Laptops Arena

Here we are again - gaming laptops! Nothing bad about gaming laptops, only that I think gaming and laptops only have in common Solitaire, Heroes III, 2D browser-based games, and similar ones in terms of system load. Don't get me wrong - I am sure there are a bunch of laptops capable of running Crysis better than my desktop computer, only that they'll also generate a lot of heat, and probably will also "die" pretty soon because of that. Anyway, today I got some news about those who are still looking for such a laptop, and the hero of the day is iBUYPOWER's Battalion 101 CZ-10.

While iBUYPOWER can't match ASUS, Dell, or another of the big ones in the industry, the Battalion 101 CZ-10 isn't the laptop to be ashamed of. After all, I am sure that once you'll get it, you'll surely get on top of over 95% of all those using branded laptops everyone heard of, but with specs way below this one.
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Since I seem to believe that the Battalion 101 CZ-10 is clearly superior to most laptops on the market, here's something to make you believe it too:

- 15.6-inch WXGA (1,366 x 768) display
- 2.66GHz T9550 Core 2 Duo processor
- 2GB of DDR3 RAM
- ATI's 512MB Radeon HD 4650 GPU
- 500GB 5400RPM hard drive
- 8x dual-layer DVD burner
- 6-cell battery
- HDMI output
- three USB 2.0 sockets
- 2 megapixel webcam & inbuilt microphone
- 3-in-1 card reader
- fingerprint scanner

Starting at only $1,235, the Battalion 101 CZ-10 also comes with a new accidental damage protection plan, insuring against damage from accidental spills or drops.

These being said, I guess there's only one thing left to be added - game on with Battalion 101 CZ-10, boys and girls, game on!

When I had to face the laptop choosing dilemma, I solved it in a brilliant way. How? I purchased a desktop computer, and I never thought about it as a bad decision, so this is one of the things often forgotten by those trying to teach others what they should keep in mind when choosing a laptop. Obviously, there's more to this than just that, so let's think about a little list...

... the list of questions you need to ask yourself before going out to buy a laptop:

1. Do I really need a laptop?

2. Why would I pick a Linux-powered laptop?

3. Should I pay more to get a model with 3 years warranty, or get this cheaper model with the same hardware/software setup, but only 12 months warranty?

4. HDD or SSD?

5. Why not get a cheap model with 1 GB of memory and upgrade it later?

6. Do I really need a DVD burner?

There could be more than just these, but some of them are usually avoided. Why? No idea, but let's finish off this subject by talking about the things that really matter, shall we?

Warranty - there's nothing more important than warranty when it comes to laptops. There's a huge difference between 1 and 3 years, since we're talking about computers that get pretty hot in some cases. Having 3 years warranty won't spare you from having to backup your data to keep it safe, but it will surely keep your investment safe when something blows up.

Upgradeability - forget about it! Just get the best thing for your money and needs, then add external components as you need them. I always considered a smarter choice grabbing a new external drive than an internal one, for example.

Memory - moving along, we take a look at the previous idea, and I have to say this: get at least 2 GB of memory from the start! 1 GB may be enough for a Windows XP laptop, but the catch is to have enough memory that Windows won't start writing data to the hard drive at all. This will surely increase the battery life, and the quality of your time spent using a computer.

Preinstalled OS - it gets harder and harder to find Windows XP-based laptops, but they are the safest bet. If you only need the laptop to go online and edit some text documents, Linux-based ones aren't such a bad choice, either. You only need to get over the "Linux is for geeks" myth, and you may find a hidden treasure...

Screen size - get something decent for your needs. If you're not going to play games or watch high definition movies, choose what's best for your office needs. After all, that's what most laptop users do, right?

Processor manufacturer/speed/cache size - you shouldn't worry about Intel/AMD and CPU speed too much, unless you are going to use the laptop for heavy graphics editing/CAD-CAM/video processing. Most laptops these days have too much computing power, anyway, and a low end CPU combined with good battery life and longer warranty is the best solution for most people, from all points of view.

Networking - just be sure to have built in WiFi. Other than that, depends on your personal needs, but a lot of laptops come with Ethernet and WiFi these days.

USB ports - if you have at least 2 USB ports, everything should be fine. Think about using an external card reader/DVD burner instead of paying (way too much) for a laptop having them built in. Having a combo optical drive should be the best choice... and even a larger USB flash stick without any optical drive could do the trick!

At last, I repeat - think well about your needs, and try not to get more than you need, simply because prices are dropping pretty fast, and my opinion is that choosing a laptop is more about grabbing the solution you'll be able to use for the longest time to get the job nicely done, without necessarily breaking any performance records in the process...

As you surely know, netbooks seem to overwhelm "serious" laptops. I am not talking about market share here, but about media exposure. Anyway, since better media exposure leads to higher sales, I also think it's only a matter of time until netbooks will do the same as the laptop did to the desktop computer.

