Laptop Latest News

Fujitsu LifeBook LH520 Laptop Featuring AMD Athlon CPU and ATI Radeon HD Graphics Launched

2011-05-07T04:10:00.000-07:00

Fujitsu has recently announces the launch of of the Fujitsu LifeBook LH520 laptop that is powered by the energy efficient AMD Athlon II Dual-Core Processor and features the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5430 discrete graphics, one of the first graphic cards to support DirectX 11.

The Fujitsu LifeBook LH520 puts the latest processing and robust video power, as well as formidable multitasking of all your favourite applications into user’s hands. Sweetening the deal further is the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5430 graphics which supports the revolutionary DirectX 11, to deliver high quality HD movies and gaming.

Stylishly decked in either matt black or matt red, the LifeBook LH520 laptop is powered by AMD Athlon II Dual-Core Processor P320 running at 2.16 GHz with 1MB L2 cache that adds an amazing touch to its performance using AMD RS880M + SB820M chipset mother board.

The new Fujitsu LH520 laptop sports a 14.1-inch screen with backlight LED technology offering a resolution of 1366×768 pixels powered by ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5430 graphics with 512-MB dedicated video memory allows truly claim the best from the HD world.

Coupled with the SuperFine HD back-light LED, users can be entertained by the latest movies with pristine and ultra-bright display quality or utilise the DirectX 11 applications, which provide features such as programmable hardware tessellation unit and accelerated multi-threading, to delve into an engaging HD gaming experience.

The Fujitsu LH520 laptop also includes 2-GB DDR3 1066 MHz RAM (max 8-GB DDR3), 320-GB 5400 rpm SATA hard disk drive (500 GB also available) and 6 USB 2.0 ports. For connectivity there is 100/10 Mbps Ethernet LAN, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n LAN network connection and Bluetooth : v2.1 with EDR connection.

The LH520 laptop is also equipped with RealTek ALC269 HD audio codec with Dual Built-in Stereo Speakers and includes built-in Digital Microphone.

Fujitsu LifeBook LH520 laptop also include built-in 1.3 Mega Pixel camera and dual built-in stereo microphones allow friends and family members located around the world to easily communicate via webcam with accessible software such as Skype and Messenger.

The laptop boasts a Spill-resistant Keyboard which protects it from undesired accidental spills such as coffee. Furthermore, security features like BIOS lock, Hard Disk Lock and Anti-theft Lock Slot are also quipped for enhanced data and hardware protection.

I/O Ports

3 x USB 2.0
1 x VGA (external display)
1 x RJ45 (LAN)
1 x External Mic-in
1 x Headphone-out
5-in-1 Media Card Reader
Key Features of Fujitsu LH520 Laptop

AMD Athlon II Dual-Core Processor P320, 2.1GHz
1MB L2 cache
AMD RS880M + SB820M Chipset
2GB DDR3 1066MHz, Max 8GB
Dual layer DVD Writer
14-inch SuperFine HD back-light LED 220nits, 1366 x 768 pixels
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5430 512MB video memory
Up to 500 GB SATA 5400rpm HDD
1.3 MP webcam
WiFi 802.11 b/g/N wireless LAN
Bluetooth v2.1
5-in-one memory card reader supporting Secured Digital / SDHC/ Memory Stick /Memory Stick PRO
Windows 7 Home Premium
6-cell battery, 3.5 hrs backup
DIM – 340mm (W) x 245mm (D) x 35mm (H)
Weight – 2.2 Kgs
With Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit / Genuine Windows 7 Home Basic 64-bit OS preinstalled, the Fujitsu LifeBook LH520 laptop also includes a Card Reader supporting Secured Digital,SDHC,Memory Stick,Memory Stick PRO and HDMI digital out port.

Samsung P480 Premium Series Laptop Launched

2011-05-07T04:08:00.000-07:00

A welcome addition to Samsung P80 Premium line of laptop, the Samsung P480 laptop is powered by Intel Core i5 processor and provide a range of connectivity, security, durability and design-based computing options for professionals in the office and while on the road.

The Samsung P480 laptop comes with a durable casing designed to keep its contents safe and sound as well as reduce the risk of scratches and fingerprints.

The Samsung P80 Premium series P480 notebook is designed to meet a wide range of business needs and is powered by a powerful Intel Core i5 430M Processor, and includes 4GB DDR3 RAM in 2 X SODIMM slots, Genuine windows 7 professional OS, a docking station connector that provides a “single click” connection and easy access to wide array of ports, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR connectivity option and up to 320 GB hard drive.

The Samsung P480 notebooks is available in 14-inch HD LED backlit screen size powered by integrated Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics with 256MB video memory offering 1366×768 resolution with a matte finish ideal for image work as well as documents, spreadsheets and presentations.

The laptop has 88 keys keyboard and a large comfortable touch pad and for security it provides Samsung recovery solution, TPM and McAfee internet security.

With a built-in 0.3 mp Webcam and integrated microphone, the Premium P80 series Samsung P480 notebook can be used for video conferencing and virtual presentations.

I/O Ports

1 HDMI Out
Headphone
Mic-in
VGA
4 USB 2.0
3-in-1 Memory Card Reader (SD, SDHC, MMC)
RJ45 LAN
Samsung P480 Premium Series Notebook Specifications:

Intel Core i5 430M Processor
Windows 7 Professional Operating System
4GB DDR3
320GB (max) 5400 RPM
14-inch LED backlit HD display, 1366×768 pixel resolution
Integrated Intel GMA 4500MHD Graphics
Speakers: 3 W Stereo Speaker (1.5 W x 2)
Audio technology: HD Audio
Web camera: 0.3MP
Wireless LAN: 802.11bg/n
Wired Ethernet LAN: 10/100/1000 BaseTX
Trusted Platform Module (TPM)
4 USB 2.0 Ports
Battery life: P480: up to 4.3 hours
Weight: 4.8 lbs.
The Samsung P480 premium series notebook will be available for sale through Samsung resellers for the price of Rs. 38,499 with one year warranty.

