Laptop Reviews - Cheap Computer and Laptop

How you can increase your ROI with Acer Laptop

2008-06-20T05:19:00.000-07:00

Out of the box it has been an excellent value. I have not experienced any trouble at all...I am a REALTOR and use a tremendous amount of resource hungry applications. After a little lag I maxed the ram and wow what a difference. I give this laptop solid 5's after 30 or more days of use."

Whether you use it for business, entertainment, home computing, or school – this Acer Aspire Laptop will outperform any laptop in its price range. In fact, it has absolutely NO competition. You cannot get a brand new dual-core notebook PC for under $500 that has so many spectacular features. A brilliant 15.4-inch WXGA (1280 x 800) LCD display with Acer’s exclusive CrystalBrite technology. A fast, powerful 1.73GHz dual core processor. A double-layer Super-Multi DVD burner. A big 120GB hard drive. Built in 802.11 b/g wireless. And a total of 2GB of masterful DDR2 memory (the second gig for free!).

Lenovo ThinkPad 310 E (31040UK) PC Notebook More Powerful

2008-06-18T02:40:00.000-07:00

IBM ThinkPad 310 series represent an affordable solution for mobile lifestyle. It is highly innovative and affords great productivity together with superior manageability having below features, explore Lenovo ThinkPad 310 E (31040UK) PC Notebook and see fantastic features.

Key Features

Processor Pentium MMX 133 MHz
Installed Memory 16 MB (EDO RAM)
Display 12.1 in. DSTN Passive Matrix
Operating System Microsoft Windows 95

Processor

Processor Manufacturer Intel
Processor Type Pentium MMX
Processor Speed 133 MHz

Motherboard

Bus Speed 66 MHz

Memory Installed RAM 16 MB
RAM Technology EDO RAM
Max Supported RAM 64 MB
Installed Cache Memory 256 KB

Hard Drive

Storage Controller Type IDE

Other Drives

Floppy Drive 3.5" 1.44 MB floppy

Display

Display Tech DSTN Passive Matrix
Display Size 12.1 in.
Display Color Support 8-bit (256 colors)
Display Max. Resolution 800 x 600

Video

Installed Video Memory 1 MB
External Video Resolution 1024 x 768

Audio

Audio Output Type Speaker(s)

Operating System

Platform PC
Technical Features

Input Method Keyboard • Trackpoint

Battery

Battery Run Time 3 Hours
Battery Technology Nickel Metal Hydride

Dimensions

Width 29.8 cm
Depth 22.7 cm
Height 5 cm
Weight 3 kg

Warranty

Warranty 1 Year

Long Review for HP Business Notebook 6710b

2008-06-17T04:35:00.000-07:00

Compaq 6710b is based on a platform Santa Rosa. So there is new chipset used and with that slightly inovated processors Core2 Duo. This model has got chipset Intel GM965 and processor Core2 Duo T7500.

Processor supports technology SpeedStep which can smoothly decrease power for the processor for better battery time.

There are some features, have a look on the performance numbers of this laptop:

Key Features - Hewlett Packard Business Notebook 6710b

Display

15.4 in.

rocessor Manufacturer	Intel
Processor Type	Core 2 Duo

Hard Drive Rotation Speed

5,400 RPM

Display Size

15.4 in.

Secret of Fujitsu Siemens PC Laptops

2008-06-09T21:55:00.000-07:00

Key Features - Fujitsu Siemens Amilo® Pro V3525 PC Laptops

Processor Core Duo 1.86 GHz
Installed Memory 512 MB (DDR2 SDRAM)
Display 15.4 in. WXGA TFT Active Matrix
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Mobile Technology Intel Centrino Duo Mobile Technology

Processor

Processor Manufacturer Intel
Processor Type Core Duo
Processor Speed 1.86 GHz

Motherboard

Chipset Intel 945GM Express
Bus Speed 533 MHz

Memory
Installed RAM 512 MB
RAM Technology DDR2 SDRAM
Max Supported RAM 4 GB
RAM Speed 533 MHz
Installed Cache Memory 2048 KB

Hard Drive

Hard Drive Rotation Speed 5,400 RPM
Storage Controller Type Serial ATA
CD / DVD

CD / DVD Type Dual Layer DVD±RW/DVD-RAM
Display

Display Tech WXGA TFT Active Matrix
Display Size 15.4 in.
Display Max. Resolution 1280 x 800

