Intel and AMD Options

Both Intel and AMD chipsets and processors are available. The NV57S has a second gen Intel Core iX processor and Intel HD Graphics 3000 with 128MB of dedicated memory. The NV55S includes the AMD A-Series processor which provides a balance between performance and long battery life.

USB 3.0 Charges While Mobile Devices

The upgrade to USB 3.0 provides faster performance. Gateway tells us that a 25GB HD video will transfer in a little more than a minute.

In addition to speed, the USB 3.0 port will also provide enough power to charge a mobile device even if the computer is asleep, hibernating or turned off but plugged into AC power. In addition there are extra USB 2.0 ports.

Entertainment Features

The Gateway NV Series notebooks are made not only for every day productivity tasks, but entertainment and multimedia functions as well. For example, a user can connect the computer to an HDTV or projector to watch movies with an HDMI output.

There are media card readers to import photos and video from a camera. And the Intel or AMD processors and graphics will support video editing, photo editing, and online video viewing.

Social Networking

Gateway is trying to cash in on the popularity of social networking sites like Facebook, Flickr and YouTube with a special shortcut key. Press the social networking button and an app is launched which lets the user update their site. You can post feed updates, pictures, video and enjoy updates from others.

Gateway NV Series Refresh: Speedier, More Social Media Options is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

• reviews
• design
• tech support
• software
• innovation
• customer satisfaction

This is the second year straight that Apple has ranked first and Lenovo second in the listing. HP jumped up two slots to earn third.

The rankings are based on an average of the above list. When you look at the individual categories occasionally the rankings are shuffled. For example, Apple didn’t fare so well in the Value and Selection category, tied for dead last with Sony. Lenovo is said to have the best Keyboards/Touchpads. In every other category Apple was either first or tied for first. And in Laptop Magazine reviews the company was way out ahead of the competition by eight points over HP, which took second in that category.

Laptop Magazine Manufacturer Ranking Chart

The methodology used to rank the companies included the above list of categories being given point values and totalled with some of them weighted more than others. Reviews by the magazine staff were worth 25 points of the overall score. Design, Keyboard/Touchpad, and Technical Support each were worth 15 points. Ten possible points were assigned to Value/Selection and Software. Innovation and Customer Satisfaction/Reliability were only worth 5 points each.

While we would agree with most of the weighting, the last one should be much higher. If people are, either not satisfied with the product, or it keeps breaking, then a manufacturer doesn’t deserve as high a ranking. HP was the third highest ranking manufacturer but was tied with MSI for last in this one category.

You can look into how each scored at the magazine’s site. They go into further detail about each manufacturer and why they scored like they did. For example, Apple ranked so high in the Reviews category because, of the five computers they reviewed, three were Editor’s Choices. All of them would be recommended. At the same time they said of MSI:

The past year hasn’t been great for MSI, as lackluster scores across the board prove. With underdeveloped tech support, mediocre reviews, and lackluster keyboards, the brand’s last-place ranking isn’t a huge surprise.

Need more notebook reviews? Check out our Notebook Reviews section.

Laptop Mag Notebook Manufacturer Grades Show Apple on Top is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

Gateway NV51B08u Overview:

The Gateway NV51B08u is a 15.6″ budget notebook from Gateway that is powered by a 1.0GHz AMD FUsion C series APU, 3GB RAM and a 320 GB hard drive. The laptop has a Radeon HD6250 GPU and a webcam for watching HD video and keeping in touch with friends and family with video chat programs like Skype.

Who is the Gateway NV51B08u Best Suited For:

With these specs the NV51B08u isn’t designed for use at the office, but it should have enough power to meet the needs of many home users who are looking for notebook that can handle home office tasks like web, email and word documents as well as transition to playing back HD video from websites. You won’t be playing games with this notebook, but you shouldn’t expect to at this price.

Here’s a Video Explanation of AMD Fusion Processors from CES 2011:

Is the Gateway NV51B08u a good buy?

