Problems? See this thread at archive.org.
The holidays are upon us and there are a lot of notebooks out there to choose from. NotebookReview.com has covered more than 100 new notebooks since January of this year, so it’s no surprise that holiday shoppers feel overwhelmed by the choices. The latest and greatest laptop computers bring updates to previous models and some completely new designs, so we're going to give you a leg up on some good notebook picks for this season.
![[IMG]](images/storyImages/28669.jpg)
To make it easy, we've decided to organize the notebooks primarily by price, but have added a couple of other categories for those of you who know the specific type of laptop you're looking for. This isn’t a list of every notebook available ... we just wanted to give you a list of some of the better notebook options. The best part about the notebook computer market is that regardless of your computer know-how or your budget, there is a laptop out there for you.
If you don't find one that works for you in this list, or the last-minute holiday sales don't have these exact models, just use our “What Notebook Should I Buy?” forum. Many times, there are other notebooks in the same product line or family that may be a better fit for you.
Good luck finding a laptop and have a great holiday season!
[ Less Than $500] [ $500-$1,000] [ $1,000-$1,500] [ $1,500-$2,000] [ Ultraportables/Subnotebooks] [General Use] [Gaming] [Business]
Less Than $500<a name="500" title="500">[/URL]
Dell Vostro 1000 - The Vostro 1000 is a budget notebook offered from Dell’s business line, but it has quickly become one of the most popular consumer notebooks for people looking for a budget notebook. Available with a range of AMD processors, integrated graphics, no bloatware, and your choice of Windows Vista or XP, the Vostro 1000 is a solid deal.
Vostro 1000 Reviews and PricingHP Compaq Presario V6500Z - The V6500Z is part of HP’s budget Compaq line of notebooks. Featuring AMD processors, integrated graphics and a stylish design, the V6500Z uses many of the same components as HP’s dv6500t and dv6500z series for a fraction of the cost.
Compaq V6500Z Reviews and PricingAsus Eee PC 4G – The new and highly anticipated Asus Eee PC is a budget-priced subnotebook that has already become the best-selling laptop for the 2007 holiday shopping season. This tiny notebook with a 7-inch screen isn’t designed to replace a standard notebook or desktop computer, but it’s remarkably full-featured and comes pre-loaded with everything an average consumer needs for wirelessly browsing the web, getting work done while traveling, or having a bit of fun. Priced at less than $400, this is the least expensive subnotebook we’ve ever seen.
Asus Eee PC Reviews and Pricing
$500-$1,000<a name="1000" title="1000">[/URL]
HP Pavilion dv2500t - The Pavilion dv2500t is a solid update to HP’s stylish dv2000t series of laptops. The dv2500t brings better processors and improved graphics options … and even in the budget configurations this notebook is hard to beat in its price range.
HP dv2500t Reviews and PricingDell Vostro 1500 - One of the most popular notebooks in Dell’s new Vostro line of business notebooks, the 1500 is virtually identical to the Dell Inspiron 1520 … at a fraction of the price.
Dell Vostro 1500 Reviews and PricingSony VAIO NR – Sony notebooks have never been considered budget friendly until earlier this year when Sony announced the new VAIO NR series. With multiple configurations priced at less than $1,000 the NR has quickly become a favorite for consumers who always wanted a Sony notebook but couldn’t afford one until now.
Sony VAIO NR Reviews and Pricing
$1,000-$1,500<a name="1500" title="1500">[/URL]
Dell XPS M1330 – Dell made a serious effort in 2007 to listen to customer feedback criticizing Dell’s older, thick and heavy laptops. The result is the amazingly thin and light XPS M1330, one of the sexiest looking notebooks of 2007. With a slot-loading optical drive, 13-inch display, and a full range of high-performance features, the M1330 is an impressive gift option for a loved one … or for yourself.
Dell XPS M1330 Reviews and PricingApple MacBook – Thanks to the mess that Microsoft made out of Windows Vista, Apple has seen a solid increase in the number consumers switching from PCs to Macs this year. The MacBook is Apple’s “budget” laptop even if the entry-level price is more than $1,000. The Mac OS X (Leopard) operating system is simple and trouble free compared to Windows, so if you need a laptop that won’t give you a headache the MacBook is an excellent choice.
