(Credit:
Gateway)
Acer/Gateway is smartly combining Intel's new Atom N450 Netbook processor with our preferred Netbook price: $299. The new Gateway LT21 is a 10-inch 1,024x600-pixel Netbook, with a large six-cell battery in either "Extended" (5600mAh) or "Standard" (4400mAh) designs, for up to a purported 10 hours of battery life.
Other than the inclusion of 802.11n Wi-Fi (in select models), and some basic multitouch gestures on the touch pad, this is a standard off-the-shelf 10-inch Netbook. The new design tweaks include a larger keyboard than previous Gateway models, which reminds us of the flat-topped, tightly spaced keys on Acer's Timeline series of laptops.
The Gateway LT21 will be available in Cherry Red, NightSky Black, and Glacier White, all of which feature a subtle wave pattern in the lid. Starting at $299, they will be available starting later in January.
In addition to the sharp IdeaCentre A300, Lenovo also announced two more straightforward PCs, both due out later this quarter.
Lenovo's new IdeaCentre K320 performance desktop.
(Credit: Lenovo)The IdeaCentre K320 is Lenovo's first foray into a performance-oriented tower system in the U.S. The spare Intel Core i3-based K320 will start at $600 when it launches on January 31, but with options including a Blu-ray burner, an ATI Radeon HD 5970 graphics card, and an Intel Core i7 860 CPU, you can get the price up to $1,999.
The $650 Lenovo IdeaCentre C315.
(Credit: Lenovo)The K320 could be competitive with the right configuration, but we're skeptical of the IdeaCentre C315. At $650 when it launches on March 1, this Intel Atom 330-based Nettop might cost $100 less than Gateway's recent ZX4800-02, but the Lenovo's performance will be significantly slower, with few discernible benefits other than its lower price to make up the difference. The Gateway's 750GB hard drive is beefier than the C315's 640GB upgrade option, and both offer touch software and a DVD burner. The Lenovo offers an ATI Radeon 4530 graphics chip as an option as well, but the default model boasts only an outdated Intel GMA 950 video chip.
... Read the full post at CNET's CES 2010 blog
As inevitable as bad Wi-Fi and long taxi lines in Vegas, pre-CES leaks are unavoidable. This year, many laptops from big-name PC makers have leaked early, mostly thanks to online retailers surfacing the products before the official release dates. These leaks have largely surfaced via sites such as Engadget and Gizmodo, assisted by a tendency for some of these laptops to actually stealth-surface at retail outlets before anyone's noticed.
Keep in mind, this list is only part of what you'll see at CES in the laptops category--there are still plenty of surprises in store. At the same time, you're sure to hear more from us about some of these during the week, including hands-on impressions and videos.
Dell:
Toshiba:- Toshiba NB305-00F (Atom N450)
- Toshiba Satellite L500-00F (Core i3)
- Gateway NV5905H (Core i3)
- Gateway LT2102H (Atom N450)
We began our look into holiday retail desktops in the beginning of November, reviewing a total of 16 systems that ranged in price from $199 to $1,199. Five weeks later, we have our top picks. This is also the end of a year spent focusing heavily on desktops available at brick-and-mortar retail outlets, and we think we learned something.
Gateway's DX4822-01 is our favorite budget desktop available at retail this holiday.
(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)Budget pick
Desktops in our budget category ranged from the $199 Acer Aspire Revo 1600 to the $510 Gateway DX4822-01. We always advocate spending as much as your budget can handle for the purposes of longevity, so we weren't surprised when we found we liked the aforementioned Gateway best of the six desktops in this group for its speed and large 1TB hard drive.
... Read MoreOur list of 10 most popular desktops follows the same rules as the lists from the other product categories. Because it's based on click volume, the desktops listed skew toward those that have been around longer, as well as those that received the most promotion (such as spending time on our list of Editor's Top Desktops).
You'll find a few reviews on the list from 2008, some of which are still lingering in stock at various online retailers. We advise you not to buy those old systems, as they've all been updated since we posted their reviews.
Our slideshow below breaks the most popular desktops down in order from most to least popular. We've provided a few other numbers after the jump.
... Read More
In our current roundup of retail-specific laptops, we've divided our 25-plus systems into four different price categories, from sub-$700 budget models to high-end ones that cost more than $1,000.
In the "Budget" category, covering laptops up to $699, we found a collection of largely indistinguishable systems, along with a few that stood out as particularly good or bad. Most of these will provide a decent low-end experience, as long as you stick to one of the models with a dual-core CPU.
Our favorite, by a hair, was the Toshiba Satellite A505-S6980, with an Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 CPU and a big 500GB hard drive.
Note: For a roundup of retail laptops in all price ranges, check here.
Check out details of each system below:... Read More
As most laptops are essentially commodity products comprised of the same stock list of components and parts, one might assume that all laptop brands are the same, at least as far as the general reliability of the hardware itself.
Warranty firm SquareTrade has just released a research paper analyzing the failure rate for 30,000 laptops comparing brands and hardware categories--and the results might surprise you.
The headline news is that over three years, one out of three laptops will fail, and that Asus and Toshiba laptops have the lowest failure rates, while Acer, Gateway, and HP have higher than average failure rates. Additionally, two-thirds of those problems are hardware malfunctions, while the final third are classified as accidental damage.
