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Budget laptop Updated December 19, 2005 Some laptops are like the Plaza Hotel: every surface polished to a shine, lots of luxurious extras. The laptops we highlight here, however, are more like the Holiday Inn: they give you the minimum of what you need, without all the pricey add-ons. Each offers just enough for you to stay on top of work while you're away from the office: decent (though not amazing) performance, wired and wireless networking options, and an optical drive. And their prices, which top out at about $1,200, are certainly start-up friendly. Grab a Diet Coke from the machine down the hall (what minibar?) and get some work done with one of these laptops for the budget-minded. |
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| Product name |
Apple iBook G4 (12-inch) |
HP Pavilion dv1000 |
Lenovo ThinkPad R52 1859 (Pentium M 740 1.73 GHz, 256 MB RAM, 40 GB HDD) |
Dell Inspiron 6000 |
Gateway NX500X |
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| Review date | November 29, 2005 | August 27, 2004 | April 27, 2005 | November 4, 2005 | November 10, 2005 |
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Editors' rating (Editors' rating explained) |
7.0
Very good |
6.7
Good |
6.2
Good |
6.1
Good |
5.9
Average |
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| Buying choices |
Prices from online stores: Searching for pricing data... |
Prices from online stores: Searching for pricing data... |
Prices from online stores: Searching for pricing data... |
Prices from online stores: Searching for pricing data... |
Prices from online stores: Searching for pricing data... |
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| Product videos |
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| Review summary | Though it's less powerful than the PowerBook, the reasonably priced 12-inch iBook G4 has a well-designed case, long battery life, and great software, which make it a good choice for anyone seeking a solid entry-level laptop. | The HP Pavilion dv1000 is a solid and sensibly priced system for students, families, and small-business users who want to work and play on the road. | Businesses seeking a sturdy, secure, portable workhorse should consider the IBM ThinkPad R52. | The competitively priced Dell Inspiron 6000 delivers a very solid combination of performance, features, and design for basic home or small-office use. | Gateway's affordable NX500X proves that you don't have to spend an exorbitant amount of money to get a respectably configured notebook. |
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| Product series | See all products in this series | See all products in this series | See all products in this series | See all products in this series | See all products in this series |
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| User comments | 8.1 Excellent (from 71 users) | 7.4 Very good (from 147 users) | 8.2 Excellent (from 6 users) | 7.1 Very good (from 158 users) | 6.2 Good (from 5 users) |
| Basic Specs | |||||
| Dimensions (WxDxH) | 11.2 in x 9.1 in x 1.3 in | 13.1 in x 1.2 in x 9 in | 12.4 in x 10.2 in x 1.5 in | 13.9 in x 10.2 in x 1.5 in | 14.1 in x 10.4 in x 1.3 in |
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| Weight | 4.9 lbs | 5.26 lbs | 6.2 lbs | 6.6 lbs | 6.1 lbs |
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| Processor | Motorola PowerPC G4 1.33 GHz | Intel Pentium M 1.5 GHz Ultra Low Voltage (ULV) | Intel Pentium M 740 / 1.73 GHz | Intel Pentium M 740 / 1.6 GHz | Intel Pentium M 1.7 GHz |
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| Cache Memory | 512 KB - L2 cache | 1 MB - L2 cache | 2 MB - L2 cache | 2 MB - L2 cache | 2 MB - L2 cache |
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| RAM | 512 MB (installed) / 1.5 GB (max) - DDR SDRAM - 333 MHz - PC2700 | 512 MB (installed) / 2 GB (max) - SDRAM - 266 MHz - DDR266/PC2100 | 256 MB (installed) / 2 GB (max) - DDR2 SDRAM - 533 MHz - PC2-4200 | 512 MB (installed) / 2 GB (max) - DDR2 SDRAM - 400 MHz - PC2-3200 | 512 MB DDR SDRAM |
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| Hard Drive | 40 GB - 4200 rpm | 80 GB - 4200 rpm | 40 GB - 4200 rpm | 60 GB - 5400 rpm | 40 GB |
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| Optical Storage | CD-RW / DVD-ROM combo - Integrated | CD-RW/DVD | CD-RW / DVD-ROM combo - Plug-in module | DVD-ROM | CD-RW |
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| Graphics Controller | ATI Mobility Radeon 9550 - 32 MB | Intel Extreme Graphics 2 | Intel GMA 900 | ATI MOBILITY RADEON X300 PCI Express - 128 MB | Intel GMA900 |
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| Networking | Network adapter - Ethernet , - IEEE 802.11g , - IEEE 802.11b , - Fast Ethernet , - Bluetooth | Network adapter - Ethernet , - Fast Ethernet | Network adapter - Ethernet , - IEEE 802.11g , - IEEE 802.11b , - Gigabit Ethernet , - Fast Ethernet | Network adapter - Ethernet , - IEEE 802.11g , - IEEE 802.11b , - Fast Ethernet , - Bluetooth | - IEEE 802.11 b/g , - Fast Ethernet , Network adapter - Ethernet |
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| Battery | Lithium ion | Lithium ion | Lithium ion | Lithium ion | Lithium ion |
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| OS Provided | Apple MacOS X 10.4 | Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition | Microsoft Windows XP Professional | Microsoft Windows XP Professional | Microsoft Windows XP Home SP 2 |
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| Product name | Apple iBook G4 (12-inch) | HP Pavilion dv1000 | Lenovo ThinkPad R52 1859 (Pentium M 740 1.73 GHz, 256 MB RAM, 40 GB HDD) | Dell Inspiron 6000 | Gateway NX500X |
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| Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications |
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| Price range | Email me when this product is available |
This product is no longer available.
View all HP Notebooks | Email me when this product is available |
This product is available directly from the manufacturer's Web site.
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