Control your Apple Mac OS X Leopard Over The Internet

Working from home means that I have never really needed to have control of my home Apple Mac when traveling, but this has started to change of late with a few occasions happening that included the fact that I needed a file from home when I was away. This problem can now be solved with “Back To My Mac”, this software lets you control your Apple Mac OS X Leopard over the Internet, and this is ideal if you need anything from your main Mac. You just connect via .Mac; it will find your Apple Mac computer and then display it in the Leopard Finder.

Some people might feel this is a security risk, but Apple have said that the information will be for your eyes only, they said the software “uses advanced authentication and data encryption technologies to help prevent unauthorized access to your data and protect it”. Using Back to my Mac, you can browse your entire hard drive and simply drag and drop the file to your local Mac. If you want to control your remote Mac just like you are sitting next to it, then you can use the Screen Sharing feature and, move folders, launch applications, save and edit documents from anywhere in the world.

All you need to use Back to my Mac is two or more Mac OS X 10.5.1 Leopard-based Mac computers that are configured for use with the same .Mac account, and an AirPort Express, AirPort Extreme or third-party router. Be aware that the 3rd party router has to be compatible with UPnP or NAT-PMP.

Philips SPC1300NC

Webcams are one of those helpful products that just don't get much attention. Sure, a webcam is useful for video conferencing and chats (or for spying on your nanny) but if you've seen one webcam you've seen them all ... right? Philips is ready to shake things up with their latest high-resolution webcam that delivers video up to 90 frames per second! Let's take a closer look at how awesome a webcam can be.

The SPC1300NC Specifications

* 6 megapixels, 8x digital zoom
* Frame rate: Up to 90 frames per second
* Wide-angle glass lens
* Two built-in digital directional microphones
* Features: Face tracking, pixel plus, digital natural motion and motion detection, noise cancellation, and echo reduction
* Dimesions: 40 x 82 x 88 mm
* Weight: 3.88 ounces or 110 grams
* OS: Windows XP, Vista, and Vista Home; Pentium III 800MHz or faster
* Cable length: 2.1

Design and Aesthetics

The Phillips SPC1300NC webcam is mostly black with silver accents. The lens, microphones, and detailing is all done in silver. The power button on top glows a bright blue when the camera is on. The webcam is attached to Phillips' unique laptop clamp so that it swivels 360 degrees to capture the perfect angle.

The SPC1300 is USB powered but has more than two feet of cable so it can be set up anywhere around your laptop. The clamp also works as a stand so the webcam can be freestanding.

There is an installation CD with the SPC1300. It takes about five minutes to install the software and a restart of your computer. I didn't have any problem with the installation and once I restarted, the webcam worked perfectly

Acer Aspire 5920G Peripheral

Acer Aspire 5920G is only offered with a glossy Crystal Bright screen with WXGA resolution (1280*800). This may be a disappointment for people who want additional screen real estate. On the other hand, personally I find this resolution to be perfect for a 15 inch laptop since anything higher makes everything stressful to see. Lower resolution also means better GPU performance. Of course, glossy screen means annoying reflections. When turned off, Acer Aspire 5920G’s screen is a perfect mirror. Luckily, you won’t notice any reflections using the laptop indoors. As for the build quality, hardly any ripples appear when I press the back of the screen's lid, and the screen does not twist easily.

In general, the screen is really crisp and bright. In fact, the screen is so bright that everything actually looks a little washed out. Not a single dead pixel exists. Unfortunately, the viewing angle, especially from the top, is not very good. From side to side the screen looks passable. There is also quite a bit of light leakage from the bottom of the screen.

Acer Aspire 5920G Webcam and Built-in Microphone

Above the screen, the webcam seems to stand out. After all, it is also the latch. When the webcam turns on, a tiny green LED next to it will light up. At first, the webcam appears to be a total disappointment considering that it is only 0.3 megapixel. This means that 640*480 is the maximum resolution. While it is unlikely that most people will use this as a dedicated camera, Acer should at least use a 1.3 megapixel camera like its competitors. Aside from the disappointing resolution, the quality of the camera excels. Both the lighting and color appear true. Lastly, the built-in software lacks many advance functions. You can only take pictures and not video.

