The Dell Inspiron M101z: Netbook or Not?

Dell announced that the new Inspiron M101z is available to order now and will begin shipping soon. This ultra-portable laptop has tons of great features including some that might lead you to believe it is a netbook. It has an 11-inch screen and a price tag under $600 that makes it seem very netbook-like, but if you dig deeper, there is a lot more to the M101z.

With the Inspiron M101z it’s up to you to decide how you want your laptop to look. There are over 200 different designs that you can pick from for the lid of your device. The laptop was designed to be ultraportable so, as mentioned previously, it has an 11-inch screen, and it only weighs 3.4 pounds. The M101z has a fantastic full-size keyboard with keys that are widely spaced apart, and the two mouse buttons have been engineered so that the clicking noise is completely gone.

So, what’s under the hood of the Inspiron M101z, you might ask? Well, it features a dual-core AMD Athlon processor, 1080p HD-capable graphics, 4GB of memory, and 320GB of hard drive. It comes with pretty standard ports including 3 USB ports, Ethernet, VGA, HDMI port, and a media card reader. The only disappointment is that the battery life isn’t as good as it could be. It only lasts about 4 and a half hours, which may not seem too bad, but compared to laptops like the Asus UL80VT-A1 that has close to 10 hours of battery life, the M101z’s battery may seem a bit shabby.

There are several things that really set the M101z apart from most other average netbooks. Its 1.3GHz AMD Athlon K325 dual-core processor is an upgrade from the standard single-core AMD processor that can be found in similar netbook-like devices. The M101z also features 4GB of memory instead of the usual 1GB that can be found in netbooks.

Coming in at $580, the Dell Inspiron M101z is not as cheap as most netbooks, but that’s probably because it isn’t exactly a true netbook. It has some amazing features that put it a step above most netbooks. Although it doesn’t have the best battery life, there are plenty of features that make up for it. The M101z is definitely a good option to consider if your looking for a cheaper laptop with some great features.

Looking for a laptop under $500? Check out a list of the top 10.

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Top 10 Laptops Under $500

Whether it's for school, business, or just at home, a laptop is something that is becoming a staple in many Americans' lives. There are so many companies with so many different models. It can be difficult to figure out which laptop will fit your needs. Well, if you’re looking for a laptop under $500, here are a few to consider.

Lenovo X100e
Starting at $499.99
The Lenovo X100e is one of the very few laptops under $500 to be part of the ThinkPad line. It rides the line between being a netbook and a notebook. It has a 11.6-inch screen, an AMD Athlon Neo MV-40 processor, 1GB of memory, ThinkPad keyboard with built-in TrackPoint joystick, and weighs under 3 pounds. If you feel that you need a little more power, for $50 you can upgrade to the dual-core Neo X2 processor.

HP Pavilion dm1z Series
Starting at $499.99
HP’s dm1z is very similar to the Lenovo X100. It has an 11.6-inch screen and AMD Neo processor just like the X100. It is different in the fact that it has a Radeon HD 4225 graphics chip that can handle HD video, 2GB of memory instead of 1GB, and up to 320GB of hard drive space. It is a great laptop for those seeking a little more power than the average netbook.

MSI X Slim X340-021US
Starting at $499.99
The X340 is really a less expensive copycat of Apple’s MacBook Air. It features a 13.3-inch screen that is 0.78-inches thick (only 0.02-inches thicker than the Air). It has a 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Solo chip and integrated Intel graphics. Of course, these don’t measure up to what’s inside the Air, but for the price, who cares?

Compaq Presario CQ62Z
Starting at $379.99
The CQ62Z is a great bargain laptop with some great features. It has a 15.6-inch screen and a Radeon HD 4250 graphics chip. It comes standard with a AMD V Series CPU which isn’t great, so you can upgrade to the much faster Athlon II dual-processor for only $30.

Dell Vostro V13
Starting at $449.99
The Vostro V13 is very similar in looks to Dell’s ultra-premium Adamo XPS. The biggest difference is the price tag. The Vostro V13 features a 0.65-inch aluminum shell, 13.3-inch screen, and weighs less than 3.5 pounds. Now there are sacrifices that must be made because of the price difference between the Adamo XPS and the Vostro V13. The V13 has an ultra-low voltage processor and only two USB ports, but it's still a great choice.

