• 15.6-inch 720p (1366×768) glossy panel with LED backlighting
• Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• Intel Core i3-330M dual-core processor (2.13GHz, 3MB L3 cache, 2.5GT/s QPI, 35W TDP)
• Intel HM55 chipset
• Integrated Intel HD graphics w/ shared video memory
• 4GB DDR3-1066 dual-channel RAM (2x 2GB)
• 320GB 5400RPM Western Digital hard drive (WD3200BEVT)
• Broadcom 802.11n wireless LAN card
• DVD burner (Optiarc DVD RW AD-7585H)
• 1 year limited warranty
• 6 cell Li-ion battery (11.1V, 48Wh)
• Weight: 5.73 lbs.
• Dimensions: 14.8” (L) x 9.8” (D) x 0.7~1.4” (H)

The G560 has a 15.6-inch screen with a 720p (1366×768) resolution and LED backlighting; this is the only available screen. While its glossy mirror surface helps colors stand out and improves sharpness, it also acts as a mirror, especially when there are light sources behind it. It also has HD graphics support and HDMI connector. Unfortunately, the display wasn’t as bright as we’ve seen on other 15.6-inch laptops; plus it had a very narrow viewing angle, and the glossy screen too easily caught annoying reflections. Moreover, cleaning is also difficult.

The Lenovo G560 comes with technologies and features designed to make things easier, including OneKey Rescue System for easy data backup and recovery. The new and improved Lenovo Energy Management provides not only extended battery life and long-term durability, but also keeps noise to a minimum with intelligent fan control, so you can concentrate on your work. It also uses a single-piece touch pad, which integrates the mouse buttons directly into the touch pad. Another added bonus is that one of the USB ports is a combo port that also works with eSATA devices.

Design

The Sager NP5125 is a custom notebook built on the Clevo B1500M chassis. It has a pedestrian-looking exterior with no significant design features. Little evidence suggests the designers of this notebook intended it to look attractive. The chassis has a standard rectangular shape with mildly rounded edges. The NP5125 has a light weight for its class, coming in under six pounds and about one inch thin. The construction is all-plastic. The plastic has a matte non-glare surface with the exception of the screen border, which is preferable to the glossy plastic found on many mainstream notebooks. Matte plastic is easier to keep clean and does not show dust and fingerprints as easily.

The build quality overall is unfortunately below average. The plastic is thin and feels cheap, giving the notebook a hollow feel. Some rattling noises can be produced by tapping the plastic with a fingernail. The chassis itself seems to be of reasonable strength; despite the thin plastic it does not flex when pressure is applied in most places. The chassis bends slightly when grabbed by the corners and twisted, though nothing out of the ordinary.

Screen

The NP5125 has a 15.6-inch screen with a 1080p (1920×1080) resolution and LED backlighting. The screen is definitely the highlight of this machine; it is simply gorgeous. Side-to-side viewing angles are near-perfect and there is minimal color distortion from above; from below, colors are accurate until about 20 degrees below center. The backlighting is almost perfectly even.

Keyboard and Touchpad

The NP5125 has an island-style keyboard where the keys are raised above the base. The keys have an unsophisticated plasticky feel when pressed. Fast typing is possible however typing confidence is undermined by rattling sounds; the plastic used in the construction of this notebook really lets it down here; the keyboard does not feel well-settled at all. Like the chassis, the keyboard has little flex. The keyboard would be a lot more pleasant to type on if it felt more solid.

Performance

The overall idea behind the NP5125 is to provide good performance for the money. It is already well-equipped in its base configuration. As the numbers will show, the NP5125 is a viable gaming machine and multimedia notebook.

Battery Life

Three hours and 15 minutes of battery life  using the included 6-cell 48.84Wh battery. The test was run while surfing the Internet with the screen brightness at one notch above minimum.

Conclusion

The NP5125 has its ups and downs. It offers very good performance for the money and is a capable gaming machine. The full HD display is beautiful and makes multitasking easy thanks to its high resolution; not many 15.6″ notebooks, let alone ones under $1,000, offer such a screen. Its excellent cooling system and light weight are also big pluses. A major downside is the subpar build material; the plastics used on the exterior feel fragile and the keyboard is not well-seated, which results in unpleasant rattling sounds.

Design
At 13.3 x 9 x 1.4 inches and 5 pounds, the Toshiba Satellite M645 is light enough to carry in your bag. Given its short battery life (see below), however, plan on carrying its 0.7-pound power brick anywhere and everywhere you take it. The black chassis has a classy, understated aesthetic. The lid and deck are covered in Toshiba’s Fusion X2, a textured matte finish which looks up close like a tiny series of chains and doesn’t pick up fingerprints at all. The grain felt comfortable under our wrists as we typed and made a pleasant record-scratching sound when we ran our nails across it. The light-gray Fusion X2 finish on the touchpad, island-style keyboard, and touch-sensitive control bar all contribute to the handsome look.

Keyboard & Touchpad
The full-size keyboard with LED backlighting on the M645 features Chiclet-style keys that are responsive and provide a little extra spacing to prevent typos. The keys are large and flat and have a glossy texture that shows smudges from your skin oils over time. There is no noticeable flex unless you apply significant pressure to the keys in the middle of the board. A individual key presses are quiet with virtually no “click-clack” noise while typing; making it an excellent choice for taking notes in a classroom or office meeting room. The keyboard also features dedicated multimedia keys above the keyboard and dedicated home, end, page up and page down keys.

The Synaptics touchpad is a fairly nice with a matte texture that provides smooth cursor movement. The touchpad drivers provide excellent accuracy and minimal lag with a range of options. This is a multi-touch touchpad with customizable gestures and overall this touchpad works exactly like you want a touchpad to work. However, the touchpad buttons have very shallow feedback with moderately loud clicks when you press the buttons.

Port
The standard notebook assembly of m645 includes a DVD- drive, which can be updated to Blu-ray. We note the presence of wiFi module, gigabit ethernet port and possibility of wiMAX installation. The cost of base configuration will be $730.

Display and Sound
The Satellite M645′s 14-inch, 1366×768 display provided sharp images and bright colors when viewed head on. However, because its surface is so glossy, images washed out significantly at even 30 degrees to the right or left of center. And if you’re not using full brightness, there’s a good chance you’ll see your own face or the room behind you reflected in the panel.

That said, the Satellite M645 provided smooth, sharp, and noise-free playback of every video we threw at it, from a 1080p WMV file from Microsoft’s HD Showcase to a 720p episode of Fringe we streamed from Fox.com to a DVD of Dark City we played in Toshiba’s upscaling DVD software. In all cases, even dark areas that frequently show pixilation were smooth and colors were bright without looking oversaturated.

