May 6th, 2009
Thin-and-lights for less than a grand
There are plenty of laptops that cost well under $1,000. And there are lots of ultraportables and thin-and-lights for frequent fliers. But there aren’t as many notebooks that combine portability and price.
Both CNET and PC World have just posted reviews of one such laptop, the 13-inch Gateway UC series. The UC7807u starts at $800 with a 13.3-inch WXGA (1280×800) display, 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T6400, 3GB of memory, Intel integrated graphics, 250GB hard drive and DVD drive (another model, the UC7308u with an older Pentium dual-core processor is available at Office Depot for $750).
The other choice in this sweet spot is the HP Pavilion dv3 (The sleeper HP Pavilion dv3). The Pavilion dv3t starts at $700 with a similar configuration: 13.3-inch LED-backlit WXGA (1280×800) display, 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T6400, 2GB of memory, Intel integrated graphics, 250GB hard drive and DVD drive. The AMD-based Pavilion dv3z has a slightly lower starting price. The Apple MacBook and Lenovo IdeaPad U330 are similar laptops, but they really start at around $1,000 and up.
Reviews coverage of the Gateway UC series and HP Pavilion dv3 series:
Gateway UC7807u reviews:
HP Pavilion dv3z reviews:
John Morris is a former executive editor at CNET Networks and senior editor at PC Magazine. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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