Two microphones are positioned on the right and left side of the webcam. The quality of the microphone is astounding. When I talked over Skype using just the built-in microphone, the other party reports crystal clear sound. There were also NO ECHOES on the other end, even though I didn’t use headphones.

Acer Aspire 5920G Speakers

Acer made the speakers one of the key selling points of the Aspire. The built-in Acer eAudio software allows users to change to different modes such as music, gaming, video etc. and toggle surround effect. There is also a handy volume scroll wheel on the front of the laptop. Together, the two speakers above the keyboard and one subwoofer at the bottom create exceptional sound and are almost as good as external speakers. For this laptop, external speakers or headphones aren’t a necessity.

Acer Aspire 5920G Processor and Performance:

Acer Aspire 5920G model in this review comes with the Intel T7300 processor (2 GHz) and 160GB 5400rpm hard drive. It does not have Intel Turbo Memory, which yields questionable performance gain anyway. When I first turned on the laptop, it took a while to boot into Windows. When I do, the system automatically starts installing Acer utilities, which I will talk about later in the review. With the default factory settings, the laptop proves to be very snappy and responsive. I did not experience any delays as some other Vista users mentioned. Almost all programs such as Firefox open instantaneously. Of course, Acer Aspire 5920G runs much faster than my previous Inspiron 6000 with Pentium M 1.73 GHz and Windows XP. After removing some unneeded software from startup, it takes approximately 45-seconds for the laptop to boot completely.

For games, I’ve tried Cube, TrackMania Nations, Silkroad, and America’s Army so far, and they ran really well even when the GPU is underclocked in “balanced” power mode. I did experience a slight performance increase after installing the NVIDIA 168.18 driver from LaptopVideoToGo.

Acer Aspire 5920G Heat and Noise:

Most of the time the fan is barely audible. Under light load the system stays very cool in general. During intensive gaming and benchmarking, the palm rest and especially the upper area next to the power button on the left noticeably heats up due to the hard drive and graphic card. After 30 to 40 minutes in that condition, the laptop becomes much too hot to be used on the lap. On the other hand, the entire right side stays cool throughout intensive use. Fan noise does go up a notch with the rising temperature, but it is still fairly quiet and unobtrusive. The fan of Acer Aspire 5920G running at its highest speed produces roughly the same amount of noise as my old Inspiron 6000 under lightest load.

Acer Aspire 5920G Optical Drive

The tray of the optical drive is so flimsy that I was afraid that I would break it as I carefully snapped in a disk the first time. The tray surely feels out of place with the excellent build-quality of the rest of the laptop. Aside from that, there is little to no vibration when the drive operates but it gets obtrusively loud. I’ve burned a few DVDs so far with no problems.

Acer Aspire 5920G Keyboard and Touchpad:

Typing on the Acer Aspire 5920G keyboard is quiet and comfortable. The keys are just the perfect size for my fingers. Generally, it feels just like most laptop keyboards. The keyboard does express noticeable flexes and occasionally misses a few inputs. However, this might be a software issue since it tends to happen only in certain applications. Acer placed quite a few handy shortcuts among the keys, such as turning off the screen, putting the laptop to sleep, and disabling the touchpad. Overall, the keyboard is just average.

Acer Aspire 5920G touchpad is probably the worst thing about this laptop. The spacious touchpad is designed to “blend” with the palm rests, thus typing on the keyboard without making contact with the touchpad is impossible. With default setting, using the laptop proves to be a nightmare. I cannot type a single Word document without experiencing crazy movement throughout. Luckily, turning off the virtual scrolling feature solves the problem. Losing this useful feature can partly be compensated by a tiny scrolling device between the two mouse buttons. Lastly, the buttons of Acer Aspire 5920G’s touchpad are extremely loud and stiff. The annoying clicking sound is easily heard several feet away.

The buttons on the two sides of the keyboard can be used to launch applications and to control wireless activities and media playback. It is a relief that they are nowhere as loud as the touchpad buttons. The Bluetooth and Wi-Fi buttons on the left side will light up and flicker in accordance to the wireless status. On the right side, there are five touch-sensitive buttons. The four blue buttons that light up controls media playback. When you brush those buttons, they brighten briefly then dim. The fifth touch sensitive button opens up the Acer CD/DVD making software. Lastly, a shiny blue “e” button on the upper-right of the keyboard launches Acer Empowering utility. The media buttons are certainly useful, but it is easy to brush the touch sensitive buttons accidentally and trigger unwanted actions. But again, Acer provided software to let you adjust the sensitivity.