If you want a basic computer that won’t choke when you try to playback video, then the NV51B08u is worth looking at. We suggest you head in to your local Best Buy, the only store that sells this specific model, to get hands on time with the laptop to make sure that you like the keyboard and the overall look and feel of the device. If your needs match up with the tasks we described above then, yes, the Gateway NV51B08u is a good buy.

Gateway NV51B08u Detailed Specs:

• 1.0GHz AMD C-Series processor C-50
• 3GB DDR3 memory
• Multiformat DVD±RW/CD-RW drive with double-layer support
• 15.6″ LED-backlit high-definition widescreen display
• 320GB Serial ATA hard drive (5400 rpm)
• AMD Radeon HD 6250 graphics
• Media control function keys
• Keyboard with Number pad and Multi-gesture mousepad
• Built-in 1.3MP high-definition webcam with microphone
• 2-in-1 digital media reader
• 3 high-speed USB 2.0 ports
• Built-in wireless LAN (802.11b/g/n)
• Built-in 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN
• Weighs 5.7 lbs. and measures just 1.3″ thin
• Long battery life – up to  4 hours and 42 minutes
• Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64-bit operating system preinstalled

Gateway NV51B08u Gallery:

Gateway NV51B08u AMD C Powered 15.6″ Notebook $350 at Best Buy is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

The dominating news was that RIM had finally launched BlackBerry Tablet. Last week we thought this device might be called the BlackPad, but it turns out that sharper minds prevailed and on September 27th at DEVCON RIM announced the BlackBerry PlayBook.

While no one has yet been able to get an actual hands on with the BlackBerry PlayBook we have collected the best first impressions of the PlayBook from around the web, which include many almost hand’s on or “Eye’s on” reports with the BlackBerry PlayBook.

Acer Winter 2010 Notebook Lineup Unveiled: Acer showed off six new notebooks this week including the small, but Core i7 packing Aspire 1830T.

• Acer TimelineX 1830T 11.6″ Notebook with Core i7 Announced
• Acer Refreshes their TimelineX Series Models with 5820T, 4820T and 3820T
• Acer Updates Aspire 5745 and Aspire 7745 Notebooks with Blu-Ray
• Acer Aspire 5742G with Optimus Announced
• Acer Aspire 5745DG with NVIDIA 3D Vision Announced
• Acer Aspire AS8943G Announced with 2GB ATI Radeon 5850 Graphics

Other New Notebooks for Winter 2010:

• Sony Updates VAIO EA, EB, EC and VAIO F Notebooks for Winter 2010
• Panasonic Announces 12.1″ Business Rugged Toughbook S9 w/ DVD
• LG announces the LG A510 3D Notebook, the Company’s First
• Toshiba Satellite A665 3D Laptop Announced: Upconverts 2D to 3D
• Toshiba Satellite C660 Notebook and Pro C660 Serve Up the Basics for the Common and Business User
• Gateway NV Series Comes with Optional WiMAX and More
• Sony 13-inch VAIO Z Refresh Coming With Core i5 and i7
• Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 11 Announced, Reviewed — Sadly Not Available in U.S.

Highlights from Notebooks.com:

• How Android Fragmentation Hurts Regular Users — And Android as a Whole
• Best Buy Launching Free Phone Fridays in October
• Scosche motorMOUTH II: a Bluetooth Hands Free Solution that Uses Your Car Stereo
• Monster and Beats Add new Headphones and a Speaker Dock

Reviews and Guides from Notebooks.com:

• Acer Aspire AS5745PG-3882 Review: Touch Me, Touch Me, Touch Me
• Samsung Fascinate Review Roundup
• iHome iB969 Charging Station Neatly Charges Your Mobile Toys and Tools
• Scosche Universal Dash Mount Holds Your Mobile Phone or GPS In Place

Highlights from GottaBeMobile.com:

