Toshiba Satellite P755-3DV20 Review: Affordable 3D Fun

The Toshiba Satellite P755 is part of the P750 series and is designed to strike a balance between a budget 15-inch laptop and a powerful multimedia PC. Is it possible to deliver a great 3D entertainment PC for an affordable price? Keep reading to find out.

Build and Design
There is little to separate the design of the Satellite P755-3DV20 from other Toshiba Satellite notebooks ... for better or worse. The entire machine is constructed of relatively thick plastics with rounded edges and corners. The screen lid and top half of the chassis use glossy plastics covered in the Toshiba "Fusion X2 Platinum" finish; essentially a faux metal paint job. Like most Satellite notebooks, the glossy surfaces act like a magnet for fingerprints and dust so your new laptop won't look clean for very long. Even the keyboard keys are glossy ... probably to help CSI figure out which keys you press most frequently.
The notebook also comes with a set of Nvidia 3D Vision glasses so you can watch 3D movies and still photos directly on the screen or a 3D Vision compatible HDTV when connected via HDMI. More on that later.
Build quality of the P755 is reasonably good for a budget 15-inch laptop but this particular model comes with well-equipped hardware and a more expensive price tag. While the supporting chassis structure resists twisting, most of exterior plastics show visible flex when you press down on them. Again, that is normal for a budget laptop but notebooks in the $800+ price range should feel more durable.
The display has a strong backing which prevents any distortion from showing on the screen when pressure is applied to the lid, but the lid plastics do flex inward when you press down. The screen hinges provide adequate resistance although we did notice that the hinges and screen assembly move slightly from side-to-side if you jostle the screen.
Like the Satellite L755 that we previously reviewed, the P755 is simple to upgrade thanks to two access panels on the bottom of the chassis. You can replace the RAM or the hard drive with little effort.

Ports and Features
The P755 includes a reasonable number of ports for a modern multimedia machine. This notebook includes a single USB 3.0 SuperSpeed port, three additional USB 2.0 ports, HDMI and a memory card reader. Although an ExpressCard expansion slot would have been a welcome addition, fewer 15-inch notebooks include them today. The optical drive in this configuration of the P755 is a Blu-ray player and DVD burner that is, of course, also compatible with 3D Blu-ray movies. All picture descriptions are left to right.

Lenovo IdeaPad V470 Review: The Home and Office Hybrid Notebook

The Lenovo IdeaPad V470 is an ideal choice for users who want a budget-conscious notebook with both home and office features. It's equipped with a second-generation Intel dual-core processor, 4GB of RAM, Intel HD graphics, and an HDMI port. Keep reading to find out more about this notebook, including full specifications, an overview of its build quality, and more.

BUILD AND DESIGNThe first thing you'll probably notice about the V470 is that it's an extremely attractive-looking notebook. It has a clean, dual-color scheme of metallic gray and black, as well as a glossy screen bezel. The look appears business-casual and classy. And, at 4.8 pounds with a 14.0-inch screen and just over an inch thick, it's portable, too.
The display cover and palm rest consist of brushed aluminum while the base is made of hardened plastic. Hardly any flex was seen when we pressed down on the palm rests with considerable pressure; it's constructed very well. The display cover isn't constructed as well, though -- it's just too thin to be considered sturdy. I could break it easily if I tried. Ripples appear on the screen when both top corners are bent inward. The chassis is much more durable; it doesn't flex much at all. Overall, we would consider the V470 to have good build quality if the display cover was thicker and less worrisome.
The hard drive and memory can be swapped out from the bottom panel. To replace the hard drive, simply remove a few screws as well as the drive compartment. The memory can also be increased up to 8GB (dual-channel) as there are two SO-DIMM sockets. If desired, the mini PCI Express card and optical drive can also be removed.

