Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Best Laptop Tablet for College

So if your looking for the best laptop tablet for college, you could spend a fortune , but check out the ASUS Eee PC T101MT-EU17-BK 10.1-Inch Convertible Tablet Netbook first, it has a great combination of a laptop and a tablet together.



This netbook will give you good performance for your money. If you're only going to use it for navigating internet, typing in word and checking email, the T101MT is ideal. For the experienced pc users: If you are expecting to run 2 to 4 programs at a time regularly, get the RAM upgrade. That way you will get the computer to wait for your command, and not you wait on the computer when giving commands.



ASUS Eee PC T101MT-EU17-BK 10.1-Inch Convertible Tablet Netbook



The Eee PC T101MT-EU17 tablet netbook has a 10.1-inch touchscreen display with touch-optimized software for quick and easy access to your favorite applications and websites. Transforming the rotating screen into tablet mode makes using the Eee PC T101MT fun and simple for showing off photos, giving presentations, or surfing the Web. Plus, the Intel Atom N450 processor with the battery-boosting ASUS Super Hybrid Engine delivers efficient performance and exceptional unplugged freedom that lasts up to 6.5 hours.

 Included also is a retractable stylus that tucks neatly into the chassis and extends for ease of use. And with ASUS PenWrite Technology that intelligently distinguishes the writing stylus from your palm built into the display, you’re assured a smooth and natural writing experience





Key Features

  • 10.1-inch Eee PC T101MT tablet netbook is ultra slim and light for easy on-the-go portability
  • Convertible tablet design with retractable stylus writing tool makes note-taking and navigating easy and fun
  • Responsive touch display for precise navigation throughout your everyday activities
  • Intel Atom N450 processor that’s even more power efficient for extended mobility
  • ASUS Super Hybrid Engine that innovatively saves battery life and boosts performance
  • Palm-detecting PenWrite Technology for easy and natural note taking
  • Eee Docking provides easy shortcuts to digital content, services, and applications
  • High-speed wireless N Wi-Fi networking for faster wireless connectivity (802.11 b/g/n @ 2.4GHz)
  • LivCam with 4x digital zoom for enhanced Web communications and video capturing
  • F9 easy recovery for convenient and easy operating system recovery
  • Express Gate boots up in only 8 seconds for quick access to music, the Internet, and more
  • 500GB of ASUS WebStorage for a secure, convenient way to backup, share, and access your data



Hot New Laptop and Notebooks Under $500

Here are some of the hot new Laptop and Notebooks that have just arrived on the market, the prices of these are dropping rapidly as the tablets are becoming more popular, so you can get some great value for money with these new Notebooks.



The Acer range of laptops have great value for money.

Acer Aspire One AO722-BZ848 11.6-Inch HD Netbook

It's a perfect size to take with you anywhere and just enjoy using it away from home or business.

For a netbook it has plenty of power and speed for the internet it's really a great buy.  You will have to purchase a external drive CD,(I Had one) but thats probably all you will need to install programs. For the money,power and performance you can't go wrong.

The Aspire One AO722, 11.6" Netbook, is the perfect combination of usability and portability in a thin and light design, while boasting a full-size keyboard and excellent connectivity for the best of both worlds. Throw in one-of-a-kind style, and we've got you covered! Get more done while mobile with AMD C-Series processing performance, ATI Radeon™ HD Graphics, up to 7 hours of battery life and fun media features. You'll have everything you need in a travel light design to stay connected on the go, enjoy more of your media and tackle your everyday demands with ease.


Acer Aspire One AOD257-13685 10.1-Inch Netbook

The new Aspire One AOD257 is the ultimate fun and ultra-portable companion bringing you efficient performance, sensational style and convenient connectivity anywhere you go. Superior Intel® Atom dual-core processing power, 10.1" energy-saving LED-backlit display, comfortable typing keyboard and 802.11b/g/n wireless keeps you connected so you can check your social networks, browse the Internet, check email, share photos, chat over webcam, and enjoy a variety of entertainment wherever you are.

