Review: Fujitsu LifeBook N6210

CNET has reviewed Fujitsu LifeBook N6210 laptop.
Editors' rating:
7.2 (Out of 10) – Very good

One of its cons is the weight (9.7 pounds or 4.4 kg), making it very uncomfortable to carry. In the other hand, it is actually not ment to be a business laptop for every day carrying. It has 17'' screen and two 100GB hard drives. The battery lasts less than 2 hours. So, it's not a portable laptop, but rather a desktop replacement for home entertainment.

Fujitsu LifeBook N6210
CNET
Reviewed by Brian Nadel
Reviewed August 22, 2005

The good:
Built-in TV tuner; gigantic hard drive capacity; instant-start media player; video recorder; handy entertainment controls.

The bad:
Bulky and heavy; subpar gaming performance; fuzzy TV reception; slow to change channels.

The bottom line:
A full-featured digital entertainment center, the Fujitsu LifeBook N6210 can handle TV, DVDs, CDs, and virtually any computing task except gaming.

Read further:
CNET: Reviews: Fujitsu LifeBook N6210

Review: Acer TravelMate 2300 laptop computer

Jem Matzan reviews Acer TravelMate 2300 laptop. He focuses mainly on Linux compatibility.

Review: Acer TravelMate 2300 notebook computer
NewsForge
By: Jem Matzan
Thursday July 21, 2005 (09:00 AM GMT)

Running a free operating system on your computer means that parts of it may not work. Somehow, Acer managed to hit all of these compromises squarely in the center with its TravelMate 2300. For less than $700, you'll have a hard time finding a better Linux laptop computer than this.

The TravelMate 2300 can vary slightly from market to market, and has a few similar configurations. I tested model 2304.

Conclusion

The Acer TravelMate 2300 is inexpensive, well-made, and works reasonably well with GNU/Linux. It used to be that inexpensive laptops were cheaply made, unreliable, and an overall waste of money. With the 2300, Acer has proven that laptops don't have to be expensive to be good.

Read further:
NewsForge: Review: Acer TravelMate 2300 notebook computer

Review: HP Compaq X6000

A new X6000 series laptop from HP Compaq, prices starting from $999 (according to hpshopping).

Processor choices: Intel Pentium 4 with HT Technology (2.8GHz – 3.4GHz);
Display: 17" WXGA or WSXGA;
Memory: 256MB up to 2GB DDR2 SDRAM
Graphics Card: 64MB up to 256 MB ATI Mobility Radeon (X300 or X600);
Weight: 9.3 lbs (4.22 kg)

There is some information about HP Compaq X6000 series laptops on CNET site:

The HP Compaq X6000 is a 9.3-pound, mainstream notebook computer. Compared to other consumer level notebooks on the market, it is relatively inexpensive at around $1,300.

Pros: Has a 17-inch screen size, which is somewhat larger than some similarly priced notebooks. By way of comparison, the typical cost of a product with this large a screen size is $1,920. Also, this notebook has 1440 x 900 native screen resolution, which is somewhat higher than some similarly priced notebooks. In fact, the typical cost of a product with this high a native screen resolution is $1,765.

Cons: Has a 9.3-pound weight, which is somewhat heavier than some similarly priced notebooks. For example, the Systemax Pursuit 4200 , at around $1, 300, has only a 6-pound weight. Also, this notebook only has a Pentium 4 processor, which is less efficient than some similarly priced notebooks. For example, the Dell Inspiron 9300 , a 9.4-pound notebook at around $1, 330, has a Pentium M processor.

Read further:
CNET: HP Compaq X6000

See also:
HPshopping: HP Compaq X6000 Series (overview, specs, buying info)

Review: Sony VAIO VGN-A690

CNET has reviewed Sony VAIO VGN-A690 laptop.
Editor's rating: 7.5 (out of 10) – very good.

Sony VAIO VGN-A690
CNET
June 24, 2005

The good: Beautiful Sony aesthetics; bright, wide-screen, high-resolution display; full complement of features and connections; powerful performance, yet runs cool and quiet; excellent software and support.

The bad: Big and heavy; no integrated TV tuner; lacks Bluetooth; media-card reader supports only Memory Stick.

The bottom line: Though it relies heavily on its accessories, the Sony VAIO VGN-A690 successfully delivers TV, DVR, stereo, DVD player, and high-performance PC functions in one big laptop.

Read further:
CNET: Sony VAIO VGN-A690

See also:
Sony: Product Information for VGN-A690

Review: Toshiba Portege S100-S213TD

CNET has reviewed Toshiba Portege S100-S213TD, given a score of "average": 5.2 (out of 10). The main drawback is its very low battery life time. In addition to positive sides, I would add its weight: 4.38 lbs (1.99 kg).

