Toshiba Satellite P505-S8950 Specifications:

• Windows Vista Home Premium (SP1)
• 1680 x 945 HD+ TriBrite Display (Glossy)
• ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 with 1GB GDDR2
• Intel Core 2 Duo P8700 (2.53GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 3MB Cache)
• 6GB DDR2-800 RAM
• 64GB Toshiba SSD + 320GB 7200RPM Hitachi
• Slot-Loading DVD SuperMulti (+/- Double Layer) with Labelflash
• Intel 5100AGN, Bluetooth v2.1, and Atheros AR8131 1GB Ethernet
• Harman/kardon speakers
• Built-in web camera
• 12-cell 10.8v 87Wh (100Wh actual) battery
• Dimensions: (LxWxH) 17.4 x 11.6 x 1.63"
• Weight: 11 lbs., 0.3 oz. as configured
• Retail Price: $1,599

Build and Design
The Satellite P505 is a massive notebook, dwarfing even large 17" gaming systems. Combine that with a heavy body and you are left not wanting to stick it in a backpack; and good luck finding a slip case big enough. The exterior appearance is classy with a glossy black pinstripe finish and chrome trim around all the edges. Inside the color scheme stays the same, with chrome speaker grills, screen hinge, and touchpad buttons. The matching keyboard does a good job of blending in, with glossy black keys and white characters with white backlighting. While its size might make people turn their heads and stare, the tasteful color scheme does a good job of helping the notebook blend into the background. If you are using this as a multimedia hub for a bedroom or dorm, this is exactly what you want, as you aren't distracted by flashy colors or lots of LEDs.

Build quality is above average, although with the high weight and long width, you will see some mild flex if you try to carry the notebook by a corner. Plastic creaking is minimal and the chassis as a whole feels very strong. The keyboard area and palmrest show no signs of flex, even under very strong pressure. The glossy plastic finish seems to resist minor scratching, keeping a clean look even after wiping the body down multiple times for fingerprints. The screen has excellent protection from the backside, as well as the front thanks to the all-glass panel covering the LCD. Even with strong taps to the front and back of the display, there are no signs of color distortion. The only downside to the massive screen is its weight seems to act against the screen hinges, giving it some wiggle when in an open viewing position. You don't notice this unless you are constantly shifting around with the laptop on your lap though.

Users looking to upgrade components will enjoy the easy access to both hard drive bays and memory slots. Each hard drive is located in its own individual bay, with a third panel giving you access to the RAM. With the middle panel off you also get a glimpse at the graphics card, but the opening is not large enough to remove the card through. No "warranty void if removed" stickers were found anywhere on our review unit.

Screen and Speakers
The 18.4" panel on the Satellite P505 has a resolution of 1680x945, which seems lacking for something this large. Most high-end multimedia notebooks of this size usually offer a 1080P display, which takes more advantage of the greater surface area. That said, the panel still looks very nice for viewing games, images, or HD video. Colors appear bright and vibrant, thanks in part to the glossy surface. Depending on the viewing situations, reflections can play a huge role in what you are viewing on the display at any given time. While using this notebook at my kitchen table in front of a window, all I saw was the bright sunlight and slates to the shade reflecting off the screen. You can alleviate this by rotating the notebook or tilting the screen, but it is still quite annoying. Vertical viewing angles are average with colors starting to shift or distort as soon as 15 degrees forward or back. Horizontal viewing angles were better, staying true until roughly 50 degrees where reflections on the screen started to overpower the screen itself. Backlight bleed was minimal at the highest brightness setting, and never noticeable in normal viewing conditions.

The last notebook that really impressed me with the onboard speaker system was the Toshiba Satellite A305, giving rich audio from oversized flush-mounted speakers. The P505 continues that trend with an impressive harman/kardon sound system. Unlike the majority of notebook speakers, you can actually hear bass and midrange, although not enough to shake picture frames off walls or annoy neighbors. For a small room the sound system is more than adequate for watching a movie or just playing music in the background. For larger areas, headphones or a stereo system would still be preferred.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The keyboard was very comfortable and responsive while typing and the backlight helped greatly with low-light visibility. The 18.4" frame gave ample room for a full-size keyboard and keypad, with enough room left over for a 1" wide touch sensitive multimedia key section. Individual key action was springy, with a soft click when fully pressed. The layout was easy to follow, but the tight key spacing did take some getting used to. The top of each key was slightly larger than normal beveled-edge keys, giving less buffer space between each of them. The LED-backlighting was clean and just the right brightness to not be overpowering when typing in dark rooms. With the backlight on you could see some light shining through the edges of keys at a certain angle, but it was not overly apparent.

Toshiba incorporates a large flush-mount Synaptics touchpad into the palmrest of the P505. While we normally praise most Synaptics touchpads, this specific model had inconsistent lag and was frustrating to use. No amount of adjustment in the control panel would help it, since it seemed to be tied directly to its slower refresh rate. Movement across the surface felt inconsistent, and took a bit to get used to. This may be entirely related to buggy drivers or a faulty touchpad on our review unit though. The touchpad buttons were large and easy to trigger with the side of your thumb, giving off a mild click when pressed.

Ports and Features
Port selection on the P505 was good, with three dedicated USB ports, one eSATA/USB combo port, a FireWire connection, LAN, VGA-out, HDMI, and audio jacks. Our model also included a legacy modem port. The notebook could have fit a few extra USB connections, but four should suffice for most people.

Front: Wireless On/Off, SD-Card slot, activity lights

Rear: Screen hinge

Left: LAN, eSATA/USB combo, one USB, HDMI, FireWire, optical drive

Right: Audio jacks, two USB, modem, VGA, AC-power, Kensington lock slot

Performance and Benchmarks
The Satellite P505-S8950 performed very well in our tests thanks to the Intel P8700 processor, Toshiba 64GB SSD, and ATI Mobility HD 4650 graphics card. Initial boot times were minimal, even with a fair amount of bloatware preinstalled on the system. The only downside to the system we noticed from the start was the 64GB capacity of the primary drive, being a fairly low capacity. We managed to completely fill the drive without noticing, just by installing our benchmarking applications and Left 4 Dead over Steam. In this situation, it would have probably been best to install applications on the secondary drive from the start. As long as you are aware of the space remaining on the smaller system drive, you shouldn't run into these problems. Multimedia performance was excellent, handling 1080P HD video with ease. Gaming performance was great, but not as good as dedicated gaming systems. The primary target audience for this notebook isn't really hardcore gamers, but instead people who are looking for a very capable desktop replacement. With a 6,000 point score in 3DMark06 it was under high-end gaming rigs, but still above most notebooks with dedicated graphics.

wPrime Processor Performance Benchmark (lower scores mean better performance):

PCMark05 Overall Performance Benchmark (higher scores mean better performance):

Synthetic Gaming Performance using 3DMark06 (higher scores mean better performance):

HDTune Hard Drive Performance Benchmark:

Heat and Noise
Heat management was above average, with a large chassis and plenty of airflow to keep system temperatures at reasonable levels. Noise levels were always low, even under stress. The fans seemed to stay on constantly after the system had warmed up, but since they ran nearly silent it wasn't a big issue. Even after running multiple benchmarks, the primary contact areas of the notebook were barely above room temperature. These areas include the palmrest, touchpad, and keyboard. If your legs don't mind the weight, the bottom of the notebook also stayed relatively cool during our tests. The only part that showed any significant amount heat was the AC adapter, which got as high as 125F. This was under a significant amount of stress though, with the system charging from a nearly dead state while also having the processor and GPU heavily tasked. Under normal use it stayed between 90-100F.

Battery Life
Excellent battery life and 18.4" gigantic multimedia rig don't usually belong in the same sentence. In the case of the P505, they were a perfect match. This notebook included a large 12-cell with a reported capacity of 100Wh. At idle this notebook consumed between 20-25 watts, or roughly twice the amount of the standard notebook. In our battery test with the screen brightness set to 70%, Vista on the balanced profile, and wireless active, the P505 stayed on for an amazing 4 hours and 27 minutes. Now this time was entirely dependent on the 12-cell battery, but it is still impressive to see such a long runtime. All other P505 models come with a 6-cell battery with half the capacity, which probably won't offer comparable results.

Conclusion
The 18.4" Toshiba Satellite P505 is a massive desktop replacement notebook, capable of gaming, watching HD video, and pumping out rich audio. The harman/kardon speaker system put out some of the best sound we have heard from a notebook in a long time, full of bass and great midrange tones. While most people might not think a machine of this size could have good battery life, we managed to get four and a half hours thanks to the 12-cell battery. The only real negative aspects we noticed were debris between the all-glass covering and display, and a lackluster touchpad. Overall while this notebook might not have been the most lap-friendly system we have tested, its gaming and multimedia performance was excellent for its price range.

Pros:

• Great speaker system
• Good performance
• Excellent battery life

Cons:

• Very heavy
• Twitchy touchpad
• Dust between layers of the display

by Kevin O'Brien

The Inspiron 15 is the back-to-basics mainstream 15" notebook from Dell, offering good performance at a value price. Consumers can configure this notebook with basic lid configurations, or go all out with the customized lids from the Dell Design Studio for an additional cost. If you are just looking for a basic system to meet your needs at school or home, read our full review of the Dell Inspiron 15.

• Intel Pentium Dual-Core T4200 2.00GHz Processor (1MB L2 cache, 800MHz FSB)
• Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic (32-bit)
• 15.6" 1366x768 16:9 Glossy Display
• Intel X4500 Integrated Graphics
• 3GB DDR2 800MHz RAM (2GB + 1GB)
• 320GB 5400RPM HDD
• 8X CD / DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
• Intel 5100AGN WiFi and 10/100 Ethernet
• 6-Cell 48WHr Battery
• Limited 1-year standard parts and labor warranty with in-home service
• Dimensions: 14.7 x 9.6" x 1.02"
• Weight: 5.8lbs
• Price as configured: $549

Build and Design
The design of the of the Inspiron 15 is pretty good for a value notebook, offering a smooth rounded profile and clean lines. While our model doesn't offer one of the most expensive custom lid designs, it gives you an idea of what you would get if you chose the current "FastTrack" shipping option on this model. The only design element of the notebook that doesn't blend well with the stock matte lid finish is the fully glossy interior. The screen, screen bezel, keyboard trim, and palmrest are all glossy black inside the notebook, which doesn't always play well with reflections or smudges. If you keep it clean it looks great, but at times it did get annoying if you were sitting with your back to bright windows where the entire notebook turned into a mirror. Overall, if you don't mind the glossy surface the design of the Inspiron 15 is pretty nice compared to other budget models on the market.