Apple MacBook Reviews and Pricing
$1,500-$2,000<a name="2000" title="2000">[/URL]
Apple MacBook Pro – Everything we just said about the MacBook applies to its big brother, the MacBook Pro. The biggest difference between the MacBook and the MacBook Pro, besides the price, is the choice of faster processors and dedicated graphics. Overall, if you need a laptop with more performance then the MacBook Pro is the way to go.
Apple MacBook Pro Reviews and Pricing
Ultraportables and Subnotebooks<a name="sub" title="sub">[/URL]
If you need a compact notebook to take with you at all times, there are plenty of affordable ultraportables and subnotebooks out there to choose from.
Asus Eee PC 4G - The new and highly anticipated Asus Eee PC is a budget-priced subnotebook that has already become the best-selling laptop for the 2007 holiday shopping season. This tiny notebook with a 7-inch screen isn’t designed to replace a standard notebook or desktop computer, but it’s remarkably full-featured and comes pre-loaded with everything an average consumer needs for wirelessly browsing the web, getting work done while traveling, or having a bit of fun. Priced at less than $400, this is the least expensive subnotebook we’ve ever seen.
Asus Eee PC Reviews and PricingSony VAIO TZ - This is the latest offering from Sony in the ultraportable market. With its small size and extreme low weight, VAIO TZ is a must on any business traveler's notebook list. The Sony TZ combines a new LED backlight display, solid state drive, over-sized battery, and ultra low voltage processors from Intel to make it an all around extended battery performer.
Sony VAIO TZ Reviews and PricingLenovo 3000 V200 - The Lenovo V200 replaces the V100 as the top-of-the-line model in the Lenovo 3000 series of budget-priced ultraportables. The 12.1-inch widescreen isn't as thin and light as competing ultraportable notebooks, but with a built-in optical drive, 1.3 megapixel web camera and a price less than $1,500 the V200 is an attractive solution for some people.
Lenovo V200 Reviews and PricingHP Pavilion tx1000z - If you have been searching the market for an entertainment notebook with tablet PC features, your search may be over. Thanks to HP's tx1000 convertible notebook that starts at $1,099 or less. Though the tx1000 is targeted toward the average consumer, business professionals are still welcome. This portable notebook packs a 1.3-megapixel webcam, 5-in-1 digital media reader, a mini remote control for movies, music and photos and it comes with Windows Vista installed.
HP Pavilion tx1000z Reviews and Pricing
General Use<a name="general" title="general">[/URL]
HP Pavilion dv6500t - The HP Pavilion dv6500t is a Core 2 Duo “Santa Rosa” equipped update to the very popular dv6000t series of mainstream laptops, which topped the NotebookReview.com Most Popular Laptops chart for quite a while. A 15.4” widescreen, consumer-oriented laptop, it delivers a solid, well-rounded package that updates the HP lineup and makes for a great value.
HP Pavilion dv6500t Reviews and PricingDell Vostro 1500 - One of the most popular notebooks in Dell’s new Vostro line of business notebooks, the 1500 is virtually identical to the Dell Inspiron 1520 … at a fraction of the price.
Dell Vostro 1500 Reviews and Pricing
Gaming<a name="gaming" title="gaming">[/URL]
Toshiba Satellite X205 - The Toshiba Satellite X205 is a high-end multimedia notebook from Toshiba featuring the latest and greatest in mobile technology. It is based on the Intel Core 2 Duo Santa Rosa platform and has the Nvidia GeForce 8700M-GT DirectX 10 video card. Available with either the single dedicated graphics card or dual (SLI) graphics cards for superior gaming performance, the X205 has become one of the most popular gaming notebooks of 2007.
Toshiba Satellite X205 Reviews and PricingHP Pavilion HDX - The eagerly awaited HP Pavilion HDX (code named “The Dragon&rdquo
is a 20.1" widescreen entertainment notebook that packs amazing performance into one giant laptop. Equipped with an available dedicated ATI HD2600 XT graphics card, HD DVD optical drive, integrated HDTV tuner, and integrated web-camera, this massive beast redefines the term “notebook.”
