Laptops Arena

The lure of a big screen notebook like the Averatec AV7160-EC1 is hard to resist as you navigate the laptop aisle. While the machine boasts the promising combination of a huge 17-inch widescreen and an attractive price ($1,199), a little shopping around will net you better performance and even more multimedia features for about the same cost.

The sharp-looking Averatec AV7160-EC1 is clad in a glossy black shell with silver accents. Averatec should be commended for shaving the unit's weight to a slight 7.2 pounds; many 17-inch notebooks we've seen weigh more than eight pounds. Still, this is no featherweight, and the big screen makes this system too bulky to tote often.

View full review here.

We’re happy to see that while there’s a new chip on the inside, HP didn’t alter the design of the slick Pavilion dv6000t.

The glossy piano-black finish and gray pinstriping outside (with that color scheme reversed inside) looks stunning. Even better, the HP Pavilion dv6000t has the features and performance to complement its good looks.

This six-pound notebook features a 15.4-inch widescreen LCD with a comfortable 1280 x 800-pixel native resolution. DVDs looked great on this display, and we love HP’s QuickPlay feature for launching and controlling multimedia files without booting up Windows.

Viewing-angle performance was typical for this class of panel: good from side to side, but images looked washed-out when viewed from above.

View full review here.

Fujitsu unveils the FMV-BIBLO NF, a 6.3-pound notebook that’s designed for both work and play. Boasting an AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-50 (1.6-GHz) processor, 512MB ATI Radeon Xpress 1150 graphics, 512MB of DDR2 SDRAM, 100GB HDD, and a DVD Super-Multi drive.

External interfaces include three USB 2.0 ports, a FireWirep ort, a biometric fingerprint reader, 802.11 a/b/g, and S-Video out. Its 15.4-inch WXGA display is perfect for watching your favorite DVDs.

The FMB-BIBLO NF goes on sale September 2nd, priced at $1, 575.

Via techeblog.

Sony expands its sleek Type BX notebook line with the VAIO BX96PS. Featuring an Intel Core 2 Duo T7400 (2.16-GHz) CPU, 512MB of DDR2 memory, ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics, 60GB HDD, and a 14.1-inch SXGA+ (1,400 x 1,050) display.

External interfaces on this 6.8-pound notebook include three USB 2.0 ports, a FireWire port, biometric fingerprint reader, 802.11 a/b/g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, and a 4-in-1 memory card reader.

Sony will release the VAIO BX96PS on September 9th in Japan, with prices starting at $1,366.

Via techeblog.

Priced at an affordable $1,023, the DN8010 offers an Intel Core 2 Duo T5500 (1.66-GHz) CPU, 512MB of DDR2 memory, 40GB HDD, a DVD Super-Multi drive, and a 17-inch WXGA+ (1440 x 900) display.

External interfaces include four USB 2.0 ports, a FireWire port, 3-in-1 memory card reader, and Gigabit Ethernet. It measures 394 x 287 x 39mm and weighs 8.17-pounds.

Sotec Winbook DN8010 is available August 29th in Japan.

Via techeblog.