixels and a 16:9 aspect ratio.

The battery for HP ProBook 4710s also sports a keyboard with a separate numeric keypad, an optional 2MP web camera, stereo speakers and an integrated microphone, 802.11a/b/g/n wireless, a Gigabit Ethernet LAN port, Bluetooth, optional 56k modem, VGA and HDMI outputs, four USB ports, an ExpressCard slot, and a media card reader. The laptop starts at around 6.8 pounds and runs Windows Vista.

Dell Inspiron Mini 12 reviews

Dell's latest netbook is the Mini 12, which was previously called the Inspiron 1210. It's the biggest netbook yet, with a 12.1in screen, the same size as those used on many fully fledged ultra-portable laptops.

The standard version comes with Windows XP Home installed on its small 80GB hard disk. It has an Intel Atom processor running at 1.6GHz, but only 1GB of RAM. There's no option to increase the amount of memory in the Mini 12. Because of this, you should try to avoid loading lots of applications at once. Its larger display makes it more suitable for creative work than other netbooks, but the Mini 12's hardware struggled with both image and video editing. However, for web browsing and email, it's more than capable.

Dell's Inspiron Mini 9 might have turned up fashionably late to the netbook party, but that's not to say it was unwelcome. While other manufacturers had all but abandoned the netbook's original tiny footprint in favour of 10 inch screens and keyboards you could touch-type on, Dell's little wonder reminded us why we liked netbooks in the first place. Compact, light, portable and almost comfortable to use; Dell did a very good job with its first attempt.

It's a success that Dell would no doubt like to replicate with its latest addition to the Mini range - the Inspiron Mini 12 battery. Leaving a convenient, 10 inch sized gap in Dell's netbook line-up, soon to be filled by the recently-announced Mini 10, the 12's most significant novelty is its screen size. Where other netbooks make do with native resolutions of just 1,024 x 600, the Mini 12 stretches a comparatively generous 1,280 x 800 pixels across a bright, 12.1 inch display.

Dell Inspiron Mini 12 Specifications :

Processor : Intel Atom Z5301,6GHz (Cache L2 512KB, FSB 533MHz, Hypertrading Support)
Memory : SODIMM 1GB (maximum)
Chipset : Intel Poulsbo
Graphic Card : Intel GM 500
Harddisk : Samsung 1,8” HS092HB Ulta-ATA 100 3600rpm 80GB
Optical drive : Not Available
Features : LAN, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/g, Bluetooth, 3-in1 card reader, 3 USB, kamera Web 1,3MP, port VGA, port Ethernet 10/100, jack mic, jack headphone
Screen : 12,1" WXGA 1280x800 pixel
Sound Card : Intel Poulsbo High Definition Audio Controller
Operating System : Windows Vista Basic SP1
Battery : Li-Ion 3-cell 26WHr
Dimension : 29,9x22,9x (2,2 - 2,4) cm
Weight : 1,268kg

There is one problem with the Dell Mini 12, and the way in which you use a netbook should dictate whether this is the model for you. For a laptop (noun: lap top), it has a very strange centre of gravity, which sits somewhere on the hinge line — both the CPU and screen weigh about the same. For tabletop use this isn't a problem — it sits fine on a flat surface — but put this on your lap and you'll find it can tumble off.

Apart from this usability issue, it otherwise works in a similar way to the Dell 9, albeit with Windows Vista Home Basic instead of XP. Which leads us to another point — the combination of Vista, a meagre 1GB of RAM and the Atom processor leads to a sometimes sluggish experience. Windows don't always open when you ask them to, and boot-up seemingly took forever at one minute nine seconds before the desktop appeared.

Dell hasn't made the same compromises as Sony in order to cram everything into a slender form factor – instead, the company has opted for the bigger 12-inch form factor with dimensions of 299mm x 229mm (width x depth). The decision to go down the Silverthorne route has enabled Dell to create a mightily thin netbook though, as it measures just 28mm at its thickest point – that's quite a bit thinner than the NC10’s thickest point at 31mm, for example, and the NC10 hasn’t ever been referred to as a fat heffer. The Mini 12 also weighs less than the NC10 too – it’s just 1.25kg with the three-cell Dell Inspiron Mini 12 battery attached, while the NC10 is about 1.3kg on the scales with the default six-cell battery.

On the plus side, the touchpad is much larger than on other netbooks and even many ultraportables, and its pebbled surface makes mousing comfortable and accurate. The Mini 12’s port selection is typical for a netbook, which is to say, basic: three USB ports, Ethernet, VGA, headphone, and mic. Dell has also included a three-format memory card reader and a Webcam, but—as with other netbooks—no fingerprint reader, optical drive, or PC Card/ExpressCard reader. You do get a 60GB hard drive (which is about 100GB less than its smaller competitors, and there is no solid state drive option), as well as 802.11g and Bluetooth wireless.

The Dell performed a little better in PCMark05 with an understandably low 891 marks, but tests on its integrated graphics demonstrated that this isn't a gaming device. 3DMark06 ran, but the textures were so corrupted, and it ran so slowly, that gaming would be impossible. The program rewarded it with 76 3DMarks in the end — every child wins a prize.

