Product Description

Laptop Magazine is the leading sourcebook for the technology of portable computing and communications. Wired or wireless, Laptop provides the insight into what to buy and how to use it. Notebook computers, cell phones, PDAs, portable printers, MP3 players, and portable projectors, are just some of the hardware reviewed in every issue. Whether for an occasional business trip or for those whose life is spent traveling, Laptop is an invaluable tool to help you work and communicate efficiently and effectively while on the road.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #771 in Magazine Subscriptions
• Formats: Magazine Subscription, Print

Customer Reviews

Not a serious magazine
Laptop Mag can be best described negatively: it's not a really serious computer magazine. It's more or less like Consumer Guide, which is basically paid advertising. This means you can't really trust the article here because you don't know if they are not written by unbiased writers. In the end, I feel this is a waste of money. Besides, you can get all the info for free on the web, from CNET or ZDNET, anyway.

Good enough
And while this magazine doesn't go into great depth on to which products are the best (you could call it indirect advertising), it does one important job. It introduces you to the newest products and what's out there.

Think about it, where the heck am I going to look on the net for new cell phones that haven't come out yet? I'd have to search forever and at multiple websites.

With laptop mag, I look at all the things that I've never seen before and then look them up on the net (isn't that what internet is for?). It's a great resource for seeing some of the latest products. The user needs to do thier own homework and make a researched decision about the product.

Finally, when looking at electronics, I like advertising. It's another way to get either new ideas on products you never thought or if you want to buy something, it's easier to locate with an advertisement.

Laptop and mobile solution news but light on independent, indepth research
From a subscription point of view (about $12/yr directly) this magazie is a decent value. While half the information is fluff (looking back - 15 years of innovation, etc.) there is some timely relevant information hard to find easily in a consolidated way. The focus is not just on laptops but mobile solutions - this includes peripherals, PDAs, mobile phones among others. There is some opinion (RIAA vs Sirius) but the focus seems to be vendor/advertiser driven.

For example, the cover story of the Mar 2006 issue is on First Four Core Duo notebooks. They review Centrino Duo notebooks from Acer, Dell, Gateway and HP. They run benchmark tests and provide charts, etc. Fairly useful info. Except they don't give the information consistently. The weight of Dell laptop is not even mentioned while those of others is. They do mention a few cons for each notebook but do it gently without a strong opinion. Two of the four systems reviewed are selected as Editors' Choice. The other two still are rated well. There is no single table that compares them all in a single view. You get the feeling, they were trying to please the advertisers and avoided any direct head-on comparision between multiple products.

I disagree with their choices as well. How could the Editors' choice be a 6.6lbs laptop from Acer that has an average battery life just because it offers some value?

In the same Mar 2006, there is a review of Windows Treo 700W; a showdown between slim phones Moto RAZR V3c and Samsung MM-A900; a short test of Nokia's pocket Internet Appliance and Kodak's first dual-lens digicam; Wifi routers; list of restaurants for business travelers; etc.

For a $1/month, I recommend this to anyone who travels a lot and is looking for a quick update on the mobile computing world. If you want in-depth technical info, stick to Toms Hardware or other web sites.