Toshiba Portege S100-S213TD
Release date: March 15, 2005

The Portege S100 offers business travelers a compact design and lots of speed, but it lacks one of the things they need most: long battery life.

The good: Large touch pad and mouse buttons; internal hot-swappable bay; external Wi-Fi on/off switch; wireless software utility.

The bad: Very short battery life; loud fan; runs exceptionally hot.

Read further:
CNET: Toshiba Portege S100-S213TD

See also:
Toshiba: Portege S100
Toshiba: Portege S100-S213TD Specs (in PDF format)

News: Laptops Outsell Desktops for First Time

Laptops Outsell Desktops for First Time
Yahoo! News
By Greg Sandoval, AP Technology Writer
Sat Jun 4,10:37 PM ET

SAN FRANCISCO - In a sure sign that the era of mobile computing has arrived, notebooks have for the first time outsold desktops in the United States in a calendar month, the research firm Current Analysis says.

Current Analysis says notebook sales accounted for 53 percent of the total personal computer market last month, up from 46 percent during the same period last year.

Read further:
Yahoo! News (AP): Laptops Outsell Desktops for First Time

Review: Acer Aspire 5020 Series

NotebookReview.com reviews Acer Aspire 5024 laptop (Acer Aspire 5024WLMi (LX.A4605.038)).



Acer Aspire 5020 Series AMD Turion 64 Notebook Review
NotebookReview
by Joseph Roost
Friday, June 03, 2005

With the battery installed, the notebook weighs just over 3 kg, which feels quite heavy and is probably too heavy to carry around for a long time.

The screen is a 15.4" WXGA (1280x800) TFT LCD screen with Acer's CrystalBrite technology. This means that it has a kind of a glossy finish (like Sony X-Black) which should provide a brighter display. Disadvantage is that you may/will have more reflections.

The battery of the Aspire 5020 series is a 60Wh Li-Ion unit with, according to Acer, 'up to 3 hours battery life'. Using Battery Eater '05 Pro I measured batery life under several conditions, trying to get an indication of minimum and maximum battery life:

'Minimum' battery life: I measured this by using BatteryEater in 'Classic' mode and disabling all powersaving options. BatteryEater then keeps both CPU and GPU busy with an OpenGl animation. I checked several times with CPU-Z and saw that the CPU continuously ran at 1800 MHz. Under these conditions, the battery was drained and Windows shutdown after 95 minutes.

'Maximum' battery life: I ran BatteryEater in 'Readers' mode, only displaying text as if someone was reading. I checked several times with CPU-Z and noticed that the CPU was at 800 MHz. In this mode, the battery was drained after 3:30 hours.

Read further:
NotebookReview: Acer Aspire 5020 Series AMD Turion 64 Notebook Review (pics, specs)

See also:
Acer: Aspire 5020

Laptops with NAND Flash Memory

Matthew Deutsch writes in his blog that Samsung is coming out with a 16 GB NAND Flash Memory for laptops.

Laptops with NAND Flash Memory
Monday, May 23, 2005

Samsung will be coming out with a new 16GB solid state drive (based on NAND Flash memory) meant for laptops. Although 16GB is an extremely small amount of space for computers these days, the drive will use 95% less power than regular laptop drives, and be much quieter (maybe it will get rid of that annoying humming moise all together?). I hope this means that laptops can last for a day or more rather than 2 hours

Read further:
Laptops with NAND Flash Memory

See also:
Samsung: Flash & Card

HP LiveStrong L2000 Laptop

HP announced the a new LiveStrong series L2000 laptop, currently marked as "coming soon" at hpshopping (available on June 22).

HP's LiveStrong Laptop
PC Magazine
By Jennifer M. DeFeo
05.19.05

Today, HP announced the L2000 notebook, and it's a little different than the company's usual suspects. This one is racing bike black, with the phrase LiveStrong emblazoned in yellow on the front, and Lance Armstrong's signature etched inside on the right palm rest. HP joins AMD and the Lance Armstrong Foundation to promote LiveStrong, with the hope that consumers will join in the fight against cancer.

The L2000 is a well-rounded, well-equipped laptop. Weighing just 5.3 pounds with a 14-inch wide-screen, this special edition HP system could be ideal for the back-to-school bunch.

The LiveStrong laptop's starting price is $999, after rebate.

Read further:
HP's LiveStrong Laptop

See also:
hpshopping: HP Special Edition L2000 Notebook PC