Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Buying a new laptop? Its a buyers market!


Three years ago when I purchased a IBM R50e Thinkpad, at Php41,000+ it was one of the cheaper options in the market. A year later when I got my HP Compaq NX6120, the situation was pretty much the same, though laptops in the Php30,000-Php40,000 range were pretty common and zero interest options on selected models was available. A year ago when I purchased my Acer TravelMate 6291, I had plenty of options available even as low as Php29,900 for new models and even lower for models being phased out. In addition pretty much all the units in the market were available at 12 months zero interest. I got my Acer TravelMate 6291 on a deferred payment plan, three year warranty and the seller, TCA, even gave me a 2GB Flash Drive for free. 2007, was the year of the laptop.

And things seem to be getting better. Last weekend, my sister in law wanted to purchase a new 12" laptop and after looking at available models, she decided on getting an Acer 2920. In contrast to a year ago when my wife purchased a 12" MSI S260 R8, which was together with ECS and NEO the few low cost 12" options in the market. This year, the choices were better, with a 12" Acer and nice looking HP being added to the below the the 40K options.

The Acer 2920 was available at Php34,900. The older 2A versions were available, but she wanted the latest 3A. If the buyer is savy enough, the store will give you the newer stock version. If you don't know that it exists, I guess they will try to pass of the older 2A, at the same price.

A bit of canvassing a the Mall of Asia, and we found the Acer 2920-3A at Php1,000 less, of at Php33,900. Zero interest was available, and the unit came bundled with a Brother 3-in-1 printer. A bit of negotiation, and we got the RAM upgraded from 512Mb to 1.5GB and a Apacer 1GB Flash drive was thrown in with the deal.

That offer was better than the initial offer we got for that unit, which was Php34,900 with a RAM upgrade to 1.5GB. A free printer, Flash drive and Php1,000 of the sticker price was a good Php5,000 in additional value at least.

It is a buyers market out there in laptop sales. Canvass a bit before you get one and negotiate, negotiate and negotiate before forking over your cash.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

HP 2133 Mini-Note PC Specifications


There are two models of the 8.9" HP 2133 Mini-Note PC available. The specifications are as follows:

Model number
KX872AA
FF009AA
Operating system installed Linux Genuine Windows Vista® Business
Processor
Via C7-M (1.2G)
Via C7-M (1.2G)
Memory
1024MB DDR RAM
2048MB DDR RAM
Network Support
56K Modem, 802.11b/g,Bluetooth
56K Modem, 802.11a/b/g,Bluetooth
Disk
120GB HDD
120GB HDD
Battery
3-Cell LiIon Battery
6-Cell LiIon Battery
Warranty
1 year
1 year
Price
Unkown
Php29,900

So far I have only the FF009AA is being offered for sale here.

Monday, May 19, 2008

Free 3G from CURE

Reported by GMANews.TV:
A telecommunications company launched its first third-generation (3G) mobile network, offering subscribers free services as long as they agree to accept advertisements on their phones.

Connectivity Unlimited Resource Enterprises (CURE) launched “U Mobile," which gives free load credits for every ad received by subscribers, who will initially be limited to selected users aged 15 to 35.

Consumers belonging to this age bracket will be asked to fill out an application form on an invitation only-basis, although they will not be required to show proof of their age. Those who will get their subscription between June and August will be provided P100 load credits every month for the next six months.
Read more here.

HSDPA Ready: Fujitsu Esprimo Mobile U9200


Another entry into the arena of low cost portable laptops is the Fujitsu Esprimo Mobile U9200. The U9200 has a 12.1" WXGA LCD screen and is powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo T5250 (1.5 GHz) processor and 1GB of RAM. Video is the integrated Intel X3100. It comes with a 160GB hard disk drive, a DVD-RW, Bluetooth, 1.3MP webcam, memory card slot, gigalan and is HSDPA ready.

Price is a reasonable Php44,900 without an operating system and it available at 12 months zero interest.

The embedded UMTS/HSDPA feature is making me think that it might be time to get a new laptop.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

The Dell onslaught is here

We posted last month about Dell's entry into the Philippine consumer market. Talking to a friend who is in the business of selling laptops, we lamented on the limited number of models available. A pair of 14.1" Vostro's, a 15.4" Vostro and a 13.3" XPS.

Dell Inspirons have began hitting the shelves with prices that should make Acer and HP cringe. Like Acer and HP, all models are available on zero interest plans.

Dell Inspiron 1420 - Php 35,995
  • Intel Dual Core T2330
  • 1GB RAM
  • 120 Hard Drive
  • 14.1" WXGA TFT LCD
  • DVDRW
  • GMA X3100 Video
  • 8-in-1 card reader
  • Webcam
  • Vista Home Basic
  • Available in black and white
Dell Inspiron 1420 - Php 46,995
  • Intel Core2 Duo T5450
  • 2GB RAM
  • 160 Hard Drive
  • 14.1" WXGA TFT LCD
  • DVD-RW
  • GMA X3100 Video
  • Bluetooth
  • 8-in-1 card reader
  • Webcam
  • Vista Home Premium
  • Available in black, red, pink, white, blue and green
Dell Inspiron 1420 - Php 59,995
  • Intel Core2 Duo T8300
  • 2GB RAM
  • 250 Hard Drive
  • 14.1" WXGA TFT LCD
  • DVD-RW
  • 128MB GeForce 8400M GSV
  • Bluetooth
  • 8-in-1 card reader
  • Webcam
  • Vista Home Premium
  • Available in black and white
Dell XPS M1330 - Php87,995
  • Intel Core2 Duo T8300
  • 3GB RAM
  • 250 Hard Drive
  • 13.3" WXGA TFT LCD
  • DVD-RW
  • 128MB GeForce 8400M GSV
  • Bluetooth
  • 8-in-1 card reader
  • Webcam
  • Vista Home Premium
  • Available in black and red
Coming soon:

Dell Inspiron 1520 _ Php31,995
  • Intel Celeron
  • 1GB RAM
  • 120 Hard Drive
  • 15.4" WXGA TFT LCD
  • DVD-RW
  • GMA X3100 video
  • 8-in-1 card reader
  • Bluetooth
  • Vista Home Basic
Expect to see a new round of price cuts and promos.