Powerful Intel Core i7 processor; well configured; great audio; HDMI, eSATA ports.
THE BAD
No media controls; huge chassis hardly qualifies as laptop.
THE BOTTOM LINE
There's no shortage of vendors selling versions of the Intel Core i7-powered Clevo D900F. AVADirect is one of the only sellers offering it with an exhaustive list of component options.
Lenovo IdeaPad Y450 4189 (Core 2 Duo T6400 2GHz, 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD, Vista Home Premium 64-Bit)
EDITORS RATING
7.8
VALUE WATCH RATING
Poor value
SPECS
Intel Core 2 Duo (2 GHz), 4 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 4.6 lbs, 14 in TFT active matrix, EPEAT Gold, EPA Energy Star, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit Edition
THE GOOD
Great design; good speakers; generous selection of ports.
THE BAD
Weak graphics; no Bluetooth; thick chassis.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Reasonably priced, the Lenovo IdeaPad Y450 is a style-savvy, media-friendly laptop that unfortunately lacks gaming graphics.
Lenovo IdeaPad Y450 4189 (Core 2 Duo T7450 2.13GHz, 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD, Vista Home Premium 64-Bit)
EDITORS RATING
7.8
VALUE WATCH RATING
Poor value
SPECS
Intel Core 2 Duo (2.13 GHz), 4 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 4.6 lbs, 14 in TFT active matrix, EPA Energy Star, EPEAT Gold, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit Edition
THE GOOD
Great design; good speakers; generous selection of ports.
THE BAD
Weak graphics; no Bluetooth; thick chassis.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Reasonably priced, the Lenovo IdeaPad Y450 is a style-savvy, media-friendly laptop that unfortunately lacks gaming graphics.
Intel Core 2 Duo (2.0), 6 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 6.9 lbs, 16.4 in
THE GOOD
Sleek design, seamless Blu-ray functionality, plenty of RAM, good battery life.
THE BAD
Midlevel discrete graphics, no 1080p screen resolution, no touch-sensitive media controls.
THE BOTTOM LINE
As an above-average Blu-ray-playing laptop with impressive looks and good under-the-hood power, Sony's Vaio FW480J/T is a solid portable multimedia machine.
Intel Atom (1.66 GHz), 1 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 2.9 lbs, 10.1 in TFT active matrix, RoHS, EPA Energy Star, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
THE GOOD
Distinctive design; large touch pad, great battery life.
THE BAD
Bulky battery sticks out awkwardly; big screen bezel dwarfs display; wimpy audio.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Toshiba finally enters the Netbook market with the Mini NB205. It's got an upscale, distinctive look and a good keyboard/touch pad combo, but also weak audio and a big, bulky battery.
Acer Aspire One D250 (Atom N270 1.6GHz, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, XP Home, black)
EDITORS RATING
7.2
SPECS
Intel Atom (1.6 GHz), 1 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 2.8 lbs, 10.1 in TFT active matrix, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
THE GOOD
Rock-bottom price; slimmer size; improved touch pad buttons.
THE BAD
Weak speakers; battery life mediocre; small keyboard.
THE BOTTOM LINE
For the price, it's hard to find fault with Acer's even cheaper version of the 10.1-inch Aspire One, as long as you're not expecting top-of-the-line features.
Acer Aspire One D250 (Atom N270 1.6GHz, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, XP Home, blue)
EDITORS RATING
7.2
SPECS
Intel Atom (1.6 GHz), 1 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 2.8 lbs, 10.1 in TFT active matrix, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
THE GOOD
Rock-bottom price; slimmer size; improved touch pad buttons.
THE BAD
Weak speakers; battery life mediocre; small keyboard.
THE BOTTOM LINE
For the price, it's hard to find fault with Acer's even cheaper version of the 10.1-inch Aspire One, as long as you're not expecting top-of-the-line features.
Acer Aspire One D250 (Atom N270 1.6GHz, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, XP Home, white)
EDITORS RATING
7.2
SPECS
Intel Atom (1.6 GHz), 1 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 2.8 lbs, 10.1 in TFT active matrix, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
THE GOOD
Rock-bottom price; slimmer size; improved touch pad buttons.
THE BAD
Weak speakers; battery life mediocre; small keyboard.
THE BOTTOM LINE
For the price, it's hard to find fault with Acer's even cheaper version of the 10.1-inch Aspire One, as long as you're not expecting top-of-the-line features.
Acer Aspire One D250 (Atom N270 1.6GHz, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, XP Home, white)
EDITORS RATING
7.2
SPECS
Intel Atom (1.6 GHz), 1 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 2.4 lbs, 10.1 in TFT active matrix, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
THE GOOD
Rock-bottom price; slimmer size; improved touch pad buttons.
THE BAD
Weak speakers; battery life mediocre; small keyboard.
THE BOTTOM LINE
For the price, it's hard to find fault with Acer's even cheaper version of the 10.1-inch Aspire One, as long as you're not expecting top-of-the-line features.
Plenty of RAM and a big hard drive; slick, attractive design; discrete graphics; quad-core CPU.
THE BAD
Screen resolution is low for the price; no Blu-ray drive.
THE BOTTOM LINE
HP makes excellent, slick multimedia machines, such as the Pavilion dv7-2185DX, but we'd still trade its quad-core CPU for a full HD 1080p display and Blu-ray.
AMD Athlon X2 (2.1 GHz), 3 GB DDR II SDRAM, 6.0 lbs, 15.6 in TFT active matrix, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1
THE GOOD
Features a dual-core processor for a very aggressive, entry-level price.
THE BAD
Unattractive, bulky design; missing useful features such as Bluetooth or a Webcam.
THE BOTTOM LINE
For a price just north of Netbook territory, Toshiba's chunky 15.6-inch Satellite L505D-S5965 has a solid, but uninspiring, selection of specs that at least won't hinder your basic computing needs.
Intel Celeron (2.2 GHz), 2 GB DDR II SDRAM, 5.5 lbs, 15.4 in TFT active matrix, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic SP1
THE GOOD
Ridiculously affordable; decent screen; handles streaming video well.
THE BAD
Slow, older CPU; thick and boxy; no Webcam.
THE BOTTOM LINE
While it's hard to argue with a $350 laptop, the underpowered L305-S5955 is, basically, a Netbook in a larger case, with slightly better video playback.
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