Despite having a bright, high-quality screen, this isn't a multimedia device. Not only are there no dedicated controls — apart from volume — but the on-board speakers are also unimpressive. But these are netbooks, after all.

Starting at under $600, those who have dreamed of owning a seriously thin laptop will be tempted by the Dell Inspiron Mini 12. We don’t expect this netbook to perform like a MacBook Air (especially now with its upgrade to NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics), but we do expect it to be able to handle e-mail, Web browsing, video calling, music, and browsing photos just as well as the number of other Intel Atom netbooks we have tested. The Dell Mini 12 battery will fit in a manila envelope and run you at least $500 less than any high-end ultraportable on the market.

Mini 12 and Mini 9 are fighting for their debut. It may be worthwhile for the Dell team to push away the mini 9 plan and get going with the apparently better mini 12. This might turn out to be a better business idea.

HP ProBook 4510s Review

HP's latest business focussed notebooks have a new name and a new look. With plenty of power and a good price, are these the best machines for your business?

With a new naming convention and a new aesthetic HP for its notebooks, HP is clearly trying to reinvent itself for the business market and judging by this first look at a final production sample ProBook 4510s, it’s not doing a bad job.

As far as looks are concerned the ProBook is a certainly a success. It's finished in glossy black plastic, and the keys are the "Scrabble-tile" arrangement (HP calls it a "chiclet" keyboard) by now familiar on Apple and Sony's notebooks. The keys have a decent amount of travel and the base feels solid: it's easy to get a full head of steam when touch-typing. It's also pleasing to see HP using the whole width of the notebook's base, with the right hand side given to a full number pad, which makes spreadsheets easier to work on. The only downside to the glossy lid is that fingerprints stick all too easily.

HP ProBook 4510s battery has simple design. Actually someone would even say that it has “vintage” design somewhat similar to old IBM notebooks. Chassis is made of black plastic and has flat surfaces and “sharp” edges. Rigidness is average which doesn’t come as surprise since this is, after all, “s” model that cannot be compared to, much pricier, “b” and “p” series. Cover is made out of black piano finish plastics that will collect all traces of fingers that ever touched it. Display frame and area close to keyboard are made out of same plastic. Luckily, palmrest is made out of matte plastic so reaching for maintenance cloth will not be that frequent job. Another color variant called “Merlot Red” (dark red) is announced, and judging by the pictures it will be much more attractive than this, black one.

Keyboard is better segment of this notebook. It follows, these days very popular, MacBook design characterized by large gap between keys. Alpha numeric part of keyboard is good and without significant bending although num pad does suffer from significant bending especially along right edge. HP is noticed about this problem, and we got information that in final retail version it will be corrected. Cursor keys are nicely distinct so finding them will not be a problem. This is nice feature since a lot of newer notebooks that we reviewed had cursor keys that are “blended” with num pad. Touch pad is moved to the left side, centered with “space” key, which is good position. Touch pad keys are separated and operate similar to piano keys: only bottom part reacts at pressure. We also liked the fact that touch pad keys are almost silent, as they should be on an business notebook.

The ProBook 4510s is configured as follows:

Intel Core 2 Duo T6570 Processor (2.1GHz, 2MB L2 cache, 800MHz FSB)
Microsoft Genuine Windows Vista Business (with option for Windows XP downgrade)
15.6-inch LED-backlit anti-glare HD display (1366 x 768)
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
2GB DDR2 800MHz RAM
250GB 5400RPM HDD
LightScribe DVD+/-RW Optical Drive
WiFi (802.11a/b/g/draft-n), Ethernet, Modem, and Bluetooth Connectivity
8-Cell 63WHr Battery
Limited 1-year standard parts and labor warranty
Dimensions: 1.25" x 14.6" x 9.83"
Weight: 5.8lbs

With the enterprise EliteBooks and the small-business Compaqs commanding HP's business laptop line, you'd think two brands would be enough to hold down the fort. HP, however, is out to prove that its new ProBooks will be a worthy third segment to what already seems like a crowded family. The HP ProBook 4510s ($700 direct) is one of three desktop replacements in this new line, which should give IT managers some fashionable yet affordable solutions to choose from. The 15.6-inch (16:9 aspect ratio) widescreen, glossy finish, and new-look keyboard are what you'd find on a consumer laptop or one geared toward style-minded businesses.

One thing that all model variants of the HP ProBook 4510s and 4515s have in common is the 16:9 HD resolution of 1366x768 pixels. However, you have a choice when it comes to display surface. According to HP a glossy variant (BrightView) as well as a matte display (anti-glare) are available. To our dissatisfaction our test sample unfortunately has the reflective display variant, which isn't recommendable for planned use of the laptop as a device for work due to ergonomic reasons.

Indeed the maximum brightness of the display (CMO1571) turned out surprisingly high throughout the course of our measurements. The panel reached a maximum of 282 cd/m² in the central area – very good. Also the average brightness at around 250 cd/m² is completely in order.

