eMachines ET1831-07 Desktop (Black)

I loved almost everything about this computer (especially the price)....the speed is fantastic and there's lots of memory, etc. It was a huge improvement over my previous computer. But the only two drawbacks are that it doesn't come with a recovery disk (you have to create your own using your own CDs). And when I went to do so, I discovered that there are some problems with the CD/DVD drive. When I went to remove the CD, it would not come out (I got some error message). So I don't know if the CD drive was not installed properly at the factory or what. I'm not very techy, so I have to do a little homework to figure out how resolve that. I'm not going to spend money to take it somewhere to fix a new computer. Other than that everything works well and again the price was unbeatable for what I needed.

eMachines ET1831-07 Desktop (Black)

ASUS Eee Top ETP1602C-BK-X0163 Touch Screen All-In-One Desktop PC - Black

I purchased this computer for my son for Christmas. I was a bit apprehensive to buy a touch screen for him, but I went for it. I don't regret my decision. This computer is very compact, but powerful. I considered buying the MSI computer but was not available. The only thing I miss is the CD/DVD drive that MSI does has. I was able to calibrate the touch screen without any problems. Its comes with Windows XP and ASUS quick reference program, that is worth it.I am going to upgrade this computer buying the external CD/DVD drive that is offer here at Amazon. I don't have any complains yet, I am very happy with my purchase and my son loves it.
Eee Top ETP1602C-BK-X0163 Touch Screen All-In-One Desktop PC - Black

Acer AX3300-U1322 Desktop PC (Black)

I was looking for a multi-tasking computer, not for gaming but for everything else. I have only had this Acer running for a few days, but so far so good. It comes pre-installed with the software specified but does include any CD's or DVDs of the software as backup. No Windows 7 operating system on disc, which could be a problem if you had to re-install to fix a problem. It is recommended you make a backup of the system which requires at least two DVDs (CD-ROM too small). I am not sure how this backup would work if needed. My only other complaints are that the shape of the mouse is not as comfortable to me as my old Microsoft mouse, which I decided to keep using. The Acer mouse angles in toward the bottom on the sides as opposed to the smooth domed MS shape. The other thing is I wish Acer did not load it up promotional software.

Acer AX3300-U1322 Desktop PC (Black)

HP Pavilion MS225 18.5-Inch All-in-One Desktop PC (Black)

Let us keep expectations realistic - the MS225 is a low-end desktop system and is priced accordingly. Given that constraint, it is a very nice system, and I would recommend it to others.

What sold me on this system was: a) the AMD CPU, which, while not a screamer, is dual-core and performs much better than the Intel Atom, the other CPU being shoved into low-end systems; b) the pedastal mount, which is much more elegant than other all-in-ones that rest the display on the desktop with a couple of stand-off spacers.

Oh yes, the pre-installed MS Windows OS was immediately dumped for Ubuntu 9.10, which works like a champ. Even the funky Atheros wireless chipset works out of the box.

The only thing I would change would be to increase the DPI of the display to have more pixels without changing the physical dimensions.
HP Pavilion MS225 18.5-Inch All-in-One Desktop PC (Black)

Zotac MAG Intel Atom N330, NVIDIA ION, 2 GB DDR2, 160 GB HD, eSATA, HDMI HD-ND01-U Mini PC - No OS

The only reason I don't give this five stars is that it doesn't come with Windows 7 like the Acer Revo 3610 does for $29 more.

With that being said, if you have your own OS to put on this little gem, then consider it worthy of 5 stars and save yourself the $29. I don't consider the lack of the wireless keyboard/mouse combo a factor because the set included with the Acer isn't really useful for a HTPC.