Acer Aspire 5920G Input and Output Ports:

The only thing I would like to mention is that the USB port on the right side is located about one millimeter from the optical drive. That makes it impossible to use a USB stick and the optical drive at the same time. Personally, I do not think it is a problem. Since the port is on the right side, it will most likely be used for something like a mouse. Unless you use up all three ports on the left, it is unlikely that you’ll ever REALLY need that one USB port.
Here is the list of input/output ports:
Left
· VGA port
· Ethernet port
· Modem Port
· 3 USB 2.0 ports
· HDMI (Yes, HDMI)
· S video
· IEEE 1394
· ExpressCard/54 slot
Right
· One USB port
· Kensington lock slot
Front
· 5 in 1 card reader
· Line-in jack, microphone in jack, and headphones/speaker/line-out jack.

Acer Aspire 5920G Wireless:

The Intel 4965AGN card in 5920G works very well. The range is noticeably better than the Intel Pro 2200 (b/g) card in my previous notebook. I only have a G-router so that the speed is approximately the same. My Acer Aspire 5920G also has built-in Bluetooth, but it is not present on all models. I can transfer files and sync wirelessly with my Dell Axim x51v PDA without any problem. Lastly, the infrared port comes standard in the front of the notebook. The positioning is perfect for controlling the laptop with a remote. I happened to have a Media Center remote, and it can control the laptop perfectly up to 9 feet away.

Acer Aspire 5920G Battery:

Every Acer Aspire 5920G comes with an eight-cell 4800mAh battery. In “balanced” power mode, Acer Aspire 5920G lasts about 3:40 minutes while browsing and typing documents. For such a powerful laptop, the battery life is simply amazing. It is safe to say that this laptop can last up to four, even five hours with minimum brightness and lowest processor and GPU speed.

Acer Aspire 5920 Review

Acer Aspire 5920G is a 15-inch multimedia Santa Rosa notebook based on Acer’s new gemstone concept. There are many new and interesting aspects to the Aspire such as 3D surround sound system and touch-sensitive media buttons. Featuring an impressive specification, but weighing almost 7 pounds with battery, this notebook is most suitable as a desktop replacement. Acer Aspire 5920G primarily targets gamers and power users with no desire to break the bank.

Acer Aspire 5920G System specification (may vary depending region):
· Windows Vista Home Premium
· Intel Core 2 Duo mobile processor T7300
· Mobile Intel PM965 Express Chipset
· Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN (dual-band quad-mode 802.11a/b/g/Draft-N)
· Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
· 2 GB of DDR2 667 MHz memory, upgradeable to 4GB using two soDIMM modules (dual-channel support)
· 15.4" WXGA high-brightness (220-nit) Acer CrystalBrite TFT LCD, 1280 x 800 pixel resolution, 8 ms response time
· NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with up to 1GB of TurboCache technology (256 MB of dedicated GDDR2 VRAM, up to 768 MB of shared system memory)
· Dolby-certified surround sound system with two built-in stereo speakers and one subwoofer supporting low-frequency effects
· 160 GB hard disk drives
· 5-in-1 card reader
· DVD Super Multi DL Optical Drive
· Integrated Acer Crystal Eye webcam (0.3 megapixel)
· 364 (W) x 270.2 (D) x 30.8/43.7 (H) mm (14.3 x 10.6 x 1.2/1.7 inches) 3.00 kg (6.61 lbs.)
· Included Accessories: Mouse, Travel bag, Power cord, Manual, Starter CD

Acer Aspire 5920G Build & Design:

Acer and BMW take the design to a whole new level with the Aspire “Gemstone” Series. Acer Aspire 5920G is unlike any previous Acer notebook. The laptop looks gorgeous and stylish with a pearl-white interior and shiny, reflective black lid that can be opened with a unique latch that doubles as a webcam Acer Aspire 5920G nicely rounded outline gives it a fairly soothing and unobtrusive look. Part of the interior design includes a couple of LEDs and lines that seem to create an image of flowing water. The downside of the pearl interior, unfortunately, is keeping it clean in the long run. As for the shiny lid, ugly fingerprints easily cover the entire surface. However, the fingerprints can be wiped with most cloth without scratching the finish. Ultimately, whether you like the design or not is just a matter of opinion.