WIN a ticket to the 2011 Gadget Show Live

2011-04-17T08:49:00.001-07:00

What Laptop has teamed up with Lenovo to give you gadget lovers out there the chance to win one of three tickets to the Gadget Show Live on Saturday 16th April, taking place at the Birmingham NEC.
The show is now sold out so this is a money can’t buy prize! At the show you will be able to visit the Lenovo stand where you can get a sneak preview of its exciting range of stylish new laptops, PCs and all-in-ones due to hit the shops later in 2011.
You will also have the opportunity to take part in a number of games and activities offering the chance to win a stunning Lenovo laptop of your own. Why not take part in the Lenovo Enhanced Experience with Windows (EE2.0) powered by Intel 2nd generation Core Processor family Boot up Challenge.
Simply bring along your own computer (must have Windows 7 installed) to the Boot up Challenge area on the Lenovo stand (Hall 12, stand number F19), and see whether you can beat the boot up time of the Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E420s for the chance to win £1,000 (terms and conditions apply).
To enter this competition, click here.
For more information, visit The Gadget Show Live
Closing date - 7th April 2011

WIN Corel PaintShop Photo Pro X3 software

2011-04-17T08:49:00.000-07:00

Corel's PaintShop Photo Pro software range offers an impressive collection of powerful and creative photo and graphics tools, at great prices. The X3 Ultimate edition combines intuitive photo-editing software with web design and paint tools, making it ideal for both professional and amateur photographers alike.
This latest version of Corel PaintShop Pro makes it easy to organise, edit and share your photos. In no time at all you can be straightening wonky holiday shots, removing red-eye and unwanted blurs from family photos and breathing fresh life into your happiest memories.
There are plenty of powerful tools available for more precise tasks, such as the Smart Carver feature, which intelligently removes unwanted objects from a picture. PaintShop Photo Pro X3 also includes a collection of plug-in filters, to transform your photos with incredible results.
When you’ve finished editing your pictures, you can even put together professional-looking photo books to show off your images, or quickly upload and share your pictures via websites such as Facebook and Flickr. As if that wasn’t enough, you also get Corel Painter Essentials 4, which gives you all the tools you need to create your own digital art, as well as WebSite X5 Special Edition for creating and publishing websites and blogs.
A fantastic software package, you could win a copy of PaintShop Photo Pro X3 thanks to What Laptop and Corel.
To enter this competition, click here
For more information, visit CorelClosing date - 8th April 2011

WIN Sony Imagination Studio Suite 2 software

2011-04-17T08:48:00.000-07:00

Sony Software’s Imagination Studio Suite 2 is the easiest way to get the most out of your digital video, music and photos. Turn your video shoots into Hollywood-style movies. Make your own original music or create remixes and mash-ups of your favourite songs. Organise all your photos, then author your project to DVD or burn it to a Blu-ray disc and share your digital life with family and friends. This complete suite of multimedia applications has everything you need to get started quickly and you could win a copy of Imagination Studio Suite 2 courtesy of What Laptop and Sony.
Features include:
Edit high-definition video – Everything you need to produce movies in spectacular high-definition (HD). Simply drag HD or SD (standard-definition) video to the timeline and start editing. Easily apply hundreds of built-in video effects and transitions for a polished look, then burn your movie to DVD or Blu-ray.

Edit audio – Master professional-quality audio on your laptop. Expertly balance sound levels, trim unwanted sections, and synchronise audio with video. Digitise and restore vinyl and cassette recordings. You can even remove vocals from songs to create karaoke tracks.
Create dazzling DVDs – Create professional looking DVDs in full-screen or widescreen format with menus, titles, special features and music. Includes 56 beautifully designed DVD themes with co-ordinated menu buttons and you can also import images to create your own themes.
Get the picture – Organise and sort all your photos. Quickly fix common photo flaws. Adjust colour, brightness and contrast. Rotate, crop and remove red-eye. Sort your photos into convenient views and create captivating slideshows to email to your friends and family.
To enter this competition, click here
For more information, visit www.sonycreativesoftware.com
Closing date - 6th May 2011

WIN a Sony VAIO 13.3-inch laptop

2011-04-17T08:47:00.000-07:00

Nothing says class quite like a Sony VAIO laptop. The VAIO S-Series is a stunning example of the style, power and mobility you can expect and you could now own your very own machine, worth £1,215, courtesy of What Laptop and our friends at EXPANSYS.com.
The Sony VAIO VPCS11V9E/B is a laptop that’s been designed for life on the road. The 13.3-inch screen makes it portable enough to slip into almost any bag, while the light 2kg weight means you can carry it around all day with ease.
Sony has implemented some clever design features to ensure that the laptop can handle everything the road has to throw at it. The magnesium-alloy chassis is extremely tough, while the hardened screen coating protects the 13.3-inch display from knocks and bashes.
Add to this intelligent hard drive protection, which senses when the laptop has been dropped and takes measures to protect your data, and you’ve got a very tough machine built for life on the move.
Internally, an Intel Core i5 processor provides cutting-edge performance, helped along by 4096MB of the latest high-speed memory technology, while the dedicated nVidia graphics card will appeal to photo and video editors and gamers alike, making this an extremely powerful, as well as portable and usable, laptop.
Extra features include a fingerprint scanner, ensuring that only you have access to the laptop’s data, and a webcam for video conferencing or simply chatting to friends and family across the internet.
A great ultraportable laptop, you could win this Sony VAIO by answering one simple question.EXPANSYS.com also stocks a huge range of technology, including the full range of Sony VAIOlaptops and All-In-One PCs.
To enter this competition, click here
For more information, visit EXPANSYS.com