HP Pavilion HDX Reviews and Pricing
Business<a name="business" title="business">[/URL]
Lenovo ThinkPad T61 - The T61 and T61p are the latest high-end ThinkPad offerings from Lenovo. Packed with almost every feature a demanding business user could want, and starting at a very reasonable price point below $1,400 for the 14.1” model, this notebook is widely considered the best business notebook of 2007.
Lenovo ThinkPad T61 Reviews and PricingLenovo ThinkPad X61 - The Lenovo ThinkPad X61 is an ultraportable business laptop geared to individuals who demand the best. Like its larger brothers of the ThinkPad line, it shares all of the same rugged features, as well as the creature comforts of a full-size keyboard. The X61 looks as if Lenovo took a ThinkPad T60 and shrunk it down by 30 percent. Although it is much smaller than its counterparts, it is every bit as fast. Light business travelers can rest easy knowing they didn’t sacrifice anything but weight when they bring the X61 on the road.
Lenovo ThinkPad X61 Reviews and PricingFujitsu LifeBook S6510 - Fujitsu recently announced the LifeBook S6510 14.1" widescreen notebook configurable with a range of Intel Core 2 Duo processors, and is the first laptop with a 14.1-inch widescreen display that can tip the scales at only 4 pounds with the optical drive ... or 3.7 pounds, without the optical drive.
Fujitsu LifeBook S6510 Reviews and Pricing
-
-
-
-
-
-
imo the HP Compaq 8510x 8710x defenitly deserve a spotlight too
-
Thanks for the nice guide Jerry. Judging from the posts so far, it seems you have opened "Pandora's box"
-
I actually expected much more outrage than this. I'm a little surprised.
And the Asus G1S (and the G2S) are indeed both excellent gaming notebooks. -
Seriously, no offense to MB/MBP fans...but leaving it as the only thing makes the article sound fanboyish
The 8710p and 8510p from HP have some pretty good reviews (I wrote one and still think the 8710p is probably one of the best 17" notebooks out there) and you never even mentioned them!
The Dell 1520 is a solid choice in several price ranges, as are some of the HP/Apple/Sony machines (and many more).
You are right that you really cannot include all notebooks out there, but on the whole you have some big gaps here that even mentioning 3-5 more notebooks would fill nicely!
And why-oh-why is the EEE PC on the list? Overpriced hardware if you ask me, and this fills nothing buy a toy market. Closed source stuff, no options for XP right now unless you want to hack drivers...possible violations of the GPL that could prevent users from installing a fully functional Linux distro (which would admittedly really make this notebook stand out)...
Just my two cents, please don't fire me! -
I had to laugh about the "fanboyish" comment ... only because I "personally" HATE Macs. This, coming from someone who was a loyal Mac user from the OS 8 days all the way through Panther. The only reason I didn't fight tooth and nail to keep the MacBook and MacBook Pro off the list is because they are indeed good notebooks and they are the right notebooks for a lot of people (particularly in a world full of Vista).
The only reason the 1520 wasn't on the list is because Dell shot themselves in the foot with the Vostro 1500. The 1500 is the exact same notebook as the 1520 but you pay less, you don't have to deal with bloatware, and you can get XP if you want. Sure, you don't get your choice of pretty colors with the Vostro 1500 ... but it's a better all-around choice than the 1520.
As for the Eee PC, there are a lot of adults buying this "toy" right now and using it quite seriously. Asus released the complete source code, so the initial open source violation isn't an issue now (as long as Asus continues to play nice). Indeed, the Eee PC isn't as capable as a $450 Dell of HP Compaq notebook, but it is MUCH smaller and more convenient to take with you at all times. The closest thing that HP has to the Eee PC is the tx1000z, which indeed is a much better computer, but it costs around $1,000 and is still much larger.
I can think of at LEAST another dozen notebooks that could easily be added to this list, but we chose to keep it short and sweet and direct people to the "What Notebook Should I Buy" forum. Maybe I'll cave and add one to the list, but I doubt it.
And don't worry, you're in no danger of being fired ... yet.
-
-
-
-
2007 Holiday Notebook Buying Guide
Discussion in 'Notebook News and Reviews' started by Jerry Jackson, Nov 27, 2007.
