Only Best Laptops

Being a business man means you will need a laptop which has enough performance to run without problems your applications and tasks. If you don’t know what kind of notebook to choose without spending a lot of money for that, we present you the Dell Latitude D600 laptop.

Dell Latitude D600 laptop offers a great balance between performance and design without using the top technology at a price of $1800.  This laptop has a silver resistant plastic case with a chassis made of aluminum, steel materials and magnesium alloy. This combination of materials offers an extra protection against scratches or shocks – like dropping the laptop on the floor by accident. At 5.3 lb in weight and 1.2 x 12.4 x10.1 dimensions, this Dell Latitude D600 laptop fits into the slim and light laptop category. These features combined result in a light and portable unit.

The Dell Latitude D600 laptop has an Intel 1.4 GHz Pentium M processor which is combined with 640 MB of DDR2 RAM and it gives you sufficient performance to do your job without problems. The 40 GB Hitachi Travelstar hard disk is a bit small for that kind of notebook but you can burn your files on CDs with an integrated DVD/CD-RW optical drive. Even if this laptop has a low performance you will be surprised to see that you will not have any problems when you want to write something or surf the internet.

The integrated ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 graphics card may not be one of the best but it is enough for you to play some mainstream games. After all, this is a business laptop.The 14.1 inch SXGA display with a native resolution of 1400 x 1050 pixels gives you great quality images with enough contrast even if you are in a dark or powerfully lit room. The viewing angles are great and this gives you the possibility to show your team mates that new PowerPoint presentation that you’ve been working on.

The keyboard looks pretty good with flat and large keys which offer a positive feedback. Even if you can write easily, the keys are a bit rigid but if you practice a few days on them you will accommodate. The touchpad is pretty large and very responsive. Below the touchpad you can find the two mouse buttons, but the big disadvantage is that this laptop lacks the middle mouse button which is used for scrolling.

The Dell Latitude D600 laptop comes with 2 USB ports, a VGA port, a S-Video port, a parallel port, a serial port, a PCMCIA card slot, an infrared port and the indispensable headphones and microphone jacks. Even if the Bluetooth feature is not integrated, the Intel PRO/Wireless 2100 802.11b adapter will grant you Internet access wherever there is a wireless connection available.

The battery life is not a great aspect of this laptop. The 8-cell battery keeps this laptop up for only 2 hours in stress conditions and 3 hours and 30 minutes in standby mode, a lower performance than that of other similar laptops.  The good thing is that you will receive a secondary battery for this laptop which can be used when the first battery runs out. Anyway, the Dell Latitude D600 laptop, even if it doesn’t offers amazing performance, has proven itself to be a great deal for business people who want a practical and cheap notebook.

From the same series of “laptop which were once really cool”, we bring you the Dell Latitude C840 laptop. Back in 2002, this laptop used to cost about $3,000 and was a great business unit which few people could afford.

It was powered by a 1.6 GHz Intel Pentium 4 processor and 1 GB of RAM. The graphics card was the nVidia GeForce 440 GO with 64 MB of video memory. The storage capacity of the hard disk was 60 GB. Well, if we compare it to the other laptops which were on the market back then, this one of the best choices you could have ever made. Compared to today’s laptops… well, it’s one of the worst.

With 8 lbs of weight, this is anything but a portable laptop. The 15 inch display is not amazing, but it does show clear images considering that it didn’t benefit from the modern technology used it today’s laptop displays. The reviewed unit has the Linux operating system installed. I know that most of you are fans of the Windows operating system because the interface is more user friendly. Except for the weight of the laptop there is another factor that will not make this laptop comfortable for use on your lap. Yes, I’m talking about heat. A laptop which is this big will always generate a considerable amount of heat output and if it comes combined with body heat the result is an even higher temperature.

Since this laptop is so old, it does not have a DVD writer but it does have a combo between a CD burner and a DVD reader. One thing I found amusing is that this laptop also has a floppy disk. I must have been ages since I’ve used one of those although they were typical to that period. You cannot upgrade the RAM so 1 GB is about all you can get. We cannot really complain about the unit since it was a real hit back in the days of its release but it cannot compare to what other options we have today. Even if it did have the right specs back then, it cannot meet the requirements that we have from our laptop today as people are using demanding applications and not just a chat program and the Microsoft Office suite.

The keyboard is comfortable to type on and the keys have good travel and they offer positive feedback. One thing that I would have liked to see on a business laptop is a dedicated numerical pad as people in the office have to work with numbers and spreadsheets. Luckily we have external numerical pads that can be connected to our laptops via USB ports. The touchpad is also very responsive but it can be tiring to the fingertips to use it for long continuous hours and since the laptop is meant to be a desktop replacement you should really consider getting an external mouse. The arguments in favor of buying the Dell Latitude C840 laptop are not in that high of a number. Maybe one of them could be the price because I’m guessing that this refurbished laptop could cost about $400.

Before going into the subject of Dell laptop troubleshooting, we should explain first what troubleshooting means exactly. It is a different form of solving problem by performing a systematic search to find the source of a problem. The term is applied to many different fields, from electronics to medicine but in all these field it means the same thing: diagnosis.

When talking about Dell laptop troubleshooting we can actually try and cover a lot of areas but we would have to write a book or an entire manual on this subject. If you are interested in larger and more detailed explanations, there already are Dell manual for troubleshooting available on the Internet. One very easy way to check for troubleshooting is to check the special icon located on the task-bar right next to the clock in the lower right corner of the display.

When the operating system detects an error with your laptop, a balloon generally pops up in that corner alerting you that there is a problem. Different icons located here can show you that some drivers need to be updated or there are compatibility issues between the version of the software and your operating system.