The Dell Inspiron 15 has average build quality compared to other value-oriented models we have reviewed. The plastics used held up well in our tests, but did show signs of flexing and creaking in spots. The screen lid and palmrest were the two main areas which exhibited flex, with the palmrest giving off creaking sounds if you squeezed it in the right spot. The screen lid on the Inspiron 15 uses a latch-less hinge design which keeps it held down using friction and gravity. You need two hands to open it up with it placed horizontally on your desk, but if you were carrying it around under your arm it did have a tendency to open up about a centimeter or so. In most latch-less designs we like to see a secondary holding method, such as a magnet or spring loaded hinge to keep it shut when held in any direction. The plastics used in the construction of the chassis feel pretty durable and should hold up well over time, but the glossy finish around the keyboard and palmrest did have a tendency to show fine scratches.

Dell gives you easy access to all internal components of the notebook. This includes the system memory, hard drive, and wireless card, as well as the processor if you are so inclined. Underneath the main access panel (which includes handy circlips around each screw so they don't go flying) is the RAM, wireless card, and processor with heatsink. The hard drive and optical drive are removable through individual sections with their own retaining screws. Oddly enough Dell doesn't have any "warranty void if removed" stickers anywhere, including the screws around the processor.

Screen and Speakers
The glossy 1366x768 display on the Inspiron 15 is average compared to other panels we have seen. Colors and contrast are excellent thanks to the glossy surface, which tends to scatter less light than the equivalent matte surface. Backlight levels could be better on the high-end of the spectrum, but we found it adequate for most conditions, including a bright off setting, underneath shop lighting, and or just sitting on your couch enjoying a show. Viewing angles could have been better, with color distortion found in both the vertical and horizontal extremes. Colors started to shift when titling the screen 20 degrees forward or back. Horizontal viewing angles were better, only showing color shifting past 45 degrees.

The included speakers were good compared to other budget models, with clear high-range audio, but little low or midrange coming through. Peak volume levels were enough to fill a small room, but if you plan on sharing a movie inside a dorm room, it might be wise to connect the laptop to a set of external surround speakers. For enjoying music or movies by yourself, headphones are still a must-have accessory.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The Inspiron 15 keyboard is very comfortable to type on, offering excellent support and a very good layout. The keys are of normal size with a light matte finish for excellent traction. Spacing is spot on compared to my ThinkPad keyboard, so no adjusting was necessary. Support underneath the keyboard is excellent, with no flex anywhere, even under very strong pressure. Individual key action is smooth with a very quiet "click" emitted when a key is fully pressed. It might not be the quietest keyboard I have used, but it still ranks up there. The function key layout is interesting compared to other notebook models, with use of the function keys backwards. Normally to adjust the brightness or volume, or toggle the WiFi settings you press the FN-key, then the appropriate function key. Dell went with a setup where the secondary command is now primary. To put it another way, if you want to hit F5 to refresh a webpage, you now need to press FN+ the brightness up key. For normal uses this might be more intuitive, but for advanced users who love using commands like window close, page refresh, full screen, and other function key commands, it is more confusing and complex.

The touchpad is a large Dell-specific model, with a nicely textured matte finish that gives excellent traction. Speed and accuracy were pretty good, with barely any lag noticed in our tests. We did encounter one situation where a quick tap and select movement wouldn't release the selection box, but that situation didn't come up frequently. The touchpad might not have been as nice to use as a Synaptics model, but for the notebook's intended market it should be fine. The touchpad buttons were a big surprise to see on a budget model. They provide excellent feedback and have a deep throw, instead of standard "clicky" touchpad buttons.

Ports and Features
Port selection on the Dell Inspiron 15 is lacking compared to notebooks of the same size, including only three USB ports, VGA, LAN, and an ExpressCard/34 slot. HDMI would have been greatly appreciated, since it would allow a user to hook the notebook up to a home theater to play movies, whereas now you would need to have a TV that supports VGA in, and still be limited to analog audio out. For quickly copying images off a memory card, there is a spring loaded SDHC-compatible memory slot on the front of the notebook. eSATA would have been another nice touch, but it is hard enough to find it on some high-end notebooks.

Front: Audio jacks, SDHC-card slot

Rear: Battery, CPU exhaust vent

Left: Kensington Lock slot, 2 USB, VGA, LAN

Right: ExpressCard/34, optical drive, 1 USB

Performance and Benchmarks
System performance was below average when compared to other consumer notebooks, but that was heaviliy dependant on the low-end T4200 Intel Dual-Core Pentium our configuration included. While it might not be able to play the latest games, users will not have any problems typing documents, watching HD movies, ripping music through iTunes, or editing photos. Boot times were still quick, only taking about 35 seconds to get to a ready desktop screen from a full shutdown. The included 320GB hard drive offered plenty of storage space for movies, music, and photos, and even though it is only 5400RPM, it is still quick for daily use. Overall this system falls toward the bottom of our list in terms of performance, but if you were to upgrade the processor, speeds across the board would get a nice boost.

wPrime processor comparison results (lower scores mean better performance):

PCMark05 measures overall system performance (higher scores mean better performance):

3DMark06 measures video and gaming performance (higher scores mean better performance):

All of the 3DMark06 scores for all of the systems listed above were run at 1280 x 800 (for screens with a 16:10 ratio) or 1280 x 768 resolution (for screens with 16:9).

HDTune storage drive performance results:

Heat and Noise
System temperatures stayed well within our "lap-friendly" range, with only one hot spot being the touchpad. On battery power with nothing significant running in the background the system barely climbed above room temp. Noise levels remained low during our tests, with only a few blips of higher fan speeds, before the fan resumed its silent/off fan state. After the notebook had been running for the good part of a day plugged in and being stressed moments earlier, the system still showed no signs of running abnormally hot in our temperature readings shown below in degrees Fahrenheit.

Battery
Battery life was below average compared to other notebooks, and we had expected slightly better results from the 48Wh battery Dell included with it. In our tests with screen brightness set to 70%, wireless active, and Vista set to the Balanced profile the Inspiron stayed on for 2 hours and 38 minutes. Power consumption varied between 12 and 16 watts during our battery test. A more efficient processor and power management system could have yielded much better results. To put this in perspective, the ThinkPad T400 with an Intel Core 2 Duo T9600 processor and X4500 graphics consumed as little as 8.5 watts of power.

Conclusion
The Dell Inspiron 15 is a decent mid-size budget notebook with good looks and average build quality. The keyboard is very comfortable to type on with excellent support, but has a weird function key layout that may annoy more advanced users. The touchpad offers an excellent surface texture with buttons that have great feedback and throw distance. Basic configurations start as low as $379, making it a reasonable choice if you are working on a budget. Overall it might not be the best notebook on the market, but it still offers great value and a reasonably attractive design.

Pros:

• Good looks
• Easy to upgrade all components
• Good cooling system
• Great touchpad buttons

Cons:

• Screen lid doesn't stay closed with the notebook held vertically
• Battery life could be better

by Jerry Jackson

The idea of a compact convertible notebook tablet might not be anything new, but ASUS found a way to create a mini tablet that sells for just $500. Since similar tablets cost at least twice the price, what makes the new ASUS Eee PC T91 so special? I spent a week putting the T91 through its paces and what I discovered was a convenient little companion PC that might actually be more impressive than the specs suggest. Let's take a closer look.

ASUS Eee PC T91 Specifications:

• Windows XP Home
• 8.9" LED-backlit display with resistive touch panel
• CPU Intel Atom Z520 (1.33GHz, 533MHz FSB)
• Intel US15W chipset
• Graphics: Intel GMA 950
• LAN onboard 10/100 Mbps Ethernet controller
• Wireless: 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth V2.1
• Memory 1GB (DDR2 533MHz)
• Storage Total 52GB (16GB Solid State Drive + 16GB SD Card + 20GB Eee Storage)
• Webcam: 0.3 Megapixel (VGA)
• Media Readers: 3-in-1 MMC, SD, SDHC flash card slot and SD card expansion slot
• Dimensions 225mm (W) x 164mm (D) x 25.2 ~ 28.4mm (H)
• Weight 2lbs (0.96kg)
• Battery: Integrated Lithium Polymer (estimated 5 hours battery life)
• Warranty: 1-year
• MSRP: $499.99 USD

Observant readers will probably notice I did not mention three features that ASUS mentioned when the T91 was announced at Computex: optional GPS, TV Tuner, and 3G (HSUPA). That's because this release of the T91 doesn't include any of those features. That said, knowing ASUS' track record with Eee PC releases, I wouldn't be surprised if ASUS releases another version of the Eee PC Touch that has additional features at a later date.

Build and Design
The Eee PC T91 is the first touchscreen netbook from the company that created the netbook category of laptops. It's too early to tell whether consumers will go crazy for the T91 the same way they have for all the other Eee PCs, but it's safe to say this mini tablet is quite unique. The Eee PC T91 features a thin and light chassis design weighing in at just two pounds and measuring no more than one inch thick. The integrated lithium polymer battery certainly helps keep thickness to a minimum, but the lack of an extended life battery option may bother some shoppers (more on that later).

Our review unit of the T91 features an all-black exterior, but ASUS also offers the T91 in white as well. Build quality is quite good despite the mostly plastic construction. The glossy black plastics suffer from minimal flex, the keyboard is very firm, and the screen hinge provides excellent tension. The swivel hinge was one of the first things I wanted to examine when our review unit arrived because budget tablets usually suffer from weak hinges that are loose and don't keep the screen firmly in place. Thankfully, ASUS did a fantastic job with the hinge on the T91. Just swivel the LCD around and fold it down and you've got a compact touchscreen computer and electronic notepad.