Closing date - 8th April 2011

Samsung launches slender Series 9

2011-04-17T08:46:00.000-07:00

Samsung last night launched its brand new Series 9 laptop, a slender and sexy rival to Apple's Macbook Air. With a thickness of just 17mm and a weight of 1.3kg, this is one of the lightest and slimmest full-spec laptops we've ever seen.
We were impressed by the tiny and curved form of the Samsung Series 9. The dark chassis is made from a new metal called Duralumin, commonly found on fighter jets, and it feels reassuringly solid apart from the lid, which bends a worrying amount under pressure. However, the 13.3-inch screen didn't seem to suffer as a result, thankfully!
Samsung has packed an Intel Core i5 processor into the Series 9's slim body, along with 4GB of memory, so you should have no problem running several applications at once. Graphics are more limited, with an integrated Intel HD GPU doing all the work.
Usability doesn't suffer from the reduced dimensions, as the isolation-style backlit keyboard is comfortable to type on. We were more hesitant with the Samsung Series 9's touchpad, which is satisfyingly spacious but also features integrated mouse buttons - you have to push the bottom corners down to left and right-click. Usually this causes the cursor to skip about on screen, but we had no such issues when playing around.
Ports are unsurprisingly limited on the Samsung Series 9, but you do get USB 3.0 for fast data transfer and mini HDMI to hook up external displays.
The Samsung Series 9 will retail for £1299 (inc. VAT).

Asus Eee Pad Transformer hands-on

2011-04-17T08:44:00.000-07:00

Asus is set to launch its Eee Pad Transformer tablet this month, the first such device to hit the UK with Google's Honeycomb Android OS. We had the chance to play with the tablet at a recent event and were impressed with what we saw.
The Eee Pad Transformer has a 10.1-inch screen and feels surprisingly light and thin, weighing just 680g. With a 1280 x 800 pixel resolution, images are sharp and vibrant, perfect for catching a film or browsing your favourite photos on the move.
Honeycomb runs with a satisfying smoothness thanks to nVidia's Tegra 2 dual core processor, which powers the Eee Pad Transformer. The OS was specially designed with tablets in mind and we loved playing with the various widgets. For instance, you can check your emails right there on the desktop, without loading your browser.
The Eee Pad Transformer also supports the Android Market, giving you access to thousands of fantastic apps and games, and you can use the front-facing camera to chat online with friends and family.
One feature we also liked is the detachable keyboard, which the tablet slots neatly into. This turns the Eee Pad Transformer into a netbook device, perfect for bashing out emails or lengthy documents. Even more impressively, the keyboard has an extra battery built in, giving you up to 16 hours of life when the tablet is connected.
The Eee Pad Transformer is on sale from the 6th of April. The tablet costs £379 (inc. VAT) by itself, or £429 (inc. VAT) with the keyboard dock.

Medion crosses the Sandy Bridge

2011-04-17T08:42:00.000-07:00

German manufacturer Medion announced a new high-performance entertainment laptop today, featuring Intel's latest Sandy Bridge processing technology. Coming in both Core i3 and Core i5 flavours, the Medion Akoya E6221 is currently available at a cut-down price.
Up to 640GB of storage means there's plenty of room in the Medion Akoya E6221 for the whole family's music and software, and you can watch films using the built-in DVD drive. We're hoping the widescreen 15.6-inch display will be perfect for enjoying your media, with a 1366 x 768-pixel resolution.
One of the most impressive aspects of the Sandy Bridge processors is their excellent integrated graphics. In the past, you'd barely have enough graphical oomph to edit your photos, but now you can enjoy HD films and even indulge in some light gaming, providing you turn down detail settings.
Features in the Medion Akoya E6221 are fairly standard. If you love video chatting with friends and family online, the integrated 1.3MP camera should satisfy. You also get VGA and HDMI outputs for hooking up external displays, and 802.11n Wi-Fi for connecting to wireless networks.
The Medion Akoya E6221 is available to buy online from Sainsburys. Until April 19th, the Core i3 model is priced at £429 inc. VAT while the Core 15 model will set you back £499 inc. VAT. This is a special introductory offer, so get your order in fast.

Alienware M14x and M18x invading soon

2011-04-17T08:41:00.000-07:00

Alienware, the gaming subsidiary of Dell, is rumoured to be moments away from announcing two new additions to its laptop range, the 14-inch M14x and 18.4-inch M18x. Unfortunately Dell wouldn’t comment on what is currently only speculation and rumour at this stage.
Unofficial photos of the laptops that have cropped up online suggest the two machines will be styled similarly to the currently available Alienware machines, with the same aggressive lines and angles providing a great look and feel.
Specification details suggest that both the laptops will feature Intel Sandy Bridge processors, the latest and greatest technology from Intel that should provide serious amounts of performance.
The M18x is rumoured to be offering a choice of AMD or nVidia graphics cards, in single or CrossFire/SLI configurations. These technologies, the first AMD’s, the second nVidia’s, allow you to run two graphics cards at the same time for extra performance.
The M14x will also offer the consumer a choice between AMD and nVidia when it comes to graphics cards, but not, apparently, in a CrossFire/SLI configuration.
As mentioned above Alienware wouldn’t comment on the rumours, and as such we can’t provide you with accurate pricing or availability.

Keep an eye on Alienware's website for (hopefully) updates soon.