Even though the illumination at just 78.4% turns out to be below average, looking at the display subjectively there are no shadowing effects to be seen, because the minimum measured brightness of 221 cd/m² is too high.

Below the metal grille we have an isolation-style keyboard, which like Apple, HP refers to as 'chicklet'. Keys are somewhat smaller than we're used to seeing on HP laptops, but as usual it's still very comfortable and the new design allows for plenty of key separation. A slightly narrower than normal left-Ctrl key is the only compromise in the layout, but it's a small inconvenience given you also benefit from a full number pad. Fundamentally, then, this is a very good keyboard and it delivers excellent tactile feedback, too.

Below the excellent keyboard is a raised wrist rest coated in soft-touch plastic; an effect continued on the touchpad and its buttons. Unfortunately this finish really shows off grease so it's almost as bad as the lid, which is hardly ideal in a business laptop that might be shared among different people. It looks and feels nice, but it's not necessarily practical.

As expected, the integrated graphics are enough to handle the Aero effects of Windows Vista Business, but you won’t be playing any intense shoot ’em ups on this laptop. The ProBook 4510s battery delivered a score of 841 on 3DMark06 (at 1,024x768), which is in line with other low-cost notebooks. To put that in real-world perspective, the machine mustered only 16 frames per second (fps) when playing F.E.A.R. and 6.7fps on Company of Heroes. While the ProBook's graphics scores are a little lower than those of the ThinkPad SL500, neither system can handle modern gaming.

The lower-priced ProBook 4510s models come with a six-cell battery, but our SKU included an eight-cell power pack that delivered exactly 3 hours of runtime on our harsh DVD-rundown test, which should equate to 5 to 6 hours under more judicious use. (Again, compare that with Lenovo’s 2 hours and 12 minutes on the ThinkPad SL500.) Opting for the six-cell battery instead would save you $50, but you'd also forgo the laptop's Bluetooth connectivity; the lesser battery lasted 2 hours and 11 minutes.

The HP ProBook 4510s is a stylish notebook featuring a 15.6-inch screen along with a sleek design that offers function and style. Along with the large display the 4510s features a separate numeric keypad. At 5.7 pounds the 4510s is a bit heavy to be considered an ultra-portable, but it still weighs in far less than your average desktop replacement. The battery life, security software, and clean design make the ProBook 4510s an excellent small-business laptop.

HP backs the ProBook 4510s with a one-year warranty with 24/7 phone support. For small-business buyers on a budget, the model represents a compelling value. In our test configuration, you can get better performance and HP battery life with this system than with the Lenovo ThinkPad SL500. And for just a little more than $500 for the base model, you can still get a big screen and plenty of features.

Dell Studio XPS 1340 Review

The Dell Studio XPS 1340 is quite the mash up of power, portability, aesthetics, and features. This 1340” laptop is packed with a current generation Intel P8600 processor, NVIDIA hybrid SLI graphics, “edge-to-edge” slim LED screen, and finally a Dell keyboard finally worthy of being typed on. Summary in a sentence? All around power in a medium to small package that’s almost (literally) too hot to handle.

The Dell Studio XPS X1340 battery boasts a unique look, with its rounded hinges supporting the display and angled shape. The tapered chassis measures (with the lid closed) a rather thick 1.6 inches along the back edge and narrows to 1.2 inches in front. A silver stripe cuts across the lid, separating the piano-black cover from a strip of faux leather. The leather-like strip provides a comfortable grip when toting the laptop around, and, depending on your taste, it either enhances or detracts from the overall design.

Like the Toshiba Satellite E105, the X1340 features a backlit keyboard, which is incredibly useful in low-light situations. It's one of those features, like the two-finger scroll on MacBooks, that once you have it, you find it hard to live without. The keys themselves are quiet, flat, and roomy. The touch pad is smaller than average, running only 2.5 inches wide by 1.5 inches tall. The mouse buttons are quiet and feature an illuminated stripe when the keyboard backlighting is enabled. A row of touch-sensitive media controls sits above the keyboard, along with buttons for turning the Wi-Fi antenna off and on, and ejecting a disc from the slot-loading DVD burne.



Specs:

The specifications of the model reviewed are as follows:
Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 (3MB cache/2.4GHz/1066Mhz FSB)
nVidia GeForce MCP79MX chipset (9400M G graphics)
4 GB DDR3 SDRAM 1066MHz (2 DIMMs)
Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit
6 Cell Primary Battery
Dell Wireless 1515 802.11a/g/n WLAN half Mini Card
13.3 inch HD WXGA Edge-to-Edge Laptop screen with 2.0 Megapixel Camera
320 GB Free Fall Sensor Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
Obsidian Black with Leather Accent
8X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability

XPS houses an Intel Core 2 duo P8600 processor which you don’t find in most of the competition. P8600 brings about a major performance boost to the machine by providing a faster FSB and a larger CPU cache. It provides 1066Mhz Front Side Bus instead of 800Mhz found on most of the other laptops.(Note: A slow FSB will cause the CPU to spend significant amounts of time waiting for data to arrive from system memory) .The processor has a 3MB Cache which is larger than the 2MB cache found on most systems.(Note:Cache memory access is faster than the system memory.)

