Why You Can Trust CNET Get an even more loaded laptop for $399.99
With more RAM and storage than last week's HP deal, plus 64-bit Windows 7, the Acer Aspire AS5742z is a mighty hard laptop to pass up. Sellout risk: huge.
Just last week I crowed about a $399.99 HP laptop--a one-day-only deal that I know many of you snapped up. If you happened to miss it, here's good news: today's $399.99 laptop is even better.
Buy.com has the Acer Aspire AS5742z-4685 15.6-inch laptop for $399.99 shipped. It's new, not refurbished, and you don't need a coupon code or anything.
Update: Rats. As I predicted, the Aspire is sold out. But Buy.com's product page says "check back soon," and you should--they may release more inventory later. It's been known to happen.
Update #2: An eagle-eyed reader sent in this equally smokin' laptop deal from Office Depot: the Toshiba Satellite C655D-S5048 for $379.99 shipped (plus sales tax in most states). The specs are nearly identical, though it has 3GB of RAM instead of 4GB. Great find!
The Aspire comes with a 2GHz Intel P6100 processor (dual-core), 4GB of RAM (twice the amount that came with the HP), and a 320GB hard drive (the HP's was 250GB). The 15.6-inch LCD offers a typical-for-its-size 1,366x768-pixel native resolution.
The other specs are also fairly typical, including a Webcam, 802.11n Wi-Fi, a super-multi DVD burner, and Windows 7 Home Premium--64 bit this time, not 32. (I really don't mean to dump on that earlier HP deal, but this Acer addresses the two problems I had with it: not quite enough RAM, and 32-bit Windows.)
The Aspire offers more than enough horsepower and storage for probably 90 percent of users. And at $400 out the door, it's an impossibly good deal. Consequently, the sellout risk is high, so grab this before it's gone!
Bonus deal: Today only, Amazon has "="" on="" dvd="" for="" $27.99="" shipped"="">"Arrested Development - The Complete Series" on DVD for $27.99 shipped. Killer gift item, and worth owning if you're a fan of the dearly departed series.
Bonus deal No. 2: Longtime iOS favorite Ocarina (which turns your iPhone into an ancient flute) is available free of charge today.
Bonus deal No. 3: Proof positive that new models are imminent, Apple just cut the prices on refurbished Wi-Fi iPads. You can now get the 16GB model for $429 shipped. Lowest price ever! (For a little background, here's an earlier post I wrote about refurbished iPads.)