Video

Graphic Processor Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 950
Audio

Audio Output Type Headphones • Sound card • Speaker(s) • Line Out
Audio Input Type Line In (3.5mm) • Microphone

Operating System

Platform PC
Technical Features

Expandability 1 x Type I/II PC Card Slot, 1 x SD Card Slot, 1 x Memory Stick Card Slot, 1 x MMC Card Slot
Expansion Ports 4 x USB 2.0, VGA out, RJ-11 (modem), RJ-45 (NIC), S-Video out
Security Features HDD Password, Slot For Cable Lock, Administrator Password, System Password
Special Features 3-in-1 Card Reader
Input Method Keyboard • Touchpad

Networking

Networking Type Bluetooth • Integrated 10/100/1000 Network Card • Integrated Wireless LAN
Data Link Protocol Bluetooth • Ethernet • Fast Ethernet • Gigabit Ethernet • IEEE 802.11a • IEEE 802.11b • IEEE 802.11g • IEEE 802.11n

Modem
Modem Type Fax / Modem
Analog Modulation Protocol ITU V.92

Battery

Battery Run Time 4 Hours
Battery Technology Lithium ion

Dimensions

Width 35.5 cm
Depth 25.5 cm
Height 3.4 cm
Weight 2.8 kg

this is another great laptop form the amilo range by fujitsu siemens brand.
this amilo pro edition is cheap and portable and is possible the best looking laptop from the amilo range.
this amilo has a 15.4" TFT active matrix screen making the image resolution great for watching movies, playing games, viewing pictures and even just websurfing.
its weight drops just below the 3kg mark which seems to be the averge for laptops these days.

what makes this piece of equiptment so fast is its built in 1gb of ram which can even be upgraded to 4gb for demanding users and its Intel Core Duo T2350 processor is one of the best on the markets today.

this laptop has a great 160gb of storage which will proably be enough for anyones needs however if its not you could easily connect a external hard drive to any one of its 4 high speed usb ports. or its 3 in one card reader.

its 4 hours of battery life is great an is proably one of the best times you can get out of a laptop these days.

so if your looking for somthing new to replace that old desktop and want somthing quite cheap but with a good spec then this is the one for you.

Dell Inspiron 6400 Reviews

2008-06-06T05:14:00.000-07:00

Features - Dell Inspiron 6400

Product MPN - MPN N04647b

Key Features - Display 15.4 in.

Processor - Processor Manufacturer Intel

Memory - RAM Technology DDR2 SDRAM

RAM Speed - 533 MHz

Hard Drive - Hard Drive Rotation Speed 5,400 RPM

Display - Display Size 15.4 in.

Operating System - Platform PC

Networking - Networking Type Integrated 10/100 Network Card

Very fast. Good looking. Media buttons on the side. 6 hour battery when playing games - burning cd's and doing the usual stuff. For the money its an absolutely brilliant deal. The screen is a decent size, it's got media buttons on the side which make life easy (believe it or not). The only update I'm going to do to it is put a better graphics card in it (I'm a gamer... otherwise well recommended!) & perhaps an internal bluetooth card. also.. comes with Wifi built in!

Cheap laptops- Avail them without budgetary constraints.

2008-06-02T05:13:00.000-07:00

The cheap laptops have almost all the high tech features which the users desire to have in their personal computers. These gadgets are very compact in size and come with amazing storage capacities.

With the aid of technology, people have been facilitating their various requirements without any hassles. The progress in technology seems to be a never ending process. Every other day a gadget is designed, while after some time an upgraded model of that widget gets launched. This upgradation cycle is offering the users ultimate gizmos to flaunt off their passion and enhance their lifestyle. The computers are the latest gift of technology. These gadgets have steadily cropped into every industrial sector to enhance the production process. As a matter of fact, nowadays the overall mechanism of almost all the organisations seem to be based on the computer networks. As such, to meet the increasing demands of the techno savvy people the top renowned companies have innovated laptops to facilitate the users in their works.

The laptops are available in various colours and designs. They have already gained wide popularity among the customers. The main unique selling point of this gadget is the portability feature. These cheap laptops can be carried anywhere to enhance your working style. These stylish and stunning widgets are empowered with various other features to delight the users. Moreover, the picture and the sound quality of these gadgets are superb and permit the users to enjoy their favorite music tracks and movies anywhere and anytime.