When your laptop shuts down for no apparent reason and when you touch it, it feels really warm, that is a sign that you are having some overheating problems. I’m sure most of you have already heard about the blue screen of death. What really happens is that the screen turns blue and it shows white written lines with errors. This usually happens when new software and peripherals are installed. Other problems could be with the display. It could have dead or stuck pixels. Can’t tell the difference between the two? Well, a dead pixel turns black and there is no way you can get rid of it unless you change the whole display. Stuck pixels usually turn into a color and stay that way permanently. This problem can be solved by rubbing gently the area on the display around those stuck pixels. Amazing, but it actually works.

You can also diagnose certain problems that your laptop might have just by listening to the unit. You can hear scratching on the hard drive or inside the optical drive. If you notice interruptions in the charging process, this could be a problem with the power jack.

If you have a multi-meter you can check the cord and see if there is any power flow. If there isn’t, you may have to replace the charger. If the laptop is charged but the battery runs out too fast, it’s a sign that you should buy another battery for your laptop. In time, the battery runs out of power and cannot stay charged for as long as it did when it was new. If you ever notice any odd smell coming out from your laptop, like hot plastics or burning, beware as there may be something fried inside the unit, on the motherboard. This is why we always advise you to properly ventilate the laptop.

Looking for Dell laptop reviews we came across a really cheap Dell laptop which could be a great solution for student that need a computer when going off to campus and even for people that could use a secondary computer at home. In fact, this is more a netbook rather than a laptop, as it has a 10.1 inch display and the specs that fit those of a mini laptop. We’re talking about the Dell Latitude 2100.

The unit is powered by a 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 processor, quite commonly found in small laptops. The processor is combines with 1 GB of RAM which is enough for basic tasks such as surfing the internet, working on documents, listening to music and watching movies. The graphics card can only be weak when talking about a unit small in size. This means that the Dell Latitude 2100 has an integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 and 80 GB of free storage space.

Using the Dell Latitude 2100 as a primary computer is almost out of the question. The starting price of this unit is around $400 but the price of the unit configures in this Dell laptop review is $580. This unit is the first Dell Latitude netbook and it does not offer anything special in terms of design. Our unit came with quite an ugly shade of yellow which I find to be pretty upsetting to our eyes.

The 10.2 inch display has a native resolution of 1024 x 576 pixels. You can choose the touch screen feature if you find it more comfortable to use. The horizontal viewing angles are ok but you really can’t expect too much from a 10.1 inch display. Are 2 built in speakers on this unit and we can’t exactly say that it’s the best you could get out of a mini laptop. The sound is ok because they are located above the keyboard which means the sound is projected straight up. However, when you turn up the volume, you will notice those unpleasant sound distortions. External speakers are recommended maybe together with a good set of headphones.

All the Dell laptop reviews we have read regarding the Dell Latitude 2100 have all the best to say about this netbook’s keyboard. There is no flex registered in the keyboard area and the matte surface of the keyboard offers a great typing experience. The touchpad is also nice but a bit too small if you are used to working on a bigger laptop. You could go with an external mouse.  As for the ports and connections, the unit hosts 3 USB ports, one media card reader, a security lock slot, a VGA out, an Ethernet port and the regular headphones and microphone jacks.

And now we move on to one of the most aspects of a mini laptop: the battery life. The 6 cell battery of the Dell Latitude 2100 will keep the laptop up and running for an impressive 6 hours and 25 minutes. In order to get such a high number, you have to set the brightness of the display to 70%, turn on the wireless card and set the Windows XP power management profile to “power saver”.

One Dell laptop review which I found particularly interesting was that of the Dell Latitude XT2, a serious and mysterious 12 inch premium laptop.  It has a 1.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SU 9400 processor and 3 GB of RAM. The capacity of the hard drive is 120 GB and the graphics card is the Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X 4500MHD.

With all the dark gray covering this laptop some people may find it a bit too dull. I find it elegant and professional. If I were responsible for the design, I would have added a touch of silver but nevertheless this does look like a business laptop. If you are more interested in the power than you are in the look, this laptop is your winner. Since the unit reviewed costs $2,830 this laptop will definitely fit into the premium category.

This tablet PC represents some serious competition for the HP Pavilion TX1000. The 12.1 inch display has a native resolution of 1200 x 800 pixels. The horizontal viewing angles are great and the display can be rotated and be used as a touch screen. The touch screen is very responsive no matter if you use the stylus pen or your fingers. You can write on the display just like you can write with a pencil on a normal piece of paper. The pan has 2 buttons: one of them works exactly like the right mouse button and the other one stands for the erase function.

Due to the small size of the laptop there is only one integrated speaker. As you can imagine the volume levels are pretty low so you can’t exactly throw a party and expect the Latitude XT2 to handle the pressure. If you attach a pair of external speakers, that pretty much solves the problem. This laptop would have been amazing to use even if it didn’t have a touch sensitive display simply because the keyboard is one of the greatest you will ever see on a 12.1 inch laptop. This laptop comes with 3 USB ports (one of them is a USB plus eSATA port), VGA out, an Ethernet port, a FireWire port and the headphones plus microphone jacks.

When we first read this Dell laptop review we imagined that this small laptop must have amazing battery performance. With the Wireless Card enabled, the display brightness set to 70% and the Windows 7 Power Management profile set to “balanced mode”, the XT2 managed to stay on for almost 4 hours.

If you are interested in increasing the battery performance, you can buy a secondary battery which Dell sells and which can be attached to the bottom of this ultra-portable. In the end this Latitude model is one of the coolest 12.1 inches laptop on the market. Even if it’s small it has a great built in quality and average battery life. It is true that not many people can afford to pay the price for this unit and this is why most people that are looking for a small tablet PC would rather choose the Pavilion TX1000.