Voting opens in the TechRadar Phone Awards 2011

2011-04-17T08:40:00.000-07:00

Voting has started for the TechRadar Phone Awards 2011, and you can have your say on which devices deserve to be recognised for standing out in a crowded marketplace.

Essentially the awards are a celebration of all things phones, and a chance to recognise some of the tremendous devices that have been launched over the last few months.

Six awards will be left up to a public vote, including Best App and Best Game. The rest will be down to the expert judging panel, which is made up of some of the brightest minds in the technology industry.

TechRadar’s mobile phones editor Gareth Beavis said about the awards:

“TechRadar is renowned for the most comprehensive mobile phone reviews on the web and in print, so it made sense that this year we created an awards that’s dedicated to phones.

“The TechRadar Phone Awards 2011 is a great chance for the public and industry experts alike to have their say on the best phones, apps and innovations of the year.”

All you have to do is head over to http://awards2011.techradar.com/vote and cast your vote.

And that's not all – you can also try your luck at our competition, which could bag you one of 10 Windows Phone 7 handsets.

So, what are you waiting for? Scoot on over to The TechRadar Phone Awards 2011 now and get voting!

HP TouchPad: hands-on review

2011-04-17T08:39:00.000-07:00

At this year’s Gadget Show Live we were lucky enough to spend a brief period of time in the company of HP’s TouchPad tablet, and we certainly consider it a challenger to the iPad’s throne.
Despite the huge number of Android-based devices currently on the tablet market, a few major manufacturers, including BlackBerry and HP, are opting instead to use their own proprietary operating systems (OS). The HP TouchPad runs HP's webOS software which, until recently, has only appeared on Palm smartphones.
WebOS was designed and developed by Palm, but was acquired by HP last year along with the rest of the company. We were extremely impressed by the OS during our short time with it. Built around a system of on-screen cards, it’s immediately apparent that the HP TouchPad is a machine designed for smooth multitasking and it does this extremely well.
Applications and tasks sit in cards which you can flick through by simply swiping left or right across the face of the screen. Selecting a tab maximises it so, for example, you can continue writing a draft email while all the other cards stay open in the background, ready to be called up if necessary. It’s very intuitive and will certainly suit those after a tablet for business use.
There’s plenty on offer for entertainment use, however, and some nice applications help you digest your media files. A good example is HP’s Synergy software. Not only does it centralise all the photos on the TouchPad’s choice of 16GB or 32GB Solid State Drive storage, but it will also draw in photos from social networking sites, with Facebook being the only name currently confirmed. Not only will you be able to browse through your Facebook photos, but also read and add comments to them – impressive stuff.

The 9.7-inch, 1024 x 600-pixel capacitive screen has been chemically strengthened. Picture quality is excellent and videos look fantastic. Sadly there’s no HDMI out to enjoy your content on a big screen. The screen is highly responsive and browsing through the OS, the internet and installed software proves no issue. Unfortunately, the accelerometer in the tablet wasn’t as quick to switch between landscape and portrait modes as we expected, although this problem will likely be solved for final retail samples. Finally, the screen's great viewing angle makes it easy to watch films and share content with others around you.
HP hasn’t scrimped on the technology inside and the dual-core, 1.2GHz Qualcomm processor showed no signs of lag as we whizzed through the interface.
A host of great features also come included. Stereo speakers featuring Dr Dre’s Beats technology (tuned for great bass) are fitted. Touchstone technology is also in place, which allows you to wirelessly charge the tablet and, if you own an HP Pre smartphone, you can swap data between the two simply by touching them together. Text messages that come through to your Pre phone will also appear on the TouchPad, so you can stop juggling different devices for the same jobs.
There’s very little negative to say about the TouchPad. At 740g, it's quite weighty, however, and the lack of a rear-mounted camera and HDMI might put some off. Otherwise this is a very interesting piece of technology that will especially appeal to current webOS-based device owners and business users.
For more information on the HP TouchPad, and full reviews on the latest tablets, check out What Laptop's 'The Complete Guide to Tablets', available here.

Toshiba On A Roll With New Laptops All Around

2011-04-15T03:38:00.000-07:00

Toshiba is launching one innovative product after another in this current year. They announced the glasses-free 3D laptop in this year’s spring launch that was held in the UK. Technology aficionados were expecting this from Toshiba as the company has already got a breakthrough in the field of glasses-free 3D TV. The technical name for this innovation is auto-stereoscopic vision. With this technology in place you can bid adieu to your 3D glasses permanently, well almost. The laptop follows the movement of the eyes through the webcam. The webcam also employs infrared vision to locate objects in the dark. By using the webcam, the laptop tries to gauge the perfect angle for the parallax.

Since it constantly re-orients its parallax vision via the webcam it shows 3D content perfectly even if the position of the laptop is changed. Its innovators have ensured that the 3D vision works in a window of the everyday 2D laptop as well. An attempt was made earlier to configure a Toshiba Qosmio laptop so that it could display the 3D vision without any other visual aids. The perfect 3D vision was achieved though the image kept alternating between 2D and 3D, which was quite disturbing to the eye. It is only expected that Toshiba will be innovating further on this product to remove the problems that is currently there. The company claims that the glasses-free 3D laptop will be available later this year.

Toshiba has also announced the inclusion of the Portégé R380 laptop in its stable this year. The company declared that this was a start-of-the-art ultraportable laptop, unlike anything the world had seen before. The company has integrated a rather strong battery with the laptop to make it run longer unplugged. This is part of the company’s strategy to market the Portégé R380 laptop as the must-have for all business users — one the company’s top priority customer segment for its laptop division. It is expected that it will position itself as a very effective business gadget. The laptop derives its strength from a second generation Intel CPU (possibly Sandy Bridge). It sports an 8GB DDR RAM and the capacity of its Hard Disk is 640 GB. The connectivity components include HDMI-out, Bluetooth 3.0, WLAN (802.11b/g/n) and USB 3.0. This configuration is subject to change as per the requirements of the end-user but the base model will feature all these characteristics.

