The Lonely Vampire Chronicles

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Originally published at The BLIPS Network. Please leave any comments there.

If you are shopping for a cheap laptop but does not like the Asus eee PC’s form factor, now is about the right time.

Strolling around Cyberzone at SM Megamall, I noticed that prices of Celeron-powered laptops have dropped considerably. So I looked at the Web sites of PC Corner, PC Express, and Asianic, and saw the following:

* Neo Q-Note Endura 320SU, priced at Php 19999 (contrary to the image shown at the page)
* Neo Q-Note Endura 540SL2c, priced at Php 19999 (not yet shown on Web site, but can be found on the downloadable price list of PC Corner and PC Express)

Both machines are Celeron-powered. Note that both units are available while supply lasts. Most prices have dropped due to the coming of second quarter, and Intel will release dual-core Celerons soon.

You might also want to check out the following:

* Acer Aspire 4715Z-1A0508MI, a Pentium Dual Core at Php 28,999 (PC Corner)
* MSI MegaBook VR330, an AMD Athlon 64 X2 at Php 24999 (PC Corner)

And with the 2nd-generation Asus eee PC priced at estimated Php 30,+++ at PC Corner, I suggest you wait for the eee competiting products from Acer, ECS, and MSI.

—

Previously:

Shopping for a laptop, 3 (or how getting one can screw you up)
Shopping for a laptop, 2
Shopping for a laptop

Originally published at The BLIPS Network. Please leave any comments there.

Acer has just announced its Gemstone Blue, an upgrade to its Gemstone laptop series. It got the appelation blue due to the the distinctive shade of the shell, and the fact that it sports Blu-Ray drives.

The display comes in 16″ and 18″, full 16:9 widescreen, and maximum resolution of 1920×1080, with video delivered by INVIDIA GeForce GS processor. It also carries 5 integrated speakers for true 5.1 sound delivered by Dolby Home Theater, Tuba CineBass booster and True5.1 CineSurround.

At the core of the series is the processor, of course. These machines are driven by Intel Centrino processors, Penryn, of course, with up to maximum of 4GB RAM.

The CineDash is the Star Trek-like interface found at the left side of the keyboard. CineDash is just a specialized interface for controlling media apps. Unfortunately, there is no right-side version.

Two models have been announced: Aspire 6920G and 8920G, and both are due next month. Not sure about a Philippine release date. Of course, they won’t come in cheap. The cheapest is priced around US$900 (that’s Php 36900 at US$1=Php41 conversion rate).

Prices of Gemstone laptops should drop by the time these Aspires hit retailers’ shelves.

Technical specifications below:

Originally published at The BLIPS Network. Please leave any comments there.

There are several cheap Celeron-powered laptops in the market today. Most of them arrived at the Php 29,999 price point (back in 2007), but now that is about to drop due to the following reasons:

1. Some manufacturers are releasing cheap Pentium Dual Core laptops, like MSI’s VR320 P2, with SRP of Php 29,999 (lower at several shops). It has the following specs:

* Intel® Pentium® Duo Mobile Technology
* Intel Pentium® Dual Core T2130 1.86GHz 533MHz 1MB L2 Cache Processor
* ATI RC410ME Chipset
* ATI Mobility Radeon X200 Graphics 256MB Shared
* MSI Wireless 802.11G
* 1GB DDR2 Memory (Max: 2GB)
* 60GB Hard Disk Drive
* Super-Multi DVD+/-RW/Ram Dual Layer Drive
* Superb Glare 13.3″ Widescreen Display (1280×768)
* Card Reader 4-in-1 MMC/SD/MS/MSPro
* Firewire Port /10/100Lan / 56K Modem
* 3 x USB2.0, Express Card Slot
* Weight : 2.1kg; Battery life: 3Hours (6-Cell)

With cheap Pentium Dual Core laptops in the market, Celeron laptops appear to be on the way out.

2. Intel is releasing dual-core Celerons soon. While the early Celeron Dual Cores will be desktop-based, it is only a matter of time before Celeron Dual Core powered laptops appear in the market.

Stores will now be hardpressed to dispose their Celeron laptop inventories. Expect these to breach the Php 25,000 barrier (unless distributors pull them out).

I suggest you skip Celeron laptops, notwithstanding the cheap price right now. At the same price, get that MSI VR320 P2.

