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November 23, 2010
PC

The hot new PCs behind “Holiday Photos on the Fly”



By now you’ve probably already read Lisa’s blog on the “Holiday Photos on the Fly” partnership we’re hosting with Southwest Airlines.  But did you know that the gang is in Bryant Park in New York City today to kick the whole thing off, and demoing the experience on some of my favorite Holiday PCs? 

Holiday photos are awesome.  But they’re even awesomer (yeah, that’s right…awesomer) on a new PC with Windows 7 and Windows Live Photo Gallery.  Below you’ll find a a quick run-through of the PCs that the crew is using to demo Windows Live 2011 and the entire “Holiday Photos on the Fly” experience.  The great news is that all of these PCs are available this Holiday Season (most for under $1000), and they all have the screen size/resolution, processor and graphics power to run Windows Live and Windows 7 really, really well.  So if you’re unable to make it to Bryant Park today or won’t be travelling to one of the 26 Southwest airports where we’re setting up experience stations, grab one of these PCs, get Windows Live 2011, and have your own holiday photo shoot at home!

Acer TimelineX 1830 – Acer’s newest executive class ultraportable has big PC power in a tiny little package.  Perfect for a road warrior who’s concerned about looking professional without lugging around a full-size laptop.

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Toshiba Portege r705 – I’ve used this one at several events and liked it so much that I just added one to my personal PC rotation.  It’s the lightest full-feature laptop ever built, which makes it easy to carry around all day.  Wicked fast sleep/wake, too.

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Gateway ID49c – A great mainstream laptop with Core i3, 4GB of RAM, Intel HD graphics, and a GLOWY TRACKPAD! How cool is that?

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Sony VAIO J – This is the little brother to the Sony VAIO L that I took with me to dozens of events last year.  21.5” multi-touch screen and top notch specs make it an outstanding “home base” PC.

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Lenovo ThinkPad Edge – As I said in my hands on review, it’s a suit and tie PC on a casual Friday.  Everything you know and love about a ThinkPad with a consume friendly flair.

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Dell Studio 15 (a.k.a. “The Muse”) – One of my favorite things about Dell is that you can customize the heck out of them, both in terms of specs and design . Dell Design Studio is a cool way to add some personalization to your laptop.

ASUS UL20 – ASUS’ UL series is all about battery life, and the 12” UL20 is no exception.  12 hours of juice in a 12” package makes this a true all-day, carry anywhere kind of PC.

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Samsung QX410 – I love the way that Samsung has upped their design game, and the QX410 is a good example of their new approach to aesthetics.  Sleek, modern lines, lots of clean brushed aluminum, and a beautiful screen make this PC fun to look at, and the Core i5 processor, NVIDIA GPU and built in 4G wireless make if a ton of fun to use, too.

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HP ENVY 14 – This is another PC that I reviewed and loved.  As I said in my post, if you’re into music, the HP ENVY 14 and a pair of Beats by Dre Solo’s will change your life.

Samsung SF510 – Hands down my favorite PC this Holiday in terms of industrial design.  It’s elegantly curved and balanced, and matches and eggshell white exterior with chocolate brown interior.  It’s a head turner that you can get for under $1000.

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So now that you’ve see the list (and checked it twice?) and had your photo taken with Santa, which one of these is on your Holiday wish list?

Have a question about these or any other PCs?  Post a comment, hit me on Twitter, or Ask Ben Anything via email.  Your question might appear in my monthly Ask Ben Anything Q&A column!