Notebook Price Watch
By Darius Chang
09/05/2008
URL: http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/notebooks/0,39050495,62041161,00.htm
 May 9, 2008
HIGHLIGHTS :
Hot on the heels of the Asus Eee PC 900, HP's Mini-Note is set to make an appearance next week.
Check out our latest reviews on the LG P300, HP Pavilion dv3000 and Acer Aspire 8920G.
Been looking for a laptop with sexy curves? Have a peek at the five sexiest models available in Asia.
NEC is joining the ranks of rugged business portables with the toughest Versa yet.
Resources:
Notebook
shopping checklist
What
type of notebook do you need?
Latest
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Upcoming
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OUR
RECOMMENDATIONS:
BUSINESS NOTEBOOK
| Model
|
Specs
| Price |
Vendor |
| Core 2 Duo processor
(2.2GHz); 2GB RAM; 250GB HDD;
12.1-inch screen;
DVD writer drive; integrated graphics card; Windows Vista Home Premium Edition | |
Active Foto and Electronics; Azenith; Buy Laptop; PA Mart |
| Why: |
The Acer TravelMate 6292 is one of the most affordable corporate thin-and-lights in the market, yet doesn't compromise on features or performance. At under S$2,000, this TravelMate has high-end specifications as well as a one-year international warranty.
|
| Wow factor: |
Rugged; good battery life; strong security suite; value for money. |
| Peer pressure: |
If a large desktop replacement laptop is what you're after, the HP Compaq 8710p has an excellent 17-inch display, a powerful discrete graphics module, plenty of connectivity and a spacious keyboard.
Not all businesses need a powerful setup with premium support. For the small to medium enterprises, the Dell Vostro 1400 offers enough power and features at a budget price. Best of all, the system can be shipped with either Vista or XP and comes with minimal bloatware.
You can check out more options in our Top 5 business portables chart. |
GAMING NOTEBOOK
| Model
|
Specs
|
Price |
Vendor |
| Core 2 Duo processor (2.5GHz); 4GB RAM; 320GB HDD; 17-inch screen; Nvidia GeForce 8700M GT graphics card; DVD writer drive; Windows Vista Ultimate Edition |
|
Active Foto and Electronics; Azenith; Digital Asia |
| Why: |
If you like blinking lights and a macho design, the Asus G2S certainly serves that in spades. The latest iteration is decked out with the new Penryn Core 2 Duo T9300 2.5GHz processor along with an Nvidia GeForce 8700M GT video card, the latter being one of the most powerful mobile graphics engines available in Asia markets.
|
| Wow factor: |
HDMI and e-SATA jacks; cool industrial design; reasonably priced gaming rig. |
| Peer pressure: |
Designed in collaboration with luxury car maker BMW, the Acer Aspire 5920G has a look you will either love or hate. However, it is possibly the most powerful gaming laptop to pass through our Labs. Based on the Santa Rosa platform coupled with the high-end Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT, it managed to squeeze out an impressive 3,288 on our 3DMark06 gaming benchmark. Oh, and did we mention it's also DirectX 10-compatible?
When it comes to gaming, the latest XPS M1730 from Dell seems to be a shoo-in for king of the hill. After all, with a blazing Intel Core 2 Extreme processor and two high-end Nvidia GeForce 8700M graphics card under the hood, it should cut through most games like a hot knife. Starting at S$3,899 for the base configuration, it has options for a Blu-ray drive as well as 64GB SSD storage device.
You can check out more options in our Top 5 gaming portables chart. |
BUDGET NOTEBOOK
| Model |
Specs |
Price |
Vendor |
|
Celeron M processor (900MHz);
1GB RAM; 12GB/20GB HDD; 8.9-inch screen; integrated graphics
card; Linux/Windows XP Home Edition | |
Digital Asia |
| Why: |
The extra S$200 over the Eee PC 701 is essentially for the larger 8.9-inch display and bigger storage capacity, as the Eee PC 900 has almost the same platform and feature set. Despite the price bump, this model is still one of the most affordable sub-notebooks in the market. It also doesn't hurt that users are given an option between Linux and Windows XP Home operating system. |
| Wow factor: |
Multitouch mouse trackpad; 8.9-inch display; decent storage. |
| Peer pressure: |
Taking consumer complaints to heart, Dell updates its mainstream 15-inch laptop with the Inspiron 1525. It's thinner, lighter and less expensive than its predecessor.
The Aspire 2920 should suit most people who are on a budget and like to stay portable, but who still need a bit of grunt. In fact, it may be one of the cheapest 12.1-inch portables in the market. If it had an HDMI port, it'd almost be the perfect solution.
You can check out more options in our Top 5 budget portables chart.
|
Popular notebooks
Based on our readership statistics and sales figures from Singapore stores AAAs Com Solution and MC2/PA Mart, the following is a list of notebooks which have plucked at readers' purse strings. For an overview of popular models for the month, check out the ranks of our Top 10 chart.
| Model |
Specs |
Notebook
category |
Price |
Vendor |
| Celeron processor (900MHz); 1GB RAM; 4GB flash storage; 7-inch screen; integrated graphics card; Linux operating system | Ultraportable | |
Buy Laptop |
| Pentium Dual-Core processor (1.73GHz); 1GB RAM; 160GB HDD; 14.1-inch screen; integrated graphics card; DVD writer drive; Windows Vista Home Premium Edition |
Thin-and-light |
|
MC2 |
| Core Duo (1.83GHz);
1GB RAM; 120GB HDD; 14.1-inch screen; integrated graphics
card; DVD writer drive; Windows Vista Business Edition |
Mainstream |
|
Azenith; Bell Systems; MC2; Notebook.com; PA Mart
| |
Core 2 Duo processor (2.4GHz);
4GB RAM; 160GB HDD; 17-inch screen; Dual Nvidia GeForce Go 8700M GT graphics
card; DVD writer drive; Windows Vista Home Premium Edition
|
Desktop
replacement | S$4,170.86 inclusive of tax and delivery) |
Dell online store |
|
|