The Pros:
* Small form factor - sleek look, packed with capabilities.
* Atom 330 + nVidia ION - a match made in Heaven.
* HDMI out.
* Built in N Wifi.
* 2GB RAM, 160 GB HD included
* Windows 7 Pro 64bit installs without a hitch - driver support is superb.
* Shows 4 CPU's in Task Manager.
* VESA mounting + vertical stand included
* Plenty of ports - USB, digital audio out, HDMI, VGA, card slot, eSATA, audio

The Cons:
* Has small fan on chipset heatsink - makes some noise when in use.
* Gets a little hot.
* Silver plastic is really coated black plastic - can scratch.
* Vertical mounting stand attachment is a little difficult.
* 5400 rpm drive may be a little slow for intensive tasking.

I purchased this unit to act as a HTPC running Windows 7 Media Center to replace the cr*ppy WD HD TV Live and Asus O!Play units that I bought and returned because they don't work.

Within two hours I was watching streaming media on this device. I created a bootable USB key using diskpart, copied the Win7 DVD to the key, and installed from it. I then updated to all the drivers available from the Zotac website, and was in business.

I added a generic Windows MCE remote USB IR key and was streaming recorded HD TV content from one PC to this one, watching flawless 1080p HD with multi-channel audio through HDMI.

Miscellaneous Notes:
* It moves in and out of sleep pretty quickly, and draws little power in any mode.
* The NVidia display drivers as well as Media Center also have the capability for compensating for any HDMI overscan your TV might experience.
* Has a cool orange ring on the side for power status, but also has a lighted power button that indicates power/sleep states.

Is this a desktop replacement? No. Is it the perfect HTPC? Just about. If it were silent and included a wireless keyboard/trackball combo, it would be indeed perfect.
Zotac MAG Intel Atom N330, NVIDIA ION, 2 GB DDR2, 160 GB HD, eSATA, HDMI HD-ND01-U Mini PC - No OS

Asus EeeBox EBXB202-BLK-X0081 Desktop PC (1.6 GHz Intel Atom Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, XP Home) Black

I purchased this Asus Eee PC as an experiment, replacing my bulky Media Center PC (aka Home Theater PC or HTPC), and I have been extremely satisfied so far. The unit is small (1/10th the footprint of my HTPC), quiet, very responsive, and makes an attractive (if only diminutive) addition to my entertainment center.

I use the unit for web browsing with a wireless keyboard and mouse/remote (with accelerometer), watching online video, Amazon UnBox videos, music playback (multiple formats), video playback (multiple formats), and playing DVDs. So far I have no complaints, from me (the household geek) or my family (internet junkies one-and-all).

Pros: Affordable, small, quick boot, attractive design, high quality graphics, low power consumption, very quiet (nearly silent), and it can be mounted to the back of a display (using the VESA mount).

Cons: None noted

Summary: This very well design unit is not suited for all applications, but when you need a small PC, with diminished demands, this is an excellent solution at a very affordable price. I added a USB DVD/CD RW to my tools, using only when needed, and it works flawlessly.
Asus EeeBox EBXB202-BLK-X0081 Desktop PC (1.6 GHz Intel Atom Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, XP Home) Black

HP TouchSmart 600-1050 23-Inch Black Desktop PC (Windows 7 Home Premium)

First Touchscreen - occasionally it takes a couple tries to get touch response. buy screen wipes , you have finger oil and this is one big black mirror

we got this to replace a cluttered noisy desktop, it has no fans = no noise and is very compact, and at 1920x1080 true HD for the 23" screen, its very productive workspace, very fast.

Problem... It makes such a good media center that there is family competition to use it. It seems to work wireless "n" speeds so Netflix and hulu are stutter-free prefect, its bigger than the kitchen TV. Someone is always using it.

at 1200 bucks it was 2/3 the cost of the system it replaced.

my advice: buy 2 of them.

edit update - we just ordered #2 since the first one never left the Kitchen & Livingroom area, where it will likely live out its useful days so Dads that buy it, set your expectations - Recipies, Netflix, Hulu, Email and facebook, and skype 2 way video ( hi mom! ) youteube, ABC full length shows and Vevo ( Vevo looks amazing ) will rule along with the touch screen magazine catalogs and lookbooks at ctndigital. youtube of this touchsmart doing amazing things in flash [...] it wont be much used for real computing - its all family entertainment.
HP TouchSmart 600-1050 23-Inch Black Desktop PC (Windows 7 Home Premium)

AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Thuban 2.8 GHz 6x512 KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Processor

For what I ended up paying, about $200, it was worth going for the six-core AMD. I've always been comfortable with the AMD processor and this one is no exception. I had an old AMD Phenom quad-core and it was time for an upgrade. I looked at the Intel chips and the icores but the prices was just too much. Then I heard about the new six core AMD chips and that one had just come out so I looked into it. I ended up getting a new motherboard to, the Asus M4N98TD EVO and was excited about the core unlock feature.

While it is true that you won't need a six core processor for a while to do software not being utilized by it (this is because software is typically required to be programmed to use the extra cores) I figured it was worth the price and the performance with the core unlocker on my board helps. I do like Intel but generally avoid them because of the price and because AMD performance is always at least satisfactory.

What's the best part? Most of you may not even need to upgrade to a new motherboard if you have an older ASUS board or another manufacture. Many AMD board makers are releasing bios updates that will allow you to use the new x6 AMD chips. Just check out your board's website.
L2 Cache Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Processor - Retail HDT55TFBGRBOX

Acer AspireRevo AR1600-U910H Black/White Desktop PC (Windows XP Home)

I've now had my Revo for 1 month and there are lots of things I like about it and several things I don't like.


Revo is small, quite, low powered and simple. No fan noises nor excessive heat at all. I notice the "thumping" of my external hard drive during seeks more than anything coming out of the Revo.

The ION Graphics and HD 5.1/7.1 sound over HDMI work great (when they work). When running video of any kind, you absolutely need to latest codec's which supports ION. For Flash video, only 10.1 pre-release works. WMP 11; Unbox as well. You can tell it is working by 2 things: no hope of HD video output without it; CPU constantly peaks at 100% without it as seen on the Task Manager on the performance tab. Playing MKV/MP4 on H.264 is generally smooth with some streaming play "pausing" (testing on Amazon On Demand in HD ). Streaming supports up to your 100T speeds through a wired network cable. Anything Hulu runs fine.

I added an external Bluray player which works with my PowerDVD 8 Deluxe [OLD VERSION]8 . Flawless and as good as any Bluray with DTS True HD. Getting 5.1/7.1 sound needs an upgrade though.

Advice: Don't try to upgrade ANY nVidia drivers without planning for a long outage as you most likely will lose your HD Sound. Just google "acer revo no hdmi sound" and you will see others struggling with this. I made the mistake of updated my ION video driver directly from nVidia and lost my sound until I did a "Restore to Factory Settings" operation packaged on a hidden partition on my Revo in order to get HD sound back. The nVidia HD sound device is not selected by default, so you always need to go into the Control Panel -> Sound ... and select it. What happens after I updated my video driver is that no matter what sound drivers I installed (even driver roll back), the nVidia HD device never shows up anymore. A friend told me that I would have needed to uninstall every nVidea driver; do a driver cleanup; then reinstall all of the latest drivers in order to get that to work again. Frankly, I haven't tried this yet as it already sounds really painful.

Haven't tried Linux yet, but tempted to see if that flips me over to loving this device. Otherwise, I can't complain about the price. It brings a PC onto my home theater which is nice for doing email etc. I often debate if I should have gone the other way - bluray plus streaming video support. But then you get locked in to what your bluray will (or will not) support.
Acer AspireRevo AR1600-U910H Black/White Desktop PC (Windows XP Home)

HP EX495 1.5TB Mediasmart Home Server ( Black)

This little guy got delivered by Amazon a few days before it's original release. I am not much of a directions guy, but was extremely pleased with how easy this was to set up and how intuitive it was when it came to setting it up. I've got 1 workstation, 2 netbooks, and 2 laptops that backup wirelessly to this guy. If they are already on the same wireless network, it's simply a matter of clicking the 'add computer' button. There's no need to fuss with any of the backup settings unless you are particular, as it will do the work automatically for you. You can then either access your files via the console or remotely at your convenience.