• Hello GBM! I am Chris. – Welcoming Chris Leckness to the GBM team!
• HP Exec claims webOS-powered PalmPad coming early 2011
• Are you kidding me? No Windows tablets ’til next year?
• Dell’s 7-inch tablet to launch in next few weeks”

Highlights from our Friends in Tech:

• Asus Eee PC 1015PED review – Liliputing
• Advertisers: We Know Where You Are, Thanks to Android – JKOnTheRun
• Sunny Days: Staying Connected with the Monaco Solar Cell Charger – LaptopThoughts

Notebooks.com Week in Review PlayBook and Winter Notebooks October 1 is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

The Gateway NV59C66u is the model which has the integrated WiMAX in addition to b/g/n Wi-Fi for continuous Internet connection and a Gigabit LAN for tethered networking.

The NV series comes with options for either Intel’s Core i3 or i5 processors. Some models can be configured with AMD Athlon or Turion processors. Most will come with 4GB of RAM expandable to 8GB and either a 320GB or 500GB hard drive.

The displays on the NV series will be HD 15.6 inches with resolutions up to 1366×768 or 17 inches with a resolution up to 1600×900. Also they will come with HDMI for connection to an external HD display so you can watch DVDs or optionally Blu-ray videos on the optical drive. These also have a web cam with a 1280×1024 resolution.

The NV series has a unique social networking” access button for connection to online sites.

These machines will become available soon for as little as $479.99. NV59C66u with the integrated WiMAX is $699.99 and can be ordered now. See Gateway for more information.

Gateway NV Series Comes with Optional WiMAX and More is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

The Gateway NV53A24u features a 2.3GHz AMD Athlon II X2 dual-core processor, a 15.6-inch display, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, a 320GB hard drive, and ATI Radeon HD 4250 discrete graphics. These features combined provide a very powerful notebook that should suit the needs of most college students. Additionally, the dedicated numeric keypad could be a useful resource for college students working in Excel.

This is a mid-range notebook when looking at it from a price standpoint. However, its features are some that are normally found on premium notebooks. Its powerful AMD processor, DDR3 RAM, and ATI graphics will provide a premium feel without the premium price. The Gateway NV53A24u should be able to handle pretty much any task students may need it for. This includes web browsing, Microsoft Office programs, photo editing, and some gaming. When it comes to games you will likely need to use low or medium settings with this notebook.

Some common complaints regarding the Gateway NV53A24u include dismal battery performance, oddly shaped keyboard keys, and a poor webcam image quality. On the plus side, many users noted that the Gateway NV53A24u looks great, is light and portable, and easy to use.

If you are looking for a similarly priced notebook with Intel components, the HP G62-234DX is a good buy. It sports Intel’s Core i3 processor and LightScribe technology which allows you to print labels directly on disks. However, it has integrated graphics and a smaller hard drive.

Gateway NV53A24u From Best Buy Detailed Specs:

Gateway NV53A24u: $499 Mid-Range Notebook w/ Discrete Graphics and AMD VISION is a post by Carter Sprunger from Notebooks.com.

The two new models are the NV5 with a 15.6-inch display and the NV7 with a 17.3-inch display. The NV line has been at the core of the company’s offering in the performance notebook niche. As they update these models, the focus is on bringing the latest technology to offer a “first-rate cinematic” experience and “seamless social networking capabilities.”

Mobile entertainment means something entirely different today than it did just a few short years ago — more often it comes in the form of video clips, photos and updates on friends’ and fan pages by using popular social networking sites and tools,” said John Nguyen, senior product marketing manager for Gateway notebooks and netbooks. The Gateway NV Series notebook line is well-equipped to let customers have quick access to their entertainment and social networks with easy-to-use technology, such as the latest Wifi and HD webcam.”

One of the most interesting new feature is a dedicated configurable button that will give the owner instant access to their favorite social networking sites like Facebook, YouTube and Flickr. This will give real time updates of status feeds, info, video and images.