The bottom of the netbook chassis shows a simple RAM access cover. If you want to upgrade the RAM in your T91 all you have to do is remove two screws on the access panel on the bottom of the netbook. I would have also liked to see an easy-access panel for the SSD, but since the T91 includes a second SD card slot just for storage expansion I suppose I can live without easy access to the internal SSD.

ASUS was also kind enough to include a soft slipcase to keep the glossy T91 looking like new when you toss it inside your backpack, briefcase, or purse. The sleeve doesn't offer much in the way of padding but it should protect the T91 from damage from loose change or car keys.

Screen and Speakers
The new Eee PC T91 uses a nice and bright 8.9-inch LED-backlit display panel with a 1024x600 native resolution. The glossy screen offers good color and contrast, but glare and reflections indoors under strong lights or outdoors under direct sunlight can be a problem. The touchscreen accuracy seems good, though our review unit required recalibration after it arrived since the touchscreen was showing activity about a half inch to the right of where we touched the screen. After calibration everything worked fine.

The only issue I had with the 8.9-inch screen is that the small size makes if difficult to use your finger to highlight text or perform other precise tasks. Vertical viewing angles are average, with obvious color inversion when viewing from below and some over-exposed colors when viewed from above. Horizontal viewing angles are less than impressive with colors starting to shift at wide viewing angles (possibly a result of the touchscreen layer).

The built-in speaker performance on the Eee PC T91 is pretty good for a 8.9-inch tablet netbook. I'm not a fan of the location of the built-in speakers since they're located on the bottom of the chassis, but the audio quality is fine for netbook speakers. The speakers produce good volume (enough to fill a small room) and there is minimal distortion until you get to higher volume levels. The speakers lack any real bass, but the range of highs and midtones are fine. That being said, the audio output from the headphone jack is probably the best solution when paired with earphones or a good set of external speakers.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The T91 uses a new keyboard that feels akin to the first-generation Eee PC keyboards with slightly larger keys. Granted, ASUS wasn't able to use a larger keyboard since the T91 uses a smaller 8.9-inch display, but I personally prefer the "chicklet" style keyboard used on the ASUS Eee PC 1000HE since there is more space between the keys to prevent me from accidentally hitting the wrong key. If you just need to hammer out a quick email the keyboard on this netbook is perfectly usable ... just don't plan to make this your primary PC.

The Synaptics touchpad used on the T91 is surprisingly large considering the 8.9-inch form factor of this netbook. The touchpad surface is covered in a simulated brushed metal finish that provides smooth movement and good sensitivity. The left and right touchpad buttons are located beneath the touchpad under a single rocker-style button. Unfortunately, with no separation between the left and right side it's easy to accidentally press the middle of the touchpad button when you're trying to press the left or right side. The touchpad buttons have extremely shallow feedback with sharp yet quiet clicks.

Tablet Features
The T91 quickly converts into tablet mode with a twist of the screen and a press of the dedicated screen rotate button. The included pen stylus isn't very large and actually collapses to half its size for east storage inside the pen silo at the front of the T91. The biggest problem I have with this pen (other than the small size) is the fact that it often collapses to the smaller size when you're using it to write notes.

The Eee PC T91 uses a resistive touchscreen rather than an active digitizer, so don't expect advanced WACOM pen features in this $500 tablet. You can touch the screen directly rather than use a mouse or take notes on the screen with the included pen. However, because of the small screen it's easy to accidentally trigger the wrong icon on the screen when using your finger.

The T91 also features a revised version of the ASUS "Eee Docking software" located on the Windows desktop. In much the same way that the Apple OS X dock or ObjectDock from Stardock software allow you to use quick shortcuts to utilities and applications, the Eee Docking software provides an easy way to locate utilities, software and digital content. It consists of the following: Eee Vibe (music/media application and Eee download website), Sharing (Data sync, messenger, and Eee Storage), Xperience (Voice Command) and Tools (Parental Control, Font resizer, and Settings), and all of these suites are easily accessed as the software “docks” to the top of the screen and is semi-hidden when not in use. The new addition to the dock is the icon for the ASUS "Touch Gate" interface

Touch Gate is an alternative desktop environment to Windows XP ... essentially a new, simplified touch interface that sits on top of Windows XP. From the Touch Gate screen you can press large customizable icons to activate applications, access files, or manage settings like wireless access or volume. Adding new shortcut icons (limited to no more than five at one time) to the Touch Gate interface is as simple as drag and drop. Touch Gate also offers "Widgets" similar to the sidebar widgets in Windows Vista -- a nice feature if you want to constantly monitor stocks or multiple clocks for different time zones. Unfortunately, like Windows Vista, the more widgets you have running at the same time the more it negatively impacts system performance.

Touch Gate also includes simple notepad and memo applications in case you need to scribble a few quick notes during the day.

Input and Output Ports
The Eee PC T91 does an okay job with ports, but I would have liked to see at least one more USB port. The T91 only gives you two USB 2.0 ports compared to most netbooks that offer three. Even the original 7-inch ASUS Eee PC 4G (701) included three ports, so I hope ASUS adds at least one more to the next model. As if to make up for the lack of USB ports, the T91 includes two media card readers: one for storage expansion and the other for reading the memory card from your digital camera. The T91 also includes the standard headphone and microphone jacks, Ethernet port, and a standard VGA out port.

Here is a quick tour around the Eee PC T91:

Front view: Media card reader (left) and pen stylus silo (right corner).

Rear view: Security lock slot and VGA out.

Left side view: Power jack, USB 2.0 port, and media card reader storage expansion slot.

Right side view: Pen stylus silo, headphone jack, microphone jack, USB 2.0 port, and Ethernet.

Performance and Benchmarks
This is the section that I hate the most whenever I write a netbook review. There isn't much to say about performance benchmarks in a netbook review because most netbook have virtually identical specs (thanks in large part to the limitations Microsoft enforces for Windows XP licenses). All Intel Atom-based netbooks have nearly identical performance in terms of actual real-world use. Overall performance with the Intel Atom platform is very reasonable for daily activities like Web browsing, email, using Microsoft Office, listening to music, and watching DVD-quality movies. If you're in a bind you can even use photo editing software like Photoshop or GIMP for basic image editing.

In order to keep heat under control the T91 uses the Intel Z520 processor with a slower clock speed of just 1.33GHz compared to 1.60GHz or even 1.66GHz used in most other netbooks. Still, despite the lower clock speed the real world performance of the T91 is on par with other Atom-based netbooks.

The use of Intel GMA 950 integrated graphics continues to be a mixed blessing for netbooks. This integrated graphics processor (IGP) is powerful enough to handle displaying a PowerPoint presentation on a projector or watching DVD quality movies, but if 720p and 1080p video playback is your primary concern then you'll want to look elsewhere. We selected a family-friendly movie trailer and downloaded three different versions in 480p, 720p, and 1080p resolutions. We used the CCCP Codec Pack for decoding and Media Player Classic Homecinema (version 1.1.796.0) for playing all of the video files.

Video Playback Performance:

wPrime processor comparison results (lower scores mean better performance):

PCMark05 measures overall system performance (higher scores mean better performance):

HDTune for the internal SSD:

Heat and Noise
Temperatures on the new Eee PC T91 are in line with what we've come to expect from netbooks with Intel Atom processors. Temperature readings taken from the outside of the plastic chassis remained mostly "lap friendly" during normal use with only one particularly hot spot around the RAM.

Below are images indicating the temperature readings (listed in degrees Fahrenheit) taken inside our office where the ambient temperature was 74 degrees Fahrenheit.

Battery
Battery life with the integrated 3-cell lithium-polymer battery is reasonably impressive for a compact travel tablet. In our test with the screen brightness set to 70%, wireless active, and XP set to the laptop/portable power profile the system stayed on for 4 hours and 31 minutes of constant use. Although it's frustrating that you cannot replace the battery or use an extended life battery, the fact that the Eee PC T91 delivers more than 4 hours of battery life with constant use is pretty impressive.

Conclusion
The new ASUS Eee PC T91 deserves serious praise for being the first budget-priced tablet netbook on the market. The closest direct competition to the T91 is the Fujitsu U820, but with the Fujitsu retailing for more than $1,000 the Eee PC T91 essentially stands alone in the marketplace at half the price.

The hardware specs might not seem too impressive at first glance, but if you're in the market for a low-cost tablet this is indeed your only real option priced below $700 without rebates or coupons.

What really makes the Eee PC T91 so compelling is the new Touch Gate interface that ASUS developed exclusively for the Eee PC Touch series of netbooks. Sure, it might just be an attractive, touch-friendly skin over Windows XP, but it's also one of the most consumer-friendly touchscreen interfaces I've seen on a tablet PC ... and it's a great way to show new owners what makes a touchscreen computer so unique.

Is the Eee PC T91 a better choice than lower-priced netbooks with bigger screens and better specs? Possibly. Is it a good tablet to buy if you just want a cheap secondary computer to carry with you for taking notes, staying connected, or sharing video, photos, and music? Absolutely.

Pros:

• Low-priced tablet
• Nice build quality
• Good battery life
• Slick touchscreen interface

Cons:

• Small screen
• Integrated battery
• Weak stylus/pen

by Kevin O'Brien

The IdeaPad S10-2 is the latest generation 10" netbook from Lenovo, offering the 1.6GHz N270 Intel Atom processor and a 6-cell extended battery. Lenovo redesigned this netbook to make it look slimmer and more attractive than its predecessor, giving the edges a rounded look and a more modern appearance. In our review we see how well the IdeaPad S10-2 performs in our tests, to help you make an informed buying decision.

