For all intents and purposes, HP's Compaq Presario CQ60 is a pretty unremarkable laptop -- but slap a
$300 price tag on it like Walmart has done, a price comparable to most
netbooks on the market, and that reframes the entire conversation.
Computer Shopper has gotten some hands-on time with the machine, and while not spectacular, it seems to outperform Intel Atom-based machines. You're still not gonna be able to do much more than check your email and browse the web, though, and the tradeoff for having a 15.6-inch display and DVD burner is a bulkier, less travel-friendly form factor. Still, this seems to do an apt job at filling in that gap between netbook and laptop, and we're sure
someone out there will appreciate or feeling nostalgic over that modem jack.
posted Aug 2nd 2009 12:35AM
Easy way to get rid of inventory.
more lyke 'comcrap'
heh.
That's reserved for Comcast.
Though "It's comcastic" is making for an apt synonym.
whats the specs?
never mind found it here:
# AMD Sempron SI-42 Processor
2.10 GHz with 512Kb L2 Cache
# 3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz, expandable to 4GB
3GB of memory to handle today's memory-hungry applications
# 160 GB Hard Drive SATA
Store Photos, Videos, Music and more.
# CD/DVD Writer (DVD+/-RW)
Play and create CD's and DVD's with the CD/DVD burner
# Wireless WiFi & Wired Ethernet
Connect to a broadband modem with 10/100Mbps Ethernet or Wireless connect to a WiFi signal or hotspot with built-in 802.11 b/g
# 15.6" Diagonal High Definition HP BrightView Display
NVIDIA GeForce 8200M integrated graphics with up to 1407MB Shared Video Memory
Thanks Jay Jay for specs. I might recommend this to my brother instead of a netbook.
No mention of battery life.
lol. modem jack.
I want! Can't decide!
so I "maybe"
Except that it's twice the size and weight compared to a netbook.
Everyone has different usage scenarios and for some people, this would simply just be too bulky.
Still, very affordable.
Got one does the job
I'm curious what the job is. What I don't get is how back in 1999 I could edit video on my K6-2 300Mhz machine with 64MB's of RAM and today a 2.1GHz laptop with 3GB of RAM is only good for browsing the web and checking my email. What's up with that?
someone please help me understand this too
*cough* Vista
I also have had one (for months now) and it more than does the job.
What's the job?
As a student, I can carry around my research and look at it on a screen with a comfortable size. As a human taller than you Oompa Loompas wielding netbooks, I need a keyboard that I can use two hands on and with which I can type papers, research, etc. It runs Windows 7 just fine btw.
Other than school and work purposes, it performs just fine for mobile entertainment. As for gaming, I can't imagine someone trying to 'game' on a netbook either, so that's a moot point altogether in the discussion.
Peoples expectations of a video editing computer have greatly increased. They expect the ability to edit HD and edit it fast! You can edit video on this, but it will be slow. It won't be as slow as the 600MHz computer but if you don't mind the waiting, go right on ahead!
And just what the hell do you expect for $300 bucks a Ferrari? Get real.
My dad bought one of these. It's a very nice laptop for the price, I was pretty amazed by it's GPU power, lol
What do you mean, fills the gap between netbook and laptop? An underspecced, inexpensive 15.4 inch laptop is STILL a laptop.
It bridges the gap in price.
If you can find one. They're already out of stock here (plus Walmart isn't offering it online), and the previous article suggested that this was a one time affair.
Haha... really? A numpad? That's awesome.
Got the screen space? Why not use it?
Because then your hands are over on the left while you type?
well one of my hands are typing on the left. the other hand is elsewhere..
fleshlight, sucker
Ross, I think you forgot to include a link to the review. I'm not planning on clicking through to read it or anything, but you should probably link to it, or explain why you'd post about it but not link to the source.
I got one, and for the price it performs well. I had to get to Walmart early to get one. The laptops were not out in the isles . They stocked them behind the counters. Away from prying eyes. I am glad I visit Engadget and got the heads up early!!:)
Great post to choose. This is most certainly a non-article.