I can't stress enough how nice and convenient it is to be able to centrally access all my files without having to shuffle files back and forth between the local hard drives and having piece of mind knowing it's being backed up automatically. I previously did this with Time Capsule which while it worked at times, was tempermental and slow. I'm not sure how well this will work on Mac, but I am running various flavors of XP and Vista in 32bit and 64bit configs.

I even decided to add another storage drive (Seagate Barracude 1.5tb 7200rpm)for redundancy. Adding storage was a simple as pulling out an open drive bay, popping in the new drive, then going into the management console to click through the add storage wizard which took less than a minute. Now I've got 2.6tb's of storage, more than I'll probably ever need and 2 open bays to expand down the road.

Apple iMac MB950LL/A 21.5-Inch Desktop

The trouble began when the aluminum-bodied 20" iMac replaced the white polycarbonate 20" iMac. Not only does it have a highly-reflective (albeit high-quality, very plane) glass, it has a TN screen that is 6-bit per channel. The TN screen found in the 20" iMac was inferior to the IPS panel found in the 24". Those who demand image quality had two choices: buy the 24" iMac or buy the 20", turn it toward the wall and make the wallpaper white so it lights up the user environment, and buy a quality IPS screen. This back-to-back solution may seem funny, but it does work. The TN screen displays different colors at different viewing angles (Unless the user moves his/her eyes directly over the pixel, the viewing angle variation relative to the pixel position causes the color to vary greatly.


The 21.5" is a major leap forward, because the entry-level iMac has the same GHz rating as the old top-of-the-line model, has a new two-AA bluetooth keyboard, and a wireless mouse. These are the added value that used to be extra before, and the Magic Mouse wasn't even available.

With the new 21.5", the users no longer have to choose a larger screen simply for better image/color quality. The glass, however, continues to be highly reflective and uncoated (no anti-reflective coating, as you may find on camera lenses, MacBook Air, and even Audi TT's speedometer/Tachometer).

Those who do not use the numeric keypad would definitely welcome the small-footprint wireless keyboard. It allows the user to bring the mouse closer to the keyboard and reduce wrist, forearm, and shoulder stress.

The Magic Mouse has finally done away with the problem-prone scroll ball found in the Mighty Mouse. I wish the top surface of this mouse were more matte/velvety than the glossy surface it is. The glossy surface is nothing more than cosmetic. Imagine if the trackpad on all the Mac portables turn glossy. I am sure there would be plenty of complaints. The glossy surface on the predecessor was OK because the fingers didn't have to glide over the glossy surface. Although the glossy surface is not a problem for me, because I don't use a mouse at all (Kensington Expert Mouse and WACOM, please), those with sweaty fingers would find it problematic.

Those familiar with the round iMac mouse will find this familiar: Its symmetrical shape lets the user easily lose orientation, because there is not a cord attached to it. As a result, the user must look at the logo first to identify which direction is supposed to be pointing up.

The integrated nVidia 9400M is more than good enough for casual users. Those who may need 3D or gaming capabilities should choose the other models with independent video cards.

NOW, THE $500 QUESTION. How does this screen compare to the 24" in physical dimension? This screen has 1920 pixels across, which is the same as the 24". The 21.5" is 18.7" wide, which is slightly narrower than the 20.25" width found on the 24". This means the 21.5" has higher pixel density. What about the height? 12.75" for the 24" iMac and 10.5" for the 21.5" iMac.

