HP Mini 5103

The new Mini 5103 from HP is virtually the same as the previous 5102 with one huge, gigantic, overwhelming difference and that is the dual-core Atom N550 processor from Intel that the 5103 ships with. The new Mini 5103 packs the new 1.5GHz Intel Atom N550 Processor, 2GB of RAM, Broadcom's Crystal HD accelerator and runs Windows 7 Professional.

Multitasking feels faster on the 5103 than on other netbooks and the benchmarks are definitely better. Most netbooks score around 1,200 PCMark05 while the 5103 scored an impressive 1,866 PCMark05. Intel is still relying on its GMA 3150 graphics which means no real change for the 5103. On the flip side, it is said that the processor should be able to handle 720p content with no problem as well as full screen flash videos.

The processor also speeds up video encoding, converting a 27MB .mov file to .mp4 in about three minutes. You already know the 5103 can handle HD playback as it comes with Broadcom's Crystal HD which allows the playing of local 720p and 1080p video in Windows Media Player. One good thing that Intel promised is that the dual-processor wouldn't impact battery life. Surprisingly enough, they were telling the truth as the 5103 still has an impressive six hours of battery life.

Pricing is what most people are going to be concerned about with this new netbook. While HP has yet to release a final price on upgrading your existing processor to the new dual-core N550 from Intel or to acquiring the new 5103, you can surmise that it will cost no less than $600. For that price, however, you are receiving a netbook with a dual-core processor, higher resolution display, touchscreen, Windows 7 Pro and Broadcom's Crystal HD.

Buying a laptop can be expensive. Thankfully,there are places like Rentacomputer.com. Rentacomputer.com has been in the computer and AV rental business for over 20 years. You can get any type of technology rental you need, including Laptop Rentals. Just give us a call at 877-422-1907 or visit us online.

Acer, ASUS gaining ground against HP and Dell.

In the world of laptops a few brands have always been the most popular: Sony, Toshiba, HP and Dell. A few years ago, Acer and ASUS jumped on the scene, producing moderately priced, quality laptops. Those smaller brands started inching their way towards the top. Now it appears worldwide consumers are trending away from paying high dollar for the brand name. Especially when the technology is advancing faster than you can pay your credit card bill.

According to Gartner, which tracks worldwide shipments of laptops and analyzes trends, Acer is gaining ground on the worlds most popular laptop brand, HP. During the 2nd quarter of 2010, HP had about 17% of the market share, while Acer had 13%. That's not very stunning until you compare the same two companies' market share from the 2nd quarter of 2009, HP had 18% and Acer had 12%. (It should be noted, at this time last year, Acer was trailing Dell, 12.6% M.S. in worldwide sales.) To round out the top 5, after Dell is Lenovo, followed by ASUS, which bumped Toshiba out of the top 5 in worldwide sales.

When you look at the US sales statistics, you notice that US sales don't necessarily mimic the worldwide trends. HP still sits atop the list with 25.7% of the market, followed by Dell, 23.7%, Acer, 11.3%, Apple 9.8%, and Toshiba rounding out the top 5 with 8.7%.

In EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) sales are vastly different. Acer takes the the number 1 spot away from HP, with 21.3% of the market. That's up from 18.9% last year. HP is in 2nd place with 19.7%, down from 20.8%. But then there's a dramatic drop off between 2nd and 3rd, Dell sits with only 9.2% of the market in the region, while ASUS, 8.5%, and Toshiba, 5.7% place 4th and 5th, respectively.

These trends could be a result of the worldwide economic downturn, as more and more consumers are tightening their belts and looking at wallet friendly alternatives to fit their laptop needs.

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HP’s Fourth of July Sales

HP is offering great Fourth of July deals early this year. They are now advertising their Compaq Presario CQ62Z series notebooks starting as low as $379.99. For that amazing price tag you will get Windows 7 Home Premium, 2GB of RAM, 320GB of hard drive, and a 2.2GHz AMD V-series processor. That’s a great deal!

