Toshiba Satellite T235 (Intel)

For less than 600 bucks, HP Compaq 6715B Battery doesn't get any better than this. With its lightweight chassis, long battery life, comfy keyboard, sony battery and unique style, Toshiba's Satellite T235 is one of the best consumer ultraportables yet. It's great for students or anyone else on the go. Though the T235 series is compelling in both the AMD- and Intel-powered configurations, we give the edge to the $598 Intel-based Satellite T235-S1350 because of its longer endurance and stronger wireless performance. Yes, you can get a more powerful Core i3 notebook instead of this Pentium-powered machine for around the same price, but if you care about Sony VGP-BPS9/S Battery portability it's more than worth the trade-off.

Design

At 12.7 x 8.8 x 1 inches, the Satellite T235 sony vgp-bps13/b is a lot thinner than last year's 1.4-inch thick Satellite T135. With a weight of only 3.8 Sony VGP-BPS9/B Battery pounds, the notebook is so light that we hardly noticed it when we carried both the AMD and Intel versions and their AC adapters in our bag.

Despite its sub-$600 price tag, the Toshiba Satellite

T235 looks like a more expensive notebook. Its shiny lid (available in charcoal, red, or white) Sony VGP-BPS10 has a subtle wave pattern overlaid on top of an even more subtle grid imprint. Though the glossy surface picked up fingerprints, they weren't too prominent. The thin profile, which tapers from under 0.8 inches thick on the front lip to just over an inch thick in the back, makes the system look extra-svelte. We also like that Dell GD761 Battery the keyboard inclines slightly for a more comfortable typing position.

However, the real star of the show is the chrome-colored deck, keyboard, and touchpad. While the keyboard's keys and base are both matte chrome, the palm rest and area above the keyboard have a gorgeous shiny surface with a battery slightly rough texture, which Toshiba calls a Fusion chrome finish. We'll just call it one of the best-looking Toshiba PA3534U-1BRS and most comfortable palm rests we've tested. The touchpad sports a smooth surface that continues the Fusion pattern (which some may find to be a little loud), while the two mouse buttons and front lip are a glossy, pattern-free chrome.

Keyboard and Touchpad

The Satellite T235's keyboard is one of the best we've used on any consumer notebook, even more Acer Aspire One Battery comfortable than that on the Satellite T645. The keys are generously spaced, offer strong tactile feedback, and have no flex at all. Using this keyboard, we were able to achieve a score of 92 words per minute on the Ten Thumbs Typing Test, which matches our all-time high score.

The 3.3 x 1.5-inch touchpad offered just the right amount Acer Aspire 5670 Battery of resistance, allowing us to navigate around the desktop with ease. It also supports multitouch gestures such as pinch-to-zoom. Its two discrete buttons provided good tactile feedback without feeling stiff.

Heat

A notebook of this size is likely to spend much of its life on your lap, so ambient temperature becomes even more important than acer aspire 9800 battery they would on a larger system. Fortunately, the T235 stayed incredibly cool through our testing. Even after we streamed a Hulu video at full screen for 15 minutes with the notebook on high-performance mode, we measured the touchpad, keyboard, and bottom at only 95 degrees Fahrenheit--well within comfortable good battery temperatures. Even better, we didn't detect any warm spots on the palm rest, bottom, or sides. By contrast, the AMD-powered Satellite T235D got a bit warmer, with a 97-degree touchpad and a warm spot on the left side of the palm rest.

MSI GT660

MSI is out to prove that powerful gaming chops doesn't necessarily mean a large and barely Sony VGP-BPS9/S Battery portable notebook. The flashy GT660 is heavy, yes, but not so big that users won't be able to carry it in a normal laptop bag. Plus, the flashy lights outside and the Core i7 CPU inside means you won't embarrass yourself at a LAN party. You won't get the full HD experience here, but the GT660's excellent display and juiced Nvidia graphics make this $1,849 system worth a serious look.