I forgot to mention that in the past, the power switch has a different shiny surface (while the entire back is matte) and has a concave surface. However, this one is perfectly flush to the back and is very difficult to detect. It takes some poking around. Another thing: they new wireless keyboard is noticeably noisier than the USB or previous three-AA aluminum wireless keyboard. Apparently the mechanism is not the same as the other aluminum keyboards.
Apple iMac MB950LL/A 21.5-Inch Desktop

Apple Mac Mini MC270LL/A Desktop

We've already put these new minis thru the paces here at Macminicolo and they're great. A few things to know:

-The RAM on these minis is VERY easy to upgrade. This machine comes with 2GB but can be upgraded to 8GB. Just twist off the bottom with your fingers and replace the RAM. (Literally, no tools required.)

- If you're looking to use the Mac mini connected to your TV, you'll be glad to hear that it now comes with HDMI. Nearly every current HDTV should have HDMI and it's a great fit.

- Speaking of TV watching, the new GPU (video card) is great. A wonderful upgrade.

- This Mac mini was reduced in power consumption AND the power brick is now internal instead of the big external one from before. That makes for a cleaner looking hookup.

- We use all our Mac minis as servers here and they're great. They run 24 hours a day and have no problems.

- This machine still has the IR capability so it can be controlled with the Apple Remote or one of the Harmony remotes with no problems.

All in all, a good upgrade.
Apple Mac Mini MC270LL/A Desktop

HP G60-630US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

I purchased this laptop yesterday and have contacted HP 5 times already in attempt to fix the mic issue to no avail. After 6 attempts to reinstall the drivers they asked me to perform a system or factory restore. How is a system or factory restore suppose to fix the mic issue when the computer is only 1 day old? I am extremely frustrated that the representatives don't have better knowledge of this issue and a fix! Moreover, I only purchased this laptop out of a desperate measures (my regular laptop is being repaired and I needed something in the interim to make some important deadlines) and really can't afford it. If I return it due to this stupid mic issue, I'm going to be subjected to a 15% restocking fee - grr! Although it may not be important to some I donot want to spend money on a laptop that has issues out of the box... if it was refurbished perhaps I could live with it. I can only imagine the technical problems I'm going to experience in the future.

HP G60-630US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

HP Pavilion dv4-2173nr 14.1-Inch Laptop - Black

I have been in the market for a laptop for about a year. I have spent a great deal of time researching specs and reviewing on line reviews from many sources. HP laptops were never very high on my list until I came across the DV4-2173nr. I checked multiple sources and this model had mostly good reviews. Spec wise it more than met my minimal requirements. Price wise it was well within what I expected to pay and Amazon included a $75 gift card which really made the deal sweet.

I received the shipment within 48 hours of placing the order (isn't Amazon great). I opened the package and the DV4 was really pleasing to the eye; a sleek looking machine, with lots of features and extremely well packaged. I couldn't wait to fire it up, but alas, no display. Only 2" on the top of the screen were displayed. I spent an hour on the phone with HP tech support. The poor girl tried really hard, but bless her heart, she couldn't speak or understand enough English to discern that only the top 2" were displayed on the screen.

The DV4-2173nr is a beautiful machine with great spec and priced very competitively. Unfortunately, I can only give it 1 star since it arrived DOA. Thank goodness I purchased it from Amazon. They have a fair and reasonable return policy so at least I can receive a refund and start shopping all over again. For now, HP has moved to the lower end of my list, again! I really think you could buy this machine and be very happy with it. At least in my mind, dependability and quality is somewhat suspect.

HP Pavilion dv4-2173nr 14.1-Inch Laptop - Black

Apple MacBook MC516LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop

The white Macbook was updated on May 18 2010. There are minor differences between the 2009 model and the 2010 model, detailed below.

The UPGRADES are

1) Geforce Nvidia 320M integrated graphics processor with 48 processing cores. This is better than the Geforce 9400M in last years model. Useful for content creation.

2)Longer lasting battery - up to 9 / 10 hours as advertised by apple. Real world usability will be closer to 6 hours depending on what tasks you use your computer for.

3)Mini display port now supports video AND audio with a compatible Mini-DP to HDMI adapter. (Last years model only supported video)

Thats it.

