Laptops Arena

The N50Vn is an Asus notebook we decided to write about because it offers great value for money and you probably did not hear very much about it either. It is a mainstream notebook which does not belong to a particular class but you can still use it for pretty much anything as it has a good combination of components. Please note that there are different models of this same notebook, models which have different features (we will be talking about the B1B). Pay good attention to the specs of this notebook just to make sure you don't end up buying anything else (and then blaming us for it).
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This is a 15.4 inch Asus notebook that weighs around 6.5 lbs. it not that heavy but it's not very light either. However, if you need to take your notebook with you where you go, then sacrifices have to be made. It has a 2 color scheme of brown and black. One thing we did not expect to find on this notebook (or on any other 15.4 inch notebook for that matter) is the numerical keypad. This was a pleasant surprise and will be for all those who are used to the desktop's keyboard or need to use the calculator or work with spreadsheet most of the time. The touchpad is awesome! Because it's smooth, it's very easy to use and the left and right mouse buttons are so shiny and solid-looking that we didn't even imagine they would be so easy to press. Between these buttons you will find a fingerprint reader which we found pretty useless since this is not a business notebook. If you are going to buy this notebook for home usage, there is good chance that no one will be spying on your or trying to steal some of your "top-secret" documents. We liked the keys because they were quite and easy to type on. They have a weird flat shape that not every is used to and this will probably make the keyboard more difficult to be cleaned (haven't tried cleaning it yet though).

Above the keyboard you will find the power button and another button with a lightning bolt drawing on it. Depending on what the guys at Asus had in mind for you, this button will either run the Media Center if you are logged on to Windows and if the notebook is turned off, it will start the Linux environment. The webcam is great because it offers 2.0 mega pixels and this means you will get very sharp and clear images, especially if you use a special video chat program such as Skype which help deliver real-time quality videos. One thing we couldn't understand is why the battery is placed inside a bottom compartment and then hidden by a cover. I suppose it's a matter of protecting the battery but personally I take out the battery whenever I use my notebook at home (because I keep it plugged in) and it would really be annoying to have to take off that lid and put it back on every time. Other than that, you can easily access different components like the RAM or CPU and this is ok especially if you are thinking about upgrading.



The unit we have reviewed has an Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 processor and an nVidia GeForce 9650M GT graphics care which are amazing considering that the price of the notebook is around $1200. This is a very good desktop replacement and we never imagined that the N50Vn would be such a good choice for your primary computer. You also have 4 GB of RAM plus 320 GB of available disk space. As for the ports and connections, you have 3 USB ports, one VGA port, one HDMI port, the Kensington Lock, one ExpressCard Type 54, a Memory Card (which reads SD/MMC/MS/Pro), plus a 4-Circuit FireWire, e-SATA and integrated Bluetooth device. Despite the fancy things you get with this notebook, it is very to use and set up. You should use Windows Vista or Windows 7 because they are the platforms that can help you get the best out of your notebook. One think we hate about notebook (and apparently Asus makes no exception) is the tone of software you get installed on your notebook, which I am sure most of you would not install even if you were paid for it. You will get programs like SmartLogon (application that helps you create a face recognition log-on) or Splendid Video Enhancement (you can tell by its name what it does) and a dozen other such programs.



You also have some trial software which we find pretty useful because most computer owners need the Microsoft Office Suite (which comes with a 60 day trial period) and all of us need a good antivirus (Asus gives you the chance to try out for 3 months the Norton Internet Security application). Except for the last 2 examples, we are sure you are going to spend some good minutes uninstalling applications. That is unless you are willing to try them all out, see what they do and maybe you'll have some fun using them or find them useful.



Good news for gamers: you can play Call of Duty, Left 4 Dead and NFS Undercover without bashing your head against the keyboard. We have seen some screenshots and it seems the games work just fine with medium settings. The thing is we really like this notebook. It has powerful components considering the price which is quite low and you get a lot of benefits for your money. It has a really great keyboard and you can use it to stay all night chatting or playing games because it's silent so you won't wake anyone up. The ventilation system is ok and the notebook stays cool after long hours of usage. You can easily upgrade yourself as the main parts of the laptop are easy to be exposed.



If you watch a movie you will get about 2 hours of battery life which is below average but if you use the notebook for reading or writing documents, that you should extend the battery life with almost an hour. The huge number of installed software is something we can live with, after all, the guys as Asus just wanted to help. Maybe there really is someone who wants/needs to log onto Windows using the face recognition system.