The cheap laptops come with massive storage capacity. The storage capacity may vary among various systems. However it may vary from 80 GB to 160 GB. With this mammoth storage capacity the users can enjoy the liberty of storing tons of multimedia contents and other files without any hindrance.

These cheap laptops have the capability to perform various functions at ease. They are also known as laptops due to their compact size. Moreover, they are enhanced with LCD screen which has the potential to display the images with perfect clarity and astounding colours. The various user friendly features, ergonomic keypads and the touch pad etc further enhance the look of this gadget. The users can also connect an external mouse and keyboard to facilitate their work process. Various top leading companies such as Sony, Toshiba, Acer, Lenovo and Compaq etc have designed laptops with high tech features to capture the huge chunk of market share steadily. however, the users should clearly prioritise their requirements before purchasing any gadget to get the best value for their hard earned money.

Toshiba laptops - High end notebooks

2008-05-29T05:49:00.000-07:00

The Toshiba laptops are very efficient and are bundled with a whole lot of advanced and high tech features. These notebooks are specially crafted to perform numerous tasks with ease.

People always keep on searching computers which are loaded with various sophisticated software packages. With the invention of these amazing gadgets, one can steadily perform various works within few minutes. People these days are in fact replacing the manual labourers in various industries and firms. With these widgets the users can comfortably avail all the entertainment features like listening to favorite music and watching any video clips anytime and anywhere without any hassles. But as they are very bulky in size the Laptops have been crafted to solve all the concerns of the users.

Various models of Laptops are available in the markets these days which makes it difficult for one to decide his or her favourite gadget. In fact, the wide range of options available these days are more than sufficient to drive anyone crazy by displaying tempting statistics to influence the purchasing behaviour of a layman. However, the Toshiba laptops have readily gained momentum among the users due to their various high end features. They have actually established themselves and gained supreme position in the market. Toshiba is one of the popular brands which earned appreciation because of delivering cutting edge & scintillating notebooks that come bundled with high tech technologies.

Toshiba laptops can prove to be an ideal choice for any fashion conscious or an amateur person. Toshiba is a Japanese electronics company which has been giving quality services to the customers since 1875 and offers various stylish high end notebooks to the consumers. One can avail a model of Toshiba laptop at an affordable price from the wide range of available models. For average computer users the Satellite A60 notebooks can be a great option. The users can enjoy lots of options such as emailing, e-book reading etc at minimal rates. Then there are Satellite MX30 gadgets which would permit you to access wireless networks without any hassles. Moreover, these laptops come with Centrio processor which amazingly consumes less energy.

Among the wide variety of Toshiba laptops, one can also find Satellite A70 and P30 notebooks. These gadgets are very efficient and trendy. With these, the users can have pleasurable experience while working on heavy applications like video games and graphics design programmes etc. All the models are perfectly designed to be very user friendly and would permit you to perform your work with a carefree attitude. However, one should clearly understand his criteria before purchasing any model of laptop.

What "better" about Macs and Pcs Laptops

2008-05-23T02:01:00.000-07:00

What "better" about Macs? Why are they supposed to be better than PCs? I personally like PCs so much better. I've tried using Macs, but they are so confusing, IMO. What do Macs have that Windows doesn't? I think the whole thing about Macs being more secure and all that is a bunch of BS. PCs can run just as secure. PC illeterates just don't know how to get adequate protection. Windows has so many more features, IMO. They are just as good, if not BETTER than Macs. What do you guys think? Please let me know.

Mac Laptop have better designed outlook. OS X is much secure than PC Laptop if you are using XP. But it is about the same security level to Linux.

The risk of using OS X is about the same to XP in term of security hole. It is not opened source code, totally rely on Apple testing(same thing with XP). Since not too much fanboy really know OS X well, currently it is secure. But who knows what will happen later on.

I think OS X installation is as friendly as XP, but Linux does not especially driver.

Macs are secure just because they were using PowerPC arch, and nobody really like to hack it with such small user base. Now, Mac shifts their platform to Intel, hackers will get much interest on it.

Printers: The highly useful devices for every one

2008-05-21T04:46:00.000-07:00

Dell is becoming a major supplier of printers in its own right and to offer a compact colour laser for a little over £220 puts it in direct competition with names like Canon Printer, HP Printer, Lexmark Printer and Xerox Printer. It's not just the initial price of the printers, though, that determines the overall cost of ownership.

