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Asus Eee PC 1005HA (blue)

EDITORS CHOICE
1
EDITORS RATING
8.4
SPECS

Intel ATOM (1.66 GHz), 1024 MB DDR II SODIMM, 2.8 lbs, 10.1 in TFT active matrix, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition

THE GOOD

Sleek, attractive design; lower price; amazing battery.

THE BAD

Thicker and heavier than the previous model; still near the upper end of the Netbook price range.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Asus hits nearly all the marks in the 1005HA, the latest version of its iconic Eee PC, highlighted by a 6-plus hour battery.

REVIEWED: 23-Jun-2009 11:19 AM PDT
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Asus Eee PC 1005HA (black)

EDITORS CHOICE
1
EDITORS RATING
8.4
SPECS

Intel Atom (1.66 GHz), 1 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 2.8 lbs, 10.1 in TFT active matrix, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition

THE GOOD

Sleek, attractive design; lower price; amazing battery.

THE BAD

Thicker and heavier than the previous model; still near the upper end of the Netbook price range.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Asus hits nearly all the marks in the 1005HA, the latest version of its iconic Eee PC, highlighted by a 6-plus hour battery.

REVIEWED: 23-Jun-2009 11:19 AM PDT
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Asus Eee PC 1005HA (white)

EDITORS CHOICE
1
EDITORS RATING
8.4
VALUE WATCH RATING
Poor value
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

Sleek, attractive design; lower price; amazing battery.

THE BAD

Thicker and heavier than the previous model; still near the upper end of the Netbook price range.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Asus hits nearly all the marks in the 1005HA, the latest version of its iconic Eee PC, highlighted by a 6-plus hour battery.

REVIEWED: 23-Jun-2009 11:19 AM PDT
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AVADirect Clevo D900F Core i7

EDITORS RATING
8.2
SPECS
THE GOOD

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.

REVIEWED: 23-Jun-2009 10:32 AM PDT
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Asus K50IJ-RX05

EDITORS RATING
8.0
VALUE WATCH RATING
Poor value
SPECS

Intel Pentium (2 GHz), 3 GB DDR II SDRAM, 5.7 lbs, 15.6 in TFT active matrix, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1

THE GOOD

Subtle, attractive design; comfortable keyboard; very good battery life, performance for its class.

THE BAD

Limited growth potential.

THE BOTTOM LINE

As long as you won't need more than what it already has, the budget-friendly Asus K50IJ-RX05 is money well spent.

REVIEWED: 08-Jul-2009 01:29 PM PDT
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Acer Aspire Timeline 3810TZ-4880

EDITORS RATING
7.9
VALUE WATCH RATING
Poor value
SPECS

Intel Pentium (1.3 GHz), 4 GB DDR3 SDRAM, 3.5 lbs, 13.3 in TFT active matrix, EPA Energy Star, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit Edition

THE GOOD

Slim, attractive design; excellent battery life; reasonably priced.

THE BAD

No optical drive; clunky single mouse button.

THE BOTTOM LINE

The 13-inch Aspire Timeline 3810T largely lives up to its lofty battery claims, while keeping the chassis slim and the price down.

REVIEWED: 19-Jun-2009 11:52 AM PDT
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Acer Aspire Timeline 3810T-6415

EDITORS RATING
7.9
VALUE WATCH RATING
Poor value
SPECS

Intel Core 2 Duo (1.4 GHz), 4 GB DDR3 SDRAM, 3.5 lbs, 13.3 in TFT active matrix, EPA Energy Star, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit Edition

THE GOOD

Slim, attractive design; excellent battery life; reasonably priced.

THE BAD

No optical drive; clunky single mouse button.

THE BOTTOM LINE

The 13-inch Aspire Timeline 3810T largely lives up to its lofty battery claims, while keeping the chassis slim and the price down.

REVIEWED: 19-Jun-2009 11:52 AM PDT
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Acer Aspire Timeline 3810T-8640

EDITORS RATING
7.9
VALUE WATCH RATING
Poor value
SPECS

Intel Core 2 Solo (1.4 GHz), 2 GB DDR3 SDRAM, 3.5 lbs, 13.3 in TFT active matrix, EPA Energy Star, Microsoft Windows XP Professional

THE GOOD

Slim, attractive design; excellent battery life; reasonably priced.

THE BAD

No optical drive; clunky single mouse button.