Our Lenovo IdeaPad S10-2 Configuration:

• 1.6GHz N270 Intel Atom Processor
• 1GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz
• Windows XP Home Edition (SP3)
• 10.1" WSVGA Glossy LED-backlit display with integrated camera 1024x600
• 160GB 5400rpm Western Digital Scorpio Blue hard drive
• Intel GMA 950 Integrated Graphics
• Broadcom 11b/g Wi-Fi wireless
• 4-in-1 Media card
• 6-Cell Li-ion 10.8v 4.06Ah 44Wh battery
• 40W AC Adapter
• Size: 10.2" x 7.6" x 0.7-1.8" (including battery)
• Weight: 2lbs 11oz, 3lbs 5.4oz travel weight
• Starting price: $439 (Currently on sale for $349 at the time of this review)

Build and Design
The second generation Lenovo S10 looks great, with a cleaner and smoother appearance all around. In the redesign, the sides changed from flat surfaces that looked stuck onto the chassis, to a rounder and smoother form that looks integrated into the netbook. As a result, the new S10 is thinner in most dimensions, with varying heights depending on the inner structure of the notebook. The all-black model which we were lucky enough to get looks great, with every bezel matte black, except the screen lid which has a glossy black finish with a faint metallic weave pattern. Contrasting the black surfaces the Lenovo logo, power button, and touchpad buttons are all silver. This theme continues to the bottom of the S10-2, which if some of the stickers were removed would share the same clean look. My only complaint is Lenovo stuck with the large Windows COA sticker, instead of the new netbook-sized stickers that can be hidden underneath the battery or someplace out of sight.

Lenovo went with an extended battery that significantly improves runtime over the smaller flush-mount one. The downside to this is it sticks out the back, and raises the netbook up off a surface about 0.75". Some could argue that it moves the keyboard into a more comfortable typing position, or it works great as an extra handle. I would personally like one that just sticks straight out the back, making aftermarket carrying cases much easier to choose.

Build quality is very good, with firm plastic used throughout the chassis and very little obvious flex or squeaking when you are carrying the netbook around. The screen hinges feel solid, needing two hands to easily open up the display. The matte plastic finish on the inside and bottom of the notebook stayed scratch free throughout the review. Likewise, the glossy finish held up surprisingly well; it did, however, give us a few scares, making us think we created huge scratches... which turned out to be smudges. Even if you did scratch this model, the black finish hides most blemishes (including smudges and dust).

From an upgrade standpoint Lenovo really wins our hearts with its user-friendly design that puts every swappable component behind one of two removable panels. Under the main panel, we have access to the hard drive, wireless card, and spare mini-PCIe slot with the connector included (some don't solder this in place so they can save money). The other slot is for the system memory, which is expandable to 2GB total. The only thing that could have made this better is if they went with the HP Mini approach, which doesn't even need a screwdriver to open the RAM cover.

Screen and Speakers
The glossy panel on the Lenovo S10-2 is average compared to other netbooks, with bright and vibrant colors, but somewhat limited viewing angles. The glossy screen really does an awesome job at making colors pop, and also helps reproduce deep blacks as well - handy for watching Sci-Fi flicks. The downside to this and any other glossy screen, though, is added reflection, making screen visibility poor when outdoors or under a bright light.
Viewing angles seemed average, with colors starting to shift if the screen was titled about 20 degrees forward or back. Horizontal viewing angles just showed a slight hint of color shift, but nothing that would really bother you if you were sharing the screen with someone sitting next to you. Backlight brightness was perfect for viewing in bright office conditions, but might not have been strong enough to use outside. I spent a couple of hours out in my garage with bright shop lights on around it, and my motorcycle schematics were still fully visible from a few feet away. One possibly limiting factor of the screen design which might affect a few people is the limited hinge range, which prevents the screen from tilting completely flat. It stops the screen about 45 degrees back from vertical.

The speakers on the S10-2 are lap-firing, facing down underneath the palmrest. If you are listening to the speakers on a flat desk surface you can hear the full (albeit limited) range of the speakers, but if the notebook is sitting on a soft surface like your bed or lap, they get quite muffled. Music from the speakers sounds clear and crisp with excellent higher frequency reproduction, but falls flat with midrange and low-frequency support. For VOIP, streaming music, or YouTube they will probably work fine, but headphones would be the best option if you plan on watching a movie or are doing something that requires you to pay attention to all the little nuances of the audio source.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The keyboard on the S10-2 is a bit small compared to some netbooks, sticking with a condensed layout (instead of cramming in as much keyboard space as possible like what we see on the HP netbooks). This in itself isn't a bad thing, since you get used to it after a while, but coming from full-size notebook and larger netbook keyboards can be challenging. Keyboard support is excellent, exhbiting no flex or trampoline affect when typing. Individual keys feel sturdy with no wobble when sliding your fingertips across the surface, and key action is smooth with a very mild "click" given off when you trigger a key.

The touchpad is a Synaptics model with limited multi-touch support. The only multi-finger control you get in the control panel is "pinch", to zoom in on the cursor area. Just the same, sensitivity and speed were excellent, with no lag present in our testing. The size of the touchpad could be slightly larger or wider, to give a more defined scroll region. The surface texture is a smooth, almost gloss finish, which has decent traction but still lets a sweaty finger glide across the surface without sticking.

The touchpad buttons are easy to trigger, with only a light touch needed to activate them. Feedback is minimal with a very short throw. They both give off a mild click when pressed.

Ports and Features
Port selection is average compared to other netbooks, with three USB ports, audio jacks, LAN, VGA, and a Kensington Lock slot. Lenovo also includes a wireless on/off switch, SDHC multi-card slot, and an open internal mini-PCIe slot (probably for WWAN). One feature missing from the previous generation model is the ExpressCard/34 slot, but its uses are fairly limited for what netbook users might need.

Front: Activity lights, SDHC slot

Rear: Battery

Left: LAN, VGA, 1 USB, Mic/Headphone

Right: Wireless On/Off, 2 USB, Kensington Lock slot, AC power

Performance and Benchmarks
System performance seemed on par with many of the newer netbook models hitting the market. Boot and shutdown times were excellent, quickly coming up to a fully ready state without much waiting. For normal tasks such as web browsing, typing documents, playing music, or even watching video the IdeaPad S10-2 performed flawlessly.

Normally, users buying a netbook (outside of the ASUS N10 with dedicated graphics) understand that gaming just isn't going to be realistic. For this reason we find 3D benchmarks, which normally register very slow performance, to not be as relevant for these systems. Thus, we are shifting toward HD movie tests for netbooks, which are more in the realm of what a netbook can handle on the high end in terms of performance. In our HD video test the S10-2 played up to 480p and 720p video without much trouble. 720p video was starting to task the processor leaving little overhead, but it was very watchable. However, 1080p video was badly out of sync and painful to view.

wPrime processor comparison results (lower scores mean better performance):

PCMark05 measures overall system performance (higher scores mean better performance):

In our ongoing quest to provide helpful information to our readers we are adding the following video playback table to our reviews of netbooks. Since netbooks are starting to be used for mobile entertainment (watching movie trailers or streaming video) it's important to know how a netbook performs when trying to play a simple video file. We selected a family-friendly movie trailer and downloaded three different versions in 480p, 720p, and 1080p resolutions. We used the CCCP Codec Pack for decoding and Media Player Classic Homecinema (version 1.1.796.0) for playing all of the video files.

Video Playback Performance:

HDTune for the built-in hard drive:

Heat and Noise
While performing normal activities (browsing the web, playing MP3s, typing documents, etc.) the Lenovo IdeaPad S10-2 ran fairly cool and quiet. The fan remained off during this time, which included the majority of our battery test. Under more stressful activity, like running benchmarks, watching HD video, or playing Peggle, the fan came on occasionally, but was quiet enough to not be a nuisance. On the top surface of the notebook, the only part that stuck out as warm to the touch was the touchpad, while on the bottom the heat was centralized around the RAM. If you are sensitive to heat or noise the S10-2 seems to be a pretty acceptable choice.

Battery Life
Battery life was excellent, but at the downside of having a gigantic battery sticking out and down from the back of the netbook. With the screen brightness set to 70%, wireless active, and Windows XP set to the laptop/portable power setting the notebook managed 7 hours and 15 minutes with light web browsing. During the test power consumption fluctuated between 6 and 7.5 watts.

Conclusion
The Lenovo IdeaPad S10-2 performed quite well in our tests, showing consistently better results that the previous model. The design looks much cleaner than before, and with the black color scheme, at least, the netbook is visually excellent. Battery life was improved, no doubt due to the large extended battery that sticks out behind and below, giving us over 7 hours in out battery test. The S10-2 handled 480p and 720p video without too many problems, but 1080p video was too much to ask for from the Intel Atom N270 and GMA950 chipset. Overall, the IdeaPad's price is very attractive, with a $439 MSRP - lower than previous models, and sale prices put it as low as $349. Our only big complaint is the rather cramped keyboard, but if you don't mind typing on the smaller keys the keyboard feels very well built and easy to type on.

Pros

• Good looks and excellent build quality
• Great battery life
• Good performance
• Easy to upgrade

Cons

• Keyboard feels cramped
• Extended battery doubles the thickness in the rear

by Jerry Jackson

The HP ProBook 4710s is a low-priced 17-inch business notebook designed to provide businesses with a good desktop replacement notebook without breaking the bank. If your company wants the HP Elitebook 8730w but has a tight budget, the ProBook 4710s might be a good alternative at a starting price of just $899. Is this budget-priced notebook as good as it sounds? Keep reading to find out.

Our pre-production review unit of the ProBook 4710s is configured as follows:

• Intel Core 2 Duo P8700 2.53GHz Processor (3MB L2 cache, 1066MHz FSB)
• Microsoft Genuine Windows Vista Business (32-bit)
• 17.3-inch LED-backlit anti-glare HD+ display (1600 x 900)
• ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 512MB
• 4GB DDR2 800MHz RAM
• 320GB 5400RPM HDD
• LightScribe DVD+/-RW Optical Drive
• Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/draft-n), Ethernet, Modem, Bluetooth 2.0
• 8-Cell 63WHr Battery
• Limited 1-year standard parts and labor warranty
• Dimensions: 1.26" x 16.17" x 10.63"
• Weight: 6.8lbs
• Price as configured: $1,099

Build and Design
The HP ProBook 4710s, like the rest of the new HP ProBook family, is a low-cost business notebook designed specifically for small and medium businesses. Translation: this desktop replacement notebook needs to have a good balance of performance, security, reliability and extras all at an affordable price. Most notebooks designed for small and medium business tend to sacrifice build quality in order to help lower the cost of production and lower the cost to customers. On that note, the ProBook 4710s looks very similar to a HP EliteBook 8730w with all plastic construction, a new keyboard and all black finish.