The 1320c is a big, black and silver cube, though not as big as some of its competitors, with angular, functional styling. While the control panel set into the printer's curved, front edge has no LCD display, it does have six indicator LEDs, which show where on the printer there’s a problem, should any occur.

With a range of connection options and a simple design, producing 6x4 photos from Sony's DPP-FP90 dye-sublimation printer is an easy task.

Compact Flash, SD and Memory Stick Pro slots enable you to plug in your cameraís storage format directly, while Pictbridge support allows you to print from your digicam. You can also attach a USB storage device or even your PC.

Digital Camera Vs Webcam

2008-05-17T03:27:00.000-07:00

Having gotten used to using my digital camera as a webcam I didn't really know what to think of the Logitech Quickcam Messenger when my mum got it for my birthday. Using my own digital camera as a webcam is awkward, it turns off every few minutes and I had to make my own cradle out of lego to support it. But then again, the resolution, brightness/contrast and focus is brilliant. Could the Quickcam, specially made for the job, do any better?

The answer is a mixture of yes and no. Some information not included in the description:
Video resolution: 640 x 480 (VGA)
FPS: 30
Integrated Mic: Yes

The webcam sits in a simple yet functional and well designed base which allows it to point anywhere you want, with a non-slip bottom. Sometimes the weight of the lead can cause it to move, this is mainly because the lead itself is a tad too short. Because of this I now plug the webcam into the back of the PC, rather than using the front USB ports which are more easily accessible.

As for installation, you plug it in, install a simple driver, and then, if you so wish, never use the programs that it comes with as for most use they are not needed. MSN and Yahoo communicate with it directly using the driver so you don't need any other programs running. The programs allow you to record and take images from the webcam, pretty standard stuff but it does it well.

Do you need a webcam? price comparison website is one of the best resource to find latest and cheap products.

One Laptop Per Child to offer Windows machines from next month

2008-05-16T05:54:00.000-07:00

The One Laptop per Child project will now load Windows onto its cheap XO machines, as an alternative to Linux.

The aim of the non-profit project is deliver £50 laptops to poor countries.

Trials of Windows machines in key emerging markets will begin as early as next month.

The intention is to create a version of the XO laptop that provides the ability to host both Windows and Linux operating systems, giving users the ability to run either.

"From the beginning, the goal of OLPC has been to use technology to transform education by bringing connectivity and constructionist learning to the poorest children throughout the world," said Nicholas Negroponte, founder and chairman of OLPC.

"Today's announcement, coupled with future plans for a dual boot version of the XO laptop, enhances our ability to deliver on this vision. In addition, OLPC will work with third parties to port its user interface, called Sugar, to Windows."

Toshiba Dynabook Notebook PC

2008-03-17T02:35:00.000-07:00

128GB of SSD and 1X CDMA for the Toshiba dynabook SS RX1

Even if the SS RX1 is not really new, this notebook is style an impressive device, and today Toshiba decided to boost things a little bit more by adding both a 128GB SSD and a WIN 1x CDMA module from AU by KDDI.
Now unfortunately you won’t be able to get BOTH the SSD and the CDMA card on the very same device, you will have to choose and get a crappy 80GB HDD if you want the CDMA Card… Pretty lame but well, that the price to pay apparently…
Oh and by that I literally mean it, expect for this U7600 Core 2 DUO powered device a price ranging from 2470€ up to 3846€, depending of your customizations… Well I will pass on this one…

Resource :- Akihabaranews

Intel Shelton 08 Laptop - Launches in Q3 2008

2008-01-24T03:23:00.001-08:00

"Intel has recently released details of its Shelton'08-based low-cost notebook platform (Basic Platform) to partners and has set the launch schedule for the third quarter this year, according to sources at PC makers.

The platform adopts Intel's single-core Diamondville CPU with a core frequency of 1.6GHz, 533MHz FSB and power consumption of 3.5W. The platform's total power consumption is around 8W, translating to battery usage time of between 3-4 hours.

The platform also consist of a 945GSE chipset, which includes built-in DirectX 9 graphics and supports single channel DDR2 memory. A 802.11g Wi-Fi module, USB/PATA port SSD (solid state drive), and a 7- or 8-inch panel will typically round out the platform, noted the sources."