The Portégé R380 will come armed with a 13.3 inch screen, so as to be more portable. This screen is powered by TruBrite or non-reflective HD display along with the facility of LED backlighting. But the real beauty of the screen is not in its use of TruBrite technology or the LED backlight. The real clinching factor of the screen is its dimensions: 316mm X 227mm X 18.3 mm making it one of the thinnest laptop screens in the world. Though it is loaded with features, the special magnesium alloy (magnalium) chassis ensures that it is very light and durable. This also reduces the price of the laptop, though Toshiba has not disclosed it yet. The Portégé R380 will hit the market in the second quarter of 2011.

Acer Aspire 5740- Great Configuration at a Moderate Price

2011-04-15T03:37:00.000-07:00

Here’s some good news for laptop lovers and users – Acer made another breakthrough with the new Acer Aspire 5740. The new laptop is a major contender for all moderately priced laptops and it even supersedes them by several counts. Portable and fast, Acer Aspire 5740 is something you had been waiting for.

The Good

The 15.6 inch display and a screen resolution of 1366 by 768p make the laptop great for playing movies. It also has a complete keyboard managed inside with a number board as well. Light weight and subtle, Acer Aspire 5740 is easy to fit on desk tops. However, the thing that gave it good ratings was its price – £550 – which is rare for laptops with such configuration.

The laptop also proves itself fast for all normally used applications. This speed is due to the 2.27 GHz Core i5-430m processor and 4 GB RAM. Plus, the laptop’s preinstalled operating system is 64bit version of windows 7, which is well known for enabling users to multitask.

In addition, the Acer Aspire 5740 has every port you require. Four USB 2.0 ports are available along with a Bluetooth 2.0+EDR. Fast internet access is assured with a gigabit Ethernet, 802.11n Wi-Fi connection and a modem as well. If you ever need to watch TV on your laptop, that is very possible since the gadget supports VGA and HDMI. Plus, you have a DVD writer available in this new laptop. Memory cards like SD, Memory Stick, and xD are also acceptable to its system.

With sufficient lighting, the 2 megapixel webcam is capable of capturing and recording good quality videos. Audio is provided by a pre-installed microphone, thus chatters will have no problems while enjoying a good video chat.

The Bad

Now for the downside of this laptop. Though the Acer Aspire 5740 is considerably cheap and has a good display, it does lack a few things that prevent it from being the best. For instance it is not recommended for gamers as no newly launched game will work well with this resolution. If you want to boost your gaming experience, you will need to pay more for a better graphics card. In addition, the battery power is quite low at 3 hours only. So, if you play movies, you might not have too much time to do any other work.

The keyboard is light and has receptive keys. However, the track pad was a huge blunder made in the design. Users’ fingers can’t adjust easily with the keys and that makes the keyboard an uncomfortable one. Similarly, the mouse buttons are also feeble and the pad requires that users apply more force.

Final Verdict

With good ratings and moderate performance, Acer Aspire 5740 proves good at multitasking and offers a decent speed for browsing and commonly used applications. Video and audio quality is not so attractive and its design of peripherals is also very uncomfortable.

Travels With Laptop Charlie #3 – Why do it at all?

2011-04-15T03:35:00.000-07:00

I meet quite a few people who are surprised when they see that I travel for extended periods with just a small carry-on bag. I have no idea what they think is in it, but normally they find Laptop Charlie and my power supply in the bag.

I like to travel light and I like to go to places that most people never consider having their vacations at. A recent trip to see the bombed out shells of military buildings in Belgrade was just one example. As I walked around with my seven kilo bag filled with all I would need for more than a month, I couldn’t help noticing that my bag was often smaller than the commuters who scurried down the sidewalk past the armed police and NATO bombed husks of office complexes.

Why in the world would I bring Laptop Charlie to a place like that? Simple. I like to have my office with me. I like to be able to sit at a bus stop and pull out my laptop, check my email, or even look at descriptions of what I am seeing. My laptop is often my guide. Sure, my smartphone can do the job and often does, but the laptop is clearer and easier to navigate with.

A friend of mine has a laptop mount that fits to the back of any auto seat. He can get in a taxi, put the mobile netbook desk on the seat and go to work. It weighs about half a kilo and for him and is a great investment because he is in the back seats of cars more than I am. Frankly, the back seats of cars always bring memories of police to me, that’s why I sit in the front seat of taxis when I’m alone. I’m always afraid the back doors won’t open.

I saw a very bad idea recently. It was an attachment that allowed you to set your laptop on your steering wheel. I can’t think of a worse idea, someone please call Ralph Nader.

Here’s a nice tip for phone-laptop usage on the go. I always check for wifi using my smartphone before pulling out my laptop. The phone is already on and the laptop can have the battery conserved. Sometimes, I will walk around with the phone until I find a cafe with free wifi and then go get my coffee and sit with the laptop.

So, why travel with a laptop? You don’t really need the reasons right?

You can find out information, check email, take care of business, find where you are on a map, locate shops, blog, check in on facebook, watch films, listen to music, share films and music with friends (legally of course ), play games, read novels, do homework, write about your travels, store your photos, edit videos, rate restaurants, book tickets, arrange tours, make new friends, find the latest news, tweet about the revolution, make a facebook group to save a community garden, or just…look like you have a reason to be sitting all alone in Starbucks.

Thank goodness for Laptop Charlie. I don’t look like a loser anymore in the cafes all by myself…or if I do, I don’t care because I’m turning down farmville invitations.

