Laptops for cube dwellers Updated January 12, 2006 We've all been there: a deadline looms, but noise and frequent interruptions--the downside of cubicle life--diffuse your focus. A laptop can be a boon to productivity when you need to escape the fabric walls and work in a conference room, a cafe, or your living room. And if you don't go on frequent business trips, there's no need to drop a lot of cash on a tiny ultraportable. The four laptops here balance portability with performance, offering powerful mobile processors and niceties such as optical drives and comfortable keyboards. Who knows? Your newfound focus could earn you an office sooner than you think.
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| Product name |
Sony VAIO BX541B (Pentium M 740 1.73 GHz, 512 MB RAM, 60 GB HDD) |
Acer TravelMate 4650 |
Lenovo ThinkPad Z60m 2529 (Pentium M 760 2 GHz, 1 GB RAM, 100 GB HDD) |
Gateway M250E |
Apple PowerBook G4 (15-inch) |
Dell Business Latitude D510 |
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| Review date | November 1, 2005 | October 18, 2005 | December 12, 2005 | August 16, 2005 | August 4, 2005 | July 7, 2005 |
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Editors' rating (Editors' rating explained) |
5.4
Average |
7.8
Very good |
7.6
Very good |
6.6
Good |
7.1
Very good |
6.4
Good |
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| Buying choices |
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| Product videos |
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| Review summary | Fatally undercut by lousy battery life, the feature-laden Sony VAIO VGN-BX541B otherwise makes a terrific thin-and-light for the mobile business crowd. | The TravelMate 4650 gives home and small-office users all the speed, battery life, and features they need at a very low price. | The ThinkPad Z60m offers a solid combination of speed, battery life, and features in a well designed though not particularly portable case. | With its extended battery, the well-designed Gateway M250E will keep road warriors and students computing for hours upon hours--just don't expect blazing performance. | The high-performance, fully loaded, simply beautiful 15-inch PowerBook G4 will satisfy students and creative professionals who can afford to sacrifice cash for style. | The mainstream Dell Latitude D510 doesn't excel in any one area but manages to be a good all-around business 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 | See all products in this series |
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| My Products | ||||||
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| User comments | Be one of the first to rate this product! | 6.2 Good (from 6 users) | 6.0 Good (from 20 users) | Be one of the first to rate this product! | 8.7 Excellent (from 61 users) | 6.7 Good (from 7 users) |
| Basic Specs | ||||||
| Dimensions (WxDxH) | 12.5 in x 10.4 in x 1.3 in | 13.2 in x 11.2 in x 1.4 in | 14.1 in x 10.4 in x 1.6 in | 13 in x 9.7 in x 1.1 in | 13.7 in x 9.5 in x 1.1 in | Info unavailable |
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| Weight | 5.1 lbs | 6.2 lbs | 7.3 lbs | 5 lbs | 5.5 lbs | 5.2 lbs |
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| Processor | Intel Pentium M 740 / 1.73 GHz | Intel Pentium M 760 / 2 GHz | Intel Pentium M 760 / 2 GHz | Intel Celeron M 360 / 1.4 GHz | Motorola PowerPC G4 1.67 GHz | Pentium M 1.73 GHz |
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| Cache Memory | 2 MB - L2 cache | 2 MB - L2 cache | 2 MB - L2 cache | 1 MB - L2 cache | 512 KB - L2 cache | Info unavailable |
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| RAM | 512 MB (installed) / 2 GB (max) - DDR2 SDRAM - 533 MHz - PC2-4200 | 1 GB (installed) / 2 GB (max) - DDR2 SDRAM - 533 MHz ( 2 x 512 MB ) | 1 GB (installed) / 2 GB (max) - DDR2 SDRAM - 533 MHz - PC2-4200 | 256 MB DDR2 SDRAM - 533 MHz | 512 MB (installed) / 2 GB (max) - DDR SDRAM - 333 MHz - PC2700 | 512 MB DDR2 SDRAM |
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| Hard Drive | 60 GB - 5400 rpm | 100 GB | 100 GB - Serial ATA-150 - 5400 rpm | 40 GB - 4200 rpm | 80 GB - 5400 rpm | 40 GB |
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| Optical Storage | CD-RW / DVD-ROM combo | DVD?RW | DVD-Writer - Plug-in module | CD-ROM - Integrated | DVD?RW - Integrated | CD-RW / DVD-ROM |
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| Graphics Controller | Intel GMA 900 | Intel GMA 900 | ATI Radeon X600 - 128 MB | Intel GMA 900 | ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 - 64 MB | Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900 |
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| Networking | - IEEE 802.11g , - Fast Ethernet , - IEEE 802.11b , Network adapter - Ethernet , - Gigabit Ethernet | - IEEE 802.11g , - Fast Ethernet , - IEEE 802.11b , Network adapter - Ethernet , - Gigabit Ethernet | Network adapter - Ethernet , - IEEE 802.11g , - IEEE 802.11b , - IEEE 802.11a , - Gigabit Ethernet , - Fast Ethernet , - Bluetooth | Network adapter - Ethernet , - IEEE 802.11g , - IEEE 802.11b , - Gigabit Ethernet , - Fast Ethernet | Network adapter - Ethernet , - IEEE 802.11g , - IEEE 802.11b , - Gigabit Ethernet , - Fast Ethernet , - Bluetooth | Info unavailable |
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| Battery | Lithium ion | Lithium ion | Lithium ion | Lithium ion | Lithium ion | Info unavailable |
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| OS Provided | Microsoft Windows XP Professional | Microsoft Windows XP Professional - English | Microsoft Windows XP Professional | Microsoft Windows XP Professional | Apple MacOS X 10.4 | Microsoft Windows XP Professional |
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| Product name | Sony VAIO BX541B (Pentium M 740 1.73 GHz, 512 MB RAM, 60 GB HDD) | Acer TravelMate 4650 | Lenovo ThinkPad Z60m 2529 (Pentium M 760 2 GHz, 1 GB RAM, 100 GB HDD) | Gateway M250E | Apple PowerBook G4 (15-inch) | Dell Business Latitude D510 |
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| Full specifications | 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 | Email me when this product is available |
 Check latest prices$689 from 1 store |
This product is available directly from the manufacturer's Web site.
| Email me when this product is available | |
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