When we refer to Asus Mini laptop, what we actually mean are those netbooks which are smaller and less powerful. In Asus' case, they would be represented by those small and cute Eee PC's.
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Being Acer Aspire One's most powerful competitor, the Asus Eee PC has to bring us something really good so we can choose it instead of the competition.  Like every other netbook available on the market, the Asus Eee PC is ideal for document work and surfing the internet. It weighs only 1.1 kg which is still more that the Acer Aspire One available at 995g. The difference is causes by the Aspire One's battery which is lighter but less powerful. Linux has never been easier to use as the interface is very user-friendly. The top of the screen has all the features to choose from (work, play, internet, favorite and settings tabs) and by clicking on one of these tabs you will be given another sub-menu with different links and sets of applications. You can use the minimize, maximize and close buttons to help you switch between Eee Linux and the regular Windows operating system. The web feature uses Firefox as the default browser.

This netbook had to be small and cheap for people to buy it and Asus has to makes some compromises and sacrifices in order to produce such a machine. The screen and touchpad could have been bigger but then this would have been a laptop instead of a netbook. The Asus Eee PC 901 is probably one of the best netbooks that money can buy as it is cheap and portable, even if the components are not that powerful. The Asus Eee PC 901 may look like it's made from cheap plastic but it is actually quite durable. The keyboard is smaller than we thought at first but it have quite a nice touch and you will get used to the size of the keys eventually (it may take longer to get used to if you have big hands). If you should buy this netbook and use at as a main computer, we recommend that you invest in a regular-sized keyboard and mouse. Better yet, we suggest you buy a laptop or desktop computer as these netbook are made for travelers and do not have the speed nor the power to replace a good PC.  The touchpad is easy to use and the size of the left and right mouse button are quite ok for the size of this machine.

Even if most Eee PC's had Linux operating system installed, the Asus Eee PC 901 comes with Windows XP pre-installed and this is excellent because this operating system does not have huge system requirements and it will help your netbook to run smoothly. The 8.9 inch display comes with 1024 x 600 resolution and since it may not be that impressive, it's an improvement from the previous versions of the Eee PC. The Eee PC 901 has its speakers located at the bottom of the netbook and the sound they produce is pretty good but due to their location, if you use the netbook from your lap, the sound will not be very clear. As expected, Asus has chosen the Intel Atom processor which was a normal choice considering that powerful components stored in such a small machine could have causes problems with cooling and would have led to serious hardware damaged after a few months of usage. Let's just say that it's enough horse power to let you browse the internet and read a good e-book or write some documents.



You will find good usage possibilities with this netbook, especially if you are a frequent traveler or you spend a lot of time out of the house and into other places where you have a wireless hot spot. This netbook is excellent to help you pass the time on that long airplane flight and it may even keep you busy during that boring history class (you didn't get that from me).  Even of the fan does not produce noise, this netbook gets kind of hot considering the low-power components which are inside. It tends to overheat even during normal usage. The wireless device is ok and you will get good reception. This is great if you have a big house with several levels and big garden, you are sure to have good signal wherever you are inside you home (if you have a wireless router of course).



The battery life is quite satisfactory. It will last an average of 4 hours and 15 minutes if you use it surf the internet and write a text document. The main reason why this netbook was such a huge success is because it was a Asus mini laptop that was cheap, very portable and of relatively good performance. However, we recommend that you look into the specs and reviews of the Asus Eee PC 1000H which can offer better features for its price. That model has a larger screen and keyboard plus some other extra free space which might come in handy if you are away from your main computer for too long. The positive aspects of this Asus mini laptop is the portability of this small and light laptop plus the very good battery life which we be of service in times of need. The thing is that this Asus netbook competes with other Asus netbooks.  The keyboard is too small if you have got big hands but since this netbook is meant mostly for travelling usage, we expect you won't be in need of using it every day.  For $549 you get good quality Asus material but we think the price is going to drop even more due to the competition that started manufacturing better netbook, with a greater balance between price and features. We thank Asus for all the improvement that were made on this netbook compared with the previous model and we also thank them for selling the Asus Eee PC 901 at the same price as the other one.

