Performance results
| Acer Aspire 7738 | Dell Inspiron 1750 | Toshiba Satellite L555 | |
|
Start-up time (min:sec) |
1:07 | 1:18 | 2:24 |
| PerformanceTest 7.0 score* | 725.1 | 765.4 | 706.8 |
| Battery life with Wi-Fi (hr:min) | 2:26 | 2:40 | 2:20 |
| Wi-Fi range (feet) | 125 | 125 | 105 |
Conclusions
If this review were concerned with only one criterion, it would be easy to pick a winner. For overall features, the Aspire is head and shoulders above the rest, but it's heavy. Based on price, the Satellite has no equal, but its performance is hardly inspiring. The Inspiron leads in performance but is the most expensive of the three.
But notebooks are not one-trick ponies. To be effective at home and at the office, they need to deliver the goods in several different areas. While none of these three stands out as an obvious leader, I'd love to see what Acer, Dell and Toshiba come up with when they replace these models in about half a year.
That said, the Satellite L555's $US700 price tag is tough to pass up for so much computer. Some buyers will prefer the Aspire 7738's extra features or the Inspiron 1750's performance, but I'm a cheapskate at heart. At $US700, my choice would be to live with the Satellite's shortcomings and laugh all the way to the bank.
Brian Nadel is a frequent contributor to Computerworld and the former editor in chief of Mobile Computing & Communications magazine.