They are also offering their HP Deskjet D2680 printer for merely $59.99 after instant savings. The printer prints 28 black and white pages per minute and 21 color pages per minute, and it features 600 dpi black print resolution.

If you are looking for a laptop or a printer this summer, you should definitely look further into HP’s great Fourth of July savings.

If the Compaq Presario CQ62Z isn’t exactly what you’re looking for, check out HP‘s new line of business laptops.

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Looking for Laptop Rental information? Visit our Tech Travel Agent Laptop Rental Page for a variety of laptop rental solutions for business or personal use. Or call today at 800-736-8772.

HP Recalls Thousands of Laptops

Hewlett Packard has announced that it's recalling 54,000 laptop batteries. The lithium-ion batteries could possibly overheat and catch on fire. The batteries, which were made in China, came with laptops purchased both in stores and online from August 2007 to July 2008. Many were also sold independently.

According to HP, less than 3% of the laptops have the defective batteries and they company will replace them for free. The batteries can burn someone or catch on fire. The company released a statement saying, "HP fully stands behind the products it makes and has taken a proactive approach to this situation to ensure the safety of our customers and the integrity and quality of our products."

In May of last year the company recalled 70,000 laptop batteries, due to overheating, but the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission reported that more batteries than originally thought were overheating. The recall spans over 31 different brands of computers. Initially, two different consumers complained but later an additional 38 complaints were filed by people injured by handling the batteries and laptops.

HP is not alone in recalling laptop batteries. Over 10 million Sony batteries were recalled between 2006 and 2008. 4 million of those were recalled by Dell, 1.8 million by Apple, 340,000 by Toshiba and 338,000 by Fujitsu. Lenovo, Acer, Sharpy and Sanyo also recalled their laptops. According to Consumer Product Safety Commission spokesman Scott Wolfson, said that almost any laptop battery can overheat if charged too long or if laptops don't have good ventilation systems.

If your laptop battery has been recalled and you ned a temporary back-up, why not consider a laptop rental?

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Looking for Laptop Rental information? Visit our Tech Travel Agent Laptop Rental Page for a variety of laptop rental solutions for business or personal use. Or call today at 800-736-8772.

New Details About the HP Slate

If you're a PC person and you've been thinking about making the switch to Apple because you just can't resist those neat little iPads, wait! Hewlett Packard is coming out with its own version of the tablet computer, called the "Slate." Last week, the computer maker released some details about the new computer. The Slate's screen is going to be smaller and have a lower resolution than the iPad but it has more features - from cameras to Adobe Flash Support.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer first mentioned the device at the January Consumer Electronics Show, but of course the constant talk of Apple's iPad drowned out any hype of what could become the device's biggest competitor. But how does it stack up against it?

For starters, the Slate features two cameras, the iPad does not. One works for things such as video conferencing and the other is a high-resolution, three megapixel camera for taking pictures. There's also the SD card reader that holds up to 128GB, a USB 2.0 port (iPad dosn't offer this), audio and HDMI out. And the slate runs on a 1.6 GHz Atom microprocessor compared to the one-GHz A4 on the iPad.

On the downside, the Slate's screen is smaller - 8.9 inches compared to the iPad's 9.7 inches - and the screen resolution is higher: 1024x600 to the iPad's 1024x768. However, the Slate can run higher-def videos 1080p (iPad only goes up to 720p).

The Slate will run an HP-developed touchscreen interface and Windows 7 Home Premium compared to the iPad, which runs the iPhone operating system. But many industry insiders are saying that the real appeal of the iPad isn't the device itself, but instead, the number of apps you can buy from Apple's app store (over 150,000) and with Apple's new deals in the publishing world, you can now or soon read a number magazines, best-selling books, and comics on the the device.

There's no word as to when the Slate will be released, but it looks like the 32GB model (with Wi-Fi) will sell for about $550 and the 64GB model (also with Wi-Fi) will sell for about $599. The entry-level iPad, which is 16GB (with Wi-Fi) sells for about $499. The 32GB model sells for $599 and the 64GB model sells for $699.