Both of them have experience as computer manufacturers, both have products available in the entire world and both of them have always come up with something special for all you consumers out there. But the question is who will win in the battle of Asus laptops versus HP laptops. For the comparison round, we have decided to give Asus a head start since HP is one of the best brand in computer development. So, we have chosen to compare an Asus product that really has an impact on the market when it was launched. Here we go; it's HP Mini 2140 versus Asus Eee PC 1005.
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As you've guessed by their names, these are actually netbooks and netbooks are the ultimate portable computers on the planet. The models we are about to show you are very similarly configured, but one of them is better than the other. There is nothing special about the design of the HP Mini 2140 (in fact, it looks kind of boring) whereas the Asus Eee PC 1005 has hinges and when you open the lid of the notebook, it slides back and makes this gadget look smaller (we think it looks like a toy). And the Asus Eee netbooks are available in many different colors to give you the chance to personalize your laptop style. The Asus Eee's keyboard is plain and black and has nothing appealing to it (unless you buy a pink Eee; then it will be pink) but the HP Mini's keyboard is shiny and silver and, best of all, it is water resistant. That's good knows for you all you out there who want to enjoy a coffee or a glass of orange juice while surfing the internet.  And the best keyboard award goes to HP Mini 2140! However, the Asus touchpad is better that the HP Eee's one since the second one is narrow and the vertical spacing of the button is quite uncomfortable (this is what happens when you make all that effort to produce a really compact computer).

The Eee wins at the performance level just by a notch with its 1.66 GHz Intel Atom N280 processor compared to the 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 processor of the HP Mini. And HP almost had him, what a shame! Both netbook have 10.1 inch display but the pixel resolution of the screen is much better in the Eee's case. That's another point for Asus! In terms of battery life, you will be surprised with the performances of these two little critters. The HP Mini's battery can last 7 hours while running the usual application and 5 hours while using intense memory application. The Eee is even much better. It runs for 8 hours with normal tasking and 6 hours with heavy-duty tasks. The Asus Eee PC 1005 has won again. The HP Mini is thinner than the Eee but the Eee is lighter than the HP Mini. And now, the most interesting part for most of you: price. You can but the Asus Eee for about 350 dollars while the HP Mini is available at approximately $450. In our opinion, the winner is the Asus Eee PC 1005, but if are looking for that more "tough and manly" netbook appearance, you should definitely go with the HP.

Well, we have shown you the good and the bad of those two models above but that does not mean this is the general conclusion. We should first see some facts in general about these two well reputed companies and maybe then we can draw a conclusion about who makes the best laptops from these two manufacturers. As usual, we have read some general reviews about customer satisfaction in general with these two companies.

We found out that lots of people who bought an Asus laptop were so happy, that they went off and bought another one (and, in some cases, another one). People who have used Asus for their business needs are very happy with the service. One HP user from another country said he found customer services to be useless in their country so he ended up calling in the United States to get his problem solved. Overall, people really do seem happier with Asus as many have owned one of their laptops for years and did not have one single problem. Well, we think that is a bit exaggerated, as after many years of use that battery sure can't last charged very long but these users probably don't care so much about battery life as their care for other aspects of laptops. And, besides, the laptop's batteries are one of the simplest things to replace. You just buy one, put it in, format it and there you go.

The truth is, when companies like Asus and HP get on a big competitive level with each other, this is something to the customer's advantage. That is because they come up with new models all the time, which are made available at good pricing and they have the latest technology and best components. They will do anything to have better sales figures then the other companies so they will have good sales promotions and extended warranties and other things that are welcome to us users.

Both of their websites stuck us as being a bit too serious, with all that black and white spread around. Check out Dell's website, which is full of colors and looks so lively. But let's get back to Asus and HP matters; after all, this is Asus laptops versus HP laptops. Asus website seems more easy to use because you get to choose your continent and country right from the beginning when you enter the web page and so eliminate any useless information from the start. You will be shown products that are available in your area. As for the product range, it is clear HP has a lot more to choose from. Another plus for HP is the Pavilion series and Asus has nothing that can compare to it. Both companies offer extended warranty packages for their customers but HP has laptops drivers available for download directly from their website and that is something we did not find on Asus' page. This being said, we will let you decide who your winning company is.

Being a combination of red and white, the color pink is considered to be the „less violent" red. This is a feminine and delicate color, mostly associated with little girls or teenage girls. Pink is more romantic while red is mostly about passion and fire. Colors today have a powerful meaning and they have become a life style for many people. You must have noticed that people who enjoy rock music have a tendency to wear mostly black clothes and girls use heavy black eyeliner. White means purity as it is the color that angels wear and it has become the color of the brides dress. If you like pink so much and there are pink cell phones available on the market, why not buy one?
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This is how it goes for laptops as well. Well known laptop manufacturers such as Dell or Sony have personalized different laptop models so you can purchase the computer you like best in the color you like best.  Due to the importance that people give to colors nowadays, more and more pink laptops from different producers are becoming available on the market today. Let's check out 5 pink laptop brands that are top of the line in our days.

