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Laptops






11/19/2009

Apple MacBook (Core 2 Duo 2GHz, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M)

Price: $1,099.00 - $1,099.00
Specs: Intel Core 2 Duo (2 GHz), 2 GB DDR3 SDRAM, 160 GB, Apple MacOS X 10.5, 4.4 lbs, 13.3 in TFT active matrix, EPA Energy Star, EPEAT Gold

The Bottom Line
Apple's MacBook ditches its plastic shell and Intel chipset for a solid aluminum chassis with an Nvidia chipset, and serves up a multitouch glass trackpad, LED-backlit display, and mini DisplayPort.

© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.





excellent

11/19/2009

Apple MacBook Pro 2008 Edition (Core 2 Duo 2.5GHz, 2GB RAM, 250GB HDD, 17-inch)

Price: $2,499.00 - $2,499.00
Specs: Intel Core 2 Duo (2.5 GHz), 2 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 250 GB, Apple MacOS X 10.5, 6.8 lbs, 17 in TFT active matrix, EPA Energy Star, EPEAT Silver

The Bottom Line
A solid, if predictable, upgrade to the MacBook Pro line, but noteworthy for stealing the MacBook Air's best feature--expanded gesture controls for the touch pad.

© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.







11/18/2009

Apple MacBook (13-inch, 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo)

Price: $1,049.00 - $1,049.00
Specs: Intel Core Duo (1.83 GHz), 512 MB DDR2 SDRAM, 60 GB, Apple MacOS X 10.4, 5.3 lbs, 13.3 in TFT active matrix, EPA Energy Star

The Bottom Line
Replacing the iBook, Apple's MacBook, the little sibling to the more powerful, feature-rich, and expensive MacBook Pro, features a 13.3-inch wide-screen and a new color choice. It corrects a handful of the iBook's shortcomings, hits a reasonable price point, and makes a great compromise between size and portability.

© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.





excellent

11/16/2009

Lenovo ThinkPad X61s

Price: $990.00 - $990.00
Specs: Intel Core Duo (1.4 GHz), 0 MB DDR2 SDRAM, 60 GB, Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic, 3.1 lbs, 12.1 in TFT active matrix, EPEAT Silver, RoHS, EPA Energy Star

The Bottom Line
The ThinkPad X61s provides excellent dual-core performance in a lightweight, compact package that's still comfortable to use.

© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.





very good

11/11/2009

Asus X83VB-X1

Price: $449.95 - $799.89

The Bottom Line
A poorly designed keyboard and stiff mouse buttons prevent a higher recommendation for the Asus X83VB-X1, which is an otherwise well-built 14-inch laptop that delivers chart-topping performance for a low price.

© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.





good

11/11/2009

HP Pavilion dv6915nr

Price: $509.97 - $509.97
Specs: AMD Turion 64 X2 mobile technology (2 GHz), 3 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 200 GB, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium, 6 lbs, 15.4 in TFT active matrix, EPEAT Silver, EPEAT silver

The Bottom Line
The well-designed HP Pavilion dv6915nr incorporates most of the features you'll need for school, but other 15.4-inch laptops offer better performance for the same price.

© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.





very good

11/10/2009

Sony VAIO VGN-FZ180E/B (Core 2 Duo T7300 2GHz, 2GB RAM, 200GB HDD, Vista Home Premium)

Price: $1,328.95 - $1,328.95
Specs: Intel Core 2 Duo (2 GHz), 2 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 200 GB, Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium, 5.7 lbs, 15.4 in TFT active matrix

The Bottom Line
We can't imagine the market for a 15-inch home theater laptop with Blu-ray is very large, but the Sony VAIO FZ180 certainly fits the bill--even if it's preloaded with unwanted come-ons for other Sony products.

© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.





good

11/10/2009

Toshiba Satellite P305-S8825

Price: $699.95 - $699.95
Specs: Intel Core 2 Duo (1.83 GHz), 3 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 320 GB, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium, 7.7 lbs, 17.1 in TFT active matrix, RoHS

The Bottom Line
Toshiba's new 17-inch Satellite P305 is a well-made, inexpensive desktop replacement, but much more powerful laptops are available for just a little more money.

© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.





very good

11/8/2009

Dell Latitude E6400 Laptop Computer (Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 160GB/2GB)

Price: $939.00 - $939.00
Specs: Intel Core 2 Duo (2.40 GHz), 2.0 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 160 GB, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic SP1, With media, 4.4 lbs, 14.1 in TFT active matrix

The Bottom Line
A total revamp of Dell's ubiquitous business laptop line, the Latitude E6400 offers Intel's latest Centrino 2 mobile platform and introduces a brushed-metal design that works at home or office, but the real highlight here is the long battery life.

© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.





very good

11/6/2009

Dell Studio 15

Price: $549.00 - $549.00
Specs: Intel Pentium Dual Core (2.1 GHz), 3 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 250 GB, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English, 6 lbs, 15.6 TFT active matrix

The Bottom Line
Dell's first release from its new Studio line, the Studio 15, sits between the Inspiron and XPS lines and offers a good mix of features for the price, but we'd be tempted to save up a few extra dollars for a thinner, lighter XPS.

© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.





ok

11/3/2009

HP 2133 Mini-Note PC (Via C7-M 1GHz, 512MB RAM, 4GB SSD, Suse Linux Enterprise Desktop 10)

Price: $209.95 - $209.95
Specs: VIA C7-M (1 GHz), 512 MB DDR2 SDRAM, 4 GB, SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10, 2.6 lbs, 8.9 in TFT active matrix, EPEAT silver, EPEAT Silver

The Bottom Line
Despite an underpowered CPU, the HP 2133 Mini-Note PC offers the best balance of small size, comfort, and functionality we've seen in a mininotebook, making it fast a favorite for on-the-go use.

© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.







11/3/2009

Toshiba Satellite A205-S4639

Price: $599.95 - $599.95
Specs: Intel Core 2 Duo (1.73 GHz), 2 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 120 GB, Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate, 6.4 lbs, 15.4 in TFT active matrix

The Bottom Line
The stylish Satellite A205 from Toshiba adds desirable extras such as draft 802.11n wireless connectivity and a DVD drive that burns artwork on your discs.

© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.





ok

10/29/2009

HP Pavilion dv2945se

Price: $639.95 - $639.95
Specs: AMD Turion 64 X2 mobile technology (2 GHz), 4 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 320 GB, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit Edition, 5.3 lbs, 14.1 in TFT active matrix

The Bottom Line
The 14-inch HP Pavilion dv2700t Special Edition looks like a much more expensive laptop, but you can also find a more powerful 14-inch laptop with better battery life for less money.

© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.





very good

10/28/2009

HP Envy 15-1050nr

Price: $1,899.90 - $1,924.99
Specs: Intel Core i7 (1.6 GHz), 6 GB DDR3 SDRAM, 500 GB, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium, 5.1 lbs, 15.6 in TFT active matrix, EPA Energy Star

The Bottom Line
HP's new Envy 15 packs high-powered components into a svelte 15-inch body. The result is an upscale status symbol that still shows a few first-generation rough edges.

© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.





very good

10/26/2009

Apple PowerBook G4 (PowerPC G4 867MHz, 256MB RAM, 40GB HDD, MacOS X 10.1)

Price: $89.00 - $89.00
Specs: Motorola PowerPC G4 (867 MHz), 256 MB DDR SDRAM, 40 GB, Apple MacOS X (Preinstalled), 4.6 lbs, 12.1 in TFT active matrix, EPA Energy Star

The Bottom Line
The 12-inch PowerBook G4 is the easiest Mac to carry around and serves up an excellent balance of price, features, and performance.

© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.





very good

10/21/2009

Sony Vaio X (VPC-X115KX/N Signature Collection, gold)

Price: $1,499.99 - $1,499.99
Specs: Intel Atom (2 GHz), 2 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 128 GB, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium, 1.6 lbs, 11.1 in TFT active matrix, RoHS, EPA Energy Star

The Bottom Line
Sony's bold experiment--a high-end luxury system with essentially Netbook components--makes an enviable coffee shop conversation piece, but one that includes some serious sticker shock.

© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.





excellent

10/20/2009

Apple MacBook Fall 2009 (Core 2 Duo 2.26GHz, 2GB RAM, 250GB HDD, Nvidia GeForce 9400M)

Price: $988.99 - $999.99
Specs: Intel Core 2 Duo (2.26 GHz), 2048 MB DDR3 SDRAM, 250 GB, Apple Mac OS X Snow Leopard, 4.7 lbs, 13.3 in TFT active matrix

The Bottom Line
Apple's latest version of the popular $999 white MacBook gets an upscale makeover, while keeping the price the same. It's a strong alternative to the more expensive Pro line, if you can live without extras such as an SD card slot.

© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.





very good

10/19/2009

Sony Vaio VGN-NW240F (pink)

Price: $664.98 - $729.99
Specs: Intel Core 2 Duo (2.2 GHz), 4 GB DDR II SDRAM, 320 GB, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium, 6.0 lbs, 15.5 in TFT active matrix

The Bottom Line
The Sony Vaio VGN-NW240F is a well designed mainstream notebook with respectable performance and features for the money.

© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.





very good

10/19/2009

Sony Vaio VGN-NW240F (black)

Price: $694.99 - $729.99
Specs: Intel Core 2 Duo (2.2 GHz), 4 GB DDR II SDRAM, 320 GB, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium, 6.0 lbs, 15.5 in TFT active matrix

The Bottom Line
The Sony Vaio VGN-NW240F is a well designed mainstream notebook with respectable performance and features for the money.

© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.





very good

10/19/2009

Sony Vaio VGN-NW240F (silver)

Price: $697.00 - $729.99
Specs: Intel Core 2 Duo (2.2 GHz), 4 GB DDR II SDRAM, 320 GB, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium, 6.0 lbs, 15.5 in TFT active matrix

The Bottom Line
The Sony Vaio VGN-NW240F is a well designed mainstream notebook with respectable performance and features for the money.

© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.



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