Walmart offers $200 Windows 7 notebook

Walmart says it will be offering a 15.6-inch Windows 7 notebook for under $200 in its post-Thanksgiving "Black Friday" sale. The eMachines eME528-2325 includes a 15.6-inch screen, 2GB of RAM, a 250GB hard disk drive, an HDMI output, and a DVD drive, according to the reseller.

Walmart's Black Friday laptop is one of the best mobile computing deals we can recall seeing -- at least for those who value a device's power more highly than ultimate compactness. Compared to a netbook that would cost as much if not more, the eMachines eME528-2325 (below) includes a faster processor (the 2.2GHz Intel Celeron 900), has a DVD reader/writer, and includes a 64-bit edition of Windows 7 Home Premium, according to eMachines.

The eMachines eME528-2325

With its full-size keyboard and separate numeric keypad, the 5.5-pound eME528-2325 falls into the category of "desktop replacement" devices. It features a 15.6-inch display (resolution not stated), 2GB of RAM (expandable to 4GB), and a 250GB hard disk drive, eMachines says.

According to eMachines, the eME528-2325 has a four-cell, 2800mAh battery, though no claims are made as to how long this will last. The device lacks a webcam, unlike most netbooks, but on the plus side there's an HDMI port, the company adds.

Oddly, eMachines' product page doesn't say whether the eME528-2325 includes wireless networking (if not, that certainly dampens the deal). The company does allow that the laptop has three USB 2.0 ports, a VGA port, a headphone/speaker/line out jack, a microphone input, and an Ethernet port.

A typical selection of trialware includes Microsoft's Office Starter 2010, a 60-day trial of Norton Internet Security 2010, and the Adobe Reader 9.1, says eMachines.

Features and specifications listed by eMachines for the eME528-2325 include:

Processor -- Intel Celeron 900 clocked at 2.2GHz

Memory -- 2GB of RAM, expandable to 4GB

Chipset -- Intel GL40 Express

Display -- 15.6-inch screen (resolution n/s)

Storage:

250GB hard disk drive (5400rpm)

double-layer DVD reader/writer

Expansion -- SD/MMC card reader

Networking:

LAN -- Ethernet port

WLAN -- n/s

Other I/O:

3 x USB 2.0

1 x HDMI

1 x VGA

audio -- mic in; headphone/speaker/line out

Battery -- 4-cell, 2800mAh

Dimensions -- 14.6 x 9.6 x 1.4

Weight -- 5.5 pounds

Further information

Listing the eME528-2325 as a Walmart exclusive, eMachines cites an MSRP of approximately $370. However, the device will be offered for just under $200 from 5 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Nov. 26 at Walmart stories, according to the retailer.

(source:windowsfordevices.com)