With its Harmon / Kardon speakers (powered by Dolby Advanced Audio) prominently mounted above the keyboard, the Satellite M645 produced the best audio we’ve ever heard from a mainstream notebook. When listening to a live version of the Jimi Hendrix classic “Machine Gun,” we could hear a clear separation between the drums coming from one speaker and the guitar from the other, giving us the illusion that we were sitting in the front row of a concert. This sound separation was even more apparent when we listened to the jazz standard “Morning Dance” by Spyro Gyra, which includes many more instruments. At maximum volume, the sound wasn’t overpowering but was loud enough to fill a medium-size room. Best of all, there was not even a hint of the distortion or tininess we normally experience on notebook speakers.

Performance
The Toshiba Satellite M640/M645 offers solid overall performance thanks to the combination of its Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM, and Nvidia graphics. The Intel Core i5 450Mprocessor is one of the nicer Core i5 processors currently on the market and provides a nice little boost over other 14-inch laptops equipped with slower Core i3 and i5 processors. Honestly, the Toshiba Satellite M645 is one of the best performing 14-inch notebooks we’ve reviewed.

The Nvidia GeForce 330M graphics are similar to the discrete graphics found in the popular Alienware M11x, so the Satellite M645 is a perfectly capable gaming machine. Well, with a few minor annoyances. First, the slow hard drive that I previously mentioned adds several lengthy delays during level and map load times in games. Second, in-game frame rates were sometimes a little slower when playing games like Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age: Origins … but the difference was only a few frames per second. Since the Toshiba has a faster CPU, I can only assume that the marginally worse gaming performance is due to the slow drive and the lack of gaming optimization found in Alienware notebooks.

Regardless, the Satellite M645 can still handle most modern games at the native 1366×768 screen resolution and thanks to Nvidia Optimus technology this notebook automatically switches between the Intel integrated graphics (for extended battery life) and the Nvidia dedicated graphics (for better video and gaming performance). You don’t have to worry about pressing any extra buttons to get the best out of this laptop.

The NV7915u includes a 2.13GHz Intel Core i3-330M processor, 4GB of DDR3 memory, a bright 17.3-inch display, and all the checkmark items you’d expect. Gateway also offers other NV-series versions of this laptop based on AMD processors and with smaller screens; if you opt for a model with a 2.2GHz AMD Turion X2 processor, settle for a smaller 15.6-inch screen, and make some other trade-offs, you can pick up a base model for as little as $479. Plus, you can add some color to your computing life—the NV-series machines come in gray, black, red, and blue.

Design
Ever since Gateway rebranded itself as a more fashionable notebook manufacturer, the company has been on a roll in churning out good-looking budget laptops, and the NV7915u is no exception. The glossy NightSky Black lid, with its subtle Honeycomb pattern, isn’t as luxe as something like the HP Envy 15, but neither does it look cheap. However, the lid doesn’t hide fingerprints as well as the Midnight Blue color found on the NV5807u. Other design flourishes include a matte silver hinge with the power button built into the side (like Sony VAIOs), a glossy upper deck, and LED lights and touch-sensitive controls that glow red. At 6.8 pounds, this notebook is not one you’re going to tote around much, but it’s lighter than many desktop replacements. The touch-sensitive controls responded to even the lightest tap. While there are volume controls and a mute button, there are no external controls for multimedia playback. However, there are buttons for Launch Manager, MyBackup (more on that later), disabling the trackpad, and enabling or disabling Wi-Fi. When you tap the Launch Manager button (a bold P above the keyboard), you can configure the notebook to automatically launch an application of your choosing the next time you press the button.

Keyboard & Touchpad
The keyboard has a unique look and feel with its wide, flat keys. We found typing to be comfortable; the keys are quiet with perfect travel. A dedicated number pad is integrated seamlessly to the right of the keyboard. Above the keyboard is a row of touch-sensitive keys. It includes standard buttons such as volume controls, turning on and off wireless, and locking the touch pad, and a programmable launch key for opening a file, folder, Web site, or application, and another button that launches software for backing up files. Play, pause, rewind, and fast-forward are mapped to the Function keys.

The touch pad is recessed slightly and offers a pleasing matte finish. It also offers multitouch support, so you can, for example, swipe two fingers to scroll down Web pages, swipe two fingers sideways to jump forward and back in your browser, and zoom in and out by pulling apart or pushing together two fingers. We don’t like the thin, indented border that frames the touch pad; it looks like a spot were dust and dirt could collect. We also don’t like the mouse buttons–or button, as it were. Instead of two separate mouse buttons, the Gateway VN7915u features a single bar below the touch pad. For starters, it’s too thin; we kept hitting the space below it when attempting to click. It’s also wider than the touch pad, which looks odd, and you have to be diligent to hit the right or left side of it to make a corresponding mouse click. We found our thumb constantly hitting the middle of the bar, which does nothing but frustrate.

Display and Sound
The NV7915u’s 17.3-inch, 1600 x 900-pixel display was bright and crisp. While streaming Ghostbusters from Hulu, we noticed nice contrast between blues and reds in addition to rich, deep blacks. While images didn’t reverse colors until we were viewing the screen at extreme angles, its glossy finish kicked back a good number of reflections. The NV7915u’s stereo speakers delivered very good quality and more than adequate bass when we streamed John Mayer’s “Why Georgia” from Pandora. When cranked to its maximum settings, the volume was more than loud enough for movie watching, and we ended up scaling it back to around the medium setting.

Ports
You won’t find many surprises with the ports, which are average for a budget system. They include a five-format card reader, four USB 2.0 ports, HDMI and VGA ports, and headphone and mic jacks. Connectivity is provided via 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and Gigabit Ethernet, as well as a modem for those desperate times when one must resort to dial-up. As for other hardware, there’s also a built-in Webcam. (It performed well, even in low-light situations.) And on the right side is an 8x dual-layer DVD writer. Unfortunately, Gateway says a Blu-ray-drive option is not in the cards, which is too bad because one would have complemented the huge screen well.

Performance
Armed with a 2.13-GHz Intel Core i3-330M processor, 4GB of RAM, and 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium, the NV7915u delivers strong performance. Its PCMark Vantage score of 4,907 is about 400 points above the desktop replacement category average, and just 90 points below the Toshiba Satellite P505-S8010, which uses the same processor but is $300 more expensive. The NV7915u’s 5,400-rpm, 500GB hard drive transferred a 4.97GB mixed media folder at a rate of 24.2 MBps. While that’s just 3.3 MBps slower than the category average, its boot time of 1:15 seconds is 9 seconds longer than average. You’ll definitely want to uninstall trialware and get rid of some startup programs. Anecdotally, we didn’t experience any lag as we switched between tabs in Internet Explorer (one of which was Gmail, sending attachments). We were also easily able to move back and forth between open windows on the desktop while playing music, including Windows Explorer and the Control Panel.