Vago Damitio travels and writes about it while pretending to do something his wife finds more respectable. More of his adventures and travel tips can be found at http://www.vagobond.com

Lenovo Get’s UL Environment’s Gold Certificate For The ThinkPad T420

2011-04-15T03:33:00.000-07:00

Lenovo’s new ThinkPad T420 underwent an environment test at the Underwriter Laboratories’ group. They have gold certified the product after the test saying that the product is environmentally sustainable and helps thwart “green washing”. They also said that this is the first product of its kind to have acquired this certification. This company puts computers under rigorous tests to see whether the standards of the 5star energy rating are met or not. Also the manufacturing process is tested to ensure that it complies by not including or greatly reducing environmentally hazardous materials. Also, this rating means that the laptops are manufactured with a higher percentage of recycled material and environmentally neutral materials.

According to a UL press statement, the SPC Gold certification indicates “a product has met the most stringent and prestigious of three levels of compliance in the industry-wide sustainability standard for laptops, IEEE 1680.1…including reduction or elimination of environmentally sensitive materials in product and packaging, energy conservation, end-of-life management and corporate environmental practices.”

Lenovo, having set a carbon efficiency improvement target, has improved by 10 percent from 2007 to 2012. According to Lenovo’s 2009-2010 CSR report, the most recent available, the company has been focusing on reduction of non-recyclable materials in its product lines across the board, making all its products, from enterprise to consumer categories, more recyclable and reducing the amount of energy its products and operations use. Instead of already adding to the great electronic dump in a landfill, the company strives to initiate customers to recycle the products. They have been successful in the US and most successful in markets in Europe the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

The company has faced other environmental challenges, despite attaining Gold certifications from UL and EPEAT on some of its products. Lenovo’s position on the Green Peace guide to greener electronicsfell from top spot in the mid-2000s to fourteenth in 2010.

Green Peace also commented on the company’s overall environmental performance and results saying: – “[Lenovo] remains encumbered by a penalty point imposed for backtracking on its commitment to eliminate PVC vinyl plastic and brominates flame retardants (BFRs) in all its products by the end of 2009.” The company apparently made significant progress on three energy criteria and it now supports the need for reducing global emissions of greenhouse gases, which are to peak by 2015, with a 30 percent reduction in emissions from industrialised countries by 2020 and a 50 percent reduction by 2050, relative to 1990. Lenovo has its own targets for reducing GHG emissions, aiming to eliminate or offset its scope 1 emissions by 100 percent by April of this year and attain absolute reductions in scope 2 emissions. Their progressive targets are up to 20% by April 2020, relative to 2008-09/. The company also says that the percentage of its products that meet the latest Energy Star standards has gone up.

It is being speculated whether the company’s meeting the environmental standards would ultimately influence the mind of the buyers in favour of the company.

Are Tablets Eating Up The Laptop Market?

2011-04-15T03:30:00.000-07:00

Research has shown that a lot of consumers are torn between a laptop and a tablet when they are opting for new computers. It is known that the rapid rise in the sales of tablets is already threatening the sales of laptops. This popularity is quite a surprise given that the current generation of tablets only made their market debut last summer with the Apple iPad. Though this launch did generate interest among buyers, vendors were not really worried about the grave effect it would have on laptop sales. But by the holiday season, more and more people began opting for tablets and the Apple iPad and Android based tablets from others gained popularity. Dell had also launched a tablet during the holiday season but did not become a big hit with consumers, given to its Android OS that’s best-suited smartphones. Most vendors were still selling Windows or were unable to launch Android devices, thereby leaving all of the year 2010 for Apple to gain maximum popularity in the market.

Android has revealed that it will soon come out with a Honeycomb version and rumours say that Palm’s new TouchPad, too, is all set to hit markets. It can be safely guessed that consumers will naturally opt for tablets when buying laptops and tablet sales will reach an all time high by the fourth quarter. The high amount of demand is sure to have an effect on the sale of laptops in the near future. But the main anxiety is over how much the sale of these tablets will affect the laptop sales and whether there is anything vendors can do to prevent the usurping of the popularity laptops enjoy.

n the present market, most market research agencies have predicted that one hundred and eighty million tablets will be sold all over the world in the year 2014 and that there will be around two hundred and twenty million laptops being sold worldwide. Therefore, one would imagine that a person will be able to own both a tablet and a laptop but that is hardly a realistic or a logistic assumption. Even if something like that happens, one can predict from these early estimates that people will mostly use tablets as their primary laptop. The main problem that PC manufacturers worldwide are facing now is that the knowledge of the tablets’ popularity has become widespread and known to all. A lot of analysts happen to believe that tablet sales can eat up as much fifty per cent of the market that laptops enjoy under PC vendors, by as early as the year 2014. But it has been found after talking to PC vendors today that they however believe that laptop sales will only be able to reduce laptop sales figures by a maximum of ten to twelve per cent, through the next three years. But it cannot be gathered how realistic such beliefs are.

Travels with Laptop Charlie #4 – Laptops and Hostels

2011-04-15T03:29:00.000-07:00

I’ve stayed in hundreds of hostels and I’ve worked in a couple and I even used to manage a few of them. In all of that, I’ve seen a few things and over the years, I’ve seen some big changes that those who don’t travel as frequently as I do may not have noticed. First of all, let’s talk about security in hostels. It’s laughable. I worked at a hostel where the cleaners were nightly taking the back panel off the security lockers and taking a little money from every one of them. This went on for months until finally, one night I caught them at it. Needless to say they were fired, but who knows how much money they had taken from travelers. What does that have to do with a laptop?

Let’s say you are going out for the day and you want to leave your bag with the desk or in the luggage room. Do you know who has access to that room? Do you know that the person behind the desk is honest? Do you know that when you come back your stuff hasn’t been gone through? Nope.