Design

Aesthetically, there's a lot going on with the GT660. Almost too Dell GD761 Battery much. Unlike the GT725 and GT627, which lacked the audacious flair of most gaming notebooks, it seems like MSI pulled together as many cool-looking elements as they could while still keeping the GT660 below two grand. So it's got some funky cuts along the edges and a Sony VGP-BPS13A/B Battery glossy, beveled lid complete with glowing MSI logo.

Under the hood you start to notice how busy the GT600 looks. There's a mix of matte and glossy--though the Toshiba PA3534U-1BRS latter dominates--and the piano black of the display bezel and top of the deck fades into a glossy slate color, which then turns into a textured honeycomb pattern on the palm rest surrounding the touchpad.

Two speakers ringed in red sit on the left and right of the upper deck, and between them is a control deck outlined in red and chrome with touch-sensitive LEDs. Though MSI claims this element evokes a Knight Rider aesthetic, it reminded us more of Aquaman's underwear. A light tap activates each function, including enabling or disabling Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or the Windows key, and switching between power modes. There's even a button users can program to HP Compaq 6715B Battery launch an oft-used app. A shield-shaped power button sits in the center. Though we found this strip very useful, it picked up fingerprints.

No gaming notebook would be complete without glowing LED accents. The GT660 sports thin bands of orange LEDs as part of the lid design along the lower edges of the Sony VGP-BPS9/B Battery lid, and wrapped around the edge corners at the bottom of the deck. We don't like that the color doesn't quite match the red accents splashed across the keyboard and top edge, but we it was cool that we could turn the LED accents completely on or off by tapping the icon on the far right of the control Sony VGP-BPS10 deck. With the MSI LED Manager utility, you can turn each area off and on individually or all of them completely. Users can also set the LEDs to "breathe," which results in a gentle fade in and out, or to pulse along with the audio coming from your speakers. This latter feature was a lot of fun when we began playing loud, drum-driven music. Overall, it's not as comprehensive as on Alienware systems, but it's a nice touch.

This 16-inch system is portable in theory, but its 7.4-pound weight will likely keep it sitting on your desk most of the time. Still, at 15.6 x 10.6 x 2.2 inches, the system is nearly 3 pounds lighter than the Toshiba Qosmio X505, and unlike that 18-inch system,Sony PCGA-BP2V will still fit in most regular size notebook messengers or backpacks.

Keyboard and Touchpad

A pool of glossy plastic surrounds the matte, chiclet-style keys on the GT660, Sony VGP-BPL9 was a little distracting under bright lights. Since the keys aren't backlit, you won't be able to game as easily with the lights dimmed as, say, the X505. Still, we appreciate the red accents on the keys most games default to for movement--WASD, 8462, and arrows--making them easier to find.

Though the keyboard is full size and the keys Sony VGP-BPS13 are springy, we found ourselves making more typing errors than we normally do. Something about the spacing is slightly off.

MSI made some placement and size choices that we're used to seeing on netbooks, but not full-size laptops. The right Shift key is a little undersized and shifted to the left to accommodate the arrows. Plus, there's an extra backslash key between the Alt key on the left and the space bar. This made executing keyboard shortcuts harder because the Alt key Sony VGP-BPS2B Battery isn't where our fingers expect it, plus it's smaller than

normal. There's plenty of room on the deck, even with the full number pad on the right, as MSI left at least Lenovo/IBM Thinkpad R51E Battery an inch of deck around the keyboard, so we're not sure why the layout has these little issues.

The touchpad is pretty big--3.2 x 1.9 inches--but it could be even larger if the designers good battery had used more of the available space. The slightly rough touch surface and mouse button has a thick chrome outline that flows down into a chevron shape.

Under the single mouse button are status indicators for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Battery, Sleep, and the hard drive are appreciated. Plus, our fingers kept naturally gravitating to the bottom edge of the notebook where the mouse buttons usually sit. On this battery system they're higher, which took some getting used to.

