racoma.com.phJ. Angelo Racoma on technology, economics, writing, problogging, and getting things done

12.5-inch screens seem to be popular in the business-oriented notebook market. Lenovo and LG first came out with their 12.5-inch noteboks. Now, Samsung joins the fray with the Series 2, 4 and 6.

Buying a computer need not be expensive. While most netbooks used to be priced in the PhP 20,000 region, new netbooks are now reaching the PhP 15,000 mark. This means more affordable computing to those who need it, but don’t have the big budget.

The N150 features a 10.1 inch LED backlit screen, and a 12-hour battery. What’s great for me is that the N150 has a matte screen, which sets it apart from the usual glossy screens in most netbooks and laptops that give off glare in bright environments.

It is powered by a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 processors and runs Windows 7 Starter Edition. The netbook also has WiFi 802.11b/g/n, 1GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive and a flash card reader. The Samsung NP-N150 puts email, the web, social networking and even multimedia entertainment right in your hands. It incorporates advanced communications technologies, including and 802.11bgn wireless and 3G modem (HSPA* and WiMAX*), to provide high-speed access to the Internet and your data anytime and anywhere.

Specifications:

• Windows® 7 Starter
• Intel® Atom N455 (1.66GHz, 512KB, 667MHz)
• Intel NM10 Chipset
• 1GB DDR3 Memory
• 10.1″ WSVGA (1024 x 600), Non-Gloss, LED Back Light
• Intel GMA3150
• Internal Shared Memory
• 250 GB SATA HDD

The Samsung N150 retails for PhP 15,900 at official retailers, and is distributed by MSI-ECS.

Clarification: MSI-ECS says the N150 comes with a 250 GB hard drive, and not 160, as earlier reported.

I earlier mentioned I was planning to acquire an HP 2133, but was instead holding off due to numerous other hot ultraportables that other computer manufacturers are releasing. Turns out ultraportables are hot these days. Even the NY Times thinks so (and i think Asus paved the way for it with the Eee). Well, I’m definitely holding off for now. After searching high and low for a HP 2133 on sale, I have finally found myself a good deal waiting for.

So it’s still my ol’ reliable Asus Eee 701 for now.

I made a few calls to HP Support, and I was able to solve the heating and battery life issue on my new Presario B1256TU. It turns out that a resetting of the BIOS to defaults would solve things. Now SpeedStep works even at first power-up (without needing to wake up from sleep first).

Next up: making some modifications to the BIOS, to see if things work well even with BIOS changes. I also need to see if disabling the onboard LAN from the BIOS would help extend battery life.

The new school year is just around the corner and I can see kids asking their parents to buy them laptops (among other gadgets, like cars, perhaps?). Here’s one practical choice: the Compaq Presario B1256TU. It’s not your top-of-the-line gizmo, but it sure packs a wallop for a compact 12-incher. I’ve been reading rave reviews about it, not mostly because of its performance, but because of its value-for-money.

For PhP 35,990 you get a dual-core machine with 1 Gig of RAM and 80GB of SATA hard drive space. It comes with a dual-layer DVD burner, a webcam, built-in mic, and most standard laptop peripherals these days.

This can practically be the next hit laptop after the Asus Eee–at least, in the Philippines! The B1256TU was, after all, designed to be targeted at the Asian Market. It is (relatively) affordable. The specs are reasonable. And Compaq is a trusted brand. And did I mention it looks sexy, too! It’s no MacBook Pro, but it looks sleek and slick, from what I see at stores and pics online.

Sure, my Asus Eee sells for half that price, but in terms of being a portable workhorse, the B1200 series can compete. And you can’t really compare them. It’s like comparing a main arm to a side arm. Like comparing the range, efficacy and accuracy of an M-16A rifle with a 9mm pistol. Both of them excel at what they’re made for, but they can’t necessarily be compared head-on because they were designed for different (though related) purposes.

One of the reasons it’s cheap is because there’s no OS pre-installed. Well, there is, if you consider DOS still useful these days! But that’s not a problem. If copyright is a concern, and you’re a penny-pincher, you can try Ubuntu. I suppose it should work like a charm, with this baby’s specs. As I’ve written before, Ubuntu can even give a better out-of-the-box experience than Windows. If you want Windows, the cheapest editions, I think are about PhP 4,000 for either Windows XP Home or Vista Home Basic.

Worried about RAM? You can upgrade down the road. 1GB sticks are cheap these days. Ubuntu will be fine on 1GB. XP, too. Vista would need more, but you can always just spend the extra PhP 1k each for 1GB sticks. That’s still a practical choice, compared to buying PhP 100,000+ machines with all the bells and whistles.

Now, considering I’ve been on the lookout for a laptop, do you think this cuts it? I’ve been a Compaq user for almost two years now, ever since I acquired my V2000 in July of ’06.

My V2617TS was my cheap laptop find back then, at only PhP 31,000 (less if paid in cash, which I did). But that didn’t have built-in WiFi. The B1256TU has all the works!

So parents, do consider the Presario B1200 series for your kids this June. Hey, my 5- and 3-year old kids are already asking for my Mac Mini and widescreen LCD!