PORTS AND FEATURES
The V470 has a great port selection; above average for its price range. Even though it doesn't have USB 3.0, it has a total of four USB 2.0 ports, along with a 6-in-1 memory card reader, VGA, HDMI, eSATA, separate headphone and mic jacks, and an optical drive with CD-RW/DVD-RW/DVD-Multi capabilities. The memory card reader is compatible with SD, SDHC, MMC, MS, MS Pro, and xD-Picture memory cards. The V470 also has a fingerprint reader to the right of the palm rest.

Compaq Mini Netbook with Verizon 4G LTE Review: A Good Deal?

This 10-inch netbook features built-in Verizon 4G LTE wireless and is available exclusively from Verizon for $149.99 with a two-year contract. Our review looks at the netbook itself and the Verizon wireless network to help you find out if this is a good deal for your budget.

Build and Design
The Compaq Mini has an unassuming black plastic exterior. The anti-glare chassis is nice however the glossy screen lid gets fingerprinted up immediately and looks unclean. There's little to say about the design overall; it's utilitarian with no extras and similiar to the design of HP Mini line of netbooks.

The netbook feels relatively solid and is easy to carry around thanks to its weight of 3.1 lbs and small footprint. It should stand up to the rigors of everyday travel assuming it isn't tossed around; I highly recommend a protective sleeve or bag even though it's tempting to toss such a small laptop in a backpack or purse.

The Compaq Mini wasn't designed to be upgraded; there are no user-accessible panels on the bottom of the chassis. The battery is the only component that can be removed and replaced easily.

Ports and Features
This netbook includes a respectable number of ports including three USB 2.0 ports and a media card reader. It has a VGA port for connecting to projectors but lacks HDMI and DisplayPort. All picture descriptions are left to right.

HP Pavilion dm1-4010us Review: Better Than A Netbook

If you're trying to find a travel laptop with decent multimedia performance and good battery life that won't take up much room in a carry-on bag then the latest HP Pavilion dm1 (dm1z) might be just what you need.

Build and Design
The new HP Pavilion dm1-4010us ($480) is a simple and straightforward update to the dm1 series laptops from early 2011. You get an 11-inch netbook with a traditional rounded clamshell design. The biggest design change here is that the new generation of dm1z laptops feature mostly black plastics with silver accents rather than mostly silver with black accents.
Build quality is on par with other HP Pavilion notebooks and HP mini netbooks ... meaning slightly above average for a budget laptop. The plastics used in the chassis are durable and thick enough to prevent flex or cracking under pressure. The plastic screen lid provides adequate protection for the screen, but the middle of the lid does bend inward under firm pressure (be careful jamming this into overhead compartments on your next flight).
The lid features a plain matte black paint job which keeps the outward appearance clean and professional. Opening up the screen, the silver-painted hinges have enough tension to hold the screen in place, but the plastics surrounding the hinges "float" around the actual metal hinges themselves. This was probably done so that the hinges won't sustain a sharp impact if the laptop is dropped with the screen in the open position. However, the flexing plastics around the hinges don't inspire the same confidence in build quality as the rest of the laptop.
The bottom of the notebook has a clean look with no screws in sight. If you want to upgrade the RAM, replace the hard drive or the wireless card, all you have to do is remove the battery and push the battery release switch all the way to the left as you pull forward on the bottom of the notebook. The entire bottom half of the laptop comes off and you have access to two RAM slots, the hard drive, the wireless card and even the fan and heatsink.

Ports and Features
Port selection on the new dm1-4010us is virtually identical to the older dm1z we reviewed in early 2011. HP gives you three USB 2.0 ports, HDMI-out, VGA, Gigabit LAN, a headphone jack and a microphone jack. It also features a SDHC-card slot for loading images off your camera while traveling or expanding your available storage. The only difference between this model and previous versions of the dm1 series is that the old dm1 models have a single headset jack that works for a headset, headphones or microphone and the Ethernet jack on earlier versions was covered by a rubber door. The dm1-4010us still lacks a Super Speed USB 3.0 port for fast data transfers. Most consumer notebooks now have at least one USB 3.0 port so there's no excuse for the lack of one here.