Reader Reviews: HP Pavilion

Editors note: This HP notebook review was written by Joan Marie Warren

My current laptop is the HP Pavilion dv6; my daughter purchased two of these laptops on Black Friday in 2009, after waiting in line at Staples for hours, one for herself and one for me, as an early Christmas gift. Priced at $199.00, this was a steal for this machine and well worth the long wait in line.

This Pavilion model is top of line and looks classy with a dark bronze finish with the signature HP swirl designs. It has a 15.6 inch screen, and weighs about 6 pounds which makes it easy to take just about anywhere. The keyboard on the lap top is full size so it is very easy to type on, unlike the net book that this little prize replaced. The touchpad is the HP ClickPad with the technology to turn it on and off, which is great, because I prefer my trackball and my daughter prefers the touch pad. This laptop is also equipped with a built in web cam, a DVD drive, wireless LAN card, an onboard card reader that reads most of the external memory cards available today, built in speakers along with an earphone jack and a microphone jack. This model has four USB slots, two located on each side, which is great to connect peripheral hardware, such as my trackball or my iPod cord needed to charge my iPod and sync with iTunes. On the inside it is equipped with an Intel Core i3 processor (2.40GHz) and Windows 7 64-bit operating system, which runs any of my frequently used programs superfast. We are both college students and use Microsoft Office programs often, like Word, Excel and Power Point, along with iTunes. The video quality is great, as a long time desk top user I never knew that a lap top could provide this high quality video. I have watched DVD movies on my laptop along with many episodes of my shows from the internet.

Another plus that came with this laptop is the LightScribe technology that allows you to label a DVD or CD by etching the title you select or create yourself right on to the disc, a special LightScribe disc is required to take advantage of this feature. My only complaint with this laptop is the battery life and the AC adapter. The battery is a standard 6-Cell 55WHr Lithium-Ion Battery but it never lasts for more than two hours tops and the AC adapter connections appear to wear over time, sometimes it takes three or four tries to get the AC Adapter to show that is charging the battery, it appears to be a problem with the connection to the computer itself or between the box that joins the two cords. We are in the process of looking into getting the battery in mine replaced or the AC adapter, whatever the charging problem results to be.

Overall a great machine and well worth the money! I would recommend this to anyone.

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Reader Reviews: MacBook Pro

Today we’re introducing a new feature called Reader Reviews. We’ve invited some of our readers to share reviews of their current laptop and we’ll post them here as they come in. If you’re interested in participating, please use the contact form.

I own a 15 inch MacBook Pro with an Intel i7 processor and 8 Gigabytes of RAM. It was purchased in December of this year. I have always loved Apple’s computers, however, even I was surprised at how much I love the MacBook pro. I am somewhat of computer collector and this is the most impressive and powerful machine I have ever owned.

One of my favorite things about this machine is the keyboard. The keys are very well spaced and it feels great to type on. Also, it is back lit, which may not seem like a big deal—but once you have it, you will never want to go without it again.

The next thing that I would point out is the over-sized multi-touch track pad. Once again, I love Apple but I did not understand the level of usability that this track pad brings to the laptop. The best feature by far is the ability to scroll by dragging two fingers up and down on the track pad. Apple implements their “inertia” technology, used on the iPhone and their other touch devices, which gives scrolling a “flick” feeling. You can also move forward and back in your web browser by swiping three fingers across the track pad. Pinch to zoom also a fantastic feature. Finally, using four fingers down will show you all your open windows or up to move them out of the way to reveal your desktop.

The new uni-body case on the laptop is also a very nice plus. Most laptops have plastic bezels and will flex and eventually crack and break. The case on the MacBook Pro is machined from a solid block of aluminum.

Another plus specific to the 15 and 17 inch models is the speakers. Located on either side of the keyboard these speakers sound fantastic for on-board laptop speakers. They really bump.

In my opinion, one of the most impressive exterior hardware innovations is the MagSafe charging port. Apple really addressed a serious problem with this. The idea is that if someone trips over the power cord, it will not pull your laptop off a surface to meet its fate on the floor. It works as advertised and has already saved my laptop.

The last specification that I chose when customizing this laptop is my favorite. Most MacBook Pros feature a glossy glass cover over the LCD screen. However, I opted for the Hi-Res anti-glare screen. The screen is just like any other laptop used to be. These new glossy screens may make the laptops more aesthetically pleasing, however, they are not practical. If you are outside or just near a window, you will experience a crippling glare on your screen. I am very glad I went with the anti-glare screen.

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Laptop News: Eye-tracking laptops, 3D Sony VAIO, ...

The latest laptop news includes new releases with 3D and eye-tracking technology, and the new 13-inch MacBook Pro.

Coming Soon:  An Eye-tracking Laptop

How would you like to control your laptop with your eyes?  The first eye-tracking laptop will be unveiled at the CeBIT trade show in Germany on March 1st.  The laptop is a collaboration between Lenovo and Tobii Technology.  By tracking the user’s eye movement, the computer is able to center photos on the user’s gaze, scroll the screen automatically when viewing documents, and save power by reducing the brightness of the screen when the user is not looking at it.  This technology will not replace the keyboard and mouse, but it could still revolutionize the way people interact with their computers.

The 13-inch MacBook Pro

Mac lovers who like small laptops will be pleased to learn about the new 13 inch MacBook Pro.  The Intel Core i5 processor is incredibly fast and makes use of Thunderbolt technology to provide fast data transfer between the laptop and other devices.  The 13-inch MacBook Pro has long battery life and a large touchpad that is easy to use.  The keyboard is backlit for use in low lighting conditions.  The biggest drawback is that the battery cannot be replaced by the end user.  If it ever stops charging, you’ll need Apple’s tech support to replace it for you.

 Sony’s 3D Laptop Goes on Sale in March

Sony’s first 3D laptop computer is being released in March.  The Sony Vaio VPCF21Z1E/BI has a 16-inch stereoscopic screen and comes with 3D active shutter glasses.  It has a built-in HD web cam, and the 3D effects can be switched on and off easily by pushing a button.  The processor is a quad-core Intel Core i7-2630QM with Intel Turbo Boost technology.  Other features include a Blu-ray disc drive with DVD SuperMulti, two SuperSpeed USB ports, one Hi-Speed USB port, and Dolby home theater technology.

Lenovo’s New Laptops Designed for Teleconferencing

Lenovo has released six new laptops that include technology to improve noise suppression.  The company is marketing the new laptops as being better suited to teleconferencing because they are so quiet.  Lenovo also claims that the new models have a battery life of up to 23 hours.  This includes both the internal and external batteries.

Best-Selling Laptop Deals at Dell

Dell has deals on their top-selling laptops that range from $279.99 to $899.99.  You can save up to $233, depending on which model you choose.  The deals start with the Inspiron Mini 1018 for $279.99, which is its regular price, so it’s not exactly on sale, but it’s still a great deal.  The Dell Inspiron 15 is on sale for $399.99, and you can get an Inspiron 15R for $499.99 to $609.99.  There are two versions of the Inspiron 17R listed, with prices of $599.99 and $679.99.  There is also a Dell Inspiron 14R for $599.99 and two XPS 15 laptops for $799.99 and $899.99.  If you qualify, you can purchase any of these laptops using Dell’s financing plan.

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