Netbooks, in particular, didn't fare as well--as one might expect from low-cost machines. They failed at a rate 20 percent higher than mainstream laptops. But keep in mind, since Netbooks are a relatively new category, this is based on only one year of data.
The full report can be found at the SquareTrade Web site, and we've excerpted some of the most interesting charts and graphs below (and note that some of the numbers presented below are projections based on previous data).
The key takeaway is that laptops in general fail much more often than many other types of consumer electronics--in part because they're among the most complex devices one can buy, and perhaps because pricing pressure has led to lapses in quality control in the design and manufacture of many of these systems.
(Credit:
SquareTrade )
(Credit:
SquareTrade )
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SquareTrade )
When we first saw Dell's new Inspiron Zino HD this summer, our thought was that when Dell brought this thing to market it would be introducing the affordable living room PC of our dreams. It's small, it's cheap, it has HDMI, and it supports Blu-ray and 802.11n Wi-Fi. What else could you want in a self-contained little Windows box to serve up media to your TV? We're not without questions (how well will the default ATI graphics and low-power AMD CPU handle Blu-ray playback, for example?), but on paper, the Inspiron Zino HD the Dell announced this morning seems to retain most of that promise we saw a few months back.
Dell's new Inspiron Zino HD offers multiple color choices.
(Credit: Dell)The Inspiron Zino HD starts at $229, which nets you a single-core 1.6GHz AMD Athlon 2650e CPU, a DVD burner, 2GB of RAM, wired networking, a DVD burner, and a 250GB hard drive. It's not much, but that's a better deal than the $199 Acer Revo we reviewed a few weeks ago because of the Dell's larger hard drive and a DVD burner.
And while these low-cost PCs are all the rage these days, we're more excited by the Zino's possibilities after a few key upgrades. Bump the CPU up to the dual-core Athlon X2 3250e, upgrade the RAM to 4GB, add 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, and a Blu-ray drive and the price climbs to a still-reasonable $498. A TV tuner option is coming at some unspecified time in the future.
You get two USB 2.0 jacks, an optical drive, and an SD Card reader on the front of the Zino.
(Credit: Dell)You wouldn't want to use such a spec for editing movies or playing games, for that we'd recommend starting with Gateway's SX2800-01 and adding a low-profile 3D card. You'd probably also run out of storage space with the Zino's 250GB default hard drive sooner than you'd like. But on a home network with another PC hosting the bulk of your media, a $500 or so Inspiron Zino HD would likely meet all of your prerecorded media consumption needs.
Among other ports, the back of the Inspiron Zino HD has both HDMI and VGA video outs, as well as a pair of eSATA ports.
(Credit: Dell)Dell offers a few color and design options for the Inspiron Zino HD, and all but Piano Black cost an extra $10. According to Dell's Web site, order's placed today will ship by November 26.
Now that we're past the official release of Windows 7, most new PCs should come with it pre-installed. But if you purchased a new computer with Windows Vista recently, or for whatever reason end up with a Vista system in the near future, there's a very good chance you're eligible for a free Windows 7 upgrade.
From the period of June 26, 2009 through January 31, 2010, many major PC makers are offering free upgrades to Windows 7 for those who buy a Vista-powered laptop or desktop. The deals are all essentially the same, and, as expected, have some exceptions and asterisks.
Click the gallery link below and we'll show you the details for PC brands including Dell, HP, Gateway, Acer, Asus, Lenovo, and Sony -- complete with upgrade terms and instructions, and links to each PC maker's free Windows 7 upgrade request forms.
Getting your free Windows 7 upgrade is handled through the company you bought your PC from, not by Microsoft, and in most cases you'll have to register and fill out some online forms. Now that we're past the October 22 launch date for Windows 7, you'll receive a physical copy of Windows 7 via snail mail once your submit the proper documentation. The upgrade path looks like this:
Windows Vista Home Premium→Windows 7 Home Premium
Windows Vista Business→Windows 7 Professional
Windows Vista Ultimate→Windows 7 Ultimate
Using Vista basic? Tough luck! Also worth noting, upgrades are arriving via DVD, so you'll have to have a DVD drive available (although there is a USB drive workaround). Also royally screwed are Netbook buyers who have Windows XP, and are not eligible for the free upgrade.
> See CNET's full Windows 7 review here.
> Missed the big gallery link above? Brand by brand details on getting your free Windows 7 upgrade are here.
> This article updates our earlier pre-Win7-launch feature: Ask the editor: Should I buy a new laptop now, or wait for Windows 7?
All-in-one desktops and laptops are among the first PCs with Windows 7.
With the launch of Windows 7, computer shoppers are emerging from a dark period when newly purchased desktops and laptops would arrive with an already archaic operating system. Even with the promise of a free upgrade, it made sense for most to wait until systems started shipping with the new OS.
If you're eager to hit the ground running, we've already reviewed several Windows 7 PCs, from big names such as Lenovo, Toshiba, and HP. Click on the gallery below to check out each one, including the massive Toshiba Qosmio X505, the touch-screen Lenovo T400s, and the HP Touchsmart 600 all-in-one.
This collection represents the very first wave of Windows 7 computers, but after October 22, it'll be rare to find a Vista or XP desktop or laptop for sale anywhere.
Click here to see all the Windows 7 laptop and desktop reviews