STANDARD FEATURES - from last years model (minor changes noted in brackets)
Polycarbonate unibody

Core 2 Duo processor (2.4ghz - up from 2.26 ghz)

1280 x 800 resolution Glossy LED backlit screen,

iSight camera,
250gb hard drive
8x slot-loading SuperDrive dvd burner

Large multi-touch trackpad ( Intertial scrolling is now enabled ),
2 USB 2.0 ports ,
Wi-Fi - 802.11n specification; 802.11a/b/g compatible, Bluetooth 2.1 and Gigabit Ethernet -10/100/1000.

Software included is OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard and the iLife 09 suite of content creation tools. A 1 year warranty on parts and 90 day telephone technical support is standard.

The Macbook as it is - is good for basic computing activities - such as browsing the web, typing articles or watching movies. However, if you're planning to buy a Macbook for multimedia work, such as editing high resolution photos or HD videos and plan to use multiple applications at the same time, please ensure that you upgrade the ram from 2gb to 4gb.

Why?

Because using a macbook with 2 gb of ram (such as this one) to multitask is a GREAT way to drive yourself crazy as the computer struggles to keep up. Try editing 10 megapixel RAW images while playing music in iTunes with Safari open. 2gb of ram is not at all adequate for multitasking / using processor intensive applications on a Macbook. I understand that Apple has to differentiate between the Macbook and MBPro to justify the price differences but skimping on the ram and putting 2gb inside a $999 product and thus, affecting the user experience is not the way to do it.

Upgrading the ram yourself from 2gb to 4gb is a great idea - EXCEPT - the the prices of DDR3 1066 mhz ram (compatible with Macbook and MB Pro) is still high. Currently, Crucial CT2KIT25664BC1067 4GB 204-PIN PC3-8500 SODIMM DDR3 Memory KIT (2GBx2) costs $111. So that brings your total to $1080 ($969 MB + $111 Ram) if you upgrade your Macbook's ram

So for only $80 more than your Macbook, (if you take into account the cost of the ram upgrade) a viable alternative is The standard Apple MacBook Pro MC374LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop which costs $1160 on Amazon. The MBP 13 comes with the added benefits of a more durable aluminum unibody, a backlit keyboard, an SD card slot, a firewire 800 port and most importantly, 4gb of ram. Which allows you to multitask effortlessly.

If you're going to use the Macbook for any computationally demanding activities such as content creation, editing large RAW images or HD videos you should upgrade the ram to 4gb or just buy the standard MBPro 13 inch. The processor and hard drive are the same in both the MB and MBPro 13 ( 2.4 ghz Core 2 duo and 250gb hard drives ) But the 4gb ram will make a big difference in the daily usage experience.

However, if you only want to use the Macbook for general tasks like writing articles, browsing websites or watching movies, it will handle those duties effectively and easily. And the strong battery life ensures that you can be mobile for 3 to 6 hours.

Toshiba Satellite A505-S6004 TruBrite 16.0-Inch Laptop (Black/Silver)

Great things about the Satelite:

+ 16" wide screen display - it's beautiful

+ Fast, starts up in a couple of seconds and no waiting on your apps

+ Huge 500GB hard drive.

+ Windows 7, I wasn't expecting much, but no problems, runs without issues

+ Microsoft Office, installed, free for 60 days
+ Huge high quality speakers, this machine is music and movie ready.
+ Attractive
+ A little heavy but not bad for its size.
+ Toshiba is very reliable
+ Motion detector locks the hard drive in place when it detects the laptop is being jostled around.

Could be better:
> Light above track pad too bright
> Keys are LOUD
> Norton installed and bugs you about paying every time you log on

Overall, this is a great laptop. SOme of the display lights are a little bright and the keypad is noisy. I can forgive that though because this laptop is so fast. I'm never waiting anymore. Windows 7 is proving to be very reliable and easy to use.

