New Compaq notebooks are aimed at businesses on a budget.
Last year we talked about a Compaq ultraportable notebook that was aimed at business users called the
2230s. We haven't heard much form HP-owned Compaq since then. The computer company is back two new laptops for users on a budget. The new machines are aimed at businesses and are part of the Compaq Essentials line.
The first of the
new notebooks is the Compaq 515 with a retail price starting at $US429. Directly translated to Australian dollars, that's $AU511, but the actual price is closer to $700 at Australian retailers. The machine features a 1366 x 768 screen, 2.1GHz AMD Athlon X2 QL-64 CPU, 2GB of RAM, and ATI HD 3200 graphics. Storage for the notebook is to a 160GB HDD and the machine runs Windows Vista. The rig is smallish, though of average weight at about 2.3KG, sports an internal DVD drive, and runs a 6-cell battery.
The other new Compaq notebook is the 610 selling for $US20 more than its little brother at $US449 -- though in Australia we are paying significantly more for this model, with street prices closer to $900. For the extra loot, you get a larger 15.6-inch LCD with the same 1366 x 768 resolution. The CPU is a 1.86GHz Intel Celeron T1500 dual-core and the system has 2GB of RAM with graphics by Intel GMA X3100. Storage is to a 250GB HDD and the machine runs Windows Vista.