Bring mobile computing to your life without breaking the bank with the no-nonsense, yet powerful Compaq Presario M2010US notebook PC. It's powered by an Intel Celeron M 350 processor, which provides up to 3 hours of battery life. And you'll be able to work while on the go with the built-in 54g wi-fi LAN with 125 HSM/SpeedBooster support. This notebook features a 40 GB hard drive, 256 MB of installed RAM, 15-inch display, and combo DVD/CD-RW drive.
The Basics
- Hard Drive: Since the focus is on affordability, the M2010US comes with just a 40 GB hard drive (4200 RPM)--small compared with other notebooks, but in line with the price of this notebook. It's still enough room for home office productivity software, storing family photos, and a decent-sized digital audio library.
- Processor: The Intel Celeron M processor is designed specifically for mobile computing, offering a balanced level of mobile-optimized processor technology, good mobile performance, and exceptional value. The 1.3 GHz speed resides in the middle of the spectrum for this processor (as of March, 2005). It also features a 400 MHz front-side bus (FSB) and large 1 MB L2 cache. (An L2, or secondary, cache temporarily stores data; and a larger L2 cache can help speed up your system's performance.)
- Memory: The installed 256 MB (266 MHz) is underpowered for today's demanding office productivity and multimedia applications and immersive 3D games. You'll want to take advantage of the 1 GB total RAM capability (2 x 512 MB).
- CD/DVD Drive: The combo CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive can read CDs at 24x, write at 24x, and rewrite at 24x speeds. It can read DVDs at 8x.
- Keyboard & Mouse: This notebook has a 101-key keyboard and a touchpad with on/off button and dedicated vertical/horizontal Scroll Up/Down pad.
Screen, Graphcs and Sound The 15-inch XGA TFT display has a resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels. It features the integrated Intel Extreme Graphics 2 video/graphics card (with 64 MB of shared video memory), 16-bit Sound Blaster Pro-compatible audio, and internal JBL Pro speakers.
Connectivity and Expansion Slots
The M2010US has an integrated 54g wireless LAN that's fully compatible with 802.11b/g wireless networks. The 125 HSM/SpeedBooster support will enable it to be ready for tomorrow's 125 Mbps wireless LANs. You get a basic offering of connectivity options, which does include super-fast USB 2.0 and Firewire:
- 2 USB 2.0 ports for connecting a wide range of peripherals--from digital cameras to MP3 players
- 1 FireWire (also known as IEEE 1394 or i.Link) port for connecting digital video camcorders and other peripherals
- 1 VGA monitor port
- 1 PCMCIA (or PC Card) slot (Type I/II, 32-bit)
- 1 headphone jack and 1 microphone jack
It also has an integrated 56K modem (V.90) and an RJ-45 LAN network port (for a 10/100 Ethernet connection to networks and DSL/cable modems).
Preloaded System and Software
This system comes with the Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2 operating system with Advanced Security Technologies, which helps to reduce unwanted downloads and pop-ups while surfing the Web. It also comes preloaded with Microsoft Works (for working with word processing and spreadsheet documents), Norton Internet Security 2005 (with 60 days of complimentary updates), Microsoft Money 2005, Sonic RecordNow, Apple iTunes, Adobe Photoshop Album Starter Edition, Intervideo WinDVD, MuVee Autoproducer, and MSN Encarta Plus.
Dimensions and Weight
This notebook measures 13.15 x 10.8 x 1.78 inches and weighs 6.27 pounds.
Power
It's powered by a 6-cell rechargeable lithium-ion battery, which has a battery life of up to 3 hours (depending on usage).
What's in the Box
This package contains the M2010US notebook PC, rechargeable lithium-ion battery, AC adapter, and operating instructions. It is backed by a one-year limiited hardware warranty and 30-day free software support.
1 A Very good Budget PC
I received my computer yesterday and it was a pleasant surprise for me to open the box and take it out. Before ordering this one, I personally did not like the appearance of non-widescreen computers but this computer changed my view.
256MB RAM is a bit less and with shared video memory, XP crawls on this. Adding extra RAM is highly recommended, which I did by adding 512 module separately. After this small modification, this computer works wonderfully.
Beware of one small feature of HP's default system settings while you install the drivers. They set Clear type setting for smooth screen fonts, which make them blurred (display settings->Advanced->Effects). It took a while for me to figure that out.
In Summary, VERY happy with this purchase. Could not have expected more from a computer of this price (got it for $499.99AR from CUSA)!
2 Good Bang for the Buck
I got this for $599 on sale and after a rebate at Staples. It is what it is: An economy laptop with some unexpected bells and whistles.
The built in wireless internet is wonderful. The sound is terrific for a laptop. The screen is a nice size and produces a nice picture. I love having a burner and a dvd. It comes with the usual software that most preconfigured laptops come with. Has ilink/firewire hick is nice for us iPod users.
Negatives....not much to mention. I'm going to upgrade the Ram because 256 doesn't cut it nowadays. I'd like more than 2 usb ports.
If you're a gamer, buy an Alienware laptop for 4 times the price. This laptop should be more than enough for most people. The price is fantastic for a laptop that is a little more than basic.