The XPS has Nvidia 9500M graphics card with hybrid SLI technology. The Nvidia GeForce 9500M is not a single graphics card, but two: an integrated GeForce 9400M G plus a GeForce 9200M GS with 256 MB of dedicated memory. Basically you can turn the dedicated graphics off if you want to save power and turn it on later for better performance. The hardware allows you to play most of the newer games with moderate to low settings.

Under the hood of the Studio XPS 1340 battery are the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3670 graphics (with 512MB of video memory), and your choice of three hard drives (500GB at 5,400 rpm, 320GB at 7,200 rpm, or a 128GB SSD). Other highlights include HDMI and DisplayPort connectors, eSATA connectivity, and premium speakers with a built-in subwoofer, complete with 5.1 Dolby Digital output.

The Studio XPS 1340 looks like a good Windows alternative to the MacBook, at least on paper. In fact, this 4.9-pounder features the same Nvidia GeForce 9400M integrated graphics as Apple’s premium 13-incher, although discrete Nvidia GeForce 9500M graphics is available as an option. If you go this route Dell says you’ll be able to toggle the graphics cards on the fly—good for when you need to save battery power or get a little power boost.

In all-too-familiar fashion, Dell's new Studio XPS laptops have snuck onto the company's store with nary a press release to keep them company. The 1340 is obviously the Studio XPS 13 we saw last month, while the 1640 is naturally the 16-inch version of the leather accented system. Both machines are (oddly) hitting at the same $1,199 pricepoint, with Core 2 Duo processors and the typical smorgasbord of options. The base model of the 1340 includes a P8400 processor, Vista Home Premium, a 13.3-inch WXGA LCD, 2 megapixel webcam, 4GB of DDR3 SDRAM, 320GB 7200rpm SATA drive, slot-loading DVD burner and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M G graphics, while the 1640 is similar, but with ATI Mobility RADEON M86XT graphics.

The newly designed Studio XPS 1340 and 1640 include the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors, up to 500GB of hard drive storage or a 128GB solid state drive, and a slot-load optical drive with Blu-ray option in the larger model. The 1340 comes with 4GB of DDR3 memory, the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M G or 9500M 256MB graphics and a screen resolution of 1280×800 pixels, while the 1640 includes up to 8GB of DDR3 RAM, the new ATI Mobility Radeon M86XT (HD 3670) 512MB GPU, and a 1366×768 display.

An email to Michael Dell yielded a better response. After some bullshit haggling they finally agreed to build me a brand new battery for Dell Studio XPS 1340 replacement laptop. Not a refurb, but a NEW one. Awesome. The laptop is here a few weeks later, and I’m typing this post on it.

Not all is well in replacement-land, however. The media buttons still “freeze up” and become useless. The laptop runs a bit cooler, but you still can’t use it on your lap if you hope to reproduce someday. Even worse is that to a certain extent, I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. I know it’s only a matter of time before the other problems set right back in again… the overheating, the freezing, and the gallons of frustration. The anticipation of failure is perhaps the most unique thing about this laptop. I just can’t trust it to be there for me. Betrayal of trust is the #1 sin that laptop manufacturers need to avoid if they hope to retain their customers. Though it hasn’t happened 100% yet, I know it’s coming. Until then, I know one thing is for sure… The Dell Studio XPS 1340 sucks balls.

Overall the Dell Studio XPS 1340 is an okay laptop, and I still use it today, but with an external monitor, having the laptop closed for better airflow. It has has very good performance when playing video games and doing image processing, and web browsing just keep an eye on the computers temperature.

Dell's Inspiron 11z Netbook: Superior Performance, Lousy Touchpad

The Dell Inspiron 11z is an attempt to rectify the biggest drawback of current netbooks--low processing power--by using Intel's ultralow-voltage Celeron and Pentium CPUs. The 11z--which starts at $379--is available with either the single-core Celeron 743 or, as with our test unit, the dual-core Pentium SU4100. Both CPUs run at 1.3GHz with an 800MHz bus. Besides two cores, the Pentium SU4100 has 64-bit support. Oh, and it adds $75 to the price.

Choosing 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium--which our test system came with--will cost you $30 more over the default Vista Home Basic operating system. And if you want any color other than "Obsidian Black," that will run you $40 more. Boost the RAM from 2GB to 4GB and choose a larger hard drive, and you can easily turn this under- $400 netbook into a nearly $700 companion device to your main system. In addition to the dual-core CPU, our test system had the 250GB drive upgrade but not the 4GB RAM option, a mix making for a fairly pricey netbook.

The Inspiron 11z battery earned 63 on WorldBench 6, a tie for the best netbook score we've seen yet. Nevertheless, the unit's limited RAM, lack of an optical drive, and small size will make it simply a light travel buddy or "companion PC" for most users. It's not all about the CPU power, after all. The screen resolution is 1366 by 768 with LED backlighting, which is a step up from many netbooks this size. It really helps alleviate that "can't see the whole drop-down menu" problem that so many of these devices have. Color and contrast are pretty good, though the lighting is a little bit uneven--it's noticeably darker along the top edge.