Regardless of the looks, Acer Aspire 5920G is definitely a rock solid laptop. While the entire laptop is constructed from plastic, the chassis appears extremely tough. The only place that flexes slightly is a small area near the power button. Surprisingly, the laptop also does not feel thick at all. This comes as a huge surprise after years with my all-plastic Inspiron, which is the exact opposite. The hinges supporting the screen on the Aspire are also very sturdy and do not stick out. The hinges are strong enough that I have to hold down the laptop while opening the lid. However, the screen does wobble slightly when I poke it. The excellent build quality of Acer Aspire 5920G is a relief for me considering that the laptop weighs about seven pounds. For a 15-inch screen laptop, the Aspire is undoubtedly on the higher end of the weight scale, and traveling with this notebook will be an unpleasant experience. On the other hand, it is still easy enough to move the notebook around the house.

Conclusion:
In conclusion, I definitely recommend Acer Aspire 5920G to gamers and power-users. This is an attractive, solid, and high quality laptop backed up by a reasonable price.

Pros
· Stylish and well-designed
· Excellent build quality
· Great battery life
· Reasonably priced
· Outstanding performance
· Awesome speaker for a laptop
· User-friendly software, great Acer utilities
· Good built-in microphone

Cons
· Touchpad
· Heavy for a 15-inch notebook
· Low-resolution webcam
· Heat
· Flimsy, noisy drive
· Keeping the interior clean
· Viewing angle of the screen

Acer Aspire 6920G-603G25Bn

The Aspire range of notebooks from Acer are aimed at home users who want a portable machine for multimedia purposes, whether that's simply watching movies or TV, listening to music, or increasingly, actually editing content for themselves, as well as every day tasks.

This machine is the first we've seen that uses the new Gemstone Blue design, which pushes multimedia to the forefront of the design. On the left-hand side you'll find a rather large and ostentatious array of media buttons that glow blue when in use.


Acer has christened these buttons CineDash and are touch-sensitive. However, there is a Hold button that will stop you from accidentally changing your settings. The buttons are linked to Acer's Arcade media software, which works in much the same way as Microsoft's Media Centre tools, so you can load and run movies, music and all your media files from one central interface.

We found this worked well but unlike other companies who have used a Linux kernel for these services, which take up less resources and allow you to drop in to this mode straight from boot-up, Arcade loads from within Windows, which sort of defeats the need for it.

However, it is the design and extras that come with this machine that really make it stand out. The screen is a 16-inch Super-TFT panel and is the first notebook to sport this size. The reason is that it supports HD Ready natively, so can be connected with your HD television without having to rescale images.

This means the screen has a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and an aspect ratio of 16:9, the same as a widescreen television, as opposed to 16:10 found on a normal notebook panel.

Movies fit on the screen better and as a result look better. Acer has added a Blu-ray drive, so you can watch the latest HD content with ease. The larger screen also means there is plenty of space for the keyboard, which is of a good size. The keys sit comfortably in the middle of the main body and while they aren't the most secure – they tended to rattle as we typed – it felt comfortable to use.

With an overall weight of 3.4kg, this machine is intended for use about the home rather than being taken on the move. In terms of battery life, we managed to get a little less than 2 hours from a full charge, which is fine for home use.

Acer may have concentrated a good deal on the look of the machine but it hasn't neglected the components inside. Powered by an Intel 2.1GHz Core 2 Duo T8100 and backed by 4GB of memory, this is a powerful machine to use. The 320GB hard drive is more than acceptable at this price.


Full Review

12 May 2008 - The Aspire range of notebooks from Acer are aimed at home users who want a portable machine for multimedia purposes, whether that's simply watching movies or TV, listening to music, or increasingly, actually editing content for themselves, as well as every day tasks.

This machine is the first we've seen that uses the new Gemstone Blue design, which pushes multimedia to the forefront of the design. On the left-hand side you'll find a rather large and ostentatious array of media buttons that glow blue when in use.

Acer has christened these buttons CineDash and are touch-sensitive. However, there is a Hold button that will stop you from accidentally changing your settings. The buttons are linked to Acer's Arcