Walmart’s $300 Compaq laptop – barely a netbook killer
By now, you must have heard about Walmart’s $300 Compaq laptop deal. They’re pitching the humongous discount as a “back to school” offer. Hmmm, if I was back to school shopping for a middle or high schooler, or ever a college student, I would not choose to buy a 15.6″ 6.6lb machine no matter how cheap it is.
Students need something portable and light that does its job and doesn’t cost a fortune! A prime example of this miraculous device is the netbook – this demand for a lightweight efficient machine is the reason why the netbooks soared in popularity. If you’re looking for a 16″ notebook, by all means buy one. But if you’re looking for a back-to-school device – or one that you choose to take off your desk without calling 911 with a broken back – go for a 13″ notebook if you want heavy processing, or an affordable 10″ netbook if price and form factor are priorities.
Here’s a comparison of the specs between the Compaq Presario and the Asus 1005HA, the new top selling benchmark netbook. You’ll see that apart from the Presario’s (AWESOME) graphics card and 3GB-4GB of memory, the netbook holds out pretty well.
Compaq Presario CQ60-419WM
|
Asus Eee PC 1005HA |
|
| Price | $300 | $340 – $380 |
| Processor | 2.10 GHz AMD single core | 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce 8200M | Intel GMA 900 |
| OS | Windows Vista | Windows Xp |
| Memory | 3GB – 4GB | 1GB – 2GB |
| Storage | 160 GB | 160 GB |
| Display | 15.6″ (1366 x 728) | 10.1″ (1024×600) |
| Connectivity | WLAN, 802.11 b/g | WLAN, 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 |
| Ports | VGA, 3 x USB, modem & LAN | VGA, 3 x USB, 2-in-1 card reader |
| Battery | 6 cell, no word on battery life | 8.5 to 10.5 hours |
| Dimensions | 1.7in | 10.31 x 7.10 x 1.02-1.44 |
| Weight | 6.6lbs | 2.81lbs |
While notebooks aren’t my specialty, some quick Google-researching (and Yahoo Answers) will show you that the single core AMD processor isn’t too amazing and the GeForce 8200M just sounds way cooler than it is. If you still decided to buy the 15.6″ Compaq from Walmart, it goes on sale July 26th at 8am and stocks WILL run out if you aren’t first in line (there’s indication that there are only 10 laptops per store).
If you’re opting for the netbook (and considering this is a netbook blog, you probably will), go through our reviews and find the netbook best suited to your needs. Or ask us via comments. We’re friendly like that.
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Remember, the NVIDIA 8200M graphics card is no gift. Thousands of laptops were plagued by failures in this chip which as far as I’m aware has yet to be resolved. For this reason alone I’d avoid the “bargain ” Compaq offering.
thanks for the info Colin.