Eric Grevstad

If there’s one thing you can tell about Lenovo, it’s that the company doesn’t like having idle hands around the place: Even as its netbook engineers were working on the company’s new 12-inch model, the IdeaPad S12, Lenovo called for a makeover of its existing 10.1-inch netbook. So say goodbye to the IdeaPad S10 and […]

Nobody does notebooks better. Most of the time Lenovo makes solidly capable systems, whether style-conscious consumer models like the IdeaPad Y450 or corporate fleet fodder like the ThinkPad T400 and T500. But every so often, Lenovo lets its engineers loose on a showpiece and we end up swooning like schoolgirls at a Jonas Brothers concert. […]

Hey, good lookin’. Fujitsu is late to the netbook party, but dressed for the occasion: The new Fujitsu M2010 flaunts a glossy fire-engine/candy-apple red lid and palmrest, the former decorated with a big, bold rendition of the company’s infinity-symbol logo. It’s arguably the sharpest style in the netbook swarm. Something else that’s easy on the […]

Netbooks have been hogging the spotlight lately, making the world marvel at how capable a computing companion you can get for a notch under $500. Lenovo would like equal time to point out just how capable a real computer you can get for a notch over $500. Not to knock netbooks, including Lenovo’s, but the […]

Sometimes archrivalry is the sincerest form of flattery. Microsoft‘s newest notebook mouse combines Microsoft’s latest mouse innovation with, uh, Logitech’s latest mouse innovation. The latter is what Logitech has called a “plug-and-forget nano-receiver.” In the Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 6000 ($50), it’s called a “plug-and-go nano transceiver” — a wireless receiver that, instead of sticking […]

Woo woo. Or if you prefer, hubba hubba. The Acer Aspire 3935 is a brushed-metal slimline just 1-inch thick and just 4.2 pounds, including the DVD±RW drive missing from ultralight notebooks like Apple’s MacBook Air (and the Ethernet port and swappable battery missing from the Air as well). No, it’s not quite as skinny and […]

Users’ needs and vendors’ hardware configurations are different enough so that you rarely hear someone try to pick a single “best” desktop or notebook PC. But the netbook category is so clearly defined — with so many compact, convenient mini-laptops with cookie-cutter specifications — that there’s a battle for bragging rights constantly rocking the red-hot […]

Prices for Gateway (UC7807U) PC Notebook Products from online stores: Amazon Marketplace: $689.99 | In stock: yes Buy.com Marketplaces: $689.99 | In stock: yes TigerDirect.com: $699.99 | In stock: yes It’s the biggest screen possible that impresses when comparing home theater setups, but it’s the 13.3-inch display size that seems a favorite of manufacturers building […]

A year ago, HP jumped into the netbook market. Well, stepped in. Well, put a toe in. The HP 2133 was a 2.9-pound portable with a glossy 8.9-inch display and one of the nicest, nearest-to-full-sized keyboards — 92 percent of full size, HP bragged — yet seen in the segment. But while the 2133’s specifications […]

“Out of sight, out of mind” is a lousy way to multitask. Repeated studies have shown that you can improve your PC productivity by anywhere from 10 to 50 percent with a system upgrade that has nothing to do with speed or storage: adding a second monitor. Of course a second (or third) screen is […]