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Looking for Laptop Rental information? Visit our Tech Travel Agent Laptop Rental Page for a variety of laptop rental solutions for business or personal use. Or call today at 800-736-8772.

HP's New Core i7 Business Laptops

Hewlett Packard has announced that it will be updating several of its business laptops. The new models will be thinner and lighter, feature the latest Core i5 and Core i7 chips, and they are even creating the company's first multi-touch tablet for professionals.

The Elitebook 2540p is an update to the 2530p. At just a little over an inch thick and with a weight of 3.4 pounds, it's the most portable EliteBook so far. The 12.1 inch laptop has a newer Intel processor than its predecessor, that operates at standard voltages. It can be configured with the with the 2.40GHz Core i5-520M, 2.53GHz Core i5-540M or 2.6GHz Core i7-620M. This is something other companies are lacking. Dell doesn't currently offer a 12-inch or smaller laptop with Core i5 or Core i7 and while Lenovo does, they are only available with the low-voltage versions.

Battery life could end up being a problem for the laptops, but HP claims the battery life will range from four hours (3-cell battery), to eight hours (6-cell battery) to ten hours (i-cell battery). Another potential problem is that an internal optical drive can only be configured if you go with the slower 1.8-inch hard drive. But the EliteBook 2540p will start at $1,099 and will be available for purchase in April.

The EliteBook 2740p is an update to the 2730p. The convertible tablet now supports multi-touch. It has a 12.1-inch LED-backlit display, Core i5 and Core i7 processors, and Intel graphics. It's a little thicker and heavier than the 2730p, at 1.3 inches and 3.8 pounds. It can't be configured with an internal DVD drive, but HP says it will offer an optional display for outdoor viewing. According to HP, the battery lasts for about five hours and an optional HP 2700 Ultra-Slim battery will increase that to eleven hours. It will be available in April and will start at $1,599.

HP has also redesigned its ProBook small business series of laptops, which includes the 13.3-ProBook 4320s, 14-inch ProBook 4420s, 15.6-inch ProBook 4520s and 17.3-inch ProBook 4720s. The new ones have a brushed-aluminum metal case and has the latest Core processors (i3, i5, and i7). The laptops in the ProBook series will start at $719 and will be available later in March.

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Looking for Laptop Rental information? Visit our Tech Travel Agent Laptop Rental Page for a variety of laptop rental solutions for business or personal use. Or call today at 800-736-8772.

HP Compaq Airlife 100

HP has just unveiled its newest laptop, the Compaq Airlife 100. It seems that in order for a laptop to be a "smartbook" it has to have a smartphone's components in a netbook's body. The Airlife 100 is a laptop the likes of which we have yet to see and is definitely one that will turn heads and get people talking.

Why is the Airlife going to cause so much commotion? Maybe because the device is built on top of an Android OS platform with an unconfirmed, but highly likely, Qualcomm 1GHz SnapDragon CPU, a 16GB SSD, webcam, SD card slot, 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity and, the coolest part, a 10.1-inch touch screen display. There are also some helpful shortcut keys around the trackpad

The Airlife is said to rock a solid 12-hour battery life with an incredible 10 days of standby. The Airlife was announced in partnership with Telefonica so this "smartbook" will be offered as a subsidized part of mobile broadband service plans in Latin America as well as Europe this spring. HP might rebrand it under the HP Mini brand when it hits us here in the states but as of now there is no word on a US release date or pricing.

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Looking for Laptop Rental information? Visit our Tech Travel Agent Laptop Rental Page for a variety of laptop rental solutions for business or personal use. Or call today at 800-736-8772.

HP's Envy: 13 & 15 Inch Laptops

Hewlett Packard's new "Envy" line of laptops is sleek and stylish, and according to PC World, looks a lot like Apple's MacBook Pro line.