Most people would choose "Hello World" BTW.
don't fit in my purse
It sounds like you would rather not want it to fit.
why do they keep making cheap laptops 15 inches? Would it make more sense for the cheaper ones to have smaller screens?
Smaller screens would also mean smaller bodies. And smaller bodies give you less room to fit all your components.
*so you need greater levels of miniaturization, which makes things more expensive.
15" is a pretty good compromise between usability and occasional portability. I wouldn't lug it with me all day every day, but if I only carried it a couple times a month then I'd rather have the bigger screen for easier use.
Having a modem isn't a bad idea. Many travelers don't want to pay $10 a day for hotel Internet access because they need to check their email - so instead, they go to Best Buy and pick up a NetZero trial disc and just cancel it. I'm not one of those people - there's no way in hell you'll find me on a dial-up connection, no matter what. Not even if zombies shut down the nation's broadband connections!
The kind of people who buy full-sized but cheap laptops aren't the kind of people who stay at hotels that charge $10 extra for internet. It's expensive hotels that have a separate fee for internet access, since they have already determined that price sensitivity is not the greatest deciding factor for their clientele.
There are still plenty of seniors on a low fixed income budget who still rely on cheap dial up to get their email (i personally know few in Florida) and people living in rural areas that cannot get DSL, cable, FIOS, and dont want to pay $100 or more for satellite internet.
(Hit add comment before I was done)
For those old people like Senator Ted Stevens, dial up is the only way they can connect to the interwebs.
If you are a sales person visiting someone else and need to print something simple like a sales order, there are many different ways to do it, and not all of them match companies' security policies regarding having an "alien" laptop connecting to a local printer. using a Fax modem is a quick and simple way to to address that.
If HP is releasing Compaqs for $300 you can bet everyone else will soon be too.
The Race to the Bottom is on...
Tell you what, offer it with no operating system for $50 more and I'll think about it.
So you want to pay $50 more to have the OS stripped. Hmmm...
No, I'll pay $50 to make sure Microsoft gets $0. I can wipe a disk myself.
Heck, offer it for $50 LESS and I'll probably pick one up.
I like that thought.
Nah ... unless we get a huge price break, I actually like buying PCs with Windows installed. I can always just install the (rather obvious) OS of my choosing. I'm not going to pay MORE for something with LESS functionality out of the box.
Ah microsoft haters. Its like rpg gamers being called nerds by people who play Halo all day. I'm better than you because I'm different. GO MAC! (sigh)
Microsoft isn't going to wither away until people stop throwing money at them. Since that's what I want, I will not buy their products, not even their admittedly awesome game console, games, and optical mice.
Wonder how hard the CPU is to upgrade?
u will prbly be able to get a quicker sempron but not be able to move up to say an athlon or athlon dual core or a turion ur stuck with that socket type
I've had one of these for a few months now. Got it at Best Buy in a crunch for $349. I went to investigate a netbook, I've had an EEE since they debuted. Hated it, tiny keyboard, slow, tiny screen... the portability was an attractive item at the time. Found that my iPod Touch was more conducive to typing on it than the EEE and since have abandoned it.
Was at Best Buy, looking around at the Dell mini-9's, mini-10's, and they're not bad for the money. Were easy enough to type on, seemed fast enough, but more sluggish than I would have liked. At the time units were going for $400-500. Very reasonable... but at the time I was going thru a finacial crisis.
Had to replace my roof and then the AC went out at the same time. Could afford the roof, not the AC, employer gave me a window unit. But cooling one room, wanted something to camp in the cold room of the house with. So I was strapped for cash... kept shopping around at Best Buy and saw these Compaq's for $349. Since portability wasn't the issue, cost was... seemed like the right thing to get.
