Windows 7 Mobile Computing Office : Our Choice

Net Communities, the publishers of ITProPortal.com, is in the middle of massive transition that will see our staff being offered the choice of keeping their desktops or moving to a more flexible laptop.

As described by the first part of this article, this will entail a number of changes both in the way our staff work and in the very fabric of our information infrastructure.

Central to the move is the adoption of Windows 7 Professional which uses all the latest technologies currently available on the market and although Windows XP was an option on the table, the fact that we don't have legacy applications means that we're not tied to the 10-year old OS.

As part of the move we've chosen to acquire a number of Dell Vostro 3500NB laptops, which fit our budget and requirement. The model number N0535001 in particular caught our eye because of its rather incredible value for money.

It is based around Intel's latest Arrandable Core i3-330M processor. This dual core processor runs at 2.13GHz and packs 6MB L2 Cache. Also in the package is 3GB DDR3 memory, a 250GB hard disk drive while the graphics is build on the processor die itself.

A note about the hard disk drive. Dell chose to ship a 7200RPM version rather than a more mundane 5400RPM model.

While this will noticeably improve your computer's performance, it may also have an impact on the battery life. The hard drive is also protected by a Free Fall Sensor which minimises the risk of data loss during a drop.

The rest of the configuration is pretty standard. A 8x DVD writer, Wireless B/G, a 6-cell 56Whr Li/Ion battery, a 15.6-inch 1366x768 WLED screen, a HDMI port, four USB ports, an 8-in1-1 card reader and a 2-megapixel integrated webcam.