 Here are some of the advantages and dis-advantages:

* Lightweight. Sub 3 pounds with 6 cell battery and barely over 2 with standard 3 cell
* Thin. I swear it can't be more than an inch thick
* 250GB HDD instead of the usual 160GB
* Oddly quiet. I have to strain to hear the fan running most of the time. Usually netbooks are noisy and even the HDD is quiet in this unit
* Wireless includes N. Most stop at G.
* It can sense with the power connector is loose and will beep to let you know it's not connected all the way (but only if the connector is still making partial contact).
* Dual core processor with hyperthreading is unique. Most stop with just the dual core and leave it at that
* DDR3 RAM, although limited to 1GB, is sufficient for the tasks I've put it through
* Unique cover design
* Solid construction with no creaking or cracking and limited screen flex
* Decent performance, especially video
* Cheap compared to tablets that are taking over the market. $240 for an ultraportable is nearly unheard of and a similar computer just 10 years ago from Dell or the like would have set you back $2,000.
* Keyboard that is actually pleasurable to use. I rarely had a mistype.
* Mouse/trackpad with the same pinch and squeeze features found on Apples. At least Acer got away from previous designs with the buttons on the side. While these finger movements may seem minor, they do come in handy for when screen print is small.

Not everything is perfect and there are flaws:

* Bottom firing speakers mean tinny and muffled sound
* Even Acer is confused with this model. The website states it's a single core model when it's actually dual core (and, yes, I did get the right model variation).
* No HDMI port for those desiring such nor is there Bluetooth capability
* Changing RAM or hard drive requires the removal of 6 screws on the bottom (2 of which are covered by the rubber feet), removal of the keyboard, yet another 6 screws and a metal plate. Screw any of these up and you're out of luck.
* Quirky battery life, at least with 3 cell. Prone to dropping a half hour after just a couple minutes use so it's really difficult to gauge when you need to find an outlet or call it quits.
* The two right side USB ports and next to each other. Fat dongles need not apply
* Surefire fingerprint magnet on the cover although keyboard surfaces are roughly finished
* Incredible amount of bloatware including anti-virus and Microsoft Office trials plus 22 Acer games that had to be removed.
* Watching videos turns up the heat to the point the bottom is really hot. Since most of the vents are bottom firing you can see where this presents problems. Adding the bulk of the 6 cell battery elevated the rear end and kept the heat done somewhat.


Overall, I give this unit a high rating but those interested might want to act quickly. Netbooks are a dying breed and may be replaced by tablets in the near future (might also explain with the prices are dropping, too).

HP Mini 210-3040NR Netbook

For just under $300 this is great value, the HP Mini 210-3040NR netbook with Beats Audio. If you’re looking for a sleek companion to your primary PC, then this lightweight netbook with the super-matte sweet purple finish is for you.

 The near full-size, island-style keyboard is surrounded by the same eye-catching color. Watch videos, view photos and edit documents effortlessly on the 10.1-inch diagonal display. Plus, connect to an HD TV by plugging an HDMI cable into the port on this HP netbook. Access e-mail, IM and social networking sites fast, and video chat with family and friends using the integrated webcam and microphone.

 Transfer photos from a memory card to the HP Mini 210-3040NR netbook using the multi-format digital media reader. Built-in Wi-Fi lets you browse the Web from any room and on the go without using cables. Enjoy online games in crisp detail using integrated Intel video graphics, plus store important files on the 250GB hard drive.

Connect this HP netbook to an MP3 player, digital camera or external optical drive easily using one of the USB ports. With a battery life of up to 9.5 hours, power through your busy day without needing to plug in your netbook.

Friday, August 12, 2011

Best Laptop under $500

Here are the best laptops under $500. The main thing is to do your research and find a computer that will meet all of your needs.

 
 Acer AS1430Z-4677 11.6-Inch Laptop (Diamond Black)


The Acer AS1430Z laptop with 11.6-inch display and
Intel Pentium processor
 This has a rating of 9.2 out of 10 from 60 reviews, which is pretty amazing for a laptop under $500. This great little laptop is very portable and it's performace is great. It is more powerfull then most devices in this size, has around double power then Atom CPU, and pretty fast wireless internet.

The screen and keyboard are much more useable than the 10.1 netbooks. The screen and 1.3MP HD Webcam (1280 x 1024) are higher resolution than the netbooks.

The ACER AS1430Z comes with 3GB upgradeable to 8GB.

The only negative is battery life is only 4.5 hrs vs 8-9 for the netbooks, but it is enough to play a couple of movies on the airplane.