"At initial launch, the notebooks will be priced between NT$10,000-16,000 (US$300-500) depending on finial hardware specifications and design. Intel is planning to launch a dual-core version Diamondville CPU in the second or third quarter next year, the sources added.

Currently, Micro-Star International (MSI) and Gigabyte Technology have already started product development, while Dell, Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Acer are expected to follow at a later time, noted the sources."

ASUS M51 Laptop

2008-01-15T01:55:00.000-08:00

Probably designers ignored the inconvenience of external speakers, or enjoy hearing the demand is not enough emphasis, when Vista has been raised to the visual benefits of a well-off standard DirectX 10, the overall notebook users also supply poor hearing. However, Asustek latest audio-visual entertainment models M51, will allow you to regret a part of history.

Style appearance, accompanied by a warm moment

Listening to music, watching movies must have a tranquil atmosphere; a mood of Enron can get the best results. M51 shell based on the top, "Choi Yang Jing drilling" concept design, low-key color in the body of a looming smoke-like three-dimensional effect, keyboard-controlled zone on the scattered elements of the original, using simple diachronic integrated design, allowing users in operation can make better use of intuition, but also the visual interference to a minimum.>

Their sit-in next night at home as a trance between the desks yellow light, tasting a cup of hot wind around the Qing-Cha receive the same, and a warm sense of belonging, spiritual Chengcheng, he was moved from Chung.

"Flex tianshic" audio strengths being

In order to reverse notebook computer "light-colored hearing" to the general style, M51 in the software and hardware aspects of the two make an effort: Azalia hardware is equipped with full-duplex audio chip or 3-D audio chipset, which supports full-duplex audio and 3-D stereo sound, regardless of performance, in the bass or surround sound, all the highlights, fuselage keyboard layout side of the area of high-quality stereo speakers, the unique shape under contains a powerful effect on the jazz, blues or villages , rock and other styles of music, will perform head.

CD-controlled manner is also a more convenient form of innovation: the faster the music to the ultimate integration of control functions, the two click buttons given a new task, with the touch between users, we can complete the music orders.

Operational sensitive, multi-pronged approach to help

Busy modern life, in front of a computer dedicated to listen to music, watch MTV has become a luxury, and many of my friends are in the player, Web pages, documents, the repeated switching between MSN processes, a music appreciation. If this time is not enough to use a machine configuration, it continued to endure the "Jiba concert," does not sound image synchronization, and procedures from time to time and do not respond to the Dead. As a major "audio-visual entertainment," the direction of professional models, Asustek M51 upgrade in computing power and reduced CPU load gain a thorough knowledge of both. ATI Mobility Radeon HD2400 Preliminary listing of the M51Sr, together with two pairs of Intel Duo processor, in the smooth playback high-quality music at the same time multi-task switching; independent memory of 128 MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD2400 independent chip not only bring the audio-visual fidelity enjoy in the running game also has strong support of other M51 equipped with a maximum of 250 GB of massive hard drives, so you can enjoy looking at classic works, rather than constant pain choice.

Exclusive network programs, and enjoy programmes

Along with the development of networks, many network channels have wonderful music, if miss this massive resources, as a music fan not pity? Do not worry, M51 have all been well considered, it is based on the new Centrino fourth generation computing platform, with a faster wireless network connectivity solutions Net 4 Switch, can be automatically recorded network settings, in different network environment free conversion, automatically selecting the most excellent network linking automatically detect network faults reasons, and gives solutions that enable your musical journey flies colorful, Tongkuailinli. In addition M51Sr also equipped with a fingerprint recognition system, the protection of information security; intimate equipped with a 1.3 megapixel camera, with Asustek exclusive landing Face Recognition software, while interesting Beijiao reassuring.

Extended the maximum, the same computer entertainment is a matter of the quarter. M51Sr built-Express Card slot, 8-in-1 card reader, IEEE1394 high-speed transmission interface, external VGA display interface, TV-OUT interface, and so on, to further expand your entertainment sites.

With the advent of festival, there will be many artists have issued new album, but also a wide variety of New Year concert started organizing, Asustek is Shengfengjishi M51, a listing will be a broad arena. It is understood that Asustek also for the purchase of this equipment for the optical mouse users, the original notebook package, a series of LCD Cashibu huge gift, to a friend in the New Year can Baerduojiaocheng the timely shots

Resource :- asus.com

Great Laptops by Big Brands

2008-01-08T23:55:00.000-08:00

Sony Vaio SZ Laptop

There’s not much to say about the Sony Vaio SZ pc’s right now accept that it’s now available in 5 different colors for the top so you can now choose 8 different body colors for you laptop. It’s not all that significant, but it sure is cool to personalize you laptop.