No hard feelings, tx2, but there was always something just a little “behind the curve” about your design and feature set, and we’re kind of glad HP decided to go all-new with its TouchSmart tm2 followup. The 12.1-inch laptop is powered by new Intel Core 2 Duo procs and even discrete ATI Mobility Radeon graphics if you’re man enough, and claims 9 hours of battery life off its standard 6-cell. Most importantly, the capacitive multitouch screen is finger and pen friendly. The physical design takes some cues from HP’s new Envy laptops, including the controversial unibutton touchpad and lovable aluminum build, and seems decently thinner, lighter and stronger than the tx2. The laptop should be out on January 17th with a starting price of $949.

Design
The TouchSmart tm2 certainly catches your eye with its aluminum lid and deck decorated with a wave-like, laser-engraved illustration. (HP calls it Riptide.) This treatment isn’t as in-your-face as what you’ll find on the Envy line, which we appreciate; it’s only on the right part of the lid and to the right of the large touchpad. The bright and glossy 12.1-inch display (1200 x 800 pixels) has a thick black bezel surrounding it, which houses two loud but tinny Altec Lansing speakers along the bottom. The chiclet-style keyboard and touchpad are also black. Weighing 4.4 pounds, the tm2t is considerably lighter than its chunky plastic predecessor, the 5-pound tx2z. That’s partially because this notebook omits an optical drive. The tm2t also has a thinner profile, tapering from 1 inch in the front to 1.5 inches in the back to accommodate the beefy battery. (The tx2z measured 1.2 inches at its thinnest point.) This slope on the bottom of the machine actually makes it easier to hold in tablet mode. The tm2’s sturdy hinge creates a bulge on the back, but it allows users to rotate the screen in either direction. Overall, this convertible feels solid, but we noticed that the touch display makes the system somewhat top heavy. If we tilted the display more than 20 degrees backward the whole notebook would start to topple while on a desk or in our lap.

Display
The tm2′s 12.1-inch, 1280 x 800-pixel resolution screen is quite crisp, but the main adjective that comes to mind when describing it is glossy. We know we mention the need for more matte displays almost weekly, but in this case we were really beside ourselves – it seriously could double as a mirror. Viewing angles of the screen are also less than stellar; when we flipped the screen around and tilted it back to about 45 degrees, colors just faded, and we simply couldn’t make out images. Speaking of flipping the screen around – the unit’s bi-directional 360-degree hinge feels solid, and matching grooves along the edge of the keyboard and lid keep it locked in place when converted into slate mode. While we do have those major issues with the gloss of the screen, the capacitive touchscreen layer was extremely responsive to finger and stylus input. Dragging a finger down the screen to scroll was very responsive, and light taps on icons / within menus was all it took to navigate Windows 7 Home Premium. Windows 7′s touchpack comes preloaded, and we had a ball zooming in on the earth in Surface Globe. While we do love the Garden Pond screen saver, which lets you put multiple fingers on virtual water, HP’s own DigiFish Dolphin application let us “swim” with the creatures and zoom in and out. Yes, if you’re like us, it will keep you amused for at least… oh, five minutes.

Keyboard & Touchpad
The pad was way too sensitive during our testing; just brushing up against it ever so slightly while typing caused the cursor to jump up a few lines. On other occasions the tm2t would select a few lines of text when we didn’t want it to and we would accidentally delete sentences or entire paragraphs. The TouchSmart tm2t sports a spacious layout, and we like that it has dedicated action keys above the numbers. You can do anything from adjust the brightness to turn Wi-Fi on and off quickly and easily. Although we like the soft touch finish on the keys, which prevents slippage, the keys felt a bit chintzy and hollow as we typed, especially toward the edges of the keyboard. We also don’t like how HP unnecessarily shrunk the up and down arrow keys, to which we had to adjust. Selecting text (when we intended to) and even clicking on web links also proved more of a challenge on this notebook than most others we’ve tested. That’s because the cursor would often move just as we were about to press down on the left touch button. There’s more: the overactive pinch to zoom gesture would sometimes enlarge or shrink a web page when we just wanted to move around.

Software

In addition to its TouchSmart software, the tm2 comes preloaded with HP’s usual programs. Just like we mentioned in the dm4 review, a lot of stuff should go straight to the Recycle Bin – including the preloaded eBay and Shutterfly shortcut on the desktop. However, the HP dock that’s mounted to the top of the desktop is a nice addition once you customize it with applications you’d actually use. HP’s QuickWeb is also there, but we’ve never really ended up hanging in the pre-boot OS much.

Performance and Graphics
While this system’s no speed demon, the 1.2-GHz Core i3-U330 processor and 3GB of RAM inside the tm2t combine to offer fairly snappy performance—when you’re not fighting the touchpad. While its PCMark Vantage score of 3,806 is below the category average (4,033), the notebook barely flinched when we had several tabs open in Google Chrome while streaming Hulu in HP’s TouchSmart software in a smaller window.  Using its discrete graphics, the tm2t outclasses most other notebooks in its weight class; it turned in a 3DMark06 score of 2,882, considerably higher than the 2,127 average. The machine also notched very good frame rates in World of Warcraft, reaching 109 fps at 1024 x 768 and 35 fps at native resolution. The tm2t also managed 37 fps at the lower pixel count, though it dropped to an unplayable 17 fps at 1280 x 800.

Design
The MSI X350 has a distinct appearance, thanks to its ultra-thin form factor. People will instantly get attracted to its slimness and lightweight. The X350 is easy to carry around and won’t weigh your backpack down. It comes in black and silver color options, while most of its body has a diamond cluster design pattern. This texture feels nice, especially the palm rest area. However, the top half is covered by a glossy material that attracts fingerprints. Earlier, we’d complained about the X340′s flimsy build quality, but we’re happy to report that things have improved in the X350. Although it isn’t built like a tank (in other words, like the Macbook Air), the build quality’s quite decent. A feeling of sturdiness is delivered due to the metallic lining covering the bottom half. The screen hinge offers fair resistance as well. On the inside, we have a 13-inch display bearing an ideal 1366 x 768 pixel resolution. The display portrays good clarity for text and visuals. The brightness was upto the mark as well, and it was a good experience to watch HD movies on it. The webcam is pretty decent too.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The MSI X350’s large island-style keyboard is one of the most comfortable and responsive we’ve tested. After just a few minutes of using the notebook, we managed to get a score of 92 words per minute on the Ten Thumbs Typing Tutor test, 12 wpm above our typical 80-wpm score and a new personal best for this reviewer. We found the 4-inch-long palm rest a comfortable place to put our big wrists, but those with particularly short arms and fingers may find themselves stretching a little to get to the keys. Our only gripe is that some keys are undersized, including the right Shift, Enter, and Backspace keys.