THE BOTTOM LINE

The 13-inch Aspire Timeline 3810T largely lives up to its lofty battery claims, while keeping the chassis slim and the price down.

REVIEWED: 19-Jun-2009 11:52 AM PDT
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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.

REVIEWED: 29-Jun-2009 02:06 PM PDT
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Lenovo IdeaPad Y450 4189 (Pentium T4200 2GHz, 3GB RAM, 250GB HDD, Vista Home Premium)

EDITORS RATING
7.8
VALUE WATCH RATING
Poor value
SPECS

Intel Pentium (2 GHz), 3 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 4.6 lbs, 14 in TFT active matrix, EPA Energy Star, EPEAT Gold, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium

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.

REVIEWED: 29-Jun-2009 02:06 PM PDT
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Lenovo IdeaPad Y450

EDITORS RATING
7.8
VALUE WATCH RATING
Poor value
SPECS

Intel Core 2 Duo (2 GHz), 3 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 4.6 lbs, 14 in TFT active matrix, EPEAT Gold, EPA Energy Star, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium

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.

REVIEWED: 29-Jun-2009 02:06 PM PDT
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Lenovo IdeaPad Y450 4189 (Pentium T3400 2.16GHz, 3GB RAM, 160GB HDD, Vista Home Premium)

EDITORS RATING
7.8
VALUE WATCH RATING
Poor value
SPECS

Intel Pentium (2.16 GHz), 3 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 4.6 lbs, 14 in TFT active matrix, EPEAT Gold, EPA Energy Star, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium

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.

REVIEWED: 29-Jun-2009 02:06 PM PDT
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Lenovo IdeaPad Y450 4189 (Pentium T4200 2GHz, 2GB RAM, 160GB HDD, Vista Home Premium)

EDITORS RATING
7.8
VALUE WATCH RATING
Poor value
SPECS

Intel Pentium (2 GHz), 2 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 4.6 lbs, 14 in TFT active matrix, EPEAT Gold, EPA Energy Star, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium

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.

REVIEWED: 29-Jun-2009 02:06 PM PDT
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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.

REVIEWED: 29-Jun-2009 02:06 PM PDT
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Sony Vaio FW480J/T

EDITORS RATING
7.7
VALUE WATCH RATING
Poor value
SPECS

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.

REVIEWED: 30-Jun-2009 03:26 PM PDT
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Lenovo ThinkPad T400s

EDITORS RATING
7.7
SPECS
THE GOOD

Lightweight; strong construction; great keyboard and touch pad.

THE BAD

Expensive; no discrete graphics; SD card slot doesn't come standard.

THE BOTTOM LINE

The T400s is the lightest 14-inch ThinkPad yet from Lenovo--just be ready to pay for the convenience.

REVIEWED: 24-Jun-2009 01:53 PM PDT
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Toshiba Mini NB205 (frost white)

EDITORS RATING
7.6
SPECS

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.

REVIEWED: 25-Jun-2009 03:44 PM PDT
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Asus G71GX-RX05

EDITORS RATING
7.4
SPECS
THE GOOD

Good components for cost; secondary instant-on Linux OS; separate number pad.

THE BAD

Big, heavy, and power hungry; mixed performance; lights can't be completely shut off; no dedicated media controls.

THE BOTTOM LINE

The Asus G71GX-RX05 is a solid gaming-oriented desktop replacement, but with a few shortcomings that could make or break a purchasing decision.

REVIEWED: 07-Jul-2009 12:58 PM PDT
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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.

REVIEWED: 18-Jun-2009 09:40 AM PDT
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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.

REVIEWED: 18-Jun-2009 09:40 AM PDT
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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.

REVIEWED: 18-Jun-2009 09:40 AM PDT
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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.

REVIEWED: 18-Jun-2009 09:40 AM PDT
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HP Pavilion dv7-2185DX

EDITORS RATING
7.1
SPECS
THE GOOD

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.

REVIEWED: 01-Jul-2009 04:52 PM PDT
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Toshiba Satellite L505D-S5965

EDITORS RATING
6.2
SPECS

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.

REVIEWED: 08-Jul-2009 01:22 PM PDT
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Toshiba Satellite L305-S5955

EDITORS RATING
5.7
SPECS

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.

REVIEWED: 08-Jul-2009 09:04 AM PDT
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