Like most SONY notebook nowadays you will have to choose between different configuration, CPU, HDD, RAM, HDD... But now you will be ALSO be able to choose between 5 different colors for the top of your laptop, which gives you now the possibility to choose up to 8 different bodies for your notebook... Well there is nothing amazing in these new PC but it is nice to be to able personalize your Vaio somehow .

Resource : http://www.akihabaranews.com
Note :- Get all information about Sony laptops

Fujitsu P8000 Series

This smooth-looking laptop has a black diamond finish. It has a thinner lid with LED back lighting and an embedded web cam and a 12″ screen. The P8000 gives yo u 6.5 hours of battery life working on Vista. The Fujitsu LifeBook P8010 will be available early February for $1,700. Fujitsu's new LifeBook P8000 series looks divine in that high-gloss "diamond black" finish. It sports a thinner lid with LED backlighting and features an embedded webcam and boasts of a 12" screen rather than the 10.4" of its predecessor. A bit anorexic at less than 3 lbs, it includes both (1.8") hard drive and optical drive. According to the company, LifeBook P8000 gets 6.5 hours of battery life running Vista.

Resource : http://www.newlaunches.com and http://www.laptopfly.com
Note : For configuration, brands and price visit at Fujitsu Laptops

HP, Lenovo Latest Laptops

2008-01-06T20:38:00.000-08:00

Lenovo Y710 Laptop

Here’s another laptop by Lenovo known as the Y710. It comes with standard specs such as: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.5Ghz, 6MB cache, 17 » display (1440×900), ATI Radeon HD2600 256MB, Optional HD optical disk, 500GB HDD (2 drives), 2GB RAM, 4 hrs of battery life, and has a starting place of $1199.

HP Pavilion tx2000 Tablet PC

HP is going to be showcasing the TX2000 tablet pc at the CES as well. It comes wirh the outfit’s QuickPlay software, a webcam ,an integrated microphone, Pavilion HDX, a 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTS graphics set, an optional Core 2 Extreme processor, Blu-ray / HD DVD support and a 20.1-inch WUXGA (1,920 x 1,200) XHD Ultra Brightview display along with four Altec Lansing speakers and a built-in “subwoofer,” an eSATA port, hybrid analog / digital TV tuner, room for two HDDs and a media remote. HP wants about $1299 for this tablet. Not a bad buy.

Lenovo IdeaPad U110

Lenovo’ s newest IdeaPad called the U110 has just dropped and should be in stores soon. Although there’s no detailed specs, here are some that have been talked about: 11” display, 2.3lb , 0.7” deep, and SSD will be selectable by buyers. Lenovo wont released this laptop until April 2008. Just a couple more months to go!

Resource : http://www.laptopfly.com/
For other models and price of laptops click on HP Laptops and Lenovo Laptops

LG eXPRESs S900 Laptop

2008-01-01T21:38:00.001-08:00

LG has just created a laptop that also combines desktop parts within. The eXPRESs S900 as it’s called, features a 3.5-inch hard drive, in either a capacity of 250GB and 320GB, Intel Core 2 Duo processor, Windows Vista, 2GB DDR2 (667MHz) RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT graphics, DVD Super Multi Drive, 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, DVB-T, 1.3 megapixel camera, and a multi-card reader. There’s no set release date yet, but the retail price will be between $1300 and $1750.

Resource: - http://www.laptopfly.com

Note :- To get more info click on Cheap Laptops

Little laptop a hit in rural Peru

2007-12-27T22:21:00.000-08:00

ARAHUAY, Peru (AP) -- Doubts about whether poor, rural children really can benefit from quirky little computers evaporate as quickly as the morning dew in this hilltop Andean village, where 50 primary school children got machines from the One Laptop Per Child project six months ago.

A group of children have breakfast reading information on their laptops in Arahuay, Peru, on December 12.

These offspring of peasant families whose monthly earnings rarely exceed the cost of one of the $188 laptops -- people who can ill afford pencil and paper much less books -- can't get enough of their "XO" laptops.

