Back-to-School Notebook Deals for the Plundering, Pt. 3

The sales saga continues!

If your student hasn’t headed back to the books already, they certainly will in the next few weeks. And unless you’ve raised a Tracy Flick, they’ll probably kick, scream, and claw all the way there.

There are options to make the transition from summer laxness to fall stress a little bit smoother. This time of year back-to-school deals equal slashed prices on a spectrum of gadgets. So it’s still the perfect time to buy a new laptop for the student in your household.

For the last three weeks we’ve raked popular online discount stores and the websites of big-box retailers to find the best notebook deals for you and yours. For our final installment, the premier deal isn’t a notebook, it’s a 91% discount on Microsoft’s Office Ultimate 2007.

Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007

MSRP: 679.95
Instant Savings: $620.00
Bottom Line: $59.95

Apparently Microsoft sympathizes with the Student Struggle. Why else would they shave more than $600 off the price of MS Office Ultimate, their productivity mega-suite that includes 2007 verisons of Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.

That’s so cheap that Microsoft is rightfully calling the offer The Ultimate Steal. Student’s with a valid address from an educational institution and who can prove they are enrolled for at least .5 a class credit will not only receive programs critical to any office or academic environment, but they’ll get a ton of other programs, too. Included in the bundle is Outlook for email, One Note for taking notes in and out of the classroom, Publisher for special desktop publishing assignments, Accounting Express for accountancy majors or the fiscally responsible learner, and software we’re not even sure your student will need but they’ll enjoy having like Groove 2007 for group project management over the inter-webs and InfoPath 2007 to build online documents and forms.

Go to www.theultimatesteal.com to find out if you’re eligible and to take advantage of this grade A online deal. Notebook deals after the jump.

Lenovo IdeaPad Y510 ($706.99)

MSRP: $749.99
Save instantly: $150.00
Bottom Line: $599.99

We found it here: Tiger Direct

With the 6.5-pound, 15.4-inch IdeaPad Y510, your student will be able to copy and burn DVDs, use video chat, and connect to the net with 802.11a/b/g embedded Wi-Fi. The snazzy and well-designed system comes with a 1.73-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T2370 processor, 1.3-MP webcam, 6-in-1 memory card reader, 24X DVD+/-RW drive, 2GB of RAM, a 5,400-RPM 120GB The storage device that holds your OS, programs, and data.
Learn Morehard drive, and Windows Vista Home Premium, too.
Read Our Review of the Lenovo IdeaPad Y510

What it’s Packing:
Screen: 15.4 inches
RAM: 2GB
HDD: 120GB
Optical: DVD Burner
Wi-Fi: 802.11abg
OS: Windows Vista Home Premium

HP Pavilion tx2510us Tablet PC

Where We Found It: New Egg

MSRP: $1,099.99
Instant Savings: $100
Mail-in Rebate: $50.00
Bottom Line: $949.99

At $1000 with instant savings and a mail-in rebate, this tablet HP Pavilion is the most expensive entrant on our list, but when your student converts this small-ish PC into tablet node to write class notes directly unto the touch-sensitive screen, he’ll appreciate the extra change that went into this less-than-6-pound machine. Purchase a copy of Microsoft’s One Note 2007 to take full advantage of its note-taking potential.

What it’s Packing:
Screen: 12.1 inches
RAM: 3GB
HDD: 250GB
Optical: DVD Burner
Wi-Fi: 802.11abgn
OS: Windows Vista Home Premium

Lenovo 3000 N200

Where We Found It: Tiger Direct

MSRP: $799.99
Instant savings: $200.00
Bottom Line: $599.99

Though the straight-edges and muted color palette of this business-class notebook may be desirable to only the most pre-professional of students, any notebook user will appreciate it’s impressive array of ports including 4 USB 2.0 slots for charging and syncing portable devices like MP3 players or peripherals like a printer or a scanner. And Lenovo’s signature spacious keyboard and trackpad means greater comfort craps late-night work marathons.

What it Packs
Screen: 15.4 inches
RAM: 1GB
HDD: 120GB
Optical: DVD Burner
Wi-Fi: 802.11 BG
OS: Windows XP Professional

Toshiba Fusion Satellite A305-S6829

Where We Found It: Circuit City

MSRP: $799.96
Instant Savings: $120.03
Bottom Line: $679.96

This machine packs a Mobile Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 with 358MB of shared video memory which makes it great for down-time activities like watching movies and playing video games. With such above average video capability, both you and your student will enjoy making Skype video calls with the built-in webcam and embedded 802.11 g/n wireless.

What it’s Packing:
Screen: 15.4 inches
RAM: 3GB
HDD: 320GB
Optical: DVD/CD Burner
Wi-Fi: 802.11agn
OS: Windows Vista Home Premium

HP Pavilion dv2842se

Where We Found It: Circuit City

MSRP: $799.96
Instant Savings: $50.00
Mail-in Rebate: $50.00
Bottom Line: $699.96

The tag on this thin-and-light notebook has been slashed by more than $300, making it a more than adequately-priced notebook for young academics. For less than $750 the machine comes stuffed with Bluetooth, a DVD burner, n-wireless capability, Norton Anti-Virus software and better-than-average video capability with strong audio to match. It’s the perfect PC to meld the worlds of productivity and play every student must navigate.

What it’s Packing
Screen: 14.1 inches
RAM: 4GB
HDD: 250GB
Optical: DVD/CD Burner
Wi-Fi: 802.11agn
OS: Windows Vista Home Premium