To achieve these goals the company has included a High Definition Ultrabright LCD widescreen display in each of the models. The first of these available today is the Gateway NV59C09u with a 15.6-inch display, a Blu-ray drive and Intel’s Core i3 processor. All of this plus an HD webcam can be yours for only $799.99. Other models will start showing up soon in retail outlets across the nation in the next few weeks.

These new models are aimed at students who want decent performance on a budget. But they will also have models for users with higher end needs like video editing and casual gaming.  And they also have entertainment in mind. The NV7 series will be available with a 1600×900 resolution display at a 16:9 aspect ratio. There will also be HDMI output for hooking it up to an HD display. Add an optional Blu-ray drive for HD video viewing, driven by ATI Mobility Radeon HD display technology, on select models.

The notebooks will be configurable with both Intel Core i3 and i5 processors as well as AMD Athlon and Turion processors. The NV series will support up to 8 GB of RAM and hard drives ranging from 320 to 640GB. They will also accept most media cards like SD, MMC, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro and xD.

Other features include an HD Webcam, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, a Gigabit Ethernet LAN port, and three USB 2.0 ports. The pointing device is a Multi-Gesture touchpad and the keyboard features a dedicated numeric keypad. The 6-cell Li-Ion battery will provide up to 4.5 hours of use.

Finally, Gateway offers its customers access to their Easy-to-Access MyBackup. The included software makes it possible to backup important files via USB or to another hard drive partition.

The NV series will start at $529.99.

Below are the detailed specs of the Gateway NV59C09u which retails at $799.99:

Gateway NV5 and NV7 offer More Power and Social Networking Features is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

EC14D: This ultra portable, stylish and slim notebook just weighs only 3.55 pounds and comes with a 11.6 HD TFT LCD size. EC14D notebook is expanded with an integrated DVD drive which is not very common with a 11.6” widescreen display notebook. This notebook is good for watching DVD movies, playing games that rely on a CD and DVD, surfing along with your other daily workload. The EC14D is available with 6Cell battery which can provides battery life up to 8 hours, so you can use it nearly all day.

EC14D Configuration / Specification:

EC14D will be available later this month to order and suggested retail price for this notebook starts with $629.99

EC58: EC58 is another model which Gateway announced at CES today. This sleek, modern design notebook comes in 15.6”. This larger notebook is thin with a  one inch slim profile and is also light weight so you can carry it along with you all day.

EC58 Specification:

• 1366 x 768 (WXGA) pixel resolution.
• 16:9 aspect ratio
• 15.6-inch LED-backlit display
• Window 7 Home Premium
• 6-cell Li-ion battery
• Integrated 802.11b/g Draft-N wireless
• Up to eight hours of battery life
• Intel^® Coreâ„¢ 2 Duo and Pentium^® Dual-Core processors.
• ultra-low voltage

New Gateway EC58 models will be available later this month and their retail price will start from $649.99

See Gateway for more information.

CES: Gateway announced new models of ultra portable EC Series notebook is a post by Rajesh from Notebooks.com.

You can pick up a refurbished 11.6” Gateway notebook for just $279 (+$5 shipping). In standard Woot fashion, this deal will only be available today (until 1pm EST) and might sell out even before that.

Here is a rundown of the important specs:

• Processor: AMD Athlonâ„¢ 64 L110 Single-Core Processor (1.2GHz, 800MHz FSB, 512KB L2 Cache)
• Operating System: Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic (32-bit) with SP1
• Display: 11.6” HD WXGA Ultrabrightâ„¢ LED-backlit Display (1366×768 resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio)
• Video: ATI Radeon® X1270 graphics with 256MB HyperMemory
• Memory: 2048MB DDR2 533MHz SDRAM Single Channel Memory
• Hard Drive: 250GB SATA hard drive
• Wireless Network: 802.11b/g Wi-Fi

This notebook is less expensive than even your typical netbook and tops netbooks specs in nearly every aspect. Head over to Woot.com to check out some additional info and see the complete specs list.