At breakfast, they're already powering up the combination library/videocam/audio recorder/music maker/drawing kits. At night, they're dozing off in front of them -- if they've managed to keep older siblings from waylaying the coveted machines.

"It's really the kind of conditions that we designed for," Walter Bender, president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology spinoff, said of this agrarian backwater up a precarious dirt road.

Founded in 2005 by former MIT Media Lab director Nicholas Negroponte, the One Laptop program has retreated from early boasts that developing-world governments would snap up millions of the pint-sized laptops at $100 each.

In a backhanded tribute, One Laptop now faces homegrown competitors everywhere from Brazil to India -- and a full-court press from Intel Corp.'s more power-hungry Classmate.

But no competitor approaches the XO in innovation. It is hard drive-free, runs on the Linux operating system and stretches wireless networks with "mesh" technology that lets each computer in a village relay data to the others.

Don't Miss

* Businesses have designs for the poor

Mass production began last month and Negroponte says he expects at least 1.5 million machines to be sold by next November. Even that would be far less than Negroponte originally envisioned. The higher-than-initially-advertised price and a lack of the Windows operating system, still being tested for the XO, have dissuaded many potential government buyers.

Peru made the single biggest order to date -- more than 272,000 machines -- in its quest to turn around a primary education system that the World Economic Forum recently ranked last among 131 countries surveyed. Uruguay was the No. 2 buyers of the laptops, inking a contract for 100,000.

Negroponte said 150,000 more laptops will get shipped to countries including Rwanda, Mongolia, Haiti, and Afghanistan in early 2008 through "Give One, Get One," a U.S.-based promotion ending December 31 in which you buy a pair of laptops for $399 and donate one or both.

The children of Arahuay prove One Laptop's transformative conceit: that you can revolutionize education and democratize the Internet by giving a simple, durable, power-stingy but feature-packed laptop to the worlds' poorest kids.

"Some tell me that they don't want to be like their parents, working in the fields," first-grade teacher Erica Velasco says of her pupils. She had just sent them to the Internet to seek out photos of invertebrates -- animals without backbones.

Antony, 12, wants to become an accountant.

Alex, 7, aspires to be a lawyer.

Kevin, 9, wants to play trumpet.

Saida, 10, is already a promising videographer, judging from her artful recording of the town's recent Fiesta de la Virgen.

"What they work with most is the (built-in) camera. They love to record," says Maria Antonieta Mendoza, an Education Ministry psychologist studying the Arahuay pilot to devise strategies for the big rollout when the new school year begins in March.

Before the laptops, the only cameras the kids at Santiago Apostol school saw in this population-800 hamlet arrived with tourists who visit for festivals or to see local Inca ruins.

Arahuay's lone industry is agriculture. Surrounding fields yield avocados, mangoes, potatoes, corn, alfalfa and cherimoya.

Many adults share only weekends with their children, spending the work week in fields many hours' walk from town and relying on charities to help keep their families nourished.

When they finish school, young people tend to abandon the village.

Peru's head of educational technology, Oscar Becerra, is betting the One Laptop program can reverse this rural exodus to the squalor of Lima's shantytowns four hours away.

It's the best answer yet to "a global crisis of education" in which curricula have no relevance, he said. "If we make education pertinent, something the student enjoys, then it won't matter if the classroom's walls are straw or the students are sitting on fruit boxes."

Indeed, Arahuay's elementary school population rose by 10 when families learned the laptop pilot was coming, said Guillermo Lazo, the school's director.

The XOs that Peru is buying will be distributed to pupils in 9,000 elementary schools from the Pacific to the Amazon basin where a single teacher serves all grades, Becerra said.

Although Peru boasts thousands of rural satellite downlinks that provide Internet access, only about 4,000 of the schools getting XOs will be connected, said Becerra.

Negroponte says One Laptop is committed to helping Peru overcome that hurdle. Without Internet access, he believes, the program is incomplete.

Teachers will get 21/2 days of training on the laptops, Becerra said. Each machine will initially be loaded with about 100 copyright-free books. Where applicable, texts in native languages will be included, he added. The machines will also have a chat function that will let kids make faraway friends over the Internet.

Critics of the rollout have two key concerns.

The first is the ability of teachers -- poorly trained and equipped to begin with -- to cope with profoundly disruptive technology.