It's no MacBook Pro, but screens nice and bright, keyboard's responsive, wireless is strong and consistant, number pad really is a plus for me... and oddly whatever wussy GPU in there was good enough to let me play some of my older PC games like Richard Burns Rally. Now if only they sold 3 ton central air units for $350...
Only a true gadgeteer would choose a lapbook over air conditioner!
Go Team!
Saying the Eee is harder to type on than an iPod touch is just ridiculous.
That's pretty silly when it's so much larger than a netbook...I have a laptop, desktop, and netbook and they serve different functions-I bring the laptop if I need to do something that requires more power but otherwise it's the netbook for me.
Yo ! Guys! I bought a very similar model. Looks exactly the same except its HP. Because HP bought out compac. I have the HP G60t. And its an intel core 2 duo, 3gb ram, 250 hdd, and it has the HP logos instead of compac. It suprises me to see this model, showing up everywhere online and staples....and now walmart!
No. No. Besides being the same size, your computer and this one are not even close to being the same.
My uncle bought one the first day. He seems happy with it.
Just bought Acer AS5516 for $299 at Microcenter today, though having rather modest specs, it's still much more powerful than any netbook.
BestBuy has Toshiba laptop for $299. Similar specs. So the race to the bottom is already on.
BTW, I checked WalMart's site today and didn't see CQ60 for $299, otherwise I would consider buying it instead.
"HP Compaq's $300 laptop reviewed, makes strong case to bypass netbook"
...where the hell's the review?
"You're still not gonna be able to do much more than check your email and browse the web"
Welcome to 95% of the Windows using population.
It "seems to outperform Intel Atom-based machines" - REALLY?
Goodbye Atom, and good riddance.
Except that the $300 price tag was only "while supplies last".
Errr, its 15.6". Try using that on-the-go on your lap in a cramped situation, and carrying it with you at all times. A 9" netbook makes more sense for on-the-go usage. This is just a cheap underpowered laptop, that's it.
Yeah I totally agree, but there are people who are like, "I want a huge 15" laptop screen!" (even if the system's specs are a joke...)
every walmart in a 20m radius of philadelphia was sold out by the next day except 2 stores (one store had 4, the other 1) and i got the last one
the only thing that sucks about the purchase is that its vista and i dont think you get a free/discount for win7 upgrade
all in all, great price for a fairly decent laptop (only chicks use netbooks)!
"only chicks use netbooks"
Was it really necessary to throw in this biased/sexist remark?
unless this beast weights less than 2.5 lbs, don't even put the word "netbook" in the same sentence as this.
I feel bad for the kids that get this as their laptop for college. What a piece of crap. I saved up for 3 months to get the best laptop in the market, and so can you. I hate buying inferior products. **hugs MBP**
So what you're saying is people should always pay and arm and a leg to get the very best computers out there, even if they only ever going to use it for things like surfing the web and word processing?
@plothole
They'll end up paying an arm an a leg eventually through pc repairs.
Take it from me, a guy who fixes them mostly from people who bought with cheap price in mind.
Fair point. But still there are decent laptops available at moderate prices. Buying the top of the line model just to do casual computing would be idiotic.
Mac PCs and Windows PCs have just as many problems, the difference is Windows' userbase is 100 million users, whereas Mac's userbase is 5 million users. Of course Windows PC's will appear to have more problems. Additionally, Windows' userbase is comprised of many different levels of users, including an almost 100% share of new users, who are the most likely to need technical support/assistance.
Saying the MBP is the best laptop is entirely subjective.
"They'll end up paying an arm an a leg eventually through pc repairs."
Is that a joke? I've been using dozens of Windows PCs over a period of nearly 20 years (including lots of cheap low-end ones) and I have never paid one single cent in PC repairs.
@ chefgon_ign
If you've been using "dozens" of PCs for over 20 years.. I think it's fair to say that you know enough to repair or troubleshoot your own system, something the average user doesn't know how to do.
Id laugh if apple tried to release a laptop as cheap or cheaper than $300. Im stu and im a PC.
