Lightweight laptops, Reviews

Dell has brought the user friendly touch screen capability into the laptop market with the introduction of Dell Studio 17” series laptops. Featuring the latest Intel Core processors, the laptop has four configurations to choose from with varying processor, main memory, hard disk capacity etc. and costing between £499 and £699 (inc. VAT) to suit wide consumer tastes and pockets. The full High Definition display brings videos to life with amazing clarity. The audio is excellent with JBL sound card and optional SRS Premium sound audio.

The Samsung N510 cheap laptop is the first one to incorporate NVIDIA Ion LE graphics processor in a laptop. It has certainly improved gaming capabilities of the machine. It is also light in weight (just 3.2 lbs) and compact (size: 11.4 x 7.87 x 1.18 inches) which makes it highly portable.

Powered by Intel Atom N280 / 1.66 GHz, 512 KB, 667 MHz processor, the small laptop is measly on power consumption. The main memory has a capacity of 1 GB and the hard disk, 160 GB. The 11.6″ TFT, 1366 x 768 pixels (WXGA), LED-backlit, SuperBright Non-Gloss screen displays colours vividly.

Nokia, the Finnish mobile phone leader has entered the growing netbook market with the release of Nokia booklet 3G netbook. Made of aircraft grade aluminium chassis, the lightweight netbook is sleek and sturdy.

With dimensions of 10.4 x 7.3 x 0.78 inches, the netbook weighs just 2.75 lbs. The low power consuming Intel Atom Z530, 1.6 GHz processor powers the netbook having 1 GB, DDR2, 533 MHz RAM. The hard disk is 120 GB, 1.8”/5mmH/SATA, 8 MB cache, 4200 RPM drive. The 10.1” 1280 x 720 pixels display is LED backlit and the images are clear and crisp.

Apple released its latest gadget the iPad last month after much speculation and expectation. It’s NOT a cheap netbook. You might have already bought one, seen a demo, or at least heard about it. While there are many commendable features in iPad that makes iPhone look obsolete it is yet to catch up with cheap netbooks, features wise.

The use of Apple’s very own A4 processor with 1 GHz CPU gives iPad enough power to watch videos without flicker while at the same time it is stingy on power consumption. The iPad is highly portable with its thin, light body and trendy looks. The display screen is brighter than that of an iPhone. There are 2 configurations available with iPad for browsing the web / making calls: only Wi-fi and both Wi-fi and GSM.

Toshiba, one of the leaders in laptops, has released a cheap version in NB200 netbook. This attractive looking netbook is thin (1.3 in maximum thickness) and lightweight (just 2.9 lbs).

The small Toshiba NB200 netbook is powered by Intel Atom N280 (1.66 GHz, 512 MB, 667 MHz FSB) processor and has a main memory of 1 GB RAM and hard disk capacity of 250 GB. The 10.1” screen has WSVGA TDT display with LED backlight and a pixel resolution of 1024 x 600.

Acer, the Taiwanese computer maker increased its worldwide sales in 2009 by 29% to displace Dell as the second largest PC maker in the world. According to Gartner’s estimates, Acer had a worldwide market share of 13.5% behind HP’s 19.8% even though the growth rate of Acer in 2009 was much faster (29%) than HP (11%) in worldwide PC shipments. Dell the 3rd largest PC maker had a negative growth of 9% in 2009. According to Gartner Acer established itself as the leader of the sub-$500 consumer mobile PC segment in key regions and its improved branding strategies also helped it to work better with channel partners.

The Mini 110 cheap netbook from the HP family is affordably priced with all essential features for personal use. This environmental friendly netbook is housed using recyclable materials and is energy efficient. The netbook is available in 2 different configurations.

This small netbook has outer dimensions of 10.3 x 6.77 x 1.29 inches and weighs only 2.35 lbs. The LED display measures 10.1” wide diagonally and has a native resolution of 1024 x 576 pixels. The 1 GB RAM is sufficient to run Windows 7 starter edition and the hard disk has a capacity of 160 GB.

The Advent Roma cheap laptop suits students and others with low budget. Available in black colour, this small laptop has a large 15.6” screen and features necessary for day to day computing.

Intel Celeron processor C900 ((2.2 GHz, 800 MHz, 1MB Cache) powers this lightweight laptop and the main memory has a capacity of 3 GB and the hard disk, 320 GB. The 15.6” glossy display has 1280×800 pixels resolution and 16:10 aspect ratio. The size of this cheap laptop is 14.5 x 10.2 x 1.7 inches and it weighs 6.38 lbs.

The Advent Verona cheap laptop is ideal for those on tight budget. Available in black and silver colours, this small laptop has a large 13.2” screen and all essential features for a travel companion.

This lightweight laptop is powered by Intel ULV Celeron processor 743(1.2 GHz, 800 MHz, 1MB Cache) and has 3 GB DDR2 RAM and 250 GB hard disk. The 13.3” TFT (LED-backlit) display has 1366×768 pixels resolution. With outer dimensions of 13.1 x 8.5 x 1.3 inches, the laptop weighs only 3.5 lbs.

The Acer Aspire 1410 Window 7 small laptop has a choice of 10 models in 3 vibrant colours to choose from with varying processor capacity, main memory, hard disk, operating system and price points. The thin and lightweight laptop features Intel’s ULV Celeron processor.

With external dimensions of 11.22 x 8.0 x 1.2 inches and weight under 3 lbs, this small laptop is highly portable. The display is 11.6” high brightness TFT screen with LED backlight, 1366 x 768 resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio and up to 16.7 million colours. The configuration reviewed here has 2 GB DDR2 RAM and 250 GB hard disk capacity. Further it has Wi-Fi as well as Gigabit Ethernet connection.