Today only: Gateway 11.6” notebook for $279 is a post by Ben from Notebooks.com.

The Gateway EC54 and EC58 both bring a 15.6″ LED backlit HD screen with a 16×9 aspect ratio and 1366 x768 resolution. These two notebooks also include Dolby Sound Room audio enhancement to deliver audio that can match up to the video for an enjoyable multimedia experience.

These two notebooks are weigh in at 5.29 pounds and are just an inch thick and feature a brushed aluminum alloy chassis which comes in either Artic Silver of Pacific Blue. The EC54 and EC58 models also come with Gateway Powersave, a one touch key to switch to a power saver mode. The Dell Studio 14z that I recently reviewed had a similar feature and I found it quite useful for toggling between power modes while on the go. Also included is the Gateway MyBackup Manager which provides you with a means of backing up important files.

The Gateway EC14 notebook line, which packs an 11.6 inch LED backlit screen with a 1366 x 768 resolution, comes in both Cherry Red and NightSky Black and weighs 3.79 pounds. Inside the inch thick frame of the EC14 series you’ll find your choice of an Intel Ultra Low Voltage Pentium Dual Core, Celeron Dual Core and Celeron (single core) as well as 4GB of memory that can be upgraded to 8GB.

All of the notebooks in the Gateway EC line will come with a Multi-Gesture touchpad which will let you manipulate your photos and navigate with gestures and motions. There is also a one touch button to disable the trackpad so that you don’t accidently move the cursor when you are typing.

Here are sample configurations of the Gateway EC5409u and Gateway EC1430u with are available starting October 22nd.

Gateway EC1430u MSRP $549.99

• Intel® Pentium Dual Core Processor SU4100 (1.3GHz, 2MB L2 cache, 800MHz FSB)
• Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• 11.6-inch HD Widescreen Ultrabright LED-backlit TFT LCD (1366 x 768 resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio)
• Mobile Intel®GS45 Express Chipset
• Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
• 4096MB DDR2 Dual-Channel 667MHz memory upgradeable to 8GB
• 320GB(2) 5400RPM SATA hard drive
• Integrated webcam
• Multi-in-1 digital media card reader
• Intel® WiFi Link 1000 802.11b/g/Draft-N WiFi CERTIFIED® featuring MIMO technology
• Gigabit Ethernet LAN
• Three USB 2.0 ports
• HDMI port
• Multi-Gesture Touchpad with Keypad lock
• Standard 6-cell Li-ion (5600 mAh) Battery
• Gateway MyBackup Button
• 3.93 lbs.
• 11.2” (W) x 0.87-1.18” to 1.18” (H) x 8.03” (D)

Gateway EC5409u MSRP $649.99

• Intel Pentium® Dual-Core Processor SU4100 (1.30GHz, 2MB L2 cache, 800MHz FSB)
• Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• 15.6-inch HD Widescreen Ultrabright LED-backlit TFT LCD (1366 x 768 resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio)
• Mobile Intel®GS45 Express Chipset
• Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
• 4096MB DDR3 Dual-Channel 1066MHz memory upgradeable to 8GB
• 320GB(2) 5400RPM SATA hard drive
• 8x DVD-SuperMulti Double-Layer Drive
• Integrated HD webcam
• Multi-in-1 digital media card reader
• 2nd Generation Dolby Sound Room® Audio Enhancement
• Intel® WiFi Link 1000 802.11b/g/Draft-N WiFi CERTIFIED® featuring MIMO technology
• Gigabit Ethernet LAN
• Three USB 2.0 ports
• HDMI port
• Multi-Gesture Touchpad with Keypad lock
• Dedicated numeric keypad
• Standard 6-cell Li-ion (5600 mAh) Battery
• 5.29 lbs.
• 14.85” (W) x 1.01-1.08” (H) x 10.0” (D)

Gateway Introduces EC Series Notebooks with 11.6″ and 15.6″ screens is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.