Multimedia and Entertainment Laptops for Christmas

Christmas will soon be knocking on your door and so will the guests. While on one hand, you’ve got to take care of making the best pies and puddings for the guests, you also have the responsibility of keeping them well entertained. A nice multimedia laptop should help you do this right. Which one? Here’s a list that you could consider. You’ll find all varieties here – large high end ones, small and portable ones, budget friendly ones and more.

Asus K50IN Laptop – This is a 15.6” screen laptop with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. Equipped with the Intel Core 2 Duo 2.1GHz processor and the NVIDIA GeForce G102M processor, this laptop is definitely a good performer, in terms of speed and graphics. It has a 4GB RAM, a 320GB hard drive, a 3-in-1 card reader, support for WiFi, Ethernet LAN and Bluetooth. The workstation comes pre-loaded with Windows Vista Home Premium. There is a DVD drive, a web camera, 4 USB ports and a VGA port housed in this device. Effective sounds are produced by the Altec Lancing speakers with SRS surround speakers. You can manage to get a run-time life of 2 to 3 hours with the battery employed for power supply in this 2.7kg laptop.

Price : £552.

Asus U20A Laptop – If you want a smaller, more portable laptop, which gives you multimedia features, then you could consider the Asus U20A. It has a 12.1”, 1280 x 800 pixels screen. The specifications include the Intel Core 2 Solo SU3500 1.4GHz processor, 4GB RAM, 320GB hard drive, Intel GMA X4500MHD for graphics, Windows Vista OS, WiFi, Bluetooth, Wired Ethernet, a web camera, 3 USB ports, an ExpressCard slot and an 8-in-1 card reader. There are other attractions on board too, like the VGA port as well as the HDMI port. You can therefore connect this laptop to en external monitor, like your LCD or plasma TV, for a better picture viewing experience. A DVD drive is also present in this notebook. The speakers are equipped with SRS Premium sound technology too. Moreover, this workstation is expected to deliver a battery life of 8.5 hours for regular computations. Perhaps the video/movie watching lifetime might be lesser. Nevertheless, considering its portability and features, it surely seems like a good buy.

Price : £740

Acer Ferrari One Netbook – This device also combines mobility and entertainment. It has an 11.6” display with a high definition resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. On the inside you’ll find the AMD Athlon X2 L310 dual core 1.2GHz processor, the ATI Radeon 3200 integrated graphics chipset, a 2GB RAM, a card reader and a 250GB hard drive. It is powered by the Windows 7 operating system. Hence you can expect to see it in the market by the end of this month. Support for Bluetooth, WiFi and Ethernet connectivity is provided. This mini laptop is capable of handling 1080p videos. ATI’s XGP technology comes integrated into it for enabling external graphics connection with a special kind of port. A computation life of 5 hours can be anticipated from this device. This workstation is home to the Dolby Home Theatre sound system too.

Price : £435

HP ProBook 4710S Notebook – When portability is not an essential criteria, you can consider the mammoths in the industry, like the HP ProBook 4710S Laptop. This 3.08kg machine is packed with features to keep you and your guests well entertained. It is internally powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, which can have a clock speed of up to 2.53GHz. Graphics is handled by the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330. The RAM size is 4GB, and can be upgraded to up to 8GB. The hard drive can have a maximum of 500GB capacity. A DVD rewritable drive, an ExpressCard slot, a media card reader, 4 USB ports, a VGA port and an HDMI port are integrated into this 17.3” HD screen device. This workstation also offers HD audio and stereo speakers. Windows Vista OS comes pre-installed. Internet connectivity can be achieved with WiFi and Ethernet LAN. The battery life that this laptop offers is about 4 hours for computations, and maybe about 2-3 for video playback.

Price : Starts from about £600 for the base model, going all the way up to £869 for the more powerful configuration.

Acer Aspire 6530 Laptop – This is a laptop which will meet your entertainment needs as well as being budget friendly. It has a 16” 1366 x 768 pixels high definition screen. It comes with the AMD Athlon 64 X2 QL-64 2.1GHz processor, 3GB RAM, 250GB hard drive, an integrated DVD drive, the ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics processor and Windows Vista OS. Internet connectivity can be had with WiFi or Ethernet. Bluetooth is not offered. However, there are 4 USB ports, a VGA port, an HDMI port and a PC card slot. Weighing 3.4kg, this workstation is definitely not portable. Its battery might keep it running away from the mains for about 2 hours.