The HP EliteBook line uses strong magnesium alloy chassis designs and premium internal components. In order to lower the cost and weight of the 17-inch ProBook 4710s, HP constructed this notebook mostly of plastic. The base of the laptop flexes heavily under pressure, the palmrests likewise bow when pressed firmly, and the back of the screen lid is similarly prone to flex. The plastics used in the 4710s will surely survive the typical use and abuse seen by most office desktop replacements, but the chassis might not survive multiple drops off a desk or the kind of abuse we expect the EliteBook series to handle with ease. The key point to remember in this section is that the ProBook 4710s looks pretty nice, but isn't designed to be a rugged mobile workhorse. Thankfully, HP still offers some good internal components to help make the ProBook 4710s a solid value.

The outer shell of the screen casing, like the rest of the notebook, is made of plastic. The lid is made of reflective, glossy plastic with the HP and ProBook logos printed in silver. The laptop screen housing is a mixture of firm and flexible materials. The frame around the screen is solid enough to prevent me from twisting the screen when force is applied, but the back of the lid is flexible enough that I was able to create ripples on the screen when I pressed on the back of the screen lid.

The simple black design of the ProBook series combines matte and glossy textures for a clean appearance without the personalized style of HP's consumer-oriented Pavilion line. Our review unit comes equipped with the "Noir" black finish but the smaller ProBook notebooks are also offered in a "Merlot" red color ... just in case black is too boring for your office.

Although it's fair to criticize the plastic construction, the 4710s still features hard drive shock protection in the form of HP 3D DriveGuard which will help to protect your hard drive in the event the laptop gets dropped or violently bumped. HP also includes HP ProtectTools with drive encryption, Device Access Manager, HP Spare Key (a program that helps employees access their computer in case they forget their password), HP Disk Sanitizer, File Sanitizer, and McAfee Security Solution for those small businesses that need reliability and ease of use but don't have the resources of a dedicated IT department.

However, I still have a hard time understanding why HP makes it so difficult to upgrade to the ProBook 4710s. Most notebooks have a removable panel (or panels) on the bottom of the notebook to access the RAM, hard drive, and wireless card. Not so with the ProBook 4710s. HP designed the ProBook series with a solid base so that you have to remove 10 screws and the entire top half of the chassis (including separate speaker grill, keyboard, and touchpad area) in order to replace or upgrade components. If you or your small IT department want to upgrade the RAM or replace a hard drive you've got to completely disassemble and reassemble the notebook to do it. Granted, many businesses will never upgrade their notebook and will simply use the stock configuration until the notebook is are replaced ... but the complexity of upgrades and repairs is something to keep in mind.

Screen and Speakers
The ProBook 4710s comes equipped with a 17.3" anti-glare display with a 16:9 widescreen ratio. At 1600 x 900 pixels, this high-definition display looks very nice with excellent details, good color and great contrast. We know many people are still concerned about the transition from 16:10 to 16:9 ratio screens (because this often means less vertical resolution) but since most 17-inch notebooks in this price range had WXGA+ screens (1440 x 900 pixels) the screen on the ProBook 4710s actually gives you more screen real estate ... not less.

Horizontal viewing angles are quite good and you only start to notice some color shift after you exceed 75 degrees off center. Vertical viewing angles are only average as the screen begins to wash out from above and colors begin to invert from below after about 45 degrees in either direction.

The speakers on the ProBook 4710s, like the speakers on the smaller 4510s, fail to impress. HP generally scores well with our editorial staff based on the quality of the speakers used in their notebooks. Unfortunately, while the audio quality from the 4710s is good enough for watching a webcast or hearing system sounds, the built-in speakers lack a full range of highs, middles, and lows. The highest volume settings are loud enough to fill an office with sound for a presentation, but audio begins to sound distorted at higher volume levels.

Despite the weak performance of the built-in speakers, they are well placed above the keyboard to direct sound up and toward the user.

The headphone jack on the 4710s works well with the three different brands of earphones I used during the test. No static or other noise was noticed through the jack besides imperfections in the audio source itself.

by Jerry Jackson

Acer managed to strike gold in the middle of a global economic crisis thanks to their affordable Acer Aspire One netbooks. These low-cost, ultraportable laptops have quickly become popular travel companions for people who don't want to haul a heavy notebook to Starbucks. The latest 10-inch Acer Aspire One, the D250 series, offers a great balance of features at a starting price of less than $300. Read on to find out more about the Acer Aspire One D250-1165.

Our Acer Aspire One D250-1165 features the following specifications:

• Operating System: Genuine Windows XP
• Processor: Intel Atom N270 Processor 1.60GHz
• Memory: 1GB DDR2 SDRAM (533MHz)
• Internal Storage: 160GB 5400 rpm SATA HDD
• Display: 10.1-inch diagonal WSVGA+ (1024x600)
• Graphics: Intel GMA 950
• Wireless: 54g Wi-Fi (802.11b/g)
• Expansion: 5-in-1 media card slot
• Ports and connectors: (3) USB 2.0 ports, VGA OUT, power connector, RJ-45/Ethernet (10/100), stereo headphone/line out, stereo microphone in, 0.3 megapixel (VGA) webcam
• Dimensions (H x W x D): 1 x 10.2 x 7.2 inches (including feet)
• Weight: 2.4 lbs (not including weight of AC adapter).
• Power: 3-cell Lithium-Ion battery (2200mAh, 25Wh)
• Warranty: One-year standard warranty
• MSRP: $329.99 ($299.95 Retail Price)
  

Build and Design
The Acer Aspire One D250-1165 is a low-cost version of the new D250 series netbooks and features a smaller battery and no Bluetooth in order to drop the retail price below $300. One very interesting item of note is that the D250 is actually slightly thinner than the original Acer Aspire One 150 series which used a smaller 8.9-inch screen. Like the original Aspire One, the D250 uses glossy plastics on the top of the screen cover as well as around the entire LCD. At times the reflective boarder does get on your nerves if you are in a brightly lit room with many sources of glare.

Build quality looks quite good and the construction feels strong enough to handle being tossed around inside a book bag without much concern for its safety (well apart from possible scratches to the glossy surfaces). We detected some flexing in the LCD lid plastics and bottom of the chassis when we squeezed the D250 while holding it folded in half, but overall this is a solid little netbook.

One nice design feature in the D250 is easy access for upgrades. Compared to the original Acer Aspire One, the D250 is extremely easy to upgrade. Flip the netbook over and you'll find three access panels for the hard drive, RAM, and the mini-PCIe card slot. The mini-PCIe card slot is obviously open for built-in broadband wireless access, so you should be able to buy this netbook directly from wireless carriers depending on the carriers and data plans in your area.

Screen and Speakers
The new Aspire One uses a fairly standard LED-backlit display panel with a 1024x600 native resolution. The glossy screen looks identical to what we're seeing in most netbooks: the glossy screen offers good color and contrast, but glare and reflections indoors under strong lights or outdoors under direct sunlight can be a problem. Again, although the 1024x600 resolution is pretty standard for a netbook these days, I'd much rather see a 1366x768 screen in the next Aspire One. Vertical viewing angles are average, with some strong color inversion when viewing from below and some over-exposed colors when viewed from above. Horizontal viewing angles are better with colors staying accurate at extremely wide viewing angles.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The Aspire One D250 uses a surprisingly cramped keyboard that is virtually identical to the keyboard used on the original Aspire One 150 series. Considering that the original Aspire One was a smaller netbook with a 8.9-inch screen it's rather disappointing that Acer didn't use a larger keyboard. Despite the small key size, the typing surface feels strong with no keyboard flex and individual keys feel strong with no wobble. One aspect that I really enjoy about the keyboard layout is the dedicated page up and page down buttons.

Still, the cramped keyboard will cause problems for more than a few owners. Since the keys are small and unusually close together you have to look at the keys when typing rather than using touch typing methods. Here's a quick example of what I can type when looking at the keys:

"This is what it's like to type a document on the Acer Aspire One keyboard if you are looking at the keys."

Here's a quick example of what I can type using the traditional touch typing method:

"This is ehat it's like to type a document on the Acer Aspore One keyboard ig you are looking st the screen."

The Synaptics touchpad used on the D250 is a little small considering that most 10-inch netbooks are getting larger touchpads these days. The touchpad is gesture-enabled and this allows you to use multi-finger gestures such as "pinching" your fingers together or "pulling" your fingers apart to zoom in or out. You can also use a spiral motion to activate the "chiral scroll" feature. The Synaptics control panel in Windows also allows you to customize these gestures as well. The touchpad surface provides smooth, fluid movement but the small size takes some getting used to. The left and right touchpad buttons are located beneath a single rocker-style button, but with no separation between the left and right side it's easy to accidentally press the middle of the touchpad button when you're trying to press the left or right side. The touchpad buttons have extremely shallow feedback, so it isn't always easy to feel when you have or have not pressed a button.

The D250 also includes a dedicated wireless on/off switch on the front of the notebook--something that's nice to have when traveling and isn't available on many netbooks from other manufacturers.

Input and Output Ports
The Aspire One D250 provides a good selection of ports despite the thin profile of the chassis. You get three USB 2.0 ports, a 5-in-1 media card reader, headphone and microphone jacks, Ethernet port, and a standard VGA out port. It's nice to see a standard set of ports considering that several other netbooks sacrifice ports in order to achieve a thin profile.

Here is a quick tour around the Acer Aspire One D250-1165:

Front view: Wi-Fi on/off switch.

Rear view: No ports here, just the hinges and battery.

Left side view: Ethernet, heat vent, VGA out, USB 2.0 port, microphone and headphone jacks.

Right side view: 5-in-1 card reader, two USB 2.0 ports, power jack and security lock slot.

Performance and Benchmarks
There isn't much to be said in the performance section of a netbook review. If you've read our reviews of other netbooks that use the Intel Atom processors then you know that all Atom-based netbooks have nearly identical performance in terms of actual real-world use. Overall performance with the Intel Atom platform is very reasonable for daily activities like Web browsing, email, using Microsoft Office, listening to music, and watching standard definition (480p) movies. If you're in a bind you can even use photo editing software like Photoshop or GIMP for basic image editing.

