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- Overview
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- Brand repair history
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| FORUMS |
ELECTRONICS FORUMS  Get real-world advice from others about choosing a new computer, printer, peripherals, etc. |
September 2006
Laptops
Power up & prices down
Muscular mini The Dell Inspiron E1505, a CR Best Buy at $1,120, packs enough punch to be your primary computer.
The price of portability has plummeted, great news if you’re in the market for a new computer. The average price of a laptop
is now about $840, down from $1,091 just a few months back, according to Current Analysis, a Washington-based market research
firm.
While prices have fallen, features and functionality are on the rise, so you’ll get more for your money than ever. Among the latest developments:
More screen choices. Wide screens are standard on most new laptops, and spacious 17-inch screens are widely available. Glossy displays are making a splash under names such as BrightView (HP), Ultrabright (Gateway), Xbrite (Sony), and TruBrite (Toshiba). These shiny screens provide better contrast and more vibrant colors than most matte screens, so they’re great for viewing digital photos or watching movies, though they can suffer from annoying reflections in bright settings.
Vista compatibility. The next version of Microsoft Windows, called Vista, promises a new interface, enhanced security, and more—capabilities similar to those of OSX, the latest Macintosh operating system. Vista won’t arrive for months, but most new laptops are already “Windows Vista Capable,” meaning they meet the minimum specs to run it. Models called “Windows Vista Premium Ready PC” have enough additional oomph to run Aero, the Vista interface. (At press time, Microsoft hadn’t yet released specs for Vista’s higher-end interface, dubbed Aero Glass.)
Core Duo processors. Intel’s Core Duo processor, which made its debut earlier this year, has quickly become dominant. This processor is designed to give laptops speed and power rivaling desktop systems while conserving battery life, a claim it lived up to in our tests. Intel’s Core 2 Duo, promising still better performance, was due this summer. AMD recently introduced a Core Duo rival, the Turion 64 X2, which we’ll test soon.
More ways to hook up. The flash-card readers on most new laptops (Macs being an exception) accept multiple card formats, making it easier to transfer photos from your camera. Wi-Fi, also called 802.11, is featured on almost all new laptops, enabling wireless networking and Web surfing. Bluetooth is showing up on some models, allowing wireless communication with cell phones and PDAs. Cell-phone modems on some laptops let you use a cell-phone network to connect to the Internet without Wi-Fi, routers, or phone jacks as long as your cell service is available. Webcams and microphones are handy for videoconferencing and for Internet phone services such as Skype.
Enhanced entertainment features. Bigger, brighter screens and the surprisingly good speakers on some laptops are great for viewing movies or listening to music. You can watch “American Idol” live if you add a TV tuner, optional with some models or available from third-party suppliers. You’ll be limited to standard-definition fare because laptops are designed for use with analog cable. There is a way to watch high-definition movies on a laptop, though: Buy a Sony laptop with a Blu-Ray drive or a Toshiba with an HD DVD drive. Two cautions:?The screens have 1920x1200, or WUXGA, resolution for displaying full HD detail, so text is tiny. And the battle between these high-def DVD formats continues, so one of them could vanish (remember Betamax?).
How to choose
While prices have fallen, features and functionality are on the rise, so you’ll get more for your money than ever. Among the latest developments:
More screen choices. Wide screens are standard on most new laptops, and spacious 17-inch screens are widely available. Glossy displays are making a splash under names such as BrightView (HP), Ultrabright (Gateway), Xbrite (Sony), and TruBrite (Toshiba). These shiny screens provide better contrast and more vibrant colors than most matte screens, so they’re great for viewing digital photos or watching movies, though they can suffer from annoying reflections in bright settings.
Vista compatibility. The next version of Microsoft Windows, called Vista, promises a new interface, enhanced security, and more—capabilities similar to those of OSX, the latest Macintosh operating system. Vista won’t arrive for months, but most new laptops are already “Windows Vista Capable,” meaning they meet the minimum specs to run it. Models called “Windows Vista Premium Ready PC” have enough additional oomph to run Aero, the Vista interface. (At press time, Microsoft hadn’t yet released specs for Vista’s higher-end interface, dubbed Aero Glass.)
Core Duo processors. Intel’s Core Duo processor, which made its debut earlier this year, has quickly become dominant. This processor is designed to give laptops speed and power rivaling desktop systems while conserving battery life, a claim it lived up to in our tests. Intel’s Core 2 Duo, promising still better performance, was due this summer. AMD recently introduced a Core Duo rival, the Turion 64 X2, which we’ll test soon.
More ways to hook up. The flash-card readers on most new laptops (Macs being an exception) accept multiple card formats, making it easier to transfer photos from your camera. Wi-Fi, also called 802.11, is featured on almost all new laptops, enabling wireless networking and Web surfing. Bluetooth is showing up on some models, allowing wireless communication with cell phones and PDAs. Cell-phone modems on some laptops let you use a cell-phone network to connect to the Internet without Wi-Fi, routers, or phone jacks as long as your cell service is available. Webcams and microphones are handy for videoconferencing and for Internet phone services such as Skype.