You can opt to upgrade the a/b/g Wi-Fi adapter to 802.11n for a nominal fee, or add 3G and GPS for a not-so-nominal fee. Dropping the Atom processor has also given Intel the ability to move to a superior GS45 chipset, which means better GMA4500 graphics. It's still no barn-burner in the 3D department and I wouldn't recommend playing 3D games on this system, but the video decoding is an improvement over what you find on many netbooks and might make that HDMI output worth having.

The 11z's performance comes at a price, of course. Yes, Intel's new ultralow-voltage CPUs employ a very small amount of power compared with its general laptop and desktop processors, but battery life still suffers compared with good Atom-based netbooks. A really good netbook will last for perhaps 5 hours on a standard-size battery, and 8 hours or more with the extended battery. Our video playback test killed the extended six-cell battery in less than 6 hours, and you'd be lucky to get 3 hours of uptime using Wi-Fi with the regular Dell Inspiron 11z battery. The Inspiron 11z may be superior to the typical netbook in performance, but it's certainly inferior in its time away from the plug.

The netbook's design is simple, with nothing on the system's face but a power button, a keyboard, and a touchpad. You get three USB ports, HDMI, gigabit ethernet, headphone and microphone jacks, and a multicard reader. The large keyboard is easy to type on and has a nice springy feel with a fair amount of key travel. After a small period of adjustment, you'll probably be able to type quite comfortably on it. Not every netbook has a full-size backspace key, so it's nice to see one here. Overall, its design is not going to win any awards, but it's certainly not hard on the eyes.


So far, so good--right? It sounds like just the thing for customers who think Atom-based netbooks are a little underpowered for them. As long as you don't go overboard on extra features, making the system cost as much as a full-sized notebook, the batery for Dell Inspiron 11z sounds like just what the doctor ordered. Then you use it, and discover that the touchpad is practically worthless. It's mushy and unresponsive, with left and right "soft buttons" at the bottom that cause all sorts of problems; did you mean to move your hand down to the lower-right corner, or are you just resting your finger there to click the button? We experienced all sorts of false registers for the zoom and rotate gesture commands and eventually had to turn them off. Even with these disabled, we struggled to get the mouse pointer to go where we wanted it and to click when we wanted it to. You could always plug in a USB mouse, but that sort of defeats the "portability" angle that makes netbooks so enticing.

Sometimes, a product that receives an average score is an average product. Other times, it's a product with great strengths and terrible weaknesses, where the two average each other out. The Inspiron 11z is one of the latter. Dell's use of ULV processors and the GS45 platform offers superior performance to most netbooks, but dell battery life suffers, and the horrible touchpad makes for the kind of hair-pulling frustration most people buy a new PC to get away from.

Asus Eee PC 1000H Review

It has been almost exactly one year since we saw the Asus Eee line of notebooks hit store shelves and it has been quite a year for this little side project from Asus. The original Asus Eee PC lineup, even with its flaws, turned out to be a massive surprise hit, as Asus hit a price and form factor that the market was finally ready to adopt for an ultra-mobile notebook. The Eee PC, while not truly the first of its kind, cemented the "netbook' product category, which has encouraged potential buyers to accept this genre of products. Since its release, we've seen nearly every major OEM produce a similar product to compete with the Eee, although Asus's six month lead in this arena has helped them flesh out their product lineup even before their competitors got their first notebooks out.
The draft-n wireless introduced in the 901 is present here too, but it’s in hard disk capacity that the 1000H makes the biggest leap forward. Gone are the 12GB and 20GB SSD storage options; instead we now get an 80GB hard disk with the XP version, although 160GB models will be available soon. If you opt for Linux you can get an additional 1GB of RAM over the XP version, bringing it to 2GB total.

The rest of the specification remains the same: three USB ports, 10/100 ethernet, Bluetooth and a card reader for SD, MMC and SDHC formats. The combination of 1GB of RAM and a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processor propelled the Asus to the expected score of 0.31 in our benchmarks – matching all its main rivals – and the battery returned an impressive six hours of light use before running dry.

The Asus Eee PC 1000H battery has much in common with the Eee PC 901. It's got the same shiny, metallic hinges and a curvy-edged lid. Currently, it's available in only one colour--glossy black--but we'd be surprised if Asus doesn't release a white version and other subsequent hues in the near future.

The Eee PC 1000H is the largest mini laptop we've come across. Its 225 x 170 x 20mm chassis is a few millimeters wider and deeper than an MSI Wind, but we don't have too much of an issue with this; it's still very portable. What we do have a problem with is the Eee PC 1000H's weight--1.45kg with the standard 6,600mAh battery. Even without the battery, it tips the scales at nearly 1.1kg, which is what the MSI Wind weighs with its standard 2,200mAh power cell. To say Asus has screwed up in this area would be an understatement.