Check out some of the Key Features

  • Up to 4.5 hours of battery life with included 6-cell battery
  • 11.6-inch HD widescreen CineCrystal LED-backlit display
  • 1.33 GHz Intel Pentium U5600 ultra-low voltage processor (3 MB L3 cache) offers two cores of processing power and features Intel SpeedStep technology, helping your system to dynamically adjust processor voltage and core frequency to decrease power consumption and heat production.
  • 320 GB SATA hard drive (5400 RPM)
  • 3 GB of installed DDR3 RAM (1066 MHz)
  • Intel HD Graphics (with 128 MB of dedicated system memory) deliver turbo-charged performance and fast throughput and provides support for Microsoft DirectX 10 games.
  • Wireless-N Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n) for ultra-fast connectivity to home and business networks.
  • 1.3-megapixel webcam integrated into the display bezel for easy video chats and conferencing (1280 x 1024 resolution).
  • Multi-Gesture Touchpad allows you to pinch, flick and swirl your fingers across the touchpad for more natural photo and video viewing as well as intuitive navigation of websites such as Google Earth. It also enables you to scroll, zoom in and out and flip through Web pages, photos, spreadsheets and more.
  • Stereo speakers with 2nd generation Dolby Sound Room audio enhancement transforms the experience of movies, music, and games.
  • Windows 7 Home Premium makes it easy to create a home network and share all of your favorite photos, videos, and music. And you can watch shows for free when and where you want with Internet TV on Windows Media Center. Get the best entertainment experience with Windows 7 Home Premium. 
  • Preloaded with Microsoft Office Starter 2010 free software offering selected functionality of Word and Excel for your text and spreadsheet tasks.  Plus, if you decide you want the full suite, just purchase a product key to activate an ad-free version that also includes the latest Outlook, PowerPoint, and Publisher programs.  Complete your PC.  Buy full-featured Microsoft Office 2010.
  • Weight: 3.1 pounds
  • Warranty: One-year parts and labor limited warranty with concurrent International Traveler's Warranty.


Laptop Buying Tips

Laptops Buying Tips
Here is some laptop buying tips for when you are in the market for a new laptop. Do you need a long battery life, lightweight design, great graphics, and do you need to download music, videos or are you must going to use your laptop for surfing the net and assignments.

To find the best laptop for you need to know what your daily computing activities will be. There are so many brands, options and other considerations that trying to weed through the options can seem a bit daunting.  There are several guides and steps that will help you to make an informed decision.
Laptop Buying Tip 1
Budget
Laptops are readily available to fit into just about every budget. To be frank most people overspend when buying a laptop and it is really unnecessary to do so.  Any technology including laptops have a shelf life of about three years before they become outdated, so spending thousands of dollars buying a laptop does not necessarily guarantee you that your purchase will not be outdated rather quickly and you will find yourself longing for the next latest greatest model.  
Consider your budget carefully and be realistic only buy what you can afford! Laptops are a lot like cars, once you use them they lose value so you will never get out of them what you put into them.  They are not an investment they are a tool that is to be used, so budget accordingly.  

Laptop Buying Tip 2
What Will You Use It for?
What are you going to use your laptop for? This is a big question that you should definitely answer before buying your laptop. If it is strictly to be used for work or school than you will need less memory which in turn will be less expensive, if you are going to use it for gaming purposes than you will want to focus on buying a laptop that has a bit more memory and is geared toward media use.  
There are some great low cost options if you are relatively new to computing and don’t want to spend a fortune.  The lower end models are perfect for internet surfing, word processing and a host of other processor simply activities.   

Laptop Buying Tip 3
Read the Reviews
One of the best things you can do when buying a laptop is to read consumer reviews here at Consumer Reports Laptops.  Unsolicited consumer reviews typically contain honest answers from consumers that have already bought the laptop. You will be able to narrow your choices based on consumer reviews.  Most folks are more than happy to share when they are dissatisfied with a product. This can prove to be valuable information when you are trying to decide which laptop to buy.  
Taking a few extra steps can go a long way when buying a laptop. There is no worse disappointment than spending a big large amount of money only to find that you did not get what you thought you were getting, or spending a large amount of money on a laptop that has far more features than you will ever use.  
Approach buying a laptop as an informed consumer, do the research and evaluate your personal situation so that you can get a reasonably priced laptop that you will use for years.  It is far better to make informed decisions than it is to run out blindly and be talked into a laptop you won’t be happy with. So check out the top laptops for 2011 and see why consumers have voted them as number one laptop for 2011.