The 13.1 inch model or the "Envy 13" has a sharp 1366 x 768 pixel screen and lots of power for its small frame. For $1700, you get a 1.86GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SL9400 CPU with 3GB of RAM (including an extra DIMM slot), plus a 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 GPU. For low-end tasks, the laptop throttles the GPU and shifts down to the integrated Intel GPU, extending battery life.

The thin 12.6 x 8.5 x 0.8 inch frame contains a 250 GB had drive and an external 8x DVD-RW drive. It provides two batteries: the standard four-cell battery along with a thinner six-cell battery that sits underneath it. It supposedly has enough power to handle the 64-bit version of Windows 7.

The comfortable keyboard and mouse are backed up by a series of quick-access multimedia buttons along with an "Instant On" feature for browsing the web and playing multimedia files. The laptop also features two USB ports, 802.11n, optional Bluetooh, HDMI-out and a combination headphone/microphone jack that is also suitable for a cell phone headset.

There is also an Envy 15 in the works, but HP hasn't been quick to release the details. What is known is that the machine is a 15-inch model, weighs 5.18 pounds, and will feature a "Future Intel Core i7 Processor" with up to 16GB of DDR3 RAM and 1 GB discrete ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4830. That laptop will retail at $1799. More details will be released at next week's Intel Developer's Forum.

Both the Envy 13 and the Envy 15 will go on sale October 18, just in time for the holiday season.

HP ProBook 4510s

A laptop is one of the most important pieces of equipment a person needs, especially if you are always on the road traveling for business reasons. But finding an affordable laptop that has all the features you need for your business is no easy task.

well HP's new laptop, the ProBook 4510s, is perfect for any traveling businessman by offering substance as well as style at a reasonable cost. The ProBook is HP's entry-level computer for business users. The laptop has a black, glossy lid which is prone to fingerprints, a glossy keyboard, a speaker strip lining the top of the laptop as well as a satin palm rest. The ProBook has a thin bezel which is easy to focus. An interesting design feature is the turquoise blue glow that emanates from the QuickLook 2 buttons, the power button, and LED lights on the system and if black isn't your style and you are looking for a hotter look, the ProBook also comes in red, or Merlot, as HP calls it.

The ProBook also has a good size to it. It measures 15.6 inches and weighs about 5.6 pounds. It has a 16:9 display with a wide footprint of 14.6 x 9.8 inches and 1.2 to 1.5 inch thickness. The ProBook is also the first laptop from HP to have island-style keys which makes for a more refined look. The slight texture to the keys, which are also scratch resistant, have a nice finish and are spaced apart comfortably. The touchpad, which measures 3.3 x 1.7 inches, has a rubber-like surface which gives the perfect amount of friction but the buttons on the touchpad are different from traditional ones. The touchpad buttons on the ProBook only depress at the end closest to the user. It kind of gives the feeling of pressing a piano key, which some people may like or dislike.

The 15.6 inch display is bright with an LED backlight and has a matte finish that provides really good viewing angles. The sound system varies depending on what you are listening to. Video clips and movies sound good whereas music was faint, even at max volume.

Considering this is a business computer, the ProBook 4510s has a plethora of ports for all of your needs. It comes with Ethernet and modem jacks, a Kensington Lock slot, headphone and mic ports, one VGA output, one HDMI output, and four USB 2.0 slots. For low-profile broadband cards, the ProBook comes with an Expresscard/34 slot and also has a 5-in-1 memory card reader. Another interesting design feature is that none of these ports are located on the back of the laptop, aside from the memory card reader, mic ports, and headphone ports which are located on the front, all the ports are located on the sides. The ProBook also comes with a good battery life. The six0cell battery lasts you around four and a half hours which is longer lasting than the average laptop by about 70 mins. There is also an optional eight-cell battery upgrade which claims to add 34% more battery life at a $10 fee.

All in all this computer is perfect for anybody on the road constantly for business trips, meetings, or one who is just in the habit of traveling. A definite recommendation for anyone looking for an affordable business laptop.