The large, 3.5 x 2-inch touchpad on the X350 has a comfortable black surface that gave us plenty of room to navigate around the desktop with accuracy. It also supports multitouch gestures such as pinch-to-zoom; the Sentelic driver software that comes pre-installed gave us very fine control over the pad’s sensitivity and various multitouch gestures. Because the touchpad is so large and does not have palm rejection capabilities, we initially had a problem with moving the pointer while we were typing. However, after we turned on the touchpad’s typing detection, our problems were solved. While we always prefer discrete mouse pad buttons to a single bar, the X350’s single bar offered decent tactile feedback and was not too stiff.

Ports
Moving on, to the left we have a VGA, LAN, HDMI port and SD/MMC card slot. To the right, there are two closely packed USB ports. Thus, if you have a slightly wide peripheral like some of the wireless data cards, it will cover a part of the other port, thus rendering it useless. Also, just two USB ports could prove insufficient for some. These are followed by a headphone/microphone jack and the power port. We like the fact that thin and light models like the X350 come with petite power adapters like the ones bundled with netbooks, which are easier to carry.

Performance
The MSI X350’s 1.3-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 CPU, integrated Intel GMA 4500 graphics, and 5,400-rpm hard drive won’t set any speed records, but they offer more than adequate performance for everyday tasks, from watching high-def videos to surfing the web, transcoding video, and navigating the globe in Google Earth. However, several larger and heavier 13-inch notebooks in the same price range carry more powerful processors that turned in stronger results.

On PCMark Vantage, a synthetic benchmark that measures overall performance, the X350 scored 2,631, which is nearly 1,000 points better than last year’s single-core MSI X340, but 600 points below the ultraportable category average. The 4.8-pound ASUS U30Jc-1A ($879), which costs $20 less than the X350 and sports a 2.26-GHz Intel Core i3 CPU, scored a massive 5,334. And the 4.8-pound Apple MacBook ($999) managed an impressive 4,259 as well.

The MSI X350’s 5,400-rpm, 500GB Toshiba hard drive booted into Windows 7 Home Premium (32-bit) in a mediocre 64 seconds, 5 seconds slower than the category average. Perhaps part of the problem is the 14 seconds of BIOS POST time that takes place before Windows even starts loading.

The X350’s hard drive took 3 minutes and 58 seconds to complete the LAPTOP Transfer Test, in which we copy 4.97GB of mixed media files. That’s a rate of 21.4 MBps, which is a little slower than the category average of 25.3 MBps, but still faster than some of its competitors. The U30Jc-1A managed only 20.9 MBps and, when running Windows 7 via Boot Camp, the MacBook was even slower at 19.6 MBps.

The X350 took 1 minute and 52 seconds to transcode a 114MB MPEG-4 video to AVI format using Oxelon Media Encoder. That’s 15 seconds faster than the category average of 2 minutes and 7 seconds. However, the U30Jc-1A finished in only 1 minute and 12 seconds, while the MacBook took only 1 minute and 7 seconds.

Design
The A11’s matte black lid is dimpled with a handsome pattern that doesn’t show fingerprints, and it continues on the deck; the bezel is also a matte black plastic, but lacks the fancy design. Overall, this a very understated look that will no doubt appeal to business users, but it lacks the panache of the HP ProBook series, which has a more elegant brushed aluminum lid. Above the keyboard are buttons for launching Toshiba’s Eco utility, outputting the screen to a projector or larger display, and volume controls. These are handy to have, but we think they would be better put to use if they offered quick access to, say, PowerPoint or some other business-centric function. Measuring 14.7 x 9.9 x 1.5 inches and weighing 5.8 pounds, the A11 is a bit too bulky to carry around; those who travel often should look elsewhere. This notebook is certainly portable enough to take to meetings, but you’ll need to keep an eye on that battery meter (more on that below).

Display
We found the Tecra’s main appeal is the large 15.6in display with its 1,366×768 resolution that makes for comfortable viewing of spreadsheets and web pages, while its size also means there is plenty of space to rest your palms while using the keyboard. This resolution is a bit low for a screen of this size, but users can obtain resolutions up to 2,048×1,536 on an external display. In terms of performance, the 2.4GHz Core i5 processor, which looks like four CPUs to the system because of Intel’s Hyperthreading technology, seemed to make little difference in normal use. That was until we tried an action such as opening a graphics-heavy PDF, which the Tecra took in its stride, while another PC we viewed it on struggled to display it, especially when scrolling up and down. The Windows Experience Index in Windows 7 rated the Tecra at just 3.9, but this result is pegged back by the performance of the Intel graphics built into the processor itself, with the processor, memory and disk subsystems all showing high scores of 5.1 and above.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The A11’s deck is large enough to comfortably fit a full keyboard and number pad. The black matte keys are of the traditional variety, had a nice textured surface, and responded well when typing. We were up to our usual speed in no time. The 3 x 1.6-inch touchpad is comfortably large, and its surface let us move around with ease. Below, the two mouse buttons (separated by a fingerprint reader) are made of a shiny metallic plastic, which makes them really stand out on the all-black deck. Despite picking up fingerprints, the buttons were large and responsive.

Battery life
Another point worth noting is the relatively poor battery life of this model. Toshiba quotes a life of four hours and 40 minutes from the 55Wh lithium ion battery, but we found that it lasted no longer than one hour and 23 minutes in our tests using the Battery Eater Pro benchmark. This suggests that, while the Tecra A11 is a good overall workhorse machine, it should be regarded as a portable computer for lugging between sites where there is mains power, rather than to be used much on batteries while travelling.

Software
As with other Toshiba models we have seen, the Tecra A11 has numerous utilities that load when the system boots. We counted no fewer than 15 in the system notification area on the taskbar, including McAfee Security Centre, Intel’s Rapid Storage Technology tool, and Toshiba’s own Tempro performance tuning tool, PC Health Monitor, Eco Utility, HDD Protecton and Fingerprint Utility for log-on. Other software installed includes a 60-day trial copy of Microsoft Office, which now requires a live internet connection to work, Toshiba ReelTime for finding recently accessed files, Toshiba Assist for technical help, and a tool for the built-in webcam, which supports resolutions up to 1,280×800 pixels.