Initially, the touch pad was "helping" me and this was really annoying. To turn off some of the trackpad features that do things for you: Go to Control Panel > Hardware and Sound, under the Devices and Printers section click on Mouse. Another dialog pops up, CLick on the Device Settings tab, then on the Settings button. From there you can set up the touch pad the way you want it.

I upgraded my laptop to a 12 cell battery and that battery lasts about 7 or 8 hours. If you can afford the extra battery, it's worth it. THe 12 cell does take about 2 hours to charge though.

My friends who work in computer repair say they get less Toshibas in the shop than any other brand and highly recommend them.

Buy a large laptop case to carry it in. It will not fit in a standard size case.

Norton is slow and a pain, I uninstalled it and installed Vipre.
Toshiba Satellite A505-S6004 TruBrite 16.0-Inch Laptop (Black/Silver)

HP Pavilion DV6-2162NR 15.6-Inch Black Laptop--Up to 4.25 Hours of Battery Life

I bought this HP for my wife to replace her 3 year old Toshiba. It's 100% her computer but she places everything technical in our lives on me and then holds me accountable for its performance. My wife is brutal on electronics and her laptop is no exception. The Toshiba had a VERY hard life and ticked along perfectly until the past few months. After wasting $200 on a failed repair (hard drive) I decided it was cheaper to replace it than to nurse it along. I initially went shopping for another Toshiba and frankly, I feel like I would be writing a 5 star review for a Toshiba if it hadn't come down to a $150 price difference. I was able to use the competing Toshiba at a retailer, but when I went to Amazon I found this HP. Nearly identical in performance and appearance; aside from a couple of keyboard control features they were the same.

I bought the HP, Amazon shipped it FedEX and it arrived to Fairbanks Alaska in less than 48 hours (used standard shipping, nothing special). She loves it, charged it up and it performs flawlessly and much better than my 8 month old Dell XPS (Argh, never again...long story). I have not attempted to load Office 2007 yet, but suspect from my research on 64 bit systems, it will work fine. Neither one of us cares for the bubble scheme and thinks it detracts from the professional look of the rest of the finish (petty, I know).

The mouse pad works perfectly and I particularly like the keyboard layout and feel of the keys. I REALLY like the number pad without having to buy a 17+ inch system which is of course standard now.

4 USB ports, 1 HDMI output, a great LCD screen and Graphics card...zero to complain about. Oh, and Windows 7 works very well.

I'll report back if it doesn't hold up to the flagrant neglect my wife typically inflicts on her electronics, but as of for now she is rightfully treating like a shiny new sports car!
HP Pavilion DV6-2162NR 15.6-Inch Black Laptop--Up to 4.25 Hours of Battery Life

ASUS UL30Vt-A1 Thin and Light 13.3-Inch Silver Laptop (12 Hours of Battery Life)

I had been excited about the ULxxVT series from Asus since they were first announced a couple months ago. I originally purchased the UL80VT back when it was released in October but ultimately returned it due to a very noticeable dead pixel right in the middle of the screen. This was probably for the best as a week with the UL80VT made me realize it was bigger then I needed and I didn't really have much use for the optical drive.


Due to my brief ownership of the UL80VT I knew certain things to expect with the UL30VT but I have to say the UL30VT has exceeded my expectations. While I never felt the build quality was bad on the UL80VT it's much better on the smaller UL30VT. Clearly due to the smaller frame everything is quite a bit more solid as there is almost no chasis flex at all. The keyboard is okay. Everything is well spaced although the small right shift key is a bit annoying. Honestly the only thing about the keyboard that isn't great is that it's a bit on the noisy side as its very clackity when you type. I know a lot of people don't like the dimpled ASUS touchpads but honestly I don't think it's that bad and it has tons of multi-functions that really make it a joy to use. The single button touchpad button isn't as firm as on the UL80VT so its a bit easier to press for those who don't just use tapping. The screen is also in my opinion much better then the UL80VT in regards to contrast which I felt was subpar on the the larger model. Viewing angles still aren't great but they aren't on most laptops these days. The hard drive is a bit noisy but it's not really that noticeable.