Eduardo Villanueva, a communications professor at Lima's Catholic University, fears "a general disruption of the educational system that will manifest itself in the students overwhelming the teachers."

To counter that fear, Becerra said the government is offering $150 grants to qualifying teachers toward the purchase of conventional laptops, for which it is also arranging low-interest loans.

The second big concern is maintenance.

For every 100 units it will distribute to students, Peru is buying one extra for parts. But there is no tech support program. Students and teachers will have to do it.

"What you want is for the kids to do the repairs," said Negroponte, who believes such tinkering is itself a valuable lesson. "I think the kids can repair 95 percent of the laptops."

Tech support is nevertheless a serious issue in many countries, Negroponte acknowledged in a phone interview.

One Laptop is currently bidding on a contract with Brazil's government that Negroponte says demanded unrealistically onerous support requirements.

The XO machines are water resistant, rugged and designed to last five years. They have no fan so they won't suck up dust, are built to withstand drops from a meter and a half and can absorb power spikes typical of places with irregular electricity.

Mendoza, the psychologist, is overjoyed that the program stipulates that kids get ownership of the laptops.

Take Kevin, the aspiring trumpet player.

Sitting in his dirt-floor kitchen as his mother cooks lunch, he draws a soccer field on his XO, then erases it. Kevin plays a song by "Caliente," his favorite combo, that he recorded off Arahuay's single TV channel. He shows a reporter photos he took of him with his 3-year-old brother.

A bare light bulb hangs by a wire from the ceiling. A hen bobs around the floor. There are no books in this two-room house. Kevin's parents didn't get past the sixth grade.

Indeed, the laptop project also has adults in its sights.

Parents in Arahuay are asking Mendoza, the visiting psychologist, what the Internet can do for them.

Among them is Charito Arrendondo, 39, who sheds brief tears of joy when a reporter asks what the laptop belonging to ruddy-cheeked Miluska -- the youngest of her six children -- has meant to her. Miluska's father, it turns out, abandoned the family when she was 1.

"We never imagined having a computer," said Arrendondo, a cook.

Is she afraid to use the laptop, as is typical of many Arahuay parents, about half of whom are illiterate?

"No, I like it. Sometimes when I'm alone and the kids are not around I turn it on and poke around."

Arrendondo likes to play checkers on the laptop.
"It's also got chess, which I sort of know," she said, pausing briefly.
"I'm going to learn."

Note :- To get all specifications and informations with price click on cheap laptops.

Resource : CNN News

Reviews on Sony Vaio VGN-NR11Z

2007-12-25T21:30:00.000-08:00

The Sony Vaio NR series is ideal for anyone who's broke but still wants a Sony. It's not particularly stylish, but the Vaio logo is enough to convince onlookers that you've spent a fortune on it. It offers solid performance, too, so it's perfect for students or as a second PC. With powerful specifications these laptops feature the Sony styling which has made Vaio laptops amongst the most desirable. Containing the latest Core Duo technology to provide impressive performance tailored for multimedia applications these laptops are cutting edge media centers.

Type
Platform	PC
Internal
CPU Type	Intel Core 2 Duo
CPU Speed	1.66 GHz
Internal Memory	2048 MB
Hard Drive Size	120.0 GB
Display
Screen Type	TFT
Screen Size	15.4 in
Screen Resolution	1280x800
Drives
Optical Drive	DVD-RW/CD-RW
Dual Layer	Yes
Audio
Sound Card	Integrated
Graphics
Graphics Card	Intel GMA 950
Graphic Card Memory Size	224MB
Connections
Wireless LAN	Yes
WLAN Standard	802.11g/b
Modem	Yes
Network Card	Yes
FireWire	Yes
VGA (D-sub)	1
USB Ports	2
Memory Card Reader	Yes
Control
Mouse Type	Touchpad
Software
Operating System	Windows Vista Home Premium
Extra Software	SonicStageCP 4.2, VAIO photo&video suite, WinDVD 8.0, Google Picasa, Easy Media Creator 9, Click to DVD 2.6, Adobe Reader 8.0, Microsoft Works 8.5, Microsoft Office Trial 2007, Norton Internet Security 2007, VAIO Recovery Utility 2.6 - HDD recovery, Skype, Google software package
Measures
Weight	2.95 kilos
Dimensions (HxWxD)	38.9x364.0x264.5 mm