Performance
Powered by a 2.66-GHz Intel Core i7-620M processor and 4GB of RAM (expandable to 8GB), the A11 scored a blazing 7,029 on PCMark Vantage, almost 2,800 points above the mainstream laptop average, and better than the HP EliteBook 8440w (6,975) and Apple MacBook Pro in Boot Camp (6,699), both of which utilizing the same processor and amount of RAM. The A11’s 7,200-rpm, 320GB hard drive was fast, duplicating a 4.97GB folder of multimedia in 3 minutes and 3 seconds, a rate of 27.8 MBps. That’s about 5 MBps faster than the average and just above the HP ProBook 5310m (26.2 MBps), but below the Lenovo Thinkpad SL510 (29.2 MBps). Using Oxelon Media Converter, the A11 transcoded a 114MB MPEG-4 to AVI in a blazing 48 seconds, beating the mainstream average by 16 seconds.

Design

After churning out umpteen NV notebooks with updated specs but the same design, Gateway has re-thought this line of laptops. Following a trend set by HP and Dell, Gateway ditched its super glossy lid and instead went with a subtly patterned one whose finish has a bit too much kick to be called matte, but is still subdued enough that it’s not reflective. The result is an attractive, more understated surface that masks fingerprints. The lid and palm rest’s silver color and fine pattern of wavy lines should also prove gender-neutral.

Gone, too, are the touch-sensitive multimedia controls above the keyboard. Instead, there’s a thin chrome strip above the keys that houses LED lights for Wi-Fi and battery status, as well as a discreet power button. The multimedia keys are now baked into the top row of the keyboard, as they are on Macs. In addition to multimedia keys, there’s a dedicated button for launching Social Network Service—Gateway’s own dashboard for Facebook, Flickr, and YouTube (more on that later).

The chiclet-style keyboard—basically, Acer’s FineTip design—is new to the NV series, too, although Gateway still fits in a full number pad, something many other 15-inch systems lack. As a result, though, the touchpad is placed left of center, so that it falls in the center of the keyboard, but not the palm rest itself. The NV59C09u feels surprisingly compact at 15 x 10 x 1.3 inches and 5.4 pounds; it weighs the same as the Editors’ Choice–winning HP G62t and is lighter than the minimalist 5.6-pound 15-inch MacBook Pro and older 5.6-pound Gateway NV.

Keyboard & Touchpad

Its full size keyboard uses very large chiclet keys so that mistypes are rare. Like the R580, a full size numeric keypad lies adjacent to the keyboard—great for accountants and number crunchers. The mouse buttons aren’t completely silent, but their resistance is minimal and pleasant to use. The large, gesture-enabled touchpad responded smoothly to pinching and zooming, as well as to one-fingered scrolling. With a smooth, low-friction surface and an easy-to-press touch button to match, this redesigned NV is an improvement over its predecessors.

Display and Sound

When we watched the first Iron Man movie on Blu-ray, the picture looked bright and sharp on the 15.6-inch screen, as did a lower-resolution SNL Digital Short on Hulu. Still, the benefits of having a Blu-ray drive are mostly lost on a 1366 x 768 display. A higher resolution would have been nice, although we suppose that’s a reasonable trade-off to make in a sub-$800 machine. The speaker strip, barely noticeable above the keyboard, produced slightly metallic bass notes when we played “Telephone” by Lady Gaga and “Paint it Black” by the Rolling Stones.

Ports

With the built-in HDMI port, the NV59C09u can double as a standalone Blu-ray player—all you need is an HDMI cable and an HDTV. It has your standard connectors, such as 3 USB ports, VGA, audio jacks, and Ethernet port. A multimedia card reader (SD, xD, MS, MS Pro, MMC) can be found in the front bezel. The 320GB hard drive is in line with its peers, although the Samsung R580 also gives you 500GB of storage space and an eSATA port for expansion.

Performance

The NV59C09u’s list of specs echo what we’ve seen on lots of budget notebooks lately: a 2.13-GHz Intel Core i3-330M processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 5,400-rpm, 320GB hard drive. In general, it performs better than the average mainstream laptop. Its score of 4,846 in PCMark Vantage, for instance, falls almost 700 points above the average. Then again, the less expensive HP G62t ($599) comes with the same processor and amount of RAM, as well as a larger, faster 7,200-rpm hard drive, and it notched a much better score of 5,306. The Dell Studio 15, which packs a more powerful Core i5 processor and a 7,200-rpm hard drive, also steamrolls the NV with a score of 5,735. The Samsung R580, which has a 2.26-GHz Core i5-430 CPU and 4GB of RAM, bested them all with a score of 5,804.

The NV converted a 114MB MPEg-4 file to AVI in 1 minute and 4 seconds using Oxelon Media Converter, which is faster than average. The machine was powerful enough that we didn’t notice Norton Internet Security running in the background as we watched a Hulu clip at full screen. Meanwhile, its boot time of 1:03 is right on the money in terms of what you can expect of a notebook this size. However, its 5,400-rpm hard drive transferred a 4.97GB mixed media file in 4:51—a rate of 17.5 MBps, which is slower than the mainstream average of 22.5 MBps as well as the Samsung R580’s speed of 26.2 MBps.

A 48WH (6-cell) battery is a very common capacity for laptops in this class. Based on some of these battery scores on MobileMark 2007—the Dell 1564 finished it in 3 hours 29 minutes, the HP dv6-2150us in 3:46, and the Samsung R580 in 3:42—you wouldn’t expect anything more from the NV59C09u. It scored 3 hours 42 minutes. One notable exception is the Asus UL50VF-A1, which ships with a much bigger battery (84WH) and more energy efficient parts, and consequently, scored 8 hours in the same test.

The Gateway NV59C09u seems like a great value if you’re buying it for the Blu-ray drive alone. With any laptop, though, you’ll have to look at the entire picture. Beyond the Blu-ray drive, everything else—a low-end Core i3 processor, integrated graphics, and a plain design—is just average. Even though our Editors’ Choice, the Samsung R580 ($830) is slightly more expensive, there’s just more value.

Design
Like the Edge 13, the Edge 14 has a different aesthetic than traditional ThinkPads. You can take your pick from three different lid colors: Midnight Black matte (our configuration), Midnight Black glossy, and Heatwave Red. The sides have a silver trim, which adds a touch of style, but would be even more attractive if it were metal rather than plastic. The rest of the notebook—its deck, bezel, and bottom—are made out of smooth black plastic that looks and feels sleeker than the grainy plastic found on other ThinkPads.

The biggest touch of style is the fancy ThinkPad logo that appears on both the lid and deck; it features a bright red light that stays solid when the notebook is on but blinks when it is asleep. At 13.5 x 9.2 x 1.3 inches and 5 pounds (with the standard six-cell battery), the Edge 14 is no ultraportable, but it compares favorably to other 14-inch small business notebooks like the T410 (5.2 pounds), the Dell Latitude E5400 (5.6 pounds), and the HP ProBook 4510s (5.7 pounds). We were able to carry both the laptop and a giant pile of books with us back and forth from work on a couple of occasions without breaking a sweat.

