Notebook Lounge | Laptop Reviews

Asus have announced the new Lamborghini VX2 laptop which will replace the popular VX1. Right now there is not much information about the Lambo VX2 as Asus have yet to release the specifications of the notebook.
We do know that it will ship with Windows Vista and use an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU the Centrino Duo Mobile. Read more

The Dell Latitude 131L uses the powerful AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-50 CPU which runs at 1.6GHz, and features an 80GB SATA hard drive, DVD burner and 512 MB RAM. The smallish sizes notebook is aimed mostly at business users who don’t want an extremely flashy looking computer. TrustReviews have reviewed the Latitude 131L and say, All in all, this spec should prove more than sufficient for the great majority of office workers, and our tests revealed solid performance and decent battery life. It also compares favorably with competing units providing plenty of bang for your business buck. It’s also worth noting that, from what we’ve been able to establish, the Dell website only allows a memory configuration of 1GB or more, though this is really ideal with Vista looming large on the horizon.
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Samsung have updated their popular Q35 laptop with the Q35 Red. The Q35 Red now has a powerful Core 2 Duo processor, and a number of other upgrades, and the “Red” is definitely more than just a color change. The Q35 Red comes with 1.24 gig of RAM, and onboard graphics which share some of this memory. TrustedReviews have taken a look at the Q35 Red and say, lifting that red lid reveals a silver keyboard and wrist rest, along with a 12.1in widescreen display with a silver bezel surrounding it. The screen has a native resolution of 1,280 x 800, which is pretty standard for a 12.1in widescreen display. The screen also has a high contrast glossy coating.
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The Fujitsu LifeBook T4215 is a convertible tablet notebook with a modern design and components and great functionality. The T4215 using the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors give it a lot of power and is also very configurable and suited for outdoor use. Cnet have a review of the LifeBook T4215 and say, We love the double swivel. The importance of this seemingly common-sense approach is only obvious once you’ve twisted the screen of a different convertible tablet in the wrong direction, nearly snapping it off in your hand. For that reason alone, the LifeBook T4215 is a good choice for the accident-prone.
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The Zalman ZM-NC1000 is an ultra quiet notebook cooler. The ZM-NC1000 is Zalman’s first notebook cooler after a huge line of other quiet pc cooling components.
I have used other notebook coolers in the past, such as Vantec’s LapCool3, and have never been too impressed by them, especially their build quality, with cheap creeky plastic and fragile build.
From the very first instant the ZM-NC1000 was impressive, both to look at and hold. I chose the silver style to match my laptop, it is also available in black.
The ZM-NC1000 is very solid and conducts heat well, we can tell this as the cooler is cold to touch. As well as looking smart and well designed it is very sturdy and secure, holding the notebook at a very comfortable angle to type on, with large rubber pads.
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The Asus G1 is a mid priced 15-inch laptop in aimed at the gamer. Most gaming laptops come with a big price tag, but the G1 does not. Cnet have a review of the G1, and say, “Measuring 14 inches wide, 11.2 inches deep, and 1.6 inches high, the Asus G1 sits somewhere between the mainstream and desktop replacement classes of laptops. The physical measurements and 15.4-inch display say mainstream, while the sheer weight edges into the desktop replacement category–meaning this system is best set up on a semipermanent perch in your office, dorm, or computer room.”
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The Dell XPS M1710 has been a very popular notebook in both professional reviews and also customer reviews. The XPS M1710 is well packed with features and great for gamers and thoes who want a good graphics package.
Cnet have reviewed the XPS M1710 and say the design is nearly identical to that of the previous model, the XPS M170, and very similar to the more multimedia-focused Inspiron E1705. (Well, except for all of the glowing lights: the XPS M1710 can emit shafts of light in any one of 16 colors from its lid, side vents, and speaker vents.) Crafted out of sturdy and stylish magnesium alloy, the XPS M1710 measures 15.5 inches wide, 11.3 inches deep, and 1.6 inches thick.
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The Samsung X11 is a well priced dual-core laptop, which should be at midrange for most people. TrustedReviews has a review of the X11 and say. The presence of a dual-core chip in a notebook is virtually a necessity at this price level and the T2300 is the slowest of the range, but still a great performer. On this model, this is only backed up with 512MB of DDR2 RAM, which is a bit 2004 - we’d want at least 1GB of RAM.

The graphics are integrated onto the motherboard chipset, so you only get Intel 945GM, which is a pretty week performer in 3D - if you want to play 3D games on a notebook you need to look for something with dedicated graphics from ATI or nVidia.

Ultimately though, it’s not the Gateway that does it for the X11, it’s Samsung’s own Q35. This essentially offers the same specs as the X11 but in a smaller, lighter package but with better battery life. As you can get a low end Q35 for £870, it’s difficult to recommend the larger and less stylish X11, especially while its spacebar keeps sticking.

The Samsung M55 is a new HD-DVD laptop with some very nice specifications. If you are looking for a nice laptop to play HD-DVD video and other media the M55 be perfect.
The M55 is the worlds lightest and thinnest 17-inch widescreen at just 3.4xm think and weighing just under 3kg. The 17-inch glossy widescreen display has a great HD resolution of 1920×1200, and features the powerful GeForce 7600 Go 256mb graphic card and HDMI output for HDTV connection, and S/PDIF for digital sound systems.
The M55 has up to 120gb SATA disk, 802.11a/b/g wireless, Bluetooth 2.0 and is powered by an Intel T2500 Core Duo processor.

The Asus Lamborghini VX1 is a Centrino laptop. My review model came with a Core Duo T2500 processor clocked at 2GHz, although models with a Core 2 Duo processor will be available soon, Asus tells me. The chipset is the Intel 945PM, so there’s no integrated graphics. Asus has gone for the Nvidia GeForce Go 7400 VX with 512MB of Turbo Cache, which is a souped up version of the GeForce Go 7400 but still far from a suitable solution for gaming on the move. This is rather disappointing considering the Lamborghini badge, and one would think that Asus would’ve fitted a more powerful graphics chip into the VX1.

Around the keyboard is a metal surround under which the speakers have been hidden towards the front of the laptop. This gives the VX1 a more exclusive feel to it, but it doesn’t make up for the machine’s shortcomings.

Thanks to the square display the VX1 is also rather large - 33.1 x 27.2 x 2.6cm - but it’s not terribly heavy at 2.4kg, at least not compared to many other laptops with 15in displays. However, one gripe I had with it during usage was the very noisy fan - and this was during simple word processing or web browsing tasks, too.
Source: reghardware