Sony VAIO SR Series

Deftly balancing work and play, the 13.3-inch sony vgp-bps8 offers enough style and power for everyone from home users to students to road warriors. And with a price tag of $1,359 (starting at $1,049), this notebook offers a good combination of graphics power and battery life as vgp-bps8, making it a value-priced alternative to the 13-inch VAIO Z Series (starting at $1,739) for executives. We especially appreciate the versatile Switch mode feature, which lets you customize shortcut buttons based on how you use the notebook. The webcam could be better, and we wish there was less preloaded software, but, overall, the Sony vgp-bpl8 is a great value.

Design

Compared with the pricier VAIO Z series—a 3.4-pound notebook that sports an all-aluminum keyboard and carbon fiber housing for its LCD panel—the vgp-bpl8 seems fairly basic, but we generally like this machine’s design given its price point. The SR features a magnesium alloy chassis that weighs a relatively light 4.2 pounds and measures 12.4 x 9.2 x 1.3 inches, making it a good travel companion. In fact, this system is one of the lighter 13-inch notebooks in its price range. Certainly, the SR felt lighter in our hands than the 4.5-pound 13-inch vgp-bps8a, although that aluminum unibody machine has a slimmer 1-inch profile. The similarly priced vgp-bps8b has a more luxurious wedge-shape design, complete with leather accents, but is even heavier at 4.8 pounds.While the lid is smooth, the sides and bottom have a rough, sandpapery feel. The version as sony vgp-bpl8a we tested comes in standard black, but you can opt for Glossy Pink, Platinum Silver, and Titanium Gray in the configure-to-order model.

Multiple Personalities

The seven buttons on the circular hinge area above the keyboard are unique to the SR’s design. The switch mode button (furthest to the left), lets you switch among three desktop environments (Home, Office, or On The Go). Depending on which as vgp-bps9 environment is selected, the five buttons in the center activate various applications, which appear as icons in the lower center of the screen.

In Office mode, for example, the icons are Mute, Lock Computer, Computer, Presentation Support, and Windows Meeting Space. Home mode has icons for VAIO MusicBox, Movie Story, ArcSoft Webcam Companion, Burn Disc, and Internet Explorer. All of these buttons for vgp-bps9a/b can be mapped for different applications using the Setting button on the right.

Keyboard and Touchpad

While other notebook for batterymag.co.uk makers have just begun to adopt the island-style keyboard, Sony laptop battery has been doing it for years—and at this point, the company has it down pat. The keyboard, in a recessed area of the deck, provided good feedback and no flex, and was comfortable to type on for extended periods.

The large touchpad dell inspiron 6400 battery has a gray-and-white spotted pattern that distinguished it from the rest of the deck. Although the pattern looks textured, it’s actually as smooth as the rest of the chassis for sony vgp-bps8. It, too, was very comfortable and had low friction. The two mouse buttons, separated by a fingerprint reader, provide strong tactile feedback, but are a bit noisy.

Ports and Webcam

On the left side are VGA, HDMI, and FireWire ports, along with an ExpressCard/34 slot. On the front are an SD Card slot and a Memory Stick Pro slot, which as vgp-bps8a.The right side houses the 8X DVD+/-RW drive, two USB ports, and Ethernet and modem jacks behind a removable flap. The power button, built into the right side of the hinge, glows green when the system for vgp-bpl8 is powered on.

Although the colors for sony vgp-bps9 were pleasant, the 1.3-megapixel webcam took dim, not-very-sharp still photos. Our VGA video, too, was dim and soft, but at least all of the movement looked fluid, and the picture stayed in focus as vgp-bps9/b we moved closer to the lens.

The ArcSoft WebCam Companion software’s white-and-blue interface isn’t the sleekest, but its vgp-bps9a/b task-oriented main screen makes it easy to navigate. When you finish snapping or recording a capture, you’ll see a thumbnail in a pane to the left. A separate dashboard allows you to adjust the lighting, contrast, and saturation settings (among others) on a sliding scale, as well as vgp-bps9/s apply fun filters, begin face tracking, and insert 2D frames.