Keyboard and Touchpad
When I first saw the leaked images of the new ThinkPad keyboard, I have to admit I was less than pleased. The keyboard is one of the few remaining original and unchanged parts of ThinkPad notebooks. The layout has been updated over the years, but the keyboard could always be identified as “ThinkPad.” With the new design, Lenovo took a hint from other new keyboard designs hitting the market and blended a combination of form and function.

The keyboard takes a Chiclet/Island-style that’s common on notebooks ranging from the latest netbooks to the newest Apple MacBook, and merges it with a traditional ThinkPad design. What makes the keyboard unique is that it’s the first Chiclet keyboard I have found that’s very comfortable and easy to type on. Most Chiclet-style keyboards have flat top keys, different spacing and a shallower throw than a normal keyboard. The ThinkPad Edge 14 doesn’t have these problems, creating an ideal hybrid keyboard that I can easily say is among the best implementations I have used to date.

Typing pressure and feedback is similar to a typical ThinkPad keyboard, so similar in fact that if you type with your eyes closed you might not even realize the key shape changed. The throw distance seems to be identical to my T60 with the same type of click sound made when fully pressed. Removing the keytops reveal the familiar scissor-action found in traditional ThinkPad keyboards. My best guess would be Lenovo kept the original frame and action assembly, only updating the keytops and adding an internal bezel structure. The change doesn’t compromise strength; it shows no flex under strong typing pressure.

The Edge offers a generously-sized Synaptics touchpad, having nearly three times the surface area compared to my T60. If you regularly use smaller touchpads, you might have a bit of a learning curve before it becomes second nature. During the first couple of days, I would frequently touch the bottom of the touchpad surface instead of clicking the left or right buttons. This would move the cursor off target; it was annoying until I adapted to its size. Overall, the touchpad was pleasant to use, with a fast response time and no discernable lag. Sensitivity was excellent and no adjustment was needed out of the box. This particular touchpad has some multitouch capabilities, including pinch-to-zoom and pivot-rotation. After extended use, I didn’t have any problems with the touchpad texture; its smooth matte finish was easy to glide across with dry or slightly damp fingers. The touchpad buttons seem to have a slightly shallower clicking motion compared to other ThinkPads, but still provided good feedback.

Performance
The Edge 14’s 2.13-GHz Intel Core i3 M330 CPU enabled it to provide fast performance on every task we threw at it, from circling the globe in Google Earth to compressing video. On PCMark Vantage, a benchmark that measures overall system speed, the Edge scored a strong 4,293, well above the thin and light notebook category average of 3,519 and even further ahead of the HP ProBook 5310m (3,382) and ThinkPad SL510 (3,493). The Edge’s 5,400-rpm, 250GB booted Windows 7 Professional in a remarkable 36 seconds. The drive took a somewhat leisurely 3 minutes and 54 seconds to complete the LAPTOP File Transfer test (in which we copy 4.97GB of mixed media files from one folder to another) for a rate of 21.6 MBps. That rate is below the 22.1 MBps category average and well behind the 26.2 MBps offered by the ProBook 5310m, the 29.2 MBps returned by the ThinkPad SL510, and the 23.5 MBps provided by the ThinkPad Edge 13. A faster, 7,200-rpm drive is available as an option. When it came to video transcoding, the Edge 14 performed well, converting a 114MB MPEG-4 to AVI in just 1 minute and 7 seconds using Oxelon media encoder, 2 seconds faster than the thin-and-light category average.

• Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor P8400 (2.26 GHz)
• Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium
• 14.1″ WXGA display (1280 x 800)
• Built-in 1.3 megapixel camera: MOTION EYE
• Intuitive Operation: Touch Sensor
• Touch and Feel: Glowing Luminous LED

Pet the Sony VAIO VGN-CS16G and see it glow! That’s the CS series’ selling point – aside from wowing you with graphics and functionality. So if you have the dough, declare your war against recession and stamp your name on this laptop.

The CS series is sleek, and it’s capable of providing above-average performance whether for gaming, watching a flick, busting your eardrums with rock music, or just doing boring office work. It’s hard to diss a Sony VAIO.

Same old beast
The obvious upside to a VAIO is, of course, its looks. But the VGN-CS16G has more to offer than dashing good looks. For starters, it has a 2.26GHz Intel Core Duo processor, a 250GB hard drive, two gigs of RAM and a 14.1-inch widescreen display powered by an NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GPU.

In simple speak, everything mentioned above translates to more brute power than a fashion-centric user could ever hope to utilize. It’s even good enough for HD videos and games, although don’t expect it to keep up with the gaming Joneses for more than a year or two, tops.

Light it up
What’s new with this latest VAIO incarnation, however, may trump all the techie mumbo jumbo we just spilled. Sony says it wants users to “experience the fun factor” with the VGN-CS16G. What did they mean? Well, the laptop has luminous LEDs underneath, which light up when you stroke the Sony logo behind the screen and when you’re playing music.

The LEDs emit different colors for different purposes. For music in particular, the color depends on how “cheerful” the track is. A novelty? Maybe. Psychedelic? You bet. Whatever the reason, we say it’s time to stand out from the crowd.

Design
For a budget system, the MSI A6200 sports a rather classy design. The glossy black lid and palm rest are adorned with subtle gray pinstripes that reminded us of an upscale business suit.  The touchpad, which sits in a concave area of the palm rest, also carries the pattern. The dek and bezel are also made from glossy black plastic, and the front lip of the system carries a tasteful array of status lights in bright blue and green. Unfortunately, all this gloss adds up to a fingerprint magnet.

At 14.7 x 9.7 x 1.2 inches and 5.4 pounds, the MSI A6200 is no ultraportable but it feels surprisingly light for a 15.6-inch notebook with an optical drive. We were able to carry both the notebook and a pile of textbooks around in our bag all day without feeling like we were lifting something heavy. That’s a bit lighter than competitors like the Gateway NV5934U (5.6 pounds) and the Toshiba L505-ES5018 (6 pounds).

Keyboard and Touchpad
Because of its screen’s wide aspect ratio, the A6200 has room for a numeric keypad and plenty of space to stretch out your hands. The island style keyboard has keys with a comfortable matte plastic surface but less tactile feedback than we’d like. On the Ten Thumbs Typing Tutor test we managed to reach 86 words per minute, far better than our usual 80 wpm rate. However, we also had a 3-percent error rate (worse than our typical 1-percent rate), because the keys didn’t snap back at us as forcefully as we like.

