- IE 8 hits Beta 2, privacy features added
- 10 Firefox add-ons for better browsing
- Cisco buys PostPath
- 595 immigrants arrested at electronics plant
- Locked iPhones can be unlocked without password
Newsletters | Podcasts | Chats | Opinions | RSS Feeds | This Week In Print | IT Careers | Community | Reports | Downloads | Slideshows | New Data Center
Partner Sites:App Performance | On Demand Security | Networking Solution | SOA | Value of WDS
With the wide variety of laptops available, your lifestyle -- or the person you're shopping for -- should be the starting point in determining what you buy.
Video: 5 great tech gifts under $100
Do you travel a lot? Ultraportables can weigh less than three pounds these days or last on battery more than six hours. Prices are falling too, with more great configurations falling below the $2000 mark. Speed and performance can be the trade-off, though. Want an elegant alternative to your clunky monitor and PC combo? A variety of powerful, elegant 17-inch models come with cool entertainment features such as a TV tuner, Blu-ray Disc drive, or HD DVD drive. Are you rough with your stuff? Consider a laptop with a solid-state drive; be prepared to pay more for less storage space though. And if you're an environmentalist, laptops with LED-backlit screens are energy-saving and Mercury-free.
All-Purpose Laptops
Gateway E-475M
If a 7.2-pound laptop with a 15.4-inch screen isn't too bulky or heavy to carry in your estimation, you may well find Gateway's new business laptop ideal for toting in a satchel or backpack. It has a durable smudge-resistant exterior, a shock-mounted hard drive, and a close-fitting lid to keep out debris. Equipped with one of Intel's latest mobile dual-core processors, the $2270 (as of 5/9/07) E-475M is also one of the fastest notebooks of the moment, and it has terrific battery life.
The E-475M's classic matte-black case has a more business-oriented look than the two-tone M-465E it replaces. The rounded, clamshell lid keeps paperclips and other small items from working their way between the screen and keyboard, making this the perfect laptop for stuffing into a grubby bag.
Equipped with 2GB of RAM and a new 2.2-GHz Core 2 Duo T7500 processor, the E-475M is the fastest Vista notebook we've tested to date. It bested our previous top WorldBench 6 Beta 2 scorer, a Micro Express NP5760 running an older 2.33-GHz Core 2 Duo T7600 chip and Vista Home, by 1 point -- 83 to 82. Our new speed champ is powerful enough to handle any application, even 3D gaming. (The speakers are no great shakes, however.) Wireless-communications fans get the bonus of the chip set's support for five-times-faster draft-n Wi-Fi. The Gateway aced our battery tests, as well, lasting 5 hours, 17 minutes on a single charge.
Partner Content
Explore the Ultrium Edge
The powerful tape technology can address data security with tape encryption as well as long term data protection.
Find out more
Disk and Tape Square Off
Discover what disk and tape really cost -- and which solution provides lower total cost of ownership and optimizes energy use for your organization
Download the White Paper
Don't Fall For The Myths
The Clipper Group explores the truth behind the myths of tape, digging into the misconceptions in the disk vs. tape debate.
Download the White Paper
Will You Add Tape Too?
Over two thirds of disk-only users look to add tape back into storage infrastructure according to recent survey.
Download Survey Information
Comment