Price : £480

Asus W90 Laptop – If you do not want to compromise on any aspect of your entertainment laptop, and don’t mind spending a bomb during this Xmas, then Asus W90 laptop can feature in your shortlist. You can opt for an Intel Dual Core processor or a Quad Core processor. The latter can surely meet the needs of demanding applications. A 6GB RAM and a 640GB hard drive are housed in this laptop. Watch movies with pristine clarity using the Blu Ray drive that’s built into this device. The 18.4” screen of this hulk laptop offers a full high definition resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. Graphics is handled by the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4870 graphics processor. WiFi and Ethernet connectivity are both supported for hooking on to the internet. An impressive set of interfaces are present on board too. There are 4 USB ports, an HDMI port, a D-Sub port, a FireWire port and an ExpressCard slot. Windows Vista OS runs behind the back-drop. Battery life can be slightly disappointing if you use this device for high speed gaming or other demanding applications. You can expect about an hour or so for video playback.

Price : £2399

Samsung R720 Laptop – This is a laptop that’s just right, like the baby bear’s porridge in the Goldy Locks story. It comes with all essentials for staying entertained, while also carrying a decent price tag. An Intel Dual Core processor with a 2GHz clock rate handles internal processing. A 4GB RAM and a 320GB hard drive are present. A DVD drive comes built within too. The ATI Mobility Radeon HD4330 takes care of graphics processing. This laptop sports a 17.3” 1600 x 900 pixels LED screen. High definition audio is provided as well, with noise cancellation technology and SRS 3D sound effect. Like the other laptops, this one too ships with Windows Vista OS. A VGA port, an HDMI port, a PC card slot, 4 USB ports, a 3-in-1 card reader and a web camera are on board the Samsung R720. WiFi, Ethernet LAN and Bluetooth are all supported. You can expect a 2-3 hour video playback life with this laptop.

Price : About £600

Toshiba Qosmio G50 Laptop – This is a high-end laptop like the Asus W90, but relatively less expensive. The Intel Core 2 Duo T9550 2.66GHz processor or the Toshiba Quad Core HD processor powers it up from the inside. The 4-core processor can definitely enhance your viewing and gaming experience. A maximum of 4GB RAM and up to 800GB hard drive can be configured on this workstation. A DVD drive is built in too. There’s also a digital TV tuner packed inside. nVidia graphics is employed. You can thus be assured that the graphics are in good hands. Harman Kardon speakers with Dolby Home theatre sound are present as well. This 4.9kg giant has an 18.4” Full HD screen. The workhorse is backed by the Windows Vista OS. WiFi and wired Ethernet form the networking aspect. Interfacing can be done via Bluetooth, the 3 USB ports (one USB/eSATA combo port), HDMI port, VGA port, ExpressCard slot and a 5-in-1 media bridge slot. This laptop might deliver a 2-3 hour life as well.

Price : £1550

HP Pavilion DV6-1100 Notebook PC – This is a 15.6” screen laptop which presents a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. Tech specs include either an AMD Athlon Dual Core processor or an Intel Dual Core processor, whose frequencies are in the 2 to 2.2GHz range; a 4GB RAM, which can be upgraded to 8GB; a 320GB hard drive; ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4530 graphics. A DVD rewritable drive is housed too. Windows Vista OS forms the platform here as well. You can access the internet using WiFi or the Ethernet LAN connection. The connectors integrated in this workstation include 4 USB ports, an HDMI port, an eSATA port, a VGA port, a FireWire interface, an ExpressCard slot and a 5-in-1 digital media reader. A web-cam is also built in. This 3.17kg device can offer a battery life of about 2 to 3 hours.

Price : £676

It is not necessary that your laptop should be used only during the Xmas holidays. You can watch movies, play games, listen to music and even do your computations with your multimedia laptop. Buy one for yourself or gift someone special in your life a nice multimedia laptop this Christmas.