The indented touchpad looks very attractive and provided accurate navigation around the desktop. However, it does not support multitouch gestures such as pinch-to-zoom, a feature most modern notebooks now support. The mouse buttons are paired into a single mouse bar, which is less pleasant to click than two discrete buttons, but offers decent feedback.

Heat
During light use the A6200 stayed relatively cool, but when we played a Hulu video at full screen minutes, it got warmer. After 15 minutes of streaming video, the keyboard reached 95 degrees Fahrenheit, the touchpad heated up to 97 degrees, and the bottom warmed up to 95 degrees. We consider temperatures above 95 degrees to be uncomfortable and above 100 degrees disturbing. The Gateway NV5934u, by comparison, had a keyboard that reached 98 degrees and a bottom that measured 100 degrees.

Ports and Webcam
a6200_sh1For a budget system, the MSI A6200 does not skimp on ports. On its back side are a Kensington lock slot, a VGA-out connection, HDMI port, and two USB ports. Having those connections on the back of the notebook is a little odd, and means you have to reach around behind the system when plugging in devices. The left side contains an Ethernet port, a 4-in-1 memory card reader, audio in/out jacks, and an ExpressCard 54 slot. The right side has one more USB port, for a total of three.

The 1.3-megapixel webcam offered mediocre quality images in normal lighting conditions.  In extreme low light, we were able to get a clear, though largely colorless picture. But when we turned on a light source behind us in an otherwise dim room, the picture got worse as our face became extremely dark in comparison to the background.  When conducting a Skype call, images were sharp but a little jerky.

Performance
The MSI A6200’s 2.13-GHz Intel Core i3 M330 CPU allowed it to get reasonable performance scores that were slightly above the mainstream notebook category average and similar to those offered by other sub-$600 15 and 14-inch consumer notebooks. On PCMark Vantage, a synthetic benchmark that measures overall performance, the A6200 scored a respectable 4,191, which is more than 300 points higher than the category average and far better than the 3,531 turned in by the Toshiba Satellite L505-ES5018. The Core i3-powered Dell Inspiron 14 (4,720) and Gateway NV5934U (4,248) had slightly higher scores, while the HP G62t (5,306) did much better.

Design

Ever since Gateway rebranded itself as a more fashionable notebook manufacturer, the company has been on a roll in churning out good-looking budget laptops, and the NV7915u is no exception. The glossy NightSky Black lid, with its subtle Honeycomb pattern, isn’t as luxe as something like the HP Envy 15, but neither does it look cheap. However, the lid doesn’t hide fingerprints as well as the Midnight Blue color found on the NV5807u. Other design flourishes include a matte silver hinge with the power button built into the side (like Sony VAIOs), a glossy upper deck, and LED lights and touch-sensitive controls that glow red. At 6.8 pounds, this notebook is not one you’re going to tote around much, but it’s lighter than many desktop replacements.

The touch-sensitive controls responded to even the lightest tap. While there are volume controls and a mute button, there are no external controls for multimedia playback. However, there are buttons for Launch Manager, MyBackup (more on that later), disabling the trackpad, and enabling or disabling Wi-Fi. When you tap the Launch Manager button (a bold P above the keyboard), you can configure the notebook to automatically launch an application of your choosing the next time you press the button.

Display
The Gateway NV7915u has a massive chassis and weighs 6.8 pounds. The classy design offers some nice touches, however. In contrast to the smudge-prone glossy finish on the outside, the keyboard and wrist rest have a subtle matte finish. Above the keyboard is a row of status lights (Bluetooth, hard-drive access, etc) as well as touch-sensitive LED’s that let you activate data backup, Wi-Fi toggle, touch pad disable, mute and volume control. THe NV7915u also comes with a good but not spectacular set of interface and media features: a DVD drive, four USB ports, HDMI- and VGA-out, an SD card reader and network and modem ports.

The huge 17.3 inch screen is almost intimidating. It’s large enough for you to multitask effectively and view program windows side by side, which is a big plus for the Gateway laptop. The even brightness and good contrast make text very readable, but it’s not as sharp as on some of the best laptops. The widescreen format is also good for watching movies, but the nonstandard 1600 by 900 resolution may not look so good when you connect it to a monitor or HDTV. The home-theatre video performance will depend heavily on the scaling properties of your AV receiver and HDTV. The NV7915u has a solid screen, but it’s not worth making it the home-theatre.

Keyboard and Trackpad
The keys on the NV7915u are flat, but close together. Even with a full number pad on the right-hand side, the keys were still large enough for us to type comfortably without making typos. The keys’ subtle textured finish made it easy to get a grip, too. At 1.8 inches, the touchpad could be taller, but at least its 3.3-inch width feels roomy. As far as touchpads go, the NV7915u’s feels smooth and doesn’t offer too much friction. On the other hand, although its mirrored design is appealing, we found the mouse bar uncomfortable; it’s a single button, and the strip is too narrow. It took us a while to get used to pressing the far edges of the bar to get better tactile feedback.

Performance
Gateway NV7915u The parts aren’t top of the line, but at least Gateway isn’t giving you a Celeron or Pentium equivalent. An Intel Core i3-330M processor is very respectable in terms of speed, right behind the Core i5s and the Core i7s. In video encoding tests, it fell 7-8 seconds shy of the Dell 1764 (5955IBU) (0:50) and HP dv7-3183cl (0:49), both of which run on a Core i5-430M processor. The NV7915u did really well in PCMark Vantage tests (5,182), breaking the 5,000 mark. All of the systems that run on Intel’s latest Core processor will ship with DDR3 memory only, and most of them run on 4GB—the NV7915u is no exception.

Unfortunately, the price of the NV7915u will only net you an integrated graphics chipset. But if you’re not a serious gamer or a CAD specialist, this isn’t a big concern. Pricier systems like the Acer AS8940-6865 and HP dv7-3183cl ship with Nvidia discrete graphics cards, which are known for their 3D prowess. Regardless of price, battery life will be underwhelming, because the sheer size of the screen eats up a lot of it. The NV7915u scored 3 hours 32 minutes, which fell in line with the HP dv7-3183cl (3:36) and Dell 1764 (5955IBU) (3:01). The size of the battery is important, too. But if you want to maximize battery life, you only have one option with the NV7915u: a 48WH (6-cell) battery. Meanwhile, the Dell 1764 (5955IBU) has an option for bigger batteries.

Gateway may not be the big household name it used to be, but it undercuts the competition without making too many sacrifices. The Gateway NV7915u runs on the latest line of Intel processors, comes with a 500GB hard drive, and has plenty of screen real estate—all this for only $600. It’s hard to complain, but if your budget is a little bigger, check out the Acer Aspire AS8940 series.