In fact, a hostel I stayed at in Scotland had five laptops stolen during the time I was there. They were all stolen from the left luggage room. Someone went in, rifled the bags, took the laptops, and left. The girl at the desk was busy doing the laundry and never saw anyone go in or out. Laptop Charlie was on my back checking out a highland heather walk. The extra weight in the bag is good for me anyway.

I’ve noticed something sad about laptops and hostels though. It used to be that common rooms where strangers became friends, where new comrades drank together, and where people from different countries shared traditions and culture. Not so much anymore. The last few years I’ve seen hostel common rooms turn into areas where everyone is alone in reality and virtually talking with friends on Skype, catching up on Facebook, sending emails, or just surfing the net on their laptop.

A few nights ago I sat right next to an Argentine man on one side and a Chilean guy on the other. None of us said a word to each other until I pulled out a bottle of wine and offered them both to share it with me. I had to offer twice. After that we had a wonderful time talking about cultures, politics, Hugo Chavez, math, art, and of course women. We became friends, just the way it used to happen and after a little bit, they both closed their computers. Yes, in this case, I was that annoying guy who interrupted their computer time. One was on Facebook and the other was reading the news, I peeked before interrupting them. I don’t like to interrupt writing or blogging.

Something that does drive me crazy is hostels and hotels that charge you to use their wifi. If I go to the trouble to bring Laptop Charlie with me, isn’t it just common decency for them to let me use my computer for free?

Vago Damitio travels and writes about it while pretending to do something his wife finds more respectable. More of his adventures and travel tips can be found at http://www.vagobond.com

MacBook Air The Template For Future Notebooks

2011-04-15T03:27:00.000-07:00

NVidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang has said that in a few years from now almost any notebook shall resemble the present MacBook Air. The latest MacBook Air seems to have become a template for other companies launching their future improved versions of notebooks. Most users of the Air had the same complain that Apple products have a very poor battery life as compared to its competing counterparts and now that has been corrected. Additionally, features like the thinner and lighter model with SSD would be a common feature in all future notebooks.

You’ll have trouble finding one that doesn’t look like the MacBook Air,” said Huang. “I think the MacBook Air is a good mental image of what a clamshell laptop will look like”. “They’ll be thin because you won’t need any heat pipes, the fan, and extra batteries to lug around,” according to Huang. NVidia graphics chips have been used in the MacBook Air and are an integral part of it. NVidia’s GeForce 320M graphics processor is the only major logic chip to see a significant upgrade in the Air (Intel’s silicon changed very little from second to third-generation).

Huang’s “vision” has been based on ARM chips, which NVidia uses within it’s Tegra SoC, and believes that customers will “see” Windows running on ARM in 2014. However, even that misses the point. After the announcement that Apple had been developing Mac OS X for Intel processors for years before the public switched to Intel, who would be surprised to learn in 2014 that Apple had also been developing Mac OS X for ARM much before the public switch?

Speculation about what might happen in future is common and interests everyone. Even if one is wrong, it is at least fun to think about. Predicting something like the fact that laptops will get thinner and better in future is something extremely obvious. It is like stating something that people have known over the years and already know that this would happen.

Several rumours are in the air about the latest MacBook Pro, which supposedly shall resemble the MacBook Air. There are questions in the details, of course, such as “Will there still be a SuperDrive or will the Pro line come with a standard hard drive plus a solid-state drive?” But unlike Windows on ARM, you can expect to see the future from Apple in a month or less. Apple website already states “The next generation of MacBooks” implying that the future notebooks might indeed resemble the MacBook Air. Peter Cohen states “other MacBooks seem almost SteamPunk-ish retro with their quaint hard drives” after having used the latest MacBook Air.

It is also being expected that Apple will soon announce that the SuperDrive, which has previously been limited to the Mac mini and the Air (a restriction which has always seemed arbitrary and pointless) is now available for any new Mac, but the MacBook Pros will no longer ship with an optical drive.

All of which is to say that laptop design isn’t going to change, it has changed already. Mac users are living in the future of PC users.

HP Mini 210-2001SA – Through The Looking Glass

2011-04-15T03:25:00.000-07:00

HP always finds a way to thrill netbook lovers. Through one way or the other, HP spreads a buzz in the air, which woos gadget aficionados towards it. This time HP has made an attempt to maintain the same history with HP Mini 210-2001sa.

HP, with this netbook, has targeted the crowd that lives busy lives. People who work on tough schedules or people who just cannot sit for long in the same place are the main market for this netbook. HP seems very proud with their innovation but is the product that good? Should you buy it? Read below for some of the pros and cons of the HP Mini 210-2001sa.

Attractive Features:

The striking quality of HP Mini 210-2001sa is its slim body. The netbook has a simple yet seductively slim body which makes it not only a pleasure to the eye but also easy to carry. The light weight of the netbook is an added advantage. It provides ultra mobility as one can carry it easily for a long time without getting tired.

The “chicklet” styled keyboard is another great characteristic of the netbook. The spacious and neatly manufactured keyboard is a treat to one’s fingers. Not only does it make typing comfortable, but it improves accuracy and speed of typing. It is one feature that HP has derived from its previous successful products.

Hp Mini 210-2001sa provides you with a greater experience of watching HD movies with its built-in HD video streaming hardware. This experience is intensified by the higher than usual resolution that this netbook provide. The 10.1” glossy and smooth display exhibits 1,366×768 pixel resolution, which is actually quite impressive for any netbook.

The price is definitely an attractive feature of the netbook. The starting price of the netbook is definitely a treat for anyone who is on a budget.

