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.

Every week Newegg features a Notebook of the Week. This weeks Notebook is the TOSHIBA Satellite L505D-S5986. The L505D with a 15.6-inch LCD screen, a 2.0GHz AMD Processor, 3GB RAM, a 250GB hard drive, DVD SuperMulti Drive, and Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit Operating System. Here’s the full pecs on the L505D on Toshiba’s website.

Newegg is selling the L505D-S5986 for $450; that’s $100 off the usual $550 price. See the L505D-S5986

Note: The G550 was ranked #1 in our Top Rank Basic Laptops – Cyber Monday Edition.

If you’re looking for a simple laptop to do everyday computing, the Lenovo G550 does an excellent job. It has a well designed and comfortable keyboard, a longer 3-4 hour battery life, and is very solid and durable. To reach it’s $550 price tag Lenovo has taken away a couple of ports and changed the touchpad. You’re not going to want to go heavy gaming or intense multitasking on the G550; it’s a great laptop for internet use and word processing.

The G550 has an Intel Pentium Dual-Core Processor and has 3GB DDR3 SDRAM allowing faster multitasking times. Those interested in graphics and multimedia will also be happy to know the G550 has a 15.6″ display screen using 16:9 HD format. This makes viewing latest movies in HD easier as the horizontal black lines are no longer visible. The G550 is light, chic with choice of hairline or textured design and has a full-sized ergonomic keyboard. Unlike most laptops, the G550 keyboard also includes a number pad for added convenience. Whether for work, school or pleasure, the G550 will fit anyone’s budget. You can find the Lenovo G550 for $550 at Amazon, Newegg, PC Mall, and Club Mac. See the G550

Happy Cyber Monday everybody! One trend we’ve noticed this year is a high interest in basic laptops. Many people it seems are interested in machines that are lightweight, easy to use, and offer long battery life. With the release of Windows 7 (in October) and the development of the CULV CPU (this summer) there are now many choices available. Gone are the days of laptops with 2-4 hour battery life – some of these newer machines can achieve 8-10 hours before needing to be pluged in. Take a look at the Top 5 Basic Laptops for November 2009.

See The Top 5 Basic Laptops

Note: Be sure to read our full review on the Acer Timeline.

Acer has just released new version of their popular Acer Timeline Series. The Acer AS3810TZ-4078 has many great things all in one package: 8-10 hour battery life, fast CPU, quiet operation, excellent screen quality, and evenly spaced keyboard. Another bonus: it comes with Windows 7! Yeah! The only negative is that you’ll have to get rid of the bloatware the machine comes preinstalled with. This a great system for students or business people on the go or for basis everyday computing. Some users are getting beyond 10 hours with minor system tweaking. Amazing.

Newegg is selling the AS3810TZ-4078 for $549 ($150 off the $699 retail price) with free shipping. You can buy it at this discounted price until November 22nd.
Read More about the Acer Timeline