I know a lot will be made of battery life on these UL models and it should be pointed out that this comes with the 10 hour battery, not the 12 hour one Amazon lists. Even still its a 63whr, 4400mah 8 cell battery that I have easily been able to get 7 hours of wifi web surfing and there still being life left (sorry, I haven't had it long enough to do a full battery test yet). So while it would have been nice to get the larger 84whr battery I don't think I will have had too many instances where I will even need it. Also just to correct another incorrect part of the Amazon listing, the UL30VT weighs 3.92lbs according to my precision scale with the battery installed. Still plenty light for me but I don't know how they got 3.7lbs that is listed here. The UL80VT also has the wrong weight listed in it's listing as it weighed 4.8lbs when I weighed that back in October.

Overall I am very happy I waited for the UL30VT, the idea of creating an overclocked low voltage system is a genius concept that ASUS has executed very well here. The end result gives the user performance equivalent to a regular full voltage Core 2 Duo while still providing great battery life. There is truly nothing else on the market like the VT series laptops and for $799 you get a lot. Sure the larger battery or longer warranty of the A series UL models (this is an X model) would be nice but it would then cost more and lets be honest, it still has better battery life then most systems on the market and almost all consumer laptops only come with a one year warranty to begin with! Given the price I can't recommend this system enough, sure there are a few things that could be improved but for me it's exactly what I needed in a laptop at hundreds less then I was originally expecting to pay.
ASUS UL30Vt-A1 Thin and Light 13.3-Inch Silver Laptop (12 Hours of Battery Life)

Toshiba Satellite T135-S1305 TruBrite 13.3" Ultrathin Laptop (Black)

I have been using this computer for about two weeks now, and so far I am very satisfied with my purchase. I previously had an HP dv6000 series laptop which lasted nearly 3 years, yet had its share of hardware problems along the way. Eventually, its motherboard completely fried, and I wanted to replace it with a lighter, more portable laptop with better battery life, and I didn't want to break the bank. After doing some research, I settled on the Toshiba T135 series, with the s1305 being (in my opinion) the best combination of price, processor speed, and memory.

This computer has the Intel-based SU4100 processor, which IS dual core, and is faster than the AMD Neo processors that some of the other T135s have. Battery life has been surprisingly good, as I can get about 6-7 hours of web surfing and email in on the normal battery settings, with slightly longer times if you select ECO mode. Windows 7 has been a joy to use, as my HP had Vista, which was pretty miserable. I also like the ability to output video AND audio to my hdtv through the hdmi port; it makes watching hulu and other video sites really enjoyable. One thing I also noticed is that this computer is nearly SILENT, and it generates very little heat, so it is very easy to sit with it on your lap for long periods of time. By comparison, the HP's fan only got louder, and got very very hot.

There are only two things about this computer that have mildly irritated me. The first is the finish, which is piano black with an almost carbon fiber look. It makes the comp look really cool, but gathers fingerprints very easily, which tends to annoy me as I am always trying to wipe them off. The second thing is the touchpad and click buttons. The pad is somewhat temperamental at times, and the buttons are a rocker-style, and not their own individual buttons. This just makes it kind of frustrating to use sometimes, but its fairly rare and isn't that big of a deal. If you're going to try to do some serious work with this computer, you would really want to have a wireless mouse to use. That's what I've been doing and it works out fine.

In conclusion, I would strongly recommend this product. Amazon had the best price among online retailers (and brick-and-mortar stores), and the shipping was fast. If you're still on the fence, I would recommend going to Best Buy and looking at this computer first(they sell different models of the T135) and making sure you like the aesthetics and such. Otherwise, I hope you like it as much as I have.
Toshiba Satellite T135-S1305 TruBrite 13.3" Ultrathin Laptop (Black)