Dell Latitude E5400 Battery

I am also somewhat disappointed by the lack of digital S/PDIF audio out, as several ASUS and other laptops with similar specs posses them.The 1.66GHz Core Duo is quite a processor, the laptop boots noticeably faster then my Pentium 4 machine despite having a slower hard disk drive. Because of the dual core Windows tends to temporarily freeze up less, though this still occurs when new hardware is added and some system configurations are changed.I’m not much of a hardcore gamer so I’ve only a tested a few games. Quake 3 is smooth and responsive as you’d expect and Battlefield 1942 had no problems with maximum graphics and AI settings.

Counterstrike:Source on the other hand struggled a bit on the highest graphic settings, however I did notice that the HDD was being accessed nearly constantly and other people have been able to do it with similar notebooks so I believe this problem is caused by the mere 512MB of RAM installed. Heavy gamers would be well advised to upgrade the RAM beyond the default 512MB.Desktop performance is excellent with 512MB of RAM, and it is also quite nice that the graphics card doesn’t eat into this. The fact that this laptop can be upgraded to a full 2GB is also good for the future and should boost performance with Windows Vista.The Toshiba Tecra A6 has quite a nice keyboard, not quite as firm and solid as IBM/Lenovo’s keyboards but definitely comfortable to use. There is no visible flexing and the keys have a nice responsive feel to them.Is the Lenovo IdeaPad S10 the best netbook currently on the market and the best value for your dollar? Well, the answer isn’t simple, particularly considering the way that new netbooks seem to arrive every week. The S10 does several things right that we wish more manufacturers did with their netbooks.

First, Lenovo was smart enough to realize and ExpressCard slot is important if you want to make a netbook useful. The ExpressCard slot gives you the option of adding more USB ports, Firewire, eSATA, or any number of other ports to the S10. More importantly, the ExpressCard slot makes it easy to add a broadband modem to the S10 so that you can stay connected to the internet anywhere with cell phone reception.Second, the S10 has built-in Bluetooth. Frankly, we’re amazed that every netbook doesn’t come with built-in Bluetooth since it allows you to connect devices to the netbook without using one of the USB ports.

Last, but certainly not least the S10 combines the surprisingly capable Intel Atom processor with a standard hard drive. While budget SSDs are nice, most consumers can’t get over the limited storage capacity of SSDs and that is why hard drives still have a place in netbooks.On the other hand, the S10 still suffers from some of the same limitations as other netbooks: relatively high temperatures, small battery, and a cramped screen and keyboard.Ultimately, the Lenovo IdeaPad S10 is a great ultra-portable laptop priced below $500. However, if you’re willing to put up with a bulkier notebook then it’s still possible to find a computer with more features and performance for almost the same price on sale.You might be wondering about the SSD. This is not one of the new generation of super fast SSDs, that is for sure. It is a SanDisk PATA (using a ZIFF connector) SSD. Booting time was (41.7 seconds), shut down (20.5 seconds) and restarts (58.3 seconds). These times are OK. Faster, bigger SSD drives (such as Runcore) or 1.8” mechanical drives can be installed with minimal fuss – simply remove two screws inside the battery bay and pop the keyboard off to access the drive. You will need to remove the recessed USB port to make room for a standard 1.8” drive. HP provides full service documentation on their support site.

Cosmetically it succeeds on a hardware and software level. It is thinner than most netbooks in its class, and it offers more attractive styling (at least in my opinion). There are no batteries jutting out of strange places like on the Toshiba NB100 and Dell Mini 12. Materials are well chosen, and the lid’s finish is classy looking.
At a software level HP has taken the standard fecal brown aesthetic of Ubuntu and given it a glossier, sexier sheen. The theme is sharp and HP’s launcher/shell succeeds where several netbook Linux distros failed before it. This Linux OS is very easy to use and everything just works out of the box. This operating system is certifiably ordinary people friendly.

In terms of hardware and performance, there is little to choose from between most netbooks. This particular chassis was made for a 10” screen so the 1110NR’s 8.9” screen looks out of place. Also, the 8GB SSD is simply too small given HP’s current lack of Mi-integrated cloud services. Sadly, the 10” model that comes with a much larger mechanical HDD is only available with Windows XP. I would appreciate being able to buy the 10” model with hard drive running HP Mi (or even a dual boot). The Hp Mini chassis is very nice, but the memory compartment door is flimsy – a really bone-headed design decision.