Unattractive Features:

To begin with, the first unattractive feature of the HP Mini 210-2001sa is the absence of a CD-Rom. IT is not only disappointing but also very annoying as you may see many users getting upset over this feature. Attaching your netbook to a network to use the CD Drive can actually be not that easy and so, one has to buy an external CD Drive in order to enjoy content from a CD.

The operating system in itself is a disappointment. The choice of Windows 7 starter for the operating system leaves you with very little features. Small yet significant features like themes and screen savers cannot be found in this OS. One has to pay as much as a quarter of the whole price of the netbook for an upgrade and that can be a turn off for many people.

The speakers of the netbook give you an average performance and so, one should not expect much.

Verdict:

Though there may be some unattractive features in this netbook, but if you see overall, this netbook serves its purpose for regular computing and ultra-mobility. So, HP is right after all!

Travels with Laptop Charlie #5 – Recharging and Dream List

2011-04-15T03:24:00.000-07:00

We’ve established certain facts. 1) I travel 2 ) My laptop is always with me 3) My laptop is named Charlie. Knowing those things means that we need to know a few other things as well.

What kind of plug or power supply do I use?
Do I carry an adapter?
Do I need a voltage regulator?
How long does my battery last?
Where do i recharge?

The sad sad truth my friends is that I haven’t treated Charlie very well. We started with a laptop battery that allowed for three hours. I failed to properly condition the battery. When the battery was fully charged, I left it in as the cord stayed plugged to the wall and finally, the result is about 45 minutes of battery time when fully charged and becoming less all the time. I carry no power converter but I do have a multi plug adapter I use so I can recharge or plugin in any place or country.

As to my wish list for my laptop? Oh friends, it’s not a huge list, not an impossible list, not even a great list. It’s a simple list.

I want a nine hour battery to replace the one that I have which is dying.

I want a solar charger that rolls up and weighs less than my power supply cord. At less than £100 I should be able to get one soon. I want one that is Extremely Portable, ultra lightweight, charges cell phones, MP3 players, GPS, laptops, and batteries via USB, and is strong and rugged enough to withstand my lifestyle. Weather resistance is important. I want a high weight to power ratio and something that isn’t going to fall apart and break in the Himalayas.

I want a set of powerful, light, compact, folding speakers, possibly like the JLAB USB flexible laptop speaker. I just want to make sure that it delivers enough sound and I don’t need to carry batteries. I would be nice if I could charge it with the solar panels.

Finally, I want a very small, light, but powerful projector so I can watch my favorite downloaded films and tv shows projected on my hotel wall or curtains. Something like 3M MPro120 Pocket Projector. At less than two hundred quid, that’s in my budget soon, hopefully.

Now, where do I recharge on the road? Everywhere. Gas stations, coffee shops, hotel rooms, hotel lobbies (I unplug the lamps sometimes), supermarkets, friends houses, construction sites…anywhere I find a plug. If it has the right holes, I’ll stick it in. Somehow that sounds like something my wife will slap me for saying though.

Sony Vaio VPCEB3J0E/WI – A Pocket-Friendly Treat for Vaio Dreamers!

2011-04-15T03:17:00.000-07:00

Sony Vaio has its own way of wooing technology fanatics. It always finds some way to become the talk of the town. With its VPCEB3J0E/WI, it seems that Sony has done it again!

Surprisingly, Sony is offering this laptop at a price which is incredibly low for the brand. It is because of such an evident difference in price that people are now getting attracted towards this innovation. Now, as Sony has succeeded in gaining attention from all over the world, let’s take a thorough look at the features of this laptop.

Unlike the other inexpensive Vaio laptops available, this laptop has the processor of Intel. Where all the other Sony low cost notebooks have an AMD processor, VPCEB3J0E shines out as the provider of the ultimate experience of dual-core-Intel Core i3-370M with a commendable processing speed of 2.40GHz. If this was not enough to surprise its loyal customers, Sony went one step ahead and gave a boosting 4GB RAM to its support which comes with the Windows 7 Home Premium edition and that too is 64-bit. This is undoubtedly quite an interesting combination of features at this price and so, definitely will be one of the prominent reasons for the attraction of people towards this Vaio product.

Now, coming over the appearance of the laptop, Sony has definitely not disappointed its loyal fans like always. The Vaio VPCEB3J0E/WI is a true beauty in every sense of the word. With alluring colors of silver or white, this model of Sony surely has the ability to cast a spell on any technology fanatic. The neatly cut and well-set isolated keys on the keyboard make it wonder to work with. It is surely a keyboard you won’t get tired of using: the wide spaces among the keys make it easy for you to type in as much as you want without getting tired or making mistakes. The touchpad, moreover, is no exception. With the highly receptive and well-settled surface, browsing becomes easier and quicker. So, it makes it definitely a treat for workaholics.

The glossy coating of the display does great magic with the LED backlight as with this combination you get to experience vibrant and bright colors with exceptional results. Though, definitely, the expensive Sony Vaio has greater resolution and results, but it is all about the cost.

All in all, Sony Vaio in fact is pacing towards the growth in its market as with such low cost yet commendable laptops, people who used to dream about buying a Sony Vaio can surely see their dreams coming true. So, what is our verdict? Surely, if you have a small to average budget, this laptop will be a good buy for you. As for the people with bigger pockets, Sony has a lot more in store for you.

The Biggest Laptop In The World

2011-04-15T03:15:00.000-07:00

Fujitsu Siemens turned things around with the biggest laptop in the world presented at this year’s CeBIT show in Hannover, Germany. A laptop can only be called a laptop if it fits on my lap. If, instead, the whole of my body can fit on its keyboard, and the screen is big enough to kill me if it suddenly drops, it is not a laptop anymore- how about a cracktop?