Monday, August 8, 2011

Top College Laptops

There are so many laptops to choose from, but I have reviewed some of the top college laptops to help you make the right choice for your student going to college.

First you need to set a budget, how much money are you willing to pay.Many of us over spend as the life of a laptop is about 3 years and it becomes out of date, so to spend too much on a new laptop is really not necessary.

Secondly, what are you going to use it for,if you need it for just schoolwork and internet surfing then you need less memory, but if you are downloading games or videos and movies you will need more memory. But, if it is strictly for school work, you won't need as much and don't have to spend as much.

Lastly, make sure you read the reviews its good to find out the positives and negatives about any product especially if you are going to spend a fair amount on a laptop.

I did quite a bit of research when I was shopping for a new laptop and here are my top College Laptops.




Apple MacBook Pro MC700LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop

Apple MacBook Pro

The Apple MacBook Pro has an outstanding 9.4 out of 10 rating form over 100 reviews,there is so many good features to this laptop.This has made the top laptop list for a few years and the Mac Book Pro just keep getting better and better.

This computer has a 13 inch unibody. It is noticeably faster than previous models.For example to convert 10 minute MP3 file to AAC in iTunes now only takes 14 seconds, computer processors have gotten faster.

The 13.3-inch MacBook Pro (model MC700LL/A) features a 2.3 GHz Core i5 "Sandy Bridge" dual-core processor, 320 GB hard drive, and 4 GB of installed RAM, so plenty of storage space, but of course you can get more Ram is you need it for those videos or movies.

The MacBook Pro is a great place to start. The computer is a breeze to use and has all the apple programs, iTunes, iMovie, iPhoto already loaded. The best part of the computer is screen. The clarity of the computer screen is superb.

The only negative I have found so far is the price, it's around $1000, but you get what you pay for and with the Apple MacBook that is quality.


Apple MacBook Air MC969LL/A 11.6-Inch Laptop

MacBook Air MC969
Here is the newest Apple MacBook that has just arrived on the market, it's the Apple MacBook Air MC969LL/A with only an 11.6 inch high resolution screen. It's Apples thinnest laptop so far, it is an ultra portable laptop, a little bit larger than an iPad.

It is really fast,they say it is upto 2 and half times faster than before and has many advanced features that are packed inside this laptop that is light, thin, and strong enough to handle all your everyday tasks and then some, whether you're on the couch, in a lecture hall.

The new backlit keyboard is a great feature, so when the lighting isn't very good, hit the backlit key and the keyboard lights up.

11.6-inch (diagonal) high-resolution LED-backlit glossy widescreen display (1366 x 678)
The processor has been upgraded to a second generation Core i5 processor which gives this litlle baby a bit more speed.

Unit Dimensions - 11.8 (W) x 0.11-0.68 (H) x 7.56 (D) inches ( 30 x 0.3 - 1.7 x 19.2 cm) Unit Weight - 2.38 pounds (1.08 kg).

Top College Laptop Under $500

Best College Laptop Under $500
Toshiba Satelite L755

If your budget is around $500, this is the top college laptop under $500, it's the Toshiba Satellite L755-S5271 with a 15.6 inch LED Screen , nice and bright, which is large enough to watch movies and play games on and of course do you assignments.

Toshiba are in the top 3 of computer manufacturers when it comes to reliablity and performance for laptops.
Here are some of the specifications and features to the Toshiba Satelitte:

It has a 2.1 GHZ Intel Core Processor with 4GB of memory, but you can up grade to 8GB. It weighs 5.7 pounds and the size is 14.96 x 9.84 x 1.48 (WxDxH).

It has built in dolby advanced audio speakers ( not great quality) and is set up fro Wi-Fi networking, the battery lasts up to 5.75 hours and has Intel HD graphice with 64MB -1696 MB of shared memory and it is very quiet when running.

You get a Norton Internet Security 2011 (30-day trial); Microsoft Office Starter 2010; Google Toolbar and Google Chrome; Microsoft Windows Media Player 12; Microsoft Silverlight; Microsoft Live Essentials; WildTangent Games Console; Toshiba Online Backup (30-day trial).

This laptop is backed by a 1-year limited hardware warranty.

I think this Toshiba far exceeds the performance of some higher brand laptop computers. It's very easy to set up and the keyboard is very easy to use. it's great value for the price.