Multitask and Not Bog Down
The more memory a PC has, the faster your programs run and the more windows you can work in simultaneously. Equipped with memory between 1GB and 3GB, this laptop should be able to handle just about any task you can throw at it without bogging down too much. For instance, if you're a multitasker and you'd like to burn a music CD in one window while watching your favorite DVD movie (for the umpteenth time) in another--while flipping between your inbox and your browser to work on your blog during the movie's boring parts--this laptop can manage it all without a hiccup.
Designed to Replace Your Desktop
With its expansive screen and keyboard, large hard drive, and fast processor, this portable qualifies as a desktop replacement. As the moniker suggests, this laptop could take the place of your desktop PC, as it offers most of the features that people look for in a computer. The screen is spacious enough for you to work on it all day without eyestrain, and the keyboard's roominess rivals that of a desktop's. It has only one optical drive, but ports aplenty. Even so, this machine is still portable, light enough to unplug from the wall and easily move to another room--or to a meeting across the country on your next business trip.
Dedicated Graphics Card Improves Video and Gaming
A laptop equipped with a dedicated graphics card does a better job of playing videos--and video games--than a portable lacking a discrete board does. That's because video cards come with their own memory to make images look good on the screen; you get 128MB of video memory on a lower-cost card, and 256MB, 512MB, or 1GB on better ones. Without a dedicated card, your laptop has to borrow video memory from the main store of memory that the system uses to run other programs. As a result, everything slows down, but 3D games in particular will stutter, look bad, or not run at all. A good-quality graphics card in your laptop ensures that you'll be able to play any type of video, without adversely affecting other programs.
Great Resolution for HD Video
This laptop's 1920 by 1080, or WUXGA (Widescreen Ultra Extended Graphics Array), display is great for high-def video. (Another variation of WUXGA is 1920 by 1200.) This is the highest resolution you can get on a laptop--if you want something beyond this, you'll have to buy a stand-alone flat-screen monitor. Be aware, however, that text and icons can be tiny and hard to read at this resolution. If all you need to do is handle word processing, e-mail, and the Internet, a superhigh resolution is overkill. But if you require a huge screen that shows as much information as possible, opt for this laptop, or another that sports a similarly large, WUXGA-resolution screen.
Supports Blu-ray Technology
Blu-ray, named after the short, blue laser beam used to read and write discs (as opposed to the longer red laser in DVD and CD burners), recently emerged as the reigning high-definition standard for optical discs. Not only does Blu-ray video look good at 1080p on a laptop display, but the discs are roomy, too: One Blu-ray disc can store 50GB of video or data, almost six times the capacity of a dual-layer DVD. Blu-ray is backward-compatible, as well, so you can use DVDs and CDs in this drive. Just like CDs and DVDs, Blu-ray comes in prerecorded (BD-ROM), recordable (BD-R), and rewritable (BD-RE) versions to suit all your needs, whether you want to watch the latest movie, record your own videos or music discs to share, or reuse a backup disc.
Expand Memory and Multimedia Through the ExpressCard Slot
The built-in ExpressCard slot on this laptop lets you easily expand the memory, wireless communications, multimedia, or security of the system. There are two types of ExpressCards: the ExpressCard/34, which measures 34mm by 75mm and is shaped like a stick of chewing gum, and the wider ExpressCard/54, which is 54mm by 75mm. The ExpressCard/54 slot, which accepts either type of card, opens up a wider world of expandability, including SmartCard readers, CompactFlash readers, and 1.8-inch disk drives. Few new laptops come equipped with the old PC Card slot that preceded ExpressCard, but if yours does, you can buy an adapter that lets you use ExpressCards in the PC Card slot.