Since Apple is well known as the first producer who made MP3 players in different colors than black or white, it's easily to imagine how a pink laptop from Apple looks like. The performances of a Mac Book plus that sweet laptop cover... What more could you ask for? Well, if you already have a Mac in a color you are not so fund of, you can turn to Coloware. This is a company that specializes in painting you Apple laptop.  Check their website and you will find out they also paint other laptop brands (not ANY laptop brand, of course). So why not paint your laptop pink? It will surely draw everybody's attention.

It's sweet, it's pink, it's intelligent and it's cheaper than a Mac. It's Sony VAIO in pink! Sony VAIO pink is more than a laptop; it's a fashion statement you are surely going to love. Having all of Sony VAIO's regular features, this pink laptop will bring you the next generation Blue-Ray player. You won't have any complaints about the battery like, the weight, not to mention, the color.



Dell is well known for producing high quality laptops in a wide variety of colors. The Dell Inspiron series is the best example for that. The Dell Inspiron now comes in a flamingo pink color option which will surely steal your heart! And since we are talking about a great manufacturer in the computer field, Dell laptops are upgradeable. You can configure them as you wish, even add some extra memory. If you are a constant traveler with a good taste in fashion accessories, you will love the Dell Mini netbook because it's small and easy to carry around (did we mention it's available in pink?).

Did you by any chance see those cute little notebooks which are both cheap and small? They are made by Asus and they are sure to draw some of your attention. This could actually be a good gift for girlfriends or daughters. These Asus releases are called EEE PCs and are definitely worth looking at if you are on a pink laptop search quest. What makes this netbook so special? Well, it could be the excellent battery life. Or the great keyboard design. Or the reasonable price and the proper system performance. We'll let you decide.



Since the completion is growing and growing and coming up with all sorts of new gadgets, Acer had to do something about it or they would end up losing ground. With lots of configurations already available, Acer decided to sell pink beauties as well, like the Acer Aspire pink netbook. This is an excellent choice for travelers, students (especially girls) who can't carry around stuff that is too heavy. This laptop comes with 1GB RAM, 120GB HDD, 3-cell lithium ion, Webcam, 8.9 inch display and runs Windows XP. Thanks to the wireless device, you can use the internet wherever you are.

If you already have a laptop in a boring color and Coloware will not paint it for you, why don't you buy a laptop sticker? Stickers are fun and you can personalize them any way you wish. You can order your own sticker or buy one that is already available on the market. Not only would it be pink, it could also have some hearts printed, some ribbons, angels or even a picture of you and your loved one.



If you really want to buy a pink laptop but are low on cash, you should consider a netbook. This gadget is smaller than a laptop which makes it easier to carry around and you can always perform regular computer tasks such as surfing the web, listening to some music and watching a good movie (all this for less than $400). And you also have lots of brands and models too choose from, such as Toshiba NB205, Samsung NC10 or MSI Wind. So, it's easy to buy a cheap pink laptop. Just browse some website, a couple of blogs and online store and you are sure to find at least one products that fits your needs.

Beware girls! You are not the only ones looking to buy the pink cuties. Men are starting to change their mind about pink as well. We saw it in their clothing style and we'll see it in their laptop preferences. And if you want to experience pink sensations all the way, you may also want to consider buying a pink laptop bag. Be careful though; look out for quality, not only appearance. We wouldn't want that cute Apple Mac to get scratched, would we? Make sure you buy a laptop case for your laptop and not a bigger or a smaller one or it may turn out to be useless. You should buy a laptop case which has enough pouches for you to carry all your accessories (and by accessories we mean power charger and mouse).

Gaming laptops are a bit different (and a bit more expensive) than your usual laptop which you normally use for work purposes or to watch a good movie.  Not only do they have great processors and lots of RAM and HDD, but both the graphic card and the sound card are of excellent performance, allowing the user to play even the newest games available on the market.
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Although there are numerous manufacturers that develop high quality game laptops, one of them specializes in doing just that. Alienware laptops are actually made by Dell and they are pretty much in the entire world for their high speed, high performance laptops and desktop computers.  In the past, if you wanted to play a good game, you could only do it on a desktop (a really good desktop that is) but today, gaming in not limited to desktops anymore. A good gaming laptop is capable to provide high graphics and a good movement speed, so you can enjoy the top of the line games each time you please. More companies are struggling to develop these high performance machines because the number of gamers is large and it is still growing.