Gateway NV5387u
Starting at $499.99
The NV5387u is one of the most powerful budget laptops available right now. It comes standard with the AMD Turion II Ultra Dual-Core M600 processor, 4GB of RAM, 320GB of hard drive, a 15.6-inch screen, and an ATI Radeon HD 4200 graphics chip. The battery life is only about 3 hours, but for the low price tag it doesn’t really matter.

Asus Eee PC Seashell 1005PE
Starting at $377.99
This netbook’s most attractive feature is its 6-cell battery with an incredible 14 hours of battery life. This is the netbook that just keeps going. It also includes a 1.6 GHz Intel Atom processor and weighs about 2.8 pounds. It honestly is a fantastic deal.

HP Mini 5102
Starting at $415
This netbook is perfect for all of your business needs. It has the same standard parts on the inside for the most part, but it has some great business features. It features a magnesium chassis that is trimmed with aluminum, almost full-sized keyboard, and Corel Home Office already preinstalled.

Sony Vaio W Series
Starting at $449.99
The Vaio W is a slick looking netbook. It features a 1.83GHz Intel Atom Processor and a large battery capacity. It is extremely chic and comes in pink, blue, and white. You can even get the Billabong edition for an extra $50.

Asus Eee PC Sheashell 1201-NPU17
Starting at $479.99
Asus has really stepped it up with the design of their laptops. This netbook is sleek, shiny, and stylish. It comes standard with a 12.1-inch screen, dual-core Intel Atom processor, and Nvidia’s Ion graphics processor. It’s almost $100 more than the Asus Eee PC Seashell 1005PE, but it definitely has a few more features.

These are just a sampling of the many laptops, netbooks, and notebooks available right now. If you’re looking for a great deal, these are definitely some options to consider.

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Asus' Bamboo Laptop

Are you ready for a bamboo laptop from Asus? That's exactly what you're going to get if you spend $999 on the new U33Jc-A1. CNET says the 13-inch laptop is "partially clad in actual bamboo, creating a unique upscale look and feel that we find greatly appealing to our midcentury modern design tastes."

The laptop features an Intel Core i3 system, as well as Intel's Wireless Display technology for beaming video to an external display. It also has a discrete Nvidia 310M GPU. It's definitely attractive and unique, however, it does not have an optical drive.

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Samsung's First 1TB Hard Drive

Computer-maker Samsung has announced that it is launching its first 1TB hard drive for laptops. The 2.5-inch hard drive, which is part of the Spinpoint-series, is being called the Spinpoint MT2 and it uses a 12.5mm form factor, as well as 333GB platters. If you need lots of storage space, this hard drive is your dream come true!

According to Samsung, the new hard drive works at 20% increased performance and uses about 4% less power than other similar hard drives currently on the market. However, reviewers say that the hard drive isn't very fast. It spins at just 5,400 RPM and features a last-generation 3.0Gb/s interface.

Even so, Samsung's vice president of storage marketing, I.C. Park, says the hard drive offers, "the largest capacity in what has previously been offered as an option for portable digital devices."

Generally, any hard drive that is part of the Spintpoint series features SilentSeek and NoiseGuard, which are used to drop noise levels during use. They also feature shock resistance of up to 400G while operating and 800G while not in use. You should expect these features in the new hard drive, along with Samsung's balancing technology, which, according to the company, offers "enhanced stability and reliability."

Unfortunately, with a thickness 12.5 mm, the hard drive is likely to present another problem: it won't fit into every laptop, so there may be a lot of disappointed people out there.

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Acer, ASUS gaining ground against HP and Dell.

In the world of laptops a few brands have always been the most popular: Sony, Toshiba, HP and Dell. A few years ago, Acer and ASUS jumped on the scene, producing moderately priced, quality laptops. Those smaller brands started inching their way towards the top. Now it appears worldwide consumers are trending away from paying high dollar for the brand name. Especially when the technology is advancing faster than you can pay your credit card bill.