Supports Memory Stick Cards
Usually, a multiformat card reader, such as the one in this laptop, can accept several different types of flash memory cards, including Memory Sticks. A compact proprietary flash memory card, Memory Stick is a Sony and SanDisk product intended chiefly for Sony devices, including its laptops, digital cameras, camcorders, PDAs, and cell phones, as well as the PlayStation Portable. Five variations have been released since its introduction in 1998--each faster, smaller, and more capacious than the last. Check this laptop's specs to see how many variations of Memory Stick it can read without an adapter. Not much bigger than a thumbnail, the Memory Stick Micro (aka M2) is the one of the smallest flash memory cards in existence; only the competing microSD, a type of SD Card, is tinier. The 16GB Memory Stick Pro Duo stores the most data.
Supports SD Cards
Like most new laptops, this one has either a multiformat card reader or a dedicated slot that accepts an SD (Secure Digital) Card. More popular than Memory Stick, CompactFlash, and xD-Picture Card, SD is found in a large number of digital cameras, PDAs, printers, and other devices. SD Cards have built-in security functions to protect data, including music copyright protection. (The cards have a small write-protection switch on the side similar to that of a floppy disk.) The latest SD card, the microSDHC, is the tiniest flash memory card to date, measuring only 11mm across. It's also the fastest and roomiest, capable of holding up to 16GB of data.
Supports MultiMediaCards
Any laptop that can work with SD Cards can also take MultiMediaCards in its multiformat card reader. These small, thin cards look like their SD counterparts (and are often lumped into the same category), but the technology inside is different, as these cards lack SD's encryption and have only half the storage capacity. They're also slower. If security and speed are not critical issues for you, MultiMediaCard can be a cheaper alternative to the more popular SD; many devices that accept SD will also take the slightly thinner MultiMediaCard. Regardless, this laptop gives you the choice of using either format.
Connect Peripherals With Bluetooth Technology
This short-range wireless technology is everywhere. Whether you activate it on a laptop by way of an external on/off switch or through software, the small internal Bluetooth card automatically detects other Bluetooth-equipped devices within 30 feet and sends and receives radio signals over an ad-hoc "piconet," or personal wireless network. Bluetooth is an especially convenient way to add external peripherals or partner the laptop with other devices, such as a cell phone, printer, or digital camera. Bluetooth works only over short distances to connect devices around your home or office, sending small chunks of data at a leisurely 1 megabit per second.
Connect to the Net Via Ethernet Port
Even though Wi-Fi is all the rage, an ethernet connection for wired networking is still a nice thing to have. Ethernet jacks allow for instant connections to the Internet, e-mail, and applications over a fast, secure wired network. Ethernet comes in three speeds: the all-but-obsolete traditional ethernet, limited to 10 megabits per second; fast ethernet, which works at up to 100 megabits per second; and gigabit ethernet, which operates at up to a gigabit per second. If your laptop is equipped with the still-common fast ethernet, it won't be able to take full advantage of the performance that a gigabit-ethernet network has to offer. But more and more laptops now come with gigabit ethernet, in which case you're covered for access to the fastest type of wired network.
Windows Vista Installed
Microsoft's Windows Vista introduces more graphical and functional changes--big and small--than the OS has undergone in quite some time. Among the graphical changes, the splashiest is the glasslike transparency of overlapping windows. Flip 3D, which lets you view open windows in a cascading 3D stack on the desktop, is eye-catching too. And the Windows Sidebar displays small applets on the desktop designed for specialized purposes, such as weather reports or sports scores. On the practical side, the new systemwide integrated Instant Search lets you look for a needed file from practically anywhere and at any time. Keep in mind, however, that because Vista offers so much, it requires a speedy CPU, ample RAM, and a good graphics card. Check out the other components of this laptop to be sure that Vista can run smoothly on it.
Be Wary of Battery Life Specs
Take the battery life you see advertised for any laptop with a grain of salt. Why? A few vendors still use unrealistic testing parameters in order to report the longest battery life possible. For example, a "tested" laptop simply might be turned on, with the screen brightness lowered to the darkest level, and allowed to run down without anyone touching it. When the laptop undergoes typical, everyday use--say, with the screen brightness turned up to a readable level and with the user working in several applications or playing a CD or DVD movie--its battery life could be much shorter than a vendor's claims.
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