Enhanced entertainment features. Bigger, brighter screens and the surprisingly good speakers on some laptops are great for viewing movies or listening to music. You can watch “American Idol” live if you add a TV tuner, optional with some models or available from third-party suppliers. You’ll be limited to standard-definition fare because laptops are designed for use with analog cable. There is a way to watch high-definition movies on a laptop, though: Buy a Sony laptop with a Blu-Ray drive or a Toshiba with an HD DVD drive. Two cautions:?The screens have 1920x1200, or WUXGA, resolution for displaying full HD detail, so text is tiny. And the battle between these high-def DVD formats continues, so one of them could vanish (remember Betamax?).
How to choose
If you’ve decided to buy a laptop, start with Types (available to subscribers) for help in choosing a type and configuration. Other points to consider:
Choose between a Windows PC and a Mac. If you own Windows software or older hardware that isn’t Mac compatible, it’s cheaper to stick with Windows. Also, there’s
more software, notably games, for the Windows platform, and some Web sites are optimized only for Windows. On the other hand,
viruses and spyware have been less likely to target Macintosh computers, and Apple’s tech support has topped all Windows-based
brands.
Consider reliability, warranties, and tech support. Feedback from more than 49,000 users shows minor differences in reliability among the major laptop brands, with repair rates
ranging from 16 to 19 percent (see page 36). Most laptops come with a basic one-year warranty for parts and labor, typically
with mail-in service. Free tech support for one year is the norm. Apple support is free for 90 days but after that costs $49
per incident.
There’s more variation in tech support, according to our latest survey of more than 5,000 subscribers. Apple’s laptop support
has been by far the best; Lenovo (IBM) has led the Windows-based laptop brands. The same is true of extended warranties. Lenovo’s
plan and Apple’s three-year AppleCare plan were more successful than most brands at resolving user problems. For other laptop
brands, skip the extended warranty and save the money for third-party support. Nearly 90 percent of users who bypassed manufacturer
tech support and went to an outside service said their problems were solved.
Decide on a processor. Most laptops have chips from Intel (Celeron, Pentium, Core Solo, Core Duo) or AMD (Athlon, Sempron, Turion). In our latest
tests, laptops with Intel chips had better battery life; those with AMD chips cost less. In general, performance doesn’t differ
much, so don’t obsess over the processor. With any chip, don’t sweat clock speed. Most users will see little difference between
a 2-GHz processor and a less-costly 1.6-GHz chip. Core Solo chips are a bit slower and cheaper than Duo, but fine for typical
use. Ultra-low-voltage chips, which we’re now testing, are designed to maximize battery life. Intel’s Centrino configuration,
often touted in ads, is basically a prepackaged processor, graphics card, and wireless technology. You can do just as well
with other brands of components.
Scrutinize the display. Before deciding on a model, view the display critically. You’ll be staring at it for the life of the computer. We recommend
a 17-inch display for a laptop that will rarely leave your desk. A 14- or 15-inch screen offers a goodcompromise of usability
and portability. Consider a 13-inch display if you’re always on the go. On 12-inch screens, the small text may be hard to
read.
A wide screen is better than the traditional squarish screen for watching DVD movies and viewing two documents side by side,
but it might cost a bit more than a similar-sized squarish screen. While glossy screens can add punch to digital photos and
movies, they’re prone to reflection, especially from overhead lighting. Try to buy one with an antireflective coating, which
can alleviate the problem. We’ve seen only Sony and Apple screens with this type of coating.
Try the keyboard. The size and layout vary by model; some are easier to use than others. We found Dell’s to be the best. A lighted keyboard,
so far only on some Macs, is a plus in a dim setting.
Choose a suitable video adapter. An integrated graphics card is fine for almost all applications, including watching video. If you plan to use Vista’s Aero
Glass interface, or to play games, a separate graphics chipset is better. For 3D games, we recommend the ATI Mobility Radeon
X1600 or the Nvidia GeForce Go 7600.
Compare software bundles. Some laptops include productivity software (like Microsoft Works) and personal finance programs (such as Quicken or Money);
others don’t. You’d pay extra to buy such software, so factor that in when comparing system prices. We found that HP and Sony
had the most complete software bundles; Macs come with little productivity software but great multimedia applications. Some
Windows-based laptops come with Media Center Edition (MCE), a version of Windows XP with an integrated interface for multimedia
and entertainment applications like TV, videos, photos, and music. All new Macs come with FrontRow software, which does almost
everything MCE does except for TV tuning and recording.
Decide whether to go with a standard or custom configuration. You can buy a laptop off the shelf with features and options geared to average consumers. That’s fine if you don’t have strict
requirements or if you want to take advantage of an attractive sale. Alternatively, you can configure a model to order. It’s
often easiest at Web sites or when buying directly from a manufacturer. In either case, see Types (available to subscribers) for recommended configurations to get you started.