The large and fast drive also makes the 1000H an ideal portable multimedia unit, as you can store almost as many movies and music files on it as you can on a high-end iPod. And that's very much a key aspect of this Eee PC; it's more than a tool for getting online and creating documents, it's also a vehicle for being entertained. Its size still makes it the perfect gizmo for travellers who want a small laptop on which to record their adventures and dump their photos, and students will appreciate it for its storage capacity, low price and relatively comfortable keyboard (compared to the other Eee PC models, that is).

Eee PC 1000H is Taiwan’s version of the latest Eee PC launched by ASUS late in 2007. Since then, like a wildfire the Eee PC revolution has burned asunder all competition before it. There is literally no other genré of PC like it. However, that being said, I have to say the look and feel of the model we are looking at today is a lot different from the first Eee PC we originally exposed in all her innocence a while ago.

Netbook Eee PC 1000H battery offers even more options to users for unique user experiences. Featuring up to 7.5 hours of battery life, built in high speed 802.11n connectivity and exclusive 20GB file-encrypted Eee Storage with 5 GB worth of downloads per day for easy accessibility makes it the ideal traveling companion for outdoor activities. The large 10" display provides comfortable viewing, and a large keyboard makes for easier typing and relaxing usage. Large storage space. Content includes Eee PC, battery, AC Adapter, Sleeve Case, Manual and Recovery CD.

There's very little difference between the EeePC 1000 and the rest of its Atom-equipped rivals in terms of performance. The 1000 clocked up 1,512 in PCMark 2005, which is a very respectable score for a machine of this type. During our time with it, it felt very responsive and never gave us the impression it wasn't up for a particular task.

3D gaming isn't the 1000's forte. It only hit 602 in 3DMark 2006, which is pretty pathetic. Remember, the machine clearly isn't designed to move polygons around, so if you stick to things like browsing the Web, showing presentations, playing movies, you won't be disappointed.

Battery life was pretty impressive in the EeePC 1000. We weren't expecting it to be as long as the EeePC 901's, due to its larger screen, but it fared surprisingly well. It lasted 3 hours 56 minutes while watching a DivX movie, which is good compared to the 901's 4.5 hours.

The prime competitors to the 1000H though are from outside Asus, namely the MSI Wind, Acer Aspire One, and the upcoming products from Dell and Lenovo. Almost all of these start off for less than the Asus, but features do vary so everyone will have to buy based on their needs. It is worth taking into consideration that Asus has been at the netbook game a bit longer than the others, but the competitors have done a great job of catching up. Prospective buyers should take note of the battery size–Asus packed this model with a 6-cell where some others start off with a 3-cell. Asus also tends to have better included software (for computer controls and such) than the other companies, so this might be important to you.

If you take a step back and forget about the competitors and the price wars and so on, the battery for Asus Eee PC 1000H turns out to be a very solid 10-inch netbook. It offers a good typing experience, a usable display, and a full set of features, making just what people need from a netbook. Where the Eee PC 701 was OK as a secondary notebook, the 1000H could be a primary notebook (but not, for most people, your primary computer). This may seem like a fine distinction, but it represents a big jump in usefulness and productivity. Once you factor in the price and competition, things get a lot more complex–Asus has still put out a very good product but the tough competition in this segment means that, for many people, it is not as desirable a system as some of the alternatives.

Dell Latitude D830 Laptop Computer Review

Dell Latitude D830 is a premium unit with increased specifications separating it from the D530, but trailing the D430 model. This model is essentially the same as the D630, but with a slightly more powerful processer and a larger more graphics dedicated display. The Intel Core 2 Duo processor works with a 2.4 GHz CPU speed, and the graphics are supported by a standard Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 but displayed onto a 15.4” WUXGA UltraSharp. (Step up from the D630 14.1” WXGA) What separates the Dell Latitude D830 battery from lower Latitude models is its connectivity package. Found standard is Intel PRO/Wireless 802.11a/g/Draft-N and Wireless 360 Bluetooth, while Built-in WiFi Catcher increases the laptops network connecting capabilities. Additionally, this model is constructed for mobile abuse, with a magnesium-alloy construction and StrikeZone technology to protect it against bumps and drops. There is also still room for customizable options on the D830, from optical drive to security features like the UPEK finger print reader to help protect user privacy.

Give your business a new edge with the latest Dell Latitude D830 Notebook. Designed specially to cater a better mobility experience with a longer battery life and increased performance, Latitude D830 notebook has been recently launched to make a difference in the global business world by Dell. Featuring the next generation wireless technologies and based on latest Intel processors, Latitude D830 notebook delivers increased performance, reliability and durability.



Dell Latitude D830 Spicification:

Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, 2.00GHz
15.4 inch Wide Screen WUXGA LCD
2.0GB, DDR2-667 SDRAM, 2 DIMM
256MB NVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M
80GB Hard Drive 9.5MM 7200RPM
90W AC Adapter
8X DVD+/-RW w/ Roxio Creator and Cyberlink
Intel 4965 WLAN (802.11a/g/n)
9-Cell/85 WHr Primary Battery
6-Cell/48-WHr Modular Battery
Vista Business, with media English
Dimensions are 1.39" x 14.2" x 10.34"
Weight is 6.5lbs with 9-cell battery and optical drive

As already used to, you can also choose between a variety of equipments for the Dell Latitude D830. At the time of writing, the whole range of processors of the Core 2 Duo series from T7100 to T7700 is offered.