The weak performance of the Intel GMA 950 integrated graphics combined with the Intel Atom means this isn't going to be your next multimedia laptop. The integrated graphics processor (IGP) is powerful enough to handle displaying a PowerPoint presentation on a projector or watching DVD quality video, but a netbook with this hardware is really only intended to provide "good enough" performance for quick Web access while you're away from your primary PC.

wPrime processor comparison results (lower scores mean better performance):

PCMark05 measures overall system performance (higher scores mean better performance):

3DMark06 comparison results against netbooks @ 1024 x 768 resolution:

In our ongoing quest to provide helpful information to our readers we are adding the following video playback table to our reviews of netbooks. Since netbooks are starting to be used for mobile entertainment (watching movie trailers or streaming video) it's important to know how a netbook performs when trying to play a simple video file. We selected a family-friendly movie trailer and downloaded three different versions in 480p, 720p, and 1080p resolutions. We used the CCCP Codec Pack for decoding and Media Player Classic Homecinema (version 1.1.796.0) for playing all of the video files.

Video Playback Performance:

HDTune for the built-in hard drive:

Heat and Noise
Temperatures on the new Aspire One are in line with what we've come to expect from netbooks with Intel Atom processors. Temperature readings taken from the outside of the plastic chassis remained "lap friendly" during normal use. The only time that temperature readings spiked was when the CPU was being stressed with video playback.

Below are images indicating the temperature readings (listed in degrees Fahrenheit) taken inside our office where the ambient temperature was 74 degrees Fahrenheit.

Battery
Acer claims that the Acer Aspire One D250-1165 provides "up to 3 hours of battery life" from the 3-cell battery. Even if the D250 indeed lasted that long it would be relatively pathetic compared to the ASUS Eee PC 1005HA with a 6-cell battery that lasts more than 9 hours.

In our test with the screen brightness set to 70%, wireless active, and XP set to the laptop/portable power profile the system stayed on for 2 hours and 32 minutes of constant use. If we turned down the screen brightness to the lowest setting and disabled Wi-Fi then I'm reasonably sure the D250 could have lasted more than 3 hours. It's worth mentioning that the Aspire One D250 series is also available with a 6-cell battery, and that the 6-cell battery version should provide better battery life.

Conclusion
Although the Acer Aspire One D250-1165 offers a great value for less than $300, I can't help but feel a little less than impressed. Acer used a small keyboard, small touchpad, and worst of all a small battery on what is otherwise a fantastic netbook.

Considering how crowded the netbook market has become over the last year I really expected Acer to deliver more with their 10-inch netbook. Yes, it costs less than $300, but that price looks less impressive when other netbooks have better keyboards, better touchpads, and MUCH better battery life for less than $400.

As I've said before with netbooks, I'd like to see a higher resolution screen and better graphics solution, but when it comes to the Aspire One D250 I'd settle for a better keyboard, touchpad, and battery. Still, if you're looking for a low-cost laptop to take with you to the coffee shop then the Acer Aspire One D250-1165 might prove to be a very good choice.

Pros:

• Low Price
• Nice build quality
• Easy access for upgrades

Cons:

• Poor battery life
• Small keyboard
• Still uses weak integrated graphics
• Bad touchpad buttons

by Kevin O'Brien

The Dell Latitude E6400 XFR is a 14.1" rugged business notebook, based off the standard E6400 with a new chassis built around the same internal components to make it rugged and waterproof. The chassis offers completely dust and weatherproof access panels covering all external ports, rubber bumpers, and a built-in carrying handle for easy transport. One area that Dell stands hand and shoulders above other rugged notebook manufacturers is the inclusion of high-end components, including dedicated graphics, instead of taking a low-voltage and low-heat approach. In this review we put the Dell E6400 XFR through a battery of tests, to see how well it stands up against other fully-rugged notebooks.

Dell Latitude E6400 XFR Specifications:

• Windows Vista Business (64-bit)
• Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66GHz P9600 Processor (1066MHz FSB, 6MB Cache)
• 4GB 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM (maximum capacity 8GB)
• 128GB Samsung SSD
• 14.1" diagonal DirectVue sunlight-readable display (WXGA, matte)
• 256MB nVidia Quadro NVS 160M (256MB dedicated plus shared memory)
• 8x DVD (+/-R double layer) drive
• Dell Wireless WiFi 1510 (802.11a/g/n)
• Bluetooth 2.1
• Dimensions: (W x D x H) 13.9" x 10.1-11.5" x 2.2"
• Weight: 8lbs 15oz
• 90W 100-240V AC adapter
• 6-cell (56Wh) Lithium Ion battery
• Price as tested: $4,971 (starting price: $4,299)

Build and Design
If you could imagine a Dell Latitude with a huge shell of thick plastic and alloy bolted around it, that is the best way to describe the Dell E6400 XFR. Dell took the same hardware from the business line of notebooks and put it in a redesigned chassis to hold up to the rigors of heavy-duty usage. To the average person the Dell XFR might not look stylish or pretty, but that isn't the point of full-rugged notebooks. Outside of the color scheme the entire design is a matter of function over form. The body panels are molded with internal bracing for enhanced rigidity, the corners are covered with rubber to absorb energy from being dropped, and it even includes built-in handle for easy transport.

Build quality is above and beyond a standard Dell notebook thanks to very tough body panels and super strong screen hinges. To open the notebook you need to release a metal clip that holds the screen shut ... even if you accidentally drop the notebook down a flight of stairs the screen lid won't open. The rubber bumpers are securely attached to the chassis and there's no hint of them wanting to pull or peel off. The built-in handle is designed as part of the chassis and include durable collapsing hinges that let the handle fold in when it is not in use. The only part of the chassis that I think could have been improved is the air vent on the bottom of the XFR, which is made from thin plastic. It flexes more than we would like to see on any notebook, standard or rugged, creating a weak point in an otherwise fully-rugged design.

The Dell E6400 XFR is built to withstand adverse operating conditions, which may include getting caught in a rainstorm, dropped off the back of a truck, operating in a bumpy car, getting stuck at the North Pole, or even running in a desert. Drop conditions are tested from four feet onto a plywood covered surface, to simulate someone dropping it from about waist height. For extreme temperature tests the XFR is rated up to 145 degrees Fahrenheit, and as low as -20F while running, to simulate desert or winter conditions. In our review we tested the lower operating conditions in our kitchen freezer, weather test via water splashed at the XFR while running, and drop tests onto our office floor. In every test the XFR performed as expected, and kept running without problems.

Screen and Speakers
With many rugged notebooks spending a good portion of their time outdoors, the E6400 XFR offers a sunlight-readable WXGA panel with optional touch-sensitivity. To limit the amount of glare, the screen is a matte finish style, but has more "sparkle" than most matte displays. Colors and contrast are below average at higher brightness levels and the backlight bleeds through at higher levels. For many high-brightness LCD's this is very common, although the high-brightness T400 didn't suffer from this as much. The panel felt stronger than most notebooks thanks to a hard front surface, but still suffered from color distortion under mild pressure from touching the panel. In contrast, the Getac B300 rugged notebook offers an impact-proof panel, which can take a direct punch without showing any signs of color distortion. At the highest brightness setting the E6400 XFR screen was easily readable in full sunlight, with comfortable home viewing brightness somewhere between 30-40%. Viewing angles were above average, with a broad vertical viewing sweet spot before colors started to shift.

Speaker performance is average for a rugged notebook, where they work fine for streaming music or VOIP. Bass and midrange support is lacking, leaving only higher frequencies coming through. Overall volume is decent for a small room, but headphone would be a better option for privacy and higher audio quality.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The keyboard on the E6400 XFR is ruggedized as well, but has the look and feel of a standard notebook keyboard. It is comfortable to type on, with only a light touch needed to activate each key. The key surface is mildly cupped, which can help center your fingers if you are typing with gloves or very cold hands. For typing in dark conditions, the keyboard is fully backlit with white LED's showing through the bottom. The backlit appears to be non-adjustable, with settings only for off, on, and automatic. Noise while typing is minimal, with a muted click given off when a key is fully pressed.

The touchpad is recessed into the palmrest, allowing it to be fully weather-sealed against dust and water intrusion. The touchpad surface is very responsive and has minimal lag in our testing. The surface texture is a rough matte finish, providing enough traction for accurate movement but still easy enough to use if your fingers are wet. The touchpad buttons are covered in rubber cladding, allowing them to have a full range of movement, but remain sealed against the elements. Feedback is surprisingly good, with a long throw distance and a soft click when pressed. Pressure needed to activate the buttons is above average, but not too much to strain your fingers over time.

Ports and Features
All external ports and expansion slots are sealed from water and dust with solid hinged panels, with frequently used ports offering sliding access panels. In terms of ports the E6400 XFR is fully loaded with three USB, one eSATA/USB combo, LAN, DisplayPort, VGA, FireWire, audio jacks, and a legacy PCMCIA slot. Dell also includes a front-mounted SD-card slot with its own little access panel behind the carrying handle.

Front: Carrying handle, SD-card slot

Rear: Modem, LAN, battery, DisplayPort, AC Power

Left: VGA, USB, eSATA/USB Combo, QuadCool exhaust, SmartCard slot, hard drive

Right: PCMCIA slot, Firewire, SIM card slot, 2 USB, Audio In/Out, cable lock slot, WiFi catcher

Performance and Benchmarks
Compared to other rugged notebooks the Dell E6400 XFR is one of the fastest we have reviewed. While other rugged notebooks tend to go with low voltage processors and integrated graphics, Dell packed an Intel Core 2 Duo P9600 processor and NVIDIA Quadro NVS 160M dedicated graphics. This allows the E6400 XFR to perform at workstation levels, letting you run more intensive applications out in the middle of nowhere. The only big downside to this approach is less battery life and increased heat, but if you need the speed, you don't have any other choice. For day-to-day tasks the XFR is quite fast with the 128GB SSD, and with the dedicated graphics you can even lightly game if you are so inclined. If you want to serve up 720P or 1080P video in the middle of a forest, the E6400 XFR can easily cope with the load without any hint of lag. Bottom line is that the XFR is the fastest rugged notebook we have seen in our office.

wPrime processor comparison results (lower scores mean better performance):

PCMark05 measures overall system performance (higher scores mean better performance):

3DMark06 measures video and gaming performance (higher scores mean better performance):

*All 3DMark06 benchmark tests are set at 1280 x 800 screen resolution.

