I finally broke down and ordered a new laptop today. I don’t have any specific problems with my tablet, but I am just tired of paying the price of a small screen when I never use the tablet functionality. At first I thought I would use the tablet all the time, it seemed to have so many good uses… but I didn't. There were a couple periods where I used it in meetings, but it slowly become too much of a hassle and I just resorted to an old-fashioned pen and paper. I think the tablet has its uses in vertical industries and for some people, but I am not one of those people.
I have been shopping around for a new laptop and was pretty set on a Dell, specifically the XPS M140. I wanted something that had some power, but I didn't want to go from the small M200 tablet to some huge beast. The big problem with the XPS M140 though is resolution, it only does 1200 x 768, basically 1024 x 768 on a wide-screen. So the XPS M140 was out, which left me with the Inspiron 6000. This is the same one Dave has so I checked his out and it seemed to fit the bill, but then I started surfing around a little bit and stumbled upon Alienware. I have always liked Alienware, but I remembered their laptops being these huge desktop replacement beasts… but they have come a long way.
Alienware’s MJ-12 m5500i is actually slightly smaller than the Inspiron 6000, but has some pretty awesome features. Alienware reminds me of what Dell used to be, always using the best components and taking their technical support seriously. Here are the stats on the one I ordered:
Processor: Intel® Pentium® M 760 2.0GHz 2MB L2 Cache 533MHz FSB Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional with Service Pack 2 LCD Display: Alienware® m5500 15.4" WideSXGA+ 1680 x 1050 LCD - Xeno Grey Motherboard: Alienware® Intel® 915GM + ICH6 Chipset Memory: 512MB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 533MHz - 2 x 256MB (Upgrading to 2GB after market) Graphics Accelerator: 256MB NVidia® GeForce™ Go MXM 6600 Hard Drive: 80GB 7200 RPM ATA100 Modem: 56K Modem with V.90 Technology Communications: Integrated 10/100Mb Ethernet NIC Wireless Network: Intel® PRO/Wireless 2200 b/g Wireless Card Digital Audio Hardware: Intel® High-Definition Audio (24-bit, 192Khz) with 7.1 surround sound Optical Drive: 8X Dual Layer DVD+/-RW / 24X CD-RW Combo w/Software
Now that’s a freaking laptop, I can’t wait for it to get here.
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