But if you are a true gamer, which is the best laptop for you? We tried to bring the top 10 gaming laptops so you can make the best choice. Like we have mentioned before, the best gaming laptop is made by Alienware. The Area-51 m17x has an Inter Core 2 Extreme X9000 2.8GHz processors and a 2 x 8800M GTX SLI graphics card. Together with 4GB of random access memory, these features make this laptop "fly". The price is a bit spicy (some thousands of dollars).  Sound fantastic? You should look into some reviews before buying it, even though it may now seem like this is the perfect choice.

The second place goes to the same manufacturer, different model. The Dell XPS M1730 has a 2 x NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTX 512MB SLI graphics card and the 17 inches long display can surely bring you the ultimate in gaming performance.  The design is unique and astonishing. The LCD Logitech GamePanel gives you something to brag about, as it records your statistics. You can play even when the lights go out because the M1730 keyboard is enhanced with a blue light.

The Rock Xtreme SL8 has been available on the market since February 2008 and it has been among the leaders ever since. With its Intel Core 2 Quad processors and 2x NVIDIA 9800M GTX 1GB GDDR3 High Performance SLi graphics, the Rock Xtreme SL8 is believed to be one of the fastest laptops available on the market.

Our fourth choice is Asus W90. The target of this laptop was the entertainment crowd but since it has one of the fastest processors (Core 2 Duo T9550 Processor 2.66GHz, 6GB RAM) and graphics cards (Nvidia Geforce 9800M GS) on the market it was adopted but a huge number of gamers. You have three available RAM slots which can hold up to 6GB of memory.

Although it occupies number 5 in out top 10 gaming laptops, this is one of Alienwares' grand competitors. With a fiery and shiny red color on the back of its display, the Toshiba Qosmio X300 really means business! Portability is not one of this laptops' strong points, as it weighs about 4.5 kg and it occupies a great deal of space. Just like most desktop gaming replacements, there is a separate numerical keypad next to the regular one. The display is powered by an Nvidia GeForce 9700M GTS with 512MB of dedicated video memory graphics card which provider excellent gaming experience.

The HP Pavilion HDX Dragon is really something else! The display is 20.1 inches long and this monster is anything but portable. The monitor is attached to the unit using a special silver hinge that rotates at the base and intersection of the hinge at monitor. This gives the monitor a high degree of movement which seems quite necessary when you have just a big LCD. The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600XT card and the 256 MB of dedicated RAM make this laptop one of the best there is.

The design is not very original but that does not mean that the Sager NP8660 is not as good as other gaming laptops. The processor is an Intel Core 2 Duo P9500 (2.53GHz/6MB L2/1066MHz FSB/25W TDP) and as far as a graphic card goes, you can really benefit from the Nvidia GeForce 9800M-GT w/ 512MB. Even though the display is only 15.4 inches long and you only have 320 GB of available HDD, this laptop was designed for gaming purposes. The battery life is lower than expected even if we are dealing with an eight-cell battery pack.

The Gateway P-172X FX is a laptop with a 17 inch display and a 2.4-GHz Core 2 Duo T8300 Intel processor.  The NVidia's GeForce Go 8800M graphic card and the 4 GB of RAM do not seem to be enough for game players as the sound system is pretty lousy. It's nothing a good set of headphones can't fix.

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9000 processor, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M graphics card and it's all worth 1.700 dollars. Sounds good? This is what the ASUS G51-series has to offer. Unlike the other laptops mentioned before, this one is actually portable, with its 15.6 inches display. The features of this laptop allow you to play games such as Call of Duty 5, Left 4 Dead and BioShock.

Although it was mainly designed for multimedia purposes, the Sony Vaio NW180J/S is another laptop you could use for gaming. The 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P7350 processors and the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 graphics card come together with a pleasant design and a wide-spaced keyboard that encourages your gaming needs. Unfortunately, the battery does not last very long so you need to keep it plugged in most of the time. It can last up to 4 hours if you use it to run simple applications (such as Winamp and MS Word) but it only lasts about 2 hours if you use it to play games or watch movies.

We believe that these are the top 10 gaming laptops available on the market right now. You can surely find one that better suits your needs. It depends on how much you are willing to pay for it. Remember that you need a good processor, as much RAM as you can get and the latest in graphic card material.