HDTune storage drive performance results:

Heat and Noise
With most rugged notebooks heat and noise is not much of a concern ... since they usually offer low voltage processors and integrated graphics. Our review Dell E6400 XFR review unit included an Intel 2.66GHz processor and dedicated NVIDIA graphics, which kept system temperatures high during the stressful periods of our tests. The cooling system is partially sealed on the XFR, whereas some rugged notebooks are completely passive-cooled. Dell mounts a heatsink and fan underneath the notebook in a sealed chamber exposed to the elements. This allows higher heat loads to be air cooled through a channel of heat pipes. The only problem we found with this is that under higher loads the fan noise was very loud--above most gaming notebooks. Under normal light usage fan noise was not a problem, only when the system was gaming or decoding multiple HD-videos did the fan become disruptive.

Battery Life
The Dell E6400 XFR offers a standard 6-cell battery, with an optional 12-cell slip-on all-day slice battery. In our tests with the E6400 XFR using the 6-cell battery, with Vista set to the "Balanced" power profile, screen brightness set to 40%, and wireless active the system stayed on for 3 hours and 44 minutes. Normally we test at a higher brightness, but with the high-brightness screen we tried to match standard notebooks in the overall brightness level. Compared to other rugged notebooks we have reviewed like the Getac B300 the results were less than impressive, but the Dell XFR includes much higher-end hardware that demands more power.

Conclusion
The Dell Latitude E6400 XFR is a well built, higher performing, fully rugged notebook. It is based off of the Latitude E6400, with a ruggedized chassis wrapped around it. While it is definitely more rugged than the standard E6400 or E6400 ATG, it may not be as durable as other fully rugged notebooks. Dell chose to use plastic cladding for most of the external panels while other manufacturers use stronger metal panels. The main area of concern with this approach is the cooling fan grill, which showed significant flex, and may be an area that could get damaged in a tumble. The performance of the E6400 XFR is well above other rugged notebooks, but this comes at the cost of battery life. This notebook saw just under 4 hours of battery life, where the Getac B300 with a slower and more efficient processor got almost 9 hours. Overall if you need something that is as powerful as a mobile workstation--but with a fully rugged chassis--the Dell E6400 XFR is a good notebook to consider.

Pros:

• Very fast compared to other rugged notebooks
• Very bright sunlight viewable display
• Optional 12-cell "slice" battery pack

Cons:

• Heavy use of plastic
• High pricetag

If you're in the market for a 14-inch laptop with enough processor power to handle just about anything then there are dozens of options to choose from. Unfortunately, if you want a 14-inch laptop with powerful graphics your options are few and far between. That's where ASUS comes to the rescue with their budget-friendly X83Vm-X2 notebook.

ASUS has habitually bundled decent dedicated graphics in their laptops for as long as I can remember, and their push into the retail space (specifically Best Buy) has forced their prices down and made them a very hungry, very aggressive competitor.

Essentially a retail version of the older ASUS N80 line, the X83Vm-X2 ditches the more robust ASUS warranty, Bluetooth, and Nvidia GeForce 9650M GT in favor of a slightly tackier/more interesting (your mileage may vary) chassis design and a ridiculously low price: $799 for the specs listed below is the kind of deal you'd expect to be screamed at you in an infomercial.

ASUS X83Vm-X2 Specifications:

• Windows Vista Home Premium (SP1, 64-bit)
• Intel Core 2 Duo P7450 (2.13GHz, 3MB L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
• 14.1” TFT Widescreen display with LED backlighting (1280x800)
• 4GB PC2-6400 DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz System Memory
• Nvidia GeForce 9600M GS 1GB DDR2 Memory
• 320GB 7200RPM SATA Seagate Momentus Hard Drive
• Dual Layer CD/DVD Recordable with LightScribe
• 1.3 megapixel integrated webcam
• Intel WiFi 5100 (a/b/g/n) Wireless
• Weight: 5.7 lbs.
• Dimensions: 14.3 x 10.4 x 1.4”
• Warranty: 1 year limited parts/labor
• 6-cell 11.1v 4800mAh battery
• Retails at Best Buy for $799

I'll be honest. Losing the Bluetooth didn't hurt that much (a USB adaptor can be had for $15 or less if you know where to shop), and the GeForce 9650M GT ... is still basically here. The 9600M GS easily overclocks to 9650M GT speeds, and actually even faster as I'll get to later.

Build and Design
The X83's build is for the most part quite stable and well-thought out. It's actually one of the more solid ASUS units I've held, and the hinge problem I've seen consistently with older ASUS machines is for the most part ancient history. I still would like them to be a bit firmer, though; I shouldn't be able to pick up the unit and shake the lid all the way open.

The battery also locks securely into the bottom compartment of the notebook, but the real breadwinner as far as this thing's construction is concerned has to be the two HUGE panels on the bottom of the notebook along with all the easily identifiable retaining screws. Put simply, this thing is an absolute delight for freaks like me who love tweaking their hardware.

“But, Dustin,” I hear you say, “won't that void the warranty?” Well, that's a good question, Billy. And the answer is: it depends on what you tweak. The only screw inside that has a warranty void sticker on it – that I can see at least – is the heatsink on the processor. The video card appears to be user-replaceable (careful ...), and of course you can change out the memory and hard disk. The wireless card can also be removed, and it's pretty clear this thing is designed to accommodate a specific Bluetooth module and no one here seems to know the model number.

The video card's upgradeability does seem suspect, though, as it doesn't look like the MXM-II cards on eBay. Also keep in mind that the 9600M GS in here is pretty much the best you're going to find anyhow (at least, overclocked). So do not DO NOT buy this notebook expecting to upgrade the video card later.

There are some issues I need to address about the overall build, though. The speakers are down under the bottom lip of the notebook and very easily muffled. The primary heat exhaust is also at the top of the right side, perilously close to where my mousing hand is. And personally I just don't like having a single small slot-based battery as opposed to one that slides into the back, as it precludes getting an extended life battery for the notebook. Lastly, the optical drive has that same irritating issue a lot of notebook drives do, where when you pick up the unit, if you grip under it you feel like you're squishing it into the system – it just feels loose.

Screen and Speakers
The X83 sports a mind-bogglingly, retina-searingly bright LED-backlit screen. In terms of sheer brightness, I run it plugged in at maybe 50% brightness; on the battery I take it all the way down, though occasionally kick it up a whole step. This screen at 0% brightness is in the neighborhood of 50% brightness on other laptops I've seen.



Unfortunately, in keeping with the low price of the unit, contrast and viewing angles are a big bottle of "meh." It almost feels as though the panel itself isn't quite good enough to take advantage of the LED backlighting, as it tends to just wash out.

Some users will probably gripe at the 1280x800 screen resolution, but between the price of the unit and the horsepower of the GPU, I'd have a hard time asking for a higher resolution.

The speakers are pretty poor, and I've resigned myself to this fact. Even by laptop standards these aren't very good, and that's due in large part to their placement under the front lip of the laptop. On any surface except a solid flat one these get horribly muffled.

Keyboard and Touchpad
Keyboard flex is minimal, but it's somewhat pronounced on the left side. It's not too noticeable and isn't bothersome enough to detract from regular use, and keep in mind that when typing I beat my keyboards like they owe me money. The color scheme for the keyboard, however, is decidedly not good. With the dark brown keys, light brown lettering, and especially the dark red lettering on the function keys ... you might as well be using Das Keyboard (a keyboard without letters) in low light.

The nice thing about the keyboard, though, is that the keys don't quite have the irritatingly glossy finish that Toshiba seems to be hellbent on ruining its notebooks with; that same irritatingly glossy finish is used on the lesser retail model of this unit, too.

As for the touchpad, I've learned to pretty much just tap on it instead of using the mouse buttons whenever possible. The buttons are remarkably stiff and click fairly loudly.

Ports and Features
This is one of the things I absolutely love ASUS for: The X83 is a downright cornucopia of features.

The front of the unit features the speakers and a now ancient infrared port. I don't even know what to use these for anymore, but to hell with it, it's got one.

The left side of the unit features the DVD burner with LightScribe and a 4-in-1 memory card reader above it. To the right is the ExpressCard54 slot and just below that, a USB 2.0 port, a 4-pin FireWire, microphone jack, and headphone jack.

The right side of the unit features two USB 2.0 ports and a remarkably small cooling vent.

And the rear of the X83 finishes off the boatload of features. The modem port is blocked off – no loss there – but there's an ethernet port, an eSATA port, an HDMI port, a VGA port, and two more USB 2.0 ports, bringing the grand total up to five USB ports.

None too shabby.

What bothers me is that the unit still has the indicator light for Bluetooth even though no internal Bluetooth is present. This is common to the line, but it's still lame to have a light for something you don't even have.

Performance
Performance of the X83 is pretty much par for the course. The processor's fast enough to get things done and handle most tasks without issues, and since it's a Penryn core and P series it has a lower 25 watt TDP, meaning it consumes less power and throws less heat.

The hard disk is also a big fat 320GB deal with a 7200RPM spindle speed – surprisingly rare at this price point and a welcome find. Performance there is solid if unexceptional; I have a feeling a Western Digital might be a bit snappier, but that's splitting hairs.

The Nvidia GeForce 9600M GS is basically the same GPU as the desktop GeForce 9500 GT, but it's crippled with DDR2 instead of faster GDDR3 memory. The 1GB of video memory just feels like a waste; the core itself isn't powerful enough to use that much memory, and the low speed of the memory itself (being DDR2) pretty much guarantees the 1GB is a waste. It's a marketing gimmick, and I honestly wish they'd just put 512MB or even 256MB instead given how badly the memory bottlenecks the GPU itself anyhow.