According to Gartner, which tracks worldwide shipments of laptops and analyzes trends, Acer is gaining ground on the worlds most popular laptop brand, HP. During the 2nd quarter of 2010, HP had about 17% of the market share, while Acer had 13%. That's not very stunning until you compare the same two companies' market share from the 2nd quarter of 2009, HP had 18% and Acer had 12%. (It should be noted, at this time last year, Acer was trailing Dell, 12.6% M.S. in worldwide sales.) To round out the top 5, after Dell is Lenovo, followed by ASUS, which bumped Toshiba out of the top 5 in worldwide sales.

When you look at the US sales statistics, you notice that US sales don't necessarily mimic the worldwide trends. HP still sits atop the list with 25.7% of the market, followed by Dell, 23.7%, Acer, 11.3%, Apple 9.8%, and Toshiba rounding out the top 5 with 8.7%.

In EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) sales are vastly different. Acer takes the the number 1 spot away from HP, with 21.3% of the market. That's up from 18.9% last year. HP is in 2nd place with 19.7%, down from 20.8%. But then there's a dramatic drop off between 2nd and 3rd, Dell sits with only 9.2% of the market in the region, while ASUS, 8.5%, and Toshiba, 5.7% place 4th and 5th, respectively.

These trends could be a result of the worldwide economic downturn, as more and more consumers are tightening their belts and looking at wallet friendly alternatives to fit their laptop needs.

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iBuyPower Has Entered the 3D Laptop Business

To be "in" these days, you have to offer 3D products, whether you sell anything from laptops to plasma TVs. Well, it looks like another computer-maker - iBuyPower - has thrown its name into the 3D laptop business. The company, which is known for its excellent gaming laptops, announced today their new Battalion 101 W860CU-3D.

The new laptop has a 15.6-inch HD screen with 1366 x 768 pixels, and it's capable of displaying 3D images. You can get the computer with a Core i5 or Core i7 processor, 8GB of RAM and a hard drive with 750GB capacity. Other options include a 512GB SSD. The Battalion 101 W860CU-3D also includes a DVD player/Blu-ray drive, a NVIDIA GTX285 discrete video card, and a 3D Vision package, which contains 3D software and a pair of 3D Vision active shutter glasses. It runs the Windows 7 Home Premium operating system.

As far as a starting price for the new gaming laptop, you can expect to pay between $1,600 and $1,900, depending on where you purchase it and what kind of specifications you're looking for.

The new laptop wasn't the only announcement iBuyPower made today. The company also announced the launch of two gaming systems that will feature NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 460. They are the Paladin E370 and F860.

The Paladin E370, which starts around $834, will have a Core i5 750 CPU, 4GB of RAM, a 500 GB hard drive, and 24x DVD writer in addition to the GeForce GTX 460. The Paladin F860 is priced at $1,849 and includes the GeForce GTV 460, a Core i7 930 processor, 6 GB of RAM, 1TB of storage space, and a 8x Blu-ray combo drive.

For more info on any of these computers, visit iBuyPower.com. For more information on laptops or laptop rentals, visit Rentourlaptops.com.

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Looking for Laptop Rental information? Visit our Tech Travel Agent Laptop Rental Page for a variety of laptop rental solutions for business or personal use. Or call today at 800-736-8772.

New Gateway Laptop with Core i3 Processor

Gateway has just released a 17 inch laptop with the new core i3 processor inside. The laptop comes with everything standard today in a mid range laptop including a light weight of 7.4 pounds, 6 cell battery, 16x9 aspect ratio, 500GB 5400RPM hard drive, integrated graphics, but the real new feature to talk about is the 2.13Ghz core i3 processor. All of this comes in at just the low price of $580 at Best Buy.

The new core i3 processor is part of Intel's new top of the line 32 nanometer processor lineup with the likes of the Intel core i5 and i7. Even though the core i3 has a clock speed of only 2.13ghz, the core i3’s new architecture makes it able to keep up with similar processors with much higher clock speeds like the Intel core 2 DUO T9500 with a clock speed of 2.66GHz.

If you are looking to buy a new laptop soon for a good price then you might want to consider the Gateway NV7915u. It is currently one of the cheapest laptops that offers a core i3 processor and it has received high marks from websites such as CNET who gave it their "Editors Choice Award." The Gateway NV7915u is an impressive desktop replacement that comes with all the features you expect from a high end laptop, but at a budget price.

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