Business laptops used to be business laptops and consumer laptops consumer–and never the two did meet–but, things have changed over the past few years. Mainly, that’s attributable to companies like Apple boldly offering a single line of pro/consumer laptops, but other companies have gotten into the mix with business laptops that carry a crossover “regular person” appeal. Sexed-up laptops we’ve seen lately include the Lenovo Thinkpad X1, Toshiba Portege R835, and Dell Vostro V130.

The $799 HP ProBook 5330m is aiming squarely for that middle ground with an all-metal, thin 13-inch body that’s designed to be more appealing than chunkier business alternatives. Cleaner, more-minimal looks, a backlit keyboard, and Beats-branded audio are a part of the ProBook 5330m’s attempt to be the cool guy in the boardroom meeting. But do they succeed? We’d say the experiment’s a bit of both hit and miss. Yes, the ProBook’s more portable and attractive than all-business models such as the ProBook 6360b. Still, no one’s going to confuse this for anything other than a business laptop.

At $799 for a Core i3 processor and 4GB of RAM with a 500GB 7,200rpm hard drive, the ProBook 5330m is affordable compared with the Toshiba Satellite R835, but with a battery that underperforms by comparison. And as for Beats Audio…well, let’s just say it’s not exactly an essential feature, nor does it actually endow this laptop with good-sounding speakers. We’d focus on the ergonomic benefits of the ProBook’s solid keyboard instead, even if they’re ostensibly less sexy. If you want sexier than that, look for another laptop.

Via Cnet

Today has been a long time in coming; we first heard about Llano way back in 2008, but even then the target date was 2011. Even so, AMD has been hurting for a compelling mobile platform since… well, since ever. Even in the glory days of the K8 platforms, AMD never had a great mobile strategy, a fact that Intel capitalized on with the launch of Banias and the original Pentium M Centrino platform in 2003. Presumably the goal of most laptops is to actually work well as mobile computing platforms, and prior to 2011 the best AMD could do was compete on performance and price, with battery life (e.g. actual mobility) never quite keeping pace with the times. Earlier this year, AMD launched Brazos, their low-power alternative to Intel’s Atom ecosystem. It boasted better performance and much better graphics than Atom, with battery life that checked in at a respectable 8+ hours for a moderate 56Wh battery. Of course, there are Intel laptops that can provide battery life that’s very close to Brazos with general performance that’s 3x faster, so Brazos isn’t a panacea.

Enter Llano, the mainstream alternative to the low-power Brazos that brings AMD’s APU A-series to market with a much faster CPU and GPU. Llano is also AMD’s (GlobalFoundries’) first 32nm CPU, which brings AMD back to parity with Intel in terms of process technology. The process shrink should bring lower power requirements, smaller die sizes, and better performance. Add in power gating, Turbo Core, and expected pricing starting at 0 for quad-core laptops and the A-series starts to sound quite compelling.  So just how good is Llano, and can AMD finally start to steal more of the mobile market from Intel? Let’s find out.

Via AnandTech

When it comes to spending $500 on a laptop, beggars can’t be choosers. One of the best things about the Inspiron 15R, Dell’s 2011 update to its budget and midrange consumer laptop line, is that it starts at an aggressive price while still offering Intel’s second-generation Core i-series processors. At $499, the new Inspiron 15R includes a Core i3 Sandy Bridge processor, along with a couple of USB 3.0 ports and Bluetooth, making it one of the better deals around.

The tricky thing about the Dell Inspiron 15R is upgrading it: depending on what options you choose, as with many Dell laptops, the price can easily soar up to $1,000 or more. Our review configuration of the 15R cost about $709, and comes with a Core i5 processor, 6GB of RAM, and a 500GB hard drive, along with an extended 2-year warranty. That’s a reasonable price, but you might want to pick your configurations carefully, and consider other alternatives. Up at the near-$1,000 range there are plenty of attractive options from other manufacturers, and there’s also Dell’s own XPS 15z.

The 2011 Inspiron R comes with an HD Webcam and second-generation Intel Core i-series CPUs, and optional multicolored and patterned back lids are available for $35 to $60 a pop. The upgraded processors are the most welcome addition, and in the $499 configuration the Inspiron 15R is a very attractive budget laptop option. Just be careful about going too far over that $700 threshold.

Via CNET

You’ve seen the photos and first impressions in our HTC Sensation 4G First Look and as promised, we’ve followed that up with an 18 minute video review of T-Mobile’s latest Android flagship phone. We take a look at HTC Sense 3.0 software, test video playback (YouTube Flash 10.3, locally stored 1080p MPEG4 video and T-Mobile TV), compare the phone with the LG G2X, Nexus S, Samsung Infuse 4G and the HTC HD7 and test HDMI out using an MHL adapter (adapter not included with phone, bummer).

Via MobileTechReview

In recent years the HP EliteBooks have distinguished themselves in the business world thanks to an exterior design featuring brushed-metal cladding and an interior chassis made of durable magnesium alloy. In short, the EliteBooks look cool and are built tough. The latest generation of HP EliteBooks takes that heritage a few steps further with what HP calls its “FORGE” design philosophy.

FORGE is actually an acronym for the words, “Form, Optimization, Richness, Green and Enduring.” If you want to overlook that marketing fluff for a moment, what HP is trying to say is that these notebooks are stylish, offer excellent performance, deliver a premium feel, provide efficient power management for long battery life, and are very well built to survive the rigors of business use.

Those might sound like bold claims but, based on what we’ve seen from the previous generation of EliteBooks, those marketing claims have a very real basis in fact. Read more…