That said, the GPU is extremely overclockable. I got it up to the stock clocks of the 9700M GT, and most games run at native resolution just fine, with the crucial exception having been Far Cry 2. Far Cry 2 is a beast, and I get the sense that the slow DDR2 just hampers it too much. Anti-aliasing is not on the menu for the vast majority of games, though.

wPrime processor comparison results (lower scores mean better performance):

3DMark06 measures video and gaming performance (higher scores mean better performance):

HDTune storage drive performance results:

Battery
Battery life is one area where ASUS notebooks have traditionally hopped aboard the S.S. Failboat (unlike their netbooks, which last an unbelievably long time). It's a common sentiment on the forums here that it wouldn't be an ASUS notebook without some kind of fatal flaw, but the LED-backlit screen on the X83 seems to at least mitigate things somewhat. I've been able to get about three hours of useful battery life out of this unit with the wireless on, a USB Bluetooth adaptor plugged in, and brightness dimmed nearly all the way. Remember, as I said before, even at 0% brightness the screen is still extremely legible.

Heat and Noise
Here's one place where the X83 really excels. I can't even quite figure out exactly how it handles heat so well, but sure enough it does. The only hot spot on the unit is where the processor and GPU are, but even at full bore the keyboard and palm rest don't get very warm. The only place the unit gets outright hot is the surface near the vent on the bottom.

Noise levels are really low, too. When the fan is really kicking it has a VERY low hum, but generally speaking the computer is actually quite silent. Even the hard drive doesn't thrash that loudly.

Conclusion
The ASUS X83 has a bunch of tiny little issues, but no deal-breakers, and for the money it's practically a steal. If you're like me and not at all a fan of the push to 16:9 computer screens (which are being basically forced on us whether we like them or not) then you'll be happy to know the X83 still has a good old 16:10.

To me, there are just too many perks for the price to make it anything less than totally worth picking up if you need something portable that you can use for gaming.

Pros:

• GeForce 9600M GS is fast enough to game comfortably
• Minimal heat and noise
• 7200RPM hard disk standard
• LED-backlit screen
• All modern ports, including eSATA
• Remarkably low $799 pricetag

Cons:

• Chassis design may be a turn off for some
• Keyboard color scheme is dreadful
• Dismal speakers
• Bluetooth light without internal Bluetooth

If you're one of the many consumers around the globe looking for a multimedia family PC with a 15-inch screen, then the updated Dell Studio 15 (1555) probably has all the features you're looking for in a new laptop. Now with more than 200 customizable designs available from the Dell Design Studio, is the Studio 15 the most attractive 15-inch notebook on the market? Let's take a closer look and find out.

The M2010 is a new netbook to hit the market from Fujitsu, which is their first Atom-based model to date. Offering good looks and good build quality it is marketed as a "Mini-Notebook" aimed at casual users who want a small platform to surf the web or check email. In this review we take a look at all aspects of the M2010, to help you find out if this netbook is right for you.

Our Fujitsu M2010 features the following specifications:

• Operating System: Windows XP Home
• Processor: Intel Atom N270 Processor 1.60GHz (533MHz FSB, 512K Cache)
• Memory: 1GB DDR2 PC2-6400 SDRAM
• Internal Storage: 160GB 5400 rpm SATA HDD
• Display: 10.1-inch diagonal LED-backlit WSVGA (1024x576)
• Graphics: Intel GMA 950
• Wireless: Atheros 802.11b/g, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
• Expansion: 4-in-1 media card slot
• Ports and connectors: (3) USB 2.0 ports, VGA OUT, power connector, RJ-45/Ethernet, stereo headphone/line out, stereo microphone in, 1.3 megapixel webcam
• Dimensions (H x W x D): 10.2" x 7.4" x 1.3"
• Weight: 2 lbs 8.8oz (3lbs 5.2oz with adapter).
• Power: 3-cell Lithium-Ion battery (10.8V, 2.4Ah, 26Wh)
• Warranty: One-year international warranty
• MSRP: $449

Build and Design
From the start Fujitsu made a great looking netbook. The M2010 has an excellent glossy metallic red paint job inside and out with glossy piano black plastic surrounding the top of the Keyboard and around the screen. I really think Fujitsu took a step back and thought before they came up with a netbook to launch into a saturated market ... and found some interesting ways to make it stand out. Whatever approach they took it worked.

Build quality is excellent with no squeaks and creaks around the chassis, and only minor flex from larger plastic surfaces. Even the screen hinges feel great with good tension when pivoting the screen and a very smooth action when in motion. On the bottom of the notebook we find the standard "Fujitsu Felt" underneath the processor location, which helps limit the amount of heat that can transfer into your legs when you are using it on your lap. This is standard across every Fujitsu notebook I have ever seen.

Access to internal components is handled through a single panel on the bottom of the notebook, but it only lets you swap out the wireless card and system memory. The hard drive requires further disassembly ... something that the average user might not want to undertake. Still, this was probably a poor choice, since memory and Storage are the only areas of expansion and upgrade for netbook users.

Screen and Speakers
The glossy display on the M2010 looks great, which is the case with many LED-backlit netbook displays. Colors are rich and vibrant, with deep contrast and excellent black levels. Peak brightness levels were great for viewing in bright office conditions, with my preferred setting right at the 50% mark. Viewing angles rate average, with colors starting to invert 20 degrees forward or back. Horizontal viewing angles were much better, extending until the screen bezel and reflection started to obstruct the view of the panel.

The speakers rate average compared to netbooks, and below average compared to most notebooks. Peak volume levels were fine for listening in a small room, but didn't have much power to fill a larger room. Bass and midrange were not present, with only higher frequencies coming through. Headphones would be preferred for really enjoying music or a movie.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The Keyboard is the primary area that I feel Fujitsu should have spent more time developing. Compared to almost every netbook on the market right now, it has one of the smallest keyboard layouts, which feels really cramped. While HP set the trend for one of the best netbook keyboards, manufacturers such as ASUS have been following a similar path, expanding the keyboard to make it as wide as the chassis allows. Fujitsu keeps a wide border around the keyboard, which looks good with the glossy red finish, but doesn't allow as large of a typing surface. Despite the small size the Keyboard itself feels very good. Support is excellent, with barely a hint of flex under heavy typing pressure. Individual key action is smooth, with very little key wobble when you try to move the top of the key around. Noise is minimal while typing, with a muted high-pitch click when each key is pressed.

The M2010 offers a smaller Synaptics touchpad with a smooth matte finish. During our tests it was easy to operate with no discernable lag (after some settings adjustment). Initially we found the touchpad to coast after you brought your finger off the surface, which felt very similar to a laggy touchpad. We found a Synaptics feature called "Momentum" was enabled, and once turned off made the touchpad motion feel much nicer. The touchpad also offers some multi-touch functionality, including Flick, Pinch, and ChiralRotate, used to rotate a selected object 90 degrees. No option for two fingered scrolling was found. The touchpad buttons are setup with a seesaw button which is flexible enough that both buttons can be pressed at the same time. Feedback when pressed is minimal, with a loud click when engaged.

Ports and Features
Port selection on the M2010 is average compared to most netbooks on the market, with three USB ports, VGA out, headphone/mic, and SDHC multi-card reader, and LAN connection. Fujitsu also includes a Kensington Lock slot if you feel the need to securely attach the netbook while it is unattended.

Front: Activity lights

Rear: Battery

Left: AC power, VGA, one USB

Right: SDHC multi-card reader, headphone/mic, two USB, LAN, Kensington Lock slot

Performance and Benchmarks
Initially system performance of the Fujitsu M2010 was well below average compared to similarly configured netbooks. wPrime, which tests just the processor was giving results in the range of 180 seconds, whereas it should be around 120 seconds. Other benchmarks were also giving results that were much slower than expected. After updating drivers across the board with little success, we hopped into the BIOS to see if there were any odd settings. As it turns out the BIOS allows you to switch HyperThreading on or off, with the default setting being off. Once this was turned back on the M2010 sped up and was performing in line with other netbooks. We don't know if this is a preproduction issue or not, but if you purchase this netbook checking the BIOS option should be the first thing you do after taking it out of the box.

With optimal performance settings the M2010 performs quite well in day-to-day tasks that you might expect from a netbook. HD video decoding and gaming aside, netbooks are great for web browsing, editing photos, typing documents, and just about anything you might want to do while traveling abroad or even to your couch. Boot and shutdown times once the OS had settled from the initial boot were very good, although this is with the AV software removed.

wPrime processor comparison results (lower scores mean better performance):

PCMark05 measures overall system performance (higher scores mean better performance):

3DMark06 comparison results against netbooks @ 1024 x 768 resolution:

HDTune measuring hard drive performance:

Heat and Noise
Compared to other netbooks the M2010 runs a bit on the warm and loud side of things. Under normal use temperatures settle in the mid 80's around the top surface, and after it has warmed up the fan likes to stay on. Under any heavier load the fan noise is considerably louder than most notebook fans. This can be common on some netbooks, since the fans are so small they have to spin very fast to move any measureable amount of air.

Battery
The M2010 didn't impress us with its performance in our battery tests. The standard battery Fujitsu includes with this model is a small 3-cell 25Wh battery which doesn't compare well to 6-cell batteries you would get in this price range from other manufacturers. Another problem we ran into was the default BIOS settings relating to HyperThreading being disabled. With it disabled, during our battery test with the backlight set to 50% and wireless active the M2010 managed 2 hours and 17 minutes. With it turned on, power consumption dropped by 1 to 1.5watts at idle, increasing our results to 3 hours and 12 minutes. With a larger battery the system could have easily competed with newer netbooks, but with the 3-cell limitation results were less than stellar.

Conclusion
The Fujitsu M2010 is a late arrival to the netbook market, offering very good looks and build quality, but with a high price and not so excellent performance. Compared to some of the newer netbooks on the market its benchmarks fall towards the bottom of the list, and battery life came up way short with the 3-cell battery. With its good looks and high build quality it seems to be pushed towards business customers, which might explain the higher price. Overall for if the price was about $100 less it would be much more attractive.

Pros:

• Great looks
• Solid feeling chassis with high quality components

Cons:

• High price
• Some odd default performance settings
• Small standard battery