The reviewed notebook was equipped with todays most powerful mobile CPU, the T7700 with 2.4GHz. Regarding mobile computational power there is, therefore, nothing left to be desired. This is also proved by the performed benchmark tests.

In the reviewed notebook an integrated GMA X3100 video card was responsible for graphics and 3D. This is the successor of the integrated GMA 950 GPU. The performance of this solution is alright and comparable to a X1300 or a Geforce 7300. Still gaming is not one of the intended tasks for this notebook.

The 15.4-inch screen is bright and sharp, but the use of a standard TFT panel rather than a glossy Super-TFT coating means colours aren't as vibrant as we'd like. It reduces reflections, however, so you can comfortably work outside or under bright lights.

Graphics performance using the integrated Intel GPU is low, but suits basic use. Multimedia presentations can be created with ease and you can edit photos, but anything more than basic gaming is out of the question.

The Latitude D830 battery is quite a monster machine since it is packed with a lot of features for a business laptop. It comes with a 15.4 inch LCD display which enables the programmers to look at more things without having to stress their eyes too much due to the extremely small icons, just like the case with the D630. This is actually an upgrade which costs a lot since the original LCD display can only support 1280 x 800 resolution as compared to the current version of 1920 x 1200. The laptop comes with the Santa Rosa platform which is said to be much better than the predecessor when it comes to the performance. However, I could not really see the significance of the new platform when comparing the D830 with D820 and the D620. Besides that, the laptop also comes with several good hardware specifications such as Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 (the version I tested is 2.2 GHz), 4 GB of RAM (upgraded from the default 1 GB), a 80 GB SATA hard disk drive with 5400 RPM, an integrated graphic card and an integrated sound card. We did not manage to upgrade the 80 GB hard disk drive as it has been overlooked by the technical team. 80 GB is not sufficient at all since most of the programmers are using virtual machines and each virtual machine could easily take up 30 to 40 GB of hard disk space, which is nearly half of the available space. We were also forced to upgrade the memory since 1 GB of RAM is definitely insufficient for the things that the laptop is designed to do. Perhaps Dell prepared the baseline specification knowing that all the customers will most probably upgrade the laptop upon purchase.

In the days after I placed my order I spent much time questioning whether or not I had made the right choice. I anxiously awaited the arrival of my new piece of hardware, checking my order status religiously and wondering when it would ship. When it finally arrived I was not disappointed. I've been using it for two weeks now with very few problems.

I think the Dell Latitude D830 laptop battery is an excellent machine. Those who believe Dell only makes cheap, low end computers haven't seen one of their newer Latitude notebooks. Though its stats might not be as good as those of an XPS M1710 and its case may not be as good as that of a Thinkpad, the D830 is a high quality system with a high quality build and by all means a high quality notebook.

DELL STUDIO 1735 Review

I had been talking about getting a laptop for quite some time. Having a laptop when you’re a fulltime blogger certainly has its perks. You aren’t confined to one area like you would be with a desktop, and if the system is right you could end up with something as good in a laptop. Currently, the majority of my blogging is done on my main system, which is a Dell XPS. So, when Dell began sporting the new Studio line of laptops, which are comparable in many of the specs to the XPS, with a cheaper price tag, I took notice.

When I took Dell Studio 1735 out of the box we experienced a déjà vu which was expected because the only differences in design from 1535 model are bigger dimensions and presence of numerical keypad. Surprisingly, besides bigger dimensions keyboard is noticeably firmer then on 1535 model. Area around Enter key and numeric pad bends under pressure but hardly noticeable and not in amount that would disturb anyone. Since keyboard was our main complaint on smaller model this change was right on target. Touch Pad is precise which can be said also for almost noiseless keys below it.

While funky lid colouring has already been seen in units such as the and the Studio 17's chassis is nearly identical to the , right down to the L-shaped hinge, the notebook's right palm-rest features a new contour-map design that represents the western side of a mountainous range. It's etched in light-grey on a grey background, so the image doesn't stand out enough to be annoying.

The reason why the contour map can cover an entire western face is the unit's size. Similar to the NEC in terms of price, weight and bulk, the Dell comes in at 3.7kg without the power supply and 4.2kg with it included. You will need a good amount of strength and a smart power management plan if you want to use this laptop on the go, a judgement cemented by our dell studio 1735 battery rundown test. The unit lasted just 1hr 23min.

But in terms of performance, the NEC outstrips the Studio 17 in almost every aspect; the former ships with a Blu-ray player rather than a DVD-RW drive and it also returned better benchmark scores.

This machine is no slouch when it comes to processing power. Powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo T8300 processor, which runs at 2.4GHz, our test machine came with 4096MB of DDR2 memory. As a result, it offers a quick and nimble performance. With a MobileMark 2007 score of 223 supporting our own findings that this is a quick machine in all occasions, we feel it will comfortably replace your desktop PC with ease.