David,
The bigger screen and the DVD player are nice additions too.
This laptop is better for low income families than a netbook. It's more useful.
"You're still not gonna be able to do much more than check your email and browse the web"
and work easily on your Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, play your music, enjoy your pictures, watch a movie, and so on. You sound like you're wasting $300 on a nearly useless machine.
You realise that 99% of all computer users (Windows OR Mac) don't do hi-res Photoshop editing or render the latest Dreamworks animation movie on the go?
+1
I'd really like to understand WTF these guys are doing with their computers that make a laptop with 3GB of RAM feel underpowered.
I currently use a 800mhz PIII with 256mb ram, running xp, desktop (cost me about US$ 20 :D)... it serves my purposes perfectly... browsing the internet, watching movies, playing commandos!... I just dont understand how people say that they need atleast 3-4gbs of ram and a dual core processor to do everyday tasks...
I bought two of these laptops a couple of months ago. One for my mother, and one for a friend of hers. They have everything you need. A big screen, nice keyboard, dvd-burner, webcam, cardreader
your mom burns alot of dvd's eh?
In conjunction with the webcam, I presume.
My netbook is very small, very lightweight, silent, and runs forever on battery. Being cheap is just one piece of the equation, and no, I don't want just a POS underspec'ed big heavy laptop at a netbook price.
They are missing the point.
Exactly.
So those are the features that you wanted, do you really think that there is no market for a computer with a bigger screen and an optical drive for a low price? Low Price and extreme Portability are not necessarily required to always go together. Maybe somebody wants a computer for a cheap price and has no need for portability, why can't they get a computer made for them, too?
You know what else is a PC Stu? A Mac.
The Mac ads are basically saying "'Hi I'm an orange.' 'And I'm a fruit.'" A Mac is a PC, just a specific kind of PC.
This is one of those computers where HP/Compaq says "we have a crapload of leftover parts, what do we do with them all..."
The presence of a fax modem is a great example.
I can see it now, laptops will eventually be priced at $1 except the batteries will crap out after a few months and new batteries will cost $99.
It's printers & ink all over again.
Actually, even though I use wifi 99% of the time, I still need to dial up now and then. My ISP gives me 10 hours per month dial up and local numbers across Canada. Very useful in a pinch.
What in the name of all that is holy is THIS:
For all intents and purposes,
Oh god...please don't tell me you think it should be "For all intensive purposes"
"For all intents and purposes" is a pretty common phrase, what's the problem?
"Still, this seems to do an apt job at filling in that gap between netbook and laptop,..."
Till all of the gaps are filled, I'm not buying anything else!
Bought for my wife to use for online classes, much easier to use than the eee pc 900 that my twins use.
It's kind of fun watching people get excited about low-end computers. Let's face it though, in a while everyone who buy's one of these is going to complain it's slow because they want to treat it just like a PC and run it way beyond what it's spec'd out to do.
I wouldn't be in the market for a new laptop or netbook right now anyway, unless you need one for school and then there is no way I would want this to be a student laptop. Students should have something with higher specs to makes ure they can handle everything that they need for their classes. Just wait until Fall when you can get a laptop with Win 7 preinstalled and then you won't have to worry about upgrading, formating, or messing with OS installs.
When I was in college (about 8 years ago) I used a computer that was about five years old. It had a big "Designed for Windows 95" sticker on it. I tried to install Windows XP on it once but the installer refused to run because I didn't have the minimum amount of Ram.
I used it for classes where I had to be able to take lots of notes (I used notepad) and for the occasion when I needed to be able to study away from my room (I took it to the library). It served me well, and I can't imagine why any college student would require gaming-level specs for their laptop.
"You're still not gonna be able to do much more than check your email and browse the web"
I am a developer that uses a very similar spec'd laptop and have no problems using it for my needs (running IDE's, databases, server software).
Oh, and I check my email and browse the web on it as well..... go figure.