OK, we got a little into the mobile computing industry for the start, but what about world's largest laptop available? Before moving on, please keep in mind that largest is not necessarily also heaviest, since rugged laptops usually get top spots when it comes to this part. After all, you can't be bullet proof and weigh in at 3 kilograms, right?

Released about 2 years ago, the HP Pavilion HDX9320EA is a real beast - 7 kgs on its own, and a charger that also weighs no less than 1.2 kilos! It may be a bit old for some, but it can surely kick some ass, with its 20.1-inch display having a native resolution of 1,680X1,050 pixels, 4 GB of memory, and the powerful 2.5GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T9300 processor. Oh, yeah, it also packs the Nvidia GeForce 8800M GTS, a graphics chip still beating most mobile competitors it may find in a laptop these days.
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Anyway, since I said we're going to talk about "largest laptop available," here's the WDH of the HP beast - 474 x 65 x 357mm!!!

Hmmm... I don't think we have the largest laptop available here just yet. Any other ideas? Maybe some Dell XPS?

The Dell XPS M2010 is the second and final beast I think it could be the largest laptop available... or probably "has been," because its hardware specs seem a bit outdated to me - X1800 graphics, only 1 GB of memory, Intel Core 2 Duo T7200, and so on, but we're not here to talk about any other specs than size here, after all(yupp, size DOES matter... a few times too many).

OK... size, right? The Dell XPS M2010 has a really impressive WDH of 479X74X404 mm! Weight? Well, just for the record, here you have it - 8.3 kilograms!

These being said, we have a winner - the Dell XPS M2010 is the largest laptop available, although I am sure it's pretty hard to find one these days. Anyway, the article remains open, so if you have any ideas about larger laptops, drop you comment below with the answer to this simple question: what's the largest laptop available?

If you have kids, then you probably know that, for most parents, it would be easier to find a laptop for the dog then for the children. I know some of you could say that I'm totally wrong, and I only have this to answer - you never knew the kid of one buddy of mine! For example, his monitor had fingers all over it(nothing so special here), and his keyboard knew all possible milk flavors and cookie tastes! Now, we're getting there...

... so, considering all the above, aren't you wondering what's the best laptop for children? If you don't have children yet, that's not an excuse - one day, you'll have to find out the answer to this question anyway, so why not be able to give some useful advice to those around you before finding yourself in the same situation, huh?
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OK, here's the best laptop for children of the day(maybe not the best ever, but surely the best of the week, haha) - the PeeWee Pivot Tablet Laptop, making its entry into the market as we speak. Its main competitor is the good old OLPC XO, but we'll leave that one aside and see what's inside this little beast: a PeeWee security software to enable parents watch their kids' activity online, spill and drop resistance, packing the now ubiquitous Intel Atom processor, a convertible rotating screen and touch tablet with stylus, a 1.3 MP webcam able to rotate 180 degrees.

Also coming with 1 GB of standard memory and a 60 GB "classic" hard drive, the Windows XP Home-powered PeeWee Pivot Tablet Laptop's price starts at $599.99 and is currently available only through www.peeweepc.com.

A lot of netbooks use Linux these days, and I find this really impressive, especially if we think about the kids who will use such systems at school or as their first computer, and then move on to more powerful computers and Linux distros, but leave Windows aside. What about that as a possible future, Microsoft?

Anyway, since we can't talk about a standardized Linux variant for netbooks yet, hearing about Google Android netbooks made me raise my eyebrows. It's obvious that Google severly kicked some Microsoft a*s in the Internet search battlefield, but can they do that again in the OS market? To be honest, I think not, but it's great to see news about future Google Android netbooks, especially when one of the first ones to arrive comes from one of my favorite hardware companies, namely MSI.

According to a Chinese-language Economic Daily News (EDN) report, my beloved MSI will showcase an Android-based netbook at Computex 2009, but the company declined to comment anything on the rumor, so we're not sure about this. Heh, if I think well, they could have easily deny that, but I guess it's all going to happen, ISN'T IT?? ;)
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Even more, the rumor says this Google Android netbook from MSI hasn't been developed by the company alone. No, the other side involved wasn't Google, as I was also tempted to think, but Taiwan's Institute for Information Industry. Unfortunately, I have no idea what was their part in the process, but I guess we'll find out pretty soon...or maybe we won't.

At last, since Computex 2008 hosted the release of more than just one Atom-based netbook running Microsoft's good old Windows XP, this year's edition will surely see more than just one Google Android netbook showin' up. When? It all starts on the second day of June, so have a little patience, will you? In the meantime, we'll surely get more info on the subject, so maybe you should start saving some cash for a new Google Android netbook...