The HP Mini 1000 Mi Edition (Mini 1110NR) is a cool-looking, low-cost netbook focused on easy Web access and entertainment. It uses the same design as the Mini 1000, but runs the Mobile internet (Mi) software rather than Windows. Mobile internet is an easy-to-use interface built on Linux, but is it enough for most people to enjoy their e-mail, Internet, digital photos, music, and video?Last year’s HP Mini-note 2133 looked great, but it was let down by a pokey slow VIA C-7 CPU and 4200rpm HDD. I can imagine many people who got to handle a 2133 trying to rationalize how they probably didn’t need too much CPU power because of how well-built and attractive the 2133 was. I know I did, but thankfully I came to my senses before plunking down $500 on what was sure to be a disappointing investment.

We’ll never know why the VIA/Centaur C-7 was picked for the 2133 (everyone loves to cheer for the underdog, and I am sure that the VIA Nano will rock when its released in 2012), but its descendants like the HP Mini 1110NR we are reviewing here come equipped with the much better Intel Atom processor. Here are the 1110NR Specs:One thing I love about this keyboard is that the windows and menu keys are located well out of the way in the top right corner. These keys always annoy me on desktop keyboards. Another big plus is that the Control key is located in the bottom left corner where is should be and the function key is to the right of it. I’ve used several laptops where the function key is situated in the bottom left and this is less then ideal. The keyboard is also spill proofThough the lack of multimedia keys (play, fast forward, etc) is somewhat disappointing the quality and layout of this keyboard more then makes up for it Unlike a certain other laptop manufacturers like Dell there is no spyware, adware or much other crud installed by default. Toshiba give you a fairly clean install and you can always delete the installers for everything else.

The install also keeps a 4GB hidden FAT32 partition which contains files used by the recovery CD creator. You can use something like Partition Magic or perhaps a Linux live CD like Knoppix to remove this and resize your windows partition to recover this lost space.With all the controversy surrounding “Trusted Computing” it should be noted that the Tecra A6 comes with a “Trusted Platform Module” chip which stores encryption keys for the “Trusted Computing” platform. The good news is that it can be disabled and reset in the BIOS and is switched off by default.This won’t be an issue for most users but at the moment Linux support for both the wireless chipset and graphics card, along with a few other features is lacking. Intel has stated that their wireless driver will come out first quarter 2006 but ATi has not released any info about the due date of its next driver which will support the Mobile Radeon X1xxx series. As I occasional Linux user I find this quite disappointing that I will have to stick with Windows for a few months until support improves

The Toshiba Tecra A6 is quite a beefy notebook for its very low price, though I have a few minor gripes with it. The power of the Core Duo and Mobility Radeon X1400 ensure that this laptop will make short work of whatever I throw at it. Though the battery life isn’t exactly brilliant it is good enough to get through a few hours of work done while on the run.Under normal use, backlight at 100 percent and using wireless for web browsing and watching several streaming videos at 75 percent volume, the S10 managed to deliver three hours and 43 minutes of battery life. This is similar to what we’ve seen from Atom-based netbooks with 3-cell batteries, so there isn’t much to complain about here. However, as we’ve said in the past when reviewing other netbooks, these tiny laptops would make excellent mobile companions if they just had an option for a 6-cell or 8-cell battery for all-day use. In any case, lowering the screen brightness and turning off the wireless card should provide enough battery life for prolonged use with the 3-cell battery.

Even before we get our hand on the 1110NR configuration of the Mini 1000 Mi edition we can see that HP has really pushed their game up a level. Much like their recent Touchsmart and HDX line, the Mini comes in an attractive black box. In terms of packaging, HP is not quite at Apple levels yet. For example the Mini box is much larger than it needs to be, but HP are giving us a better first impression than Toshiba or Acer. Inside the box, you have a nice startup guide. The Mini is suspended in two nasty plasti-foam blocks (come on HP, cardboard works just as well). Its battery is pre-installed and the power cord is stored in a cardboard compartment and that’s all you will find. There is no case/sleeve nor is there detailed documentation or recovery media. HP’s documentation claims that we will be able to download a Mi recovery disk utility ‘soon.’ For now, a recovery partition on the SSD allows you to go back to factory fresh.