Specs

Price $599
Processor 2.13GHz Intel Core i3 M330
Memory 4GB DDR3 SDRAM 1066MHz
Hard drive 500GB, 5,400rpm
Chipset Intel HM55
Graphics Intel GMA HD
Operating System Windows 7 Home Premium
Dimensions (WDH) 16.2 x 11.0 x 1.4 inches
Screen size (diagonal)     17.3 inches
System weight / Weight with AC adapter     6.9 / 7.8 pounds
Category Desktop replacement

Samsung’s R580 has an heir. The gaming suitable 15.6 incher of mid 2009 combined good graphic performance with an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 and a feasible processor performance with an Intel Core 2 Duo T6400 (2.0 GHz) together in an affordable notebook. The R522 was priced around 650 euro in the summer of 2009.

Intel’s new mobile processor generation, Core i3, i5 and i7, found their way onto the wish lists of notebook buyers at the turn of the year 2009/2010. Numerous tests quickly revealed that a mobile Core i5 has the best value for money ratio. The Core i7s are more expensive for OEM manufacturers in procurement and ultimately don’t provide private customers with significantly more performance. Additionally, the quad-core i7′s battery life is considerably shorter than the one of the dual-core i5.

The mobile Core i5, in combination with a middle class graphic card, should exactly meet the wishes of many notebook buyers: An efficient system for multimedia requirements on which many current games run smoothly. All of this should cost a lot less than 1000 euro. Samsung has chosen the Core i5-520M beside Nvidia’s GeForce GT 330M and places them in a red case for a bit more than 800 euro. Does the manufacturer manage to hit the bullseye with the R580 Hawk?

Design

Shiny laminates featuring geometric patterns or floral designs on laptops are nothing new. While others, like HP, Gateway, and Toshiba, went with a single color, the R580 uses two: A deep cherry red stain in the center that fades into a thick black border. Embedded in the cherry/black glaze is a ripple pattern, which, altogether, Samsung is calling its Crystal Wave design. Though the material used is as plasticky as the HP Pavilion dv6-2150us and Gateway NV7915u, the R580 stands out from the crowd. Even so, metal frames, like those found in the Asus UL50VF-A1 and the Apple MacBook Pro 15-inch, are more appealing from a design standpoint. At 5.5 pounds, it’s lighter than the Dell Studio 1555-4285MBU (5.9 lbs) and the Acer Aspire AS5740-6378 (5.7 lbs).

The 15.6-inch widescreen provides plenty of viewing space. Its price, though, limits the R580 to a 1,366-by-768 resolution, which is good enough for a 720p HD experience. Media centers like the Acer Aspire AS8940-6865 bump the resolution up to 1,920-by-1,080 for full (1080p) HD, while pricier systems like the HP Envy 15 ($1,800 direct, ) give you the option to upgrade to a full HD resolution. The island-style keyboard is nearly identical to the Asus UL50VF-A1, right down to the adjacent numeric keypad. It doesn’t have a backlit keyboard like the Apple MacBook Pros, but there are LED lights on the corner of the touchpad. The mouse buttons are easy to click, though they aren’t as soft as the ones found on the Dell 1555-4285MBU.

The Blu-ray drive (BD-Rom) is the showpiece of the R580′s feature set. I’ve scoured the Web for the 15-inch systems that have Blu-ray drives, and almost all of them cost more than $1,000. Fact is, Blu-ray titles are coming down in price and you can rent them for as low as $6 a month on Netflix. And if a 15.6-inch screen isn’t big enough, you can use the included HDMI port and take the experience to a bigger display. The 500GB hard drive is also impressive, given that the Asus UL50VF-A1, Acer AS5740, and HP dv6-2150us come with 320GB drives. And basic amenities like 4 USB port (one of which doubles as an E-SATA connection), ExpressCard, an SD slot, and VGA are all present.

Keyboard & Touchpad

As in the R522 predecessor, Samsung applies a chiclet keyboard. The keys are connected by crosspieces. The key gaps have been increased, as Samsung has selected an alternative without a key base. The keys bid the typist a pleasant, distinct pressure point, a long stroke length, and a firm stroke. The keyboard is embedded firmly on almost the entire surface; merely the numerical block yields slightly. The large gaps and the well-executed layout simplify the frequent typist’s work. The numerical block makes it easy to input columns of figures.

We don’t like the squeezed in, too small arrow keys, though. In computer games, as well as Excel, it often results in fingers hitting the “one” or the shift key. If you’re controlling a car race game, you’ll quickly get annoyed.

The mouse substitute is worked into the wrist-rest. A nonslip, transparent coating marks the sensitive surface. Four small blue LEDs light up as soon as we touch the pad so that it can’t be missed in dim surroundings. If you like, you can imagine these to be the lights of a runway. The surface has a vertical and horizontal scroll bar, even if it’s not been made optically visible. It is a multi-touch pad that recognizes two finger gestures. For example, the user can zoom by spreading two fingers on it. The keys click quietly but somewhat clattery and therefore make a low-end impression.

Performance

Samsung R580 The Blu-ray drive is just part of the R580′s appeal. Offering it at this price with the latest Intel Core i5 processor is a feat few can pull off. The 2.27 GHz Core i5-430M processors and 4GB of memory are a solid combination, matching that of the Acer AS5740. According to video encoding (49 seconds) and Cinebench R10 (7,824) tests, the R580 blew away the Core i3 processors found in the HP dv6-2150us and Dell Inspiron i1464-4382OBK ($749.98 list, ). Its PCMark Vantage score (5,779) took top honors, while Photoshop CS4 scores indicate that this is a perfect machine for advanced photo editing.

While an Intel integrated graphics chipset is the popular standard among affordable laptops, Samsung goes against the grain by including an Nvidia GeForce 310M graphics chip. Not only will this chip optimize Blu-ray and HD playback, but it can also muscle through the latest 3D games. Crysis and World in Conflict scores were indicative of a smooth gaming experience, and 3DMark06 scores overtook those of the UL50VF-A1.

The disadvantage, however, of building a laptop around power is that battery life takes a beating. The R580 comes with a 48WH (6-cell) battery, which is consistent with its rivals. A 3 hour, 42 minute MobileMark 2007 score may not seem like much, but remember, this is a desktop replacement laptop that will probably sit near a power outlet most of the time.

The Samsung R580 is the cheapest desktop replacement I’ve seen that bundles a Core i5 processor and a Blu-ray drive. It’s tailor-made for high definition enthusiasts who aren’t ready to pay over a $1,000 for a fancy media center. Aside from some minor tradeoffs (a low resolution and small battery), they won’t matter as much once you realize how much more you’re paying for these amenities elsewhere.