Notebooks & Accessories
Review: Dell's Latitude D505
The Dell Latitude D505 ($1620) combines good performance and battery life in a reasonably priced, lightweight, basic package, says PC World notebook reviewer Carla Thornton. The notebook is based on a 1.2-GHz version of Intel's new Celeron M chip, a budget version of the Pentium M processor. In our tests, the computer performed adequately in general use. Moreover, the battery lasted 4 hours and 45 minutes on one charge and the notebook is equipped with Wi-Fi networking.
Review: Sporty Acer Ferrari Notebook
Presumably, few people would want a notebook named after an Edsel, a Ford Pinto, or an AMC Gremlin. But Ferrari, the Italian sports car, is another matter entirely.
Acer's Ferrari 3000LMi ($1899) sports the trademark Ferrari candy-apple red. The Ferrari logo decorates the notebook's lid, and you hear the sound effect of a race car when booting up. Acer even adds a matching red USB mouse and a red cleaning cloth. But how does it perform? PC World's Carla Thornton says the thin, relatively light computer earned a PC WorldBench 4 score of 116, slightly slower than the average score posted by similarly configured notebooks.
Reader Response: Get a Retractable USB Kit
Mike Lindley of Mansfield, Massachusetts recently wrote to tell me about one of his favorite notebook accessories, the Retractable USB Travel Kit ($15). The kit includes a 36-inch retractable USB 1.1 extension cable with various adapters, such as A to B, A to A, and A to Mini4. Lindley says the kit allows him to connect a variety of USB devices to his notebook without the clutter and hassle of having to pack a bunch of different cables. (Not all USB cables fit all USB devices.) And the long cable makes it easy to add devices without having to reach around to his notebook's rear USB port.
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