If all you need is a laptop for basic everyday use than costs are much lower. These systems are great for surfing the internet, watching videos, and using Microsoft Office. These machines don’t have enough power for play intense 3-D games but in turn offer 6-9 hours of battery life. Costs range from $350 to $700.

Yesterday Apple released the new Macbook. Looking on the outside reveals that there’s no physical difference between this newer refresh and the previous system…all the glorious changes are inside!  This new machine features a 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and the newest Nvidia graphics card (the GeForce 320M). The previous-generation MacBook had a 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and used Nvidia’s GeForce 9400M graphics card. The two minor changes to the processor and video card boosts the overall battery life by an additional 3 hours; this newest Macbook now claims a 10-hour battery life. Read the rest of this entry »

This week Newegg’s deal of the week is the Lenovo IdeaPad Y550-41865GU. This Lenovo is a mid range all purpose laptop that can be used to business use, gaming, or everyday computing. It’s got a Intel Core Duo 2.13Ghz processor with 4GB the faster DDR3 RAM, and a 320GB hard drive. Buyers indicate that the NVIDIA GeForce GT 240M video card. They consider it a mid level card that packs enough power to play most games running at mid to high level settings. It comes with a DVD±R/RW optical drive, a 1.3MP camera, wireless N WiFi, and Windows Home Premium. The 6 cell battery typically will last 2-4 hours. The Y550-41865GUsells for $799 at on Newegg, $200 off the regular $999 price.

This machine is somewhat new and therefore only has 11 reviews and a 4 egg rating at Newegg. Read the rest of this entry »

Every week Newegg drops the price of one their machines and features a “Notebook of the Week.” This week’s special is the TOSHIBA Satellite L505D-S5010. This basic system has a little more power than their Satellite L505D-S5986. It’s got a 15.6-inch widescreen display, a 2.0GHz AMD Processor, 4GB RAM, and a 250GB hard drive. You’ve got a DVD burner optical drive and Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit Operating System. Newegg is selling the L505D-S5986 for $450; that’s $150 off the usual $600 price. There’s no additional cost for shipping. Read the rest of this entry »

This week Newegg is featuring the Lenovo G530 4151A2U for $399. This basic laptop has 15.6-inch widescreen, 3GB of RAM, and a 160GB hard drive. You can burn media with the DVD burner/rewriter and get internet through the WLAN. The onboard Intel GMA 4500M graphics is great for internet surfing, multitasking, and office applications. Battery ranges from 4 to 4.5 hours. You won’t be buying the G530 4151A2U for playing high def movies or gaming, just everyday basic computing.

Read the rest of this entry »

Remember the old days when laptops were cumbersome, heavy, and had 2 “stellar” two hour battery life? Well those days are long gone. This past summer Intel released a new brand of processor called a CULV that changed the face of mobile computing. Instead of guzzling power it these new CPU’s “sip” from the power source. What does that mean? It means that now laptops get phenomenal 8, 10, and 12 hour battery life! You can literally go all day without having to plug in your machine. More freedom is always good.

I just bought the Toshiba T135-S1309. It’s a 13.3″ Ultra Thin CULV laptop that gets about 8 hours battery life.  The T135-S1309 comes with fairly speedy 1.3Ghz dual core processors, 3GB of RAM, and a spacious 300GB hard drive. The screen is bright and beautiful, ultra thin (1″), and only weighs 3.9 pounds! I’ve found the keyboard very easy to type on; the touch pad is somewhat average but functional. This ultra thin comes with all the basics: wireless N, webcam, card reader, LAN networking, and 3 USB ports. The only things missing are onboard Bluetooth and an optical drive. Most software be can installed via the internet (or external DVD drive) so optical drives really aren’t needed these days. Bluetooth is a nice feature to have but not absolutely required in my opinion. Read the rest of this entry »

HP has, with moderate success, plunged into the so called “Ultra Thin” laptop category with their DM3-1030US. This system has a slower CPU that makes it best used for everyday simplistic computing. The processor is actually the AMD’s newest creation (Athlon Neo X2 Dual Core) running at 1.6GHz. The machine comes with a 320GB hard drive, 4GB of DDR 2 RAM, and a 13.3-inch LCD screen (1366 x 768 resolution). Of course it’s got wireless g/n, WLAN, and Bluetooth, and a 5-in-1 digital media reader.

When you break it down to the bare essentials, the DM3-1030US pro’s and con’s are about even. On the good side the battery lasts about 5 hours, the system can has enough power to play high def movies, the keyboard works well, and the system has a sleek design. On the bad side PC Mag reveals that AMD’s processing power is substantially weaker compared to Intel Dual Core machines. The toughpad is a serious failure according to Wired; its glossy surface is very hard to use. The laptop weighs 4.2 pounds – pretty heavy for an Ultra Thin!

You can find the HP DM3-1030US priced $609.95 at B&H Photo, $614.95 at Amazon, and $649.99 at ClubMac.

If you’re attracted to the long battery life but are turned off by the negatives consider Toshiba’s T135-S1309. It’s an 8 hour Ultra thin machine that has Intel Dual Core processing power. Here’s the full review on CNET.

MSI’s X340-021US is a cheap Apple Macbook Air knockoff. Designed for  everyday basic computing, this machine is an an average ultra thin laptop that brings to the table striking positives as well as major negatives.

On the good side the X340-021US has 3 USB ports, a removable battery, an easy to read 13.4-inch screen, thin less than 1″ width, and 2.9lb light weight.  On the bad side there a serious negatives: the 1.4Ghz processor is only single core (vs today’s dual core speeds), it’s flimsy keyboard feels mushy and cheap, and the battery life is only 3-4 hours. This PCMAG review calls the X340-021US ”your man’s Macbook Air” because it’s made more cheaply than the Apple original. A quick dig into these Newegg user reviews reveals that this system is average.

Find the MSI X340US priced $579.99 at ZipZoomFly. It’s priced $645.99 and $649.99 at The Nerds.net and Newegg.

Note: We covered this laptop in our Top 5 Basic Laptops review.

This week Newegg’s Notebook of the week is the ASUS P50IJ-X1. This $499 priced laptop is comes equipped with an Intel Pentium Dual Core and 4GB of memory, 320GB hard disk, 16-inch display, and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit.

User Opinions
The P50IJ-X1 has 40 reviews with a 4 egg rating at Newegg. Most reviewers agree that the P50IJ-X1 is a very nice computer. It feels well built, screen is very bright, quick and responsive, and doesn’t get hot. Battery life is 3 to 4+ hours depending on what you are doing. From a video/graphics perspective the PC runs Google Earth without shudders. Users also like the numeric keypad and textured plastic outside. The screen feels very large and has a great viewing angle. ASUS is an overall top quality laptop maker. They provide a 2 year warranty and 1 year damage warranty for the P50IJ-X1.

Newegg is selling the  P50IJ-X1 for $499; $100 off the usual $599 price.