—

Or maybe not. I got an MSI VR320 K2 laptop last month for Php 39,999 at 12 months, 0% interest installment term. Net Essentials, MSI’s distributor in the Philippines, in its Web site (linked above) listed an MSI VR320 K2 Plus. It shares the same specs as that of K2, but with an upgraded memory (2GB) and a LOWER price, Php 34,999 (though I think the 0% installment is on a 6 months term only). And yes, I AM NOT RECOMMENDING THAT YOU GET AN MSI LAPTOP, not now that they release new models with better specs and lower prices at such (very) short gaps.

That’s the problem with technology. Get one now, and tomorrow it is already obsolete.

Originally published at The BLIPS Network. Please leave any comments there.

In the previous post, I talked about my plans on getting a laptop, and the horrendous headache that shopping can give. Well, let’s add more to the confusion, shall we?

Last night, I went to SM Megamall Cyberzone, and I took a look around some shops (some of them were closed for their Christmas parties). So I looked at Octagon, and saw this MSI Megabook VR320 K2, a Core2 Duo laptop with the following specs:

Processor: Intel Core2 Duo T5200 1.6 GHz
Memory: 1 GB DDR2
Video: ATI Radeon 256 MB Shared
Hard disk drive: 80 GB SATA
Optical drive: Super Multi DVD
Screen size: 13.3″
WLAN: 802.11 b/g
Weight: 2.1 kgs
Price: Php 39999/Php 3329.16 for 12 months

I think this is a steal. There are cheaper models from Blue and Neo but I haven’t considered them.

Remember that confusing Compaq Presario V3617TU? The one with confusing specs? To add more to the confusion, Silicon Valley Computer has that model, and they list the processor speed as 2.0 GHz.

Whether I will get a laptop or not remains to be seen.

Originally published at The BLIPS Network. Please leave any comments there.

Who says shopping is a nice experience?

I am currently entertaining the idea of getting a laptop, and as an academic exercise, I began looking for the right laptop at the right price.

The exercise had progressed to the point that I have several candidate-laptops in mind. The major consideration was the processor. My list is divided according to the processor – single core and dual core (the first and second generation). Basically, Celeron-powered laptops fall on the single core category (I could have bundled the Intel Core Solo laptops on the single core group, but I haven’t considered them). Then, I considered laptops powered by Intel Core Duo processors and Core2 Duo processors.

I also considered the reputation of the laptop’s brand and manufacturer. If I can’t find the manufacturer’s Web site, they are automatically not considered. Also, I checked if enough support exists for the laptop (for example, driver downloads). Finally, comments by laptop users are also considered.

Lastly, the list is trimmed down according to price. I listed down those laptops whose price I am comfortable with – if I can comfortably pay for the monthly installment without seeing myself going bankrupt in case Gloria Arroyo finally managed not to mask the true state of the economy. So those products not offered under 12 months, 0% installment are discarded from consideration.

I will not list down the specs. Instead, I linked to either the official product page or to a distributor’s product page.

NOTE: Prices are current as of this posting, subject to change without prior notice. Contact your friendly distributor for details.

CAVEAT: There’s one discrepancy that I want to point out. Two distributors offer Compaq Presario V3617TU at different prices. One distributor offers it at Php39,950, while another prices it at Php34995. A steal? Read carefully. The processors are different. For the record, here is the official specs from HP Compaq.

What have I learned from the experience? The Americans are luckier: they can get Core 2 Duo laptops at around US$450, which is Php19530 when converted at the rate of Php43-US$1. That amount will get you the Asus eee PC, but not a Core2 Duo laptop.

Also, I learned that shopping can give you a tremendous headache. I am having one right now.

—

There are loads of things to consider when getting a laptop. Unlike a desktop computer, upgrading a laptop is not an easy task, and not everything inside a laptop can be upgraded. So, before you buy a laptop, assess first your needs. For what purpose will you use the laptop? How mobile would you like to be? What are your Internet connectivity options? Yes, answering a lot of questions is hard enough, and when you have answered all of them, looking for the specific laptop that fits your needs is harder. And if you live in the Philippines, you are immediately at a disadvantage – laptops here are relatively expensive as compared to the prices in the United States.

You might want to read this excellent article by PC Magazine on what to consider when getting a laptop. You may also want to visit MyProductAdvisor.com. And of course, don’t forget to ask friends for advise, specially if they are laptop owners.

(Will update this post if I manage to find better deals.)