By outfitting the 1735 with 4GB of RAM (and an Intel Core 2 Duo 64bit CPU), Dell is advising users to use a 64bit OS in order to take advantage of the entire memory. Although not a must-have for the home user class, especially since this is marked as a desktop replacement, the device uses a fingerprint reader for improved security (don't want those kids to stumble upon those kinky movies downloaded of the Internet).

The new stylish color coated lids are awesome, but to get a little you have to give a little, so there will be some extra maintainance wiping off fingerprints and scuffs. While many reviewers did not like the new keyboard style, I could appreciate the roominess and light bounce of the keys when typing. A nice oooh aaah feature, was the sensitive media buttons. They are still above the keyboard, the new buttons are flat and sensitive to touch. They illuminate when touched, and respond quickly to raise, or lower the volume, launch the media player, or eject a disc from the slot loaded optical drive.

The price tag for this notebook (1270€) may look too high, but don’t forget about display that supports resolution up to 1920x1200 and its exceptional quality. Also with this model you get Radeon HD 3650 that can be used for playing most of new games but not on highest settings. This graphics card can “maybe” be overclocked but that is something that we don’t encourage you to do. Bear in mind that there are different configurations battery for Dell Studio 17 available with same quality build, so if you don’t care that much about good display you can change it and get lower price for notebook with similar characteristics.

The Studio 1735 specs are pretty well identical to the Inspiron 1720 with plans to re-tool the systems for montevina later on. Cosmetically the Studio 1735 shares no parts with the Inspiron 1720. The 1735 is a wedge design like the M1330 and M1530 laptops. Best graphics you can get in the 1735 is the 8600M GT.

Underneath the delicately crafted lid is a 17″ TrueLife Widescreen Display which delivers a crystal clear display for watching videos or using multimedia and graphics. The Studio 1735 battery is powered by an Intel Dual Core Processor T3200 running at 1.7 GHz and plenty of memory supply via 2GB Ram so you can do multi task and run many applications simultaneously. It also features WIFI, and wireless networking features to keep you connected on the go.

The Dell Studio 1735 is a fine machine that feels relaxed to use. The build quality is great and is matched by an equally striking performance. We're not certain who this new range is perfectly aimed at, although - in the end, it gives the look of an XPS but not the budget pricing of an Inspiron. Though, it proved an extremely effective desktop substitute.

HP Pavilion dv9700t Overview

HP Pavilion dv9700t 17-inch entertainment notebook starting at $949.99, after $150 instant off. In addition, it ships for free. The $949.99 HP Pavilion dv9700t laptop configuration features the Intel Core 2 Duo processor T5750 at 2.00 GHz, the NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS 256MB dedicated video card, 2GB of system memory, ( FREE UPGRADE TO 3GB ) a 250GB hard drive, a DVD burner, and Windows Vista Home Premium OS.

The notebook has built in speakers of Altec Lansing which come with the touch control buttons on the right hand side on top of Pavilion dv9700t battery. The keypad in terms of quality is really of excellent quality as it has very soft and smooth keys which do not give the feel of being pushed even. Along with this it has the number pad on the entire keypad which is of great help at the time of doing mathematical calculations on it.

The notebook is facilitated with an Intel Core Duo Processor T7500 and Wireless 4965 AGN. It runs on the Vista Home Premium. It also has a small IR remote that fits is the PCMIA slot. It has a 2 GB RAM.

This is one of the basic notebooks on which one can easily perform the business and academic tasks along with the purpose for watching movies with the help of its DVD player. It also has the Firewire port which enables the connectivity of several Digital Video camera and other devices to conveniently upload data to the hard drive of the notebook. Also the USB port enables the faster transfer of the data between the peripherals.

The HP Pavilion dv9700t battery is a new arrival to the dv9000 series. It is a desktop-replacement-level entertainment powerhouse. It's also packed with innovative optional features, including a fingerprint reader, and it sports our cool new "Radiance" finish. The HP battery comes with genuine Windows Vista Home Premium, which includes Windows Aero, Windows Media Center, and instant search functionality.

If you intend to buy HP Pavilion dv9700t 17″ Notebook PC ? You’d better select 2-4 or more to the business compared to the difference of the HP Pavilion dv9700t 17″ Notebook PC immediately to exercise the power of your choice. Use your wisdom and common sense to judge the correctness to select best mini laptop.

The system specifications for this HP Pavilion dv9700t include:

Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7500 (2.20 GHz, 4 MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
17.0" WXGA+ High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1440 x 900)
2GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
512MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GS
HP Imprint Finish (Radiance) + Webcam + Microphone
Intel PRO/Wireless 4965AGN Network Connection
240GB 7200RPM SATA Dual Hard Drive (120GB x 2)
LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support
8-Cell Lithium Ion Battery

For the money, you can't beat the performance in a mid-range desktop replacement. I would recommend the HP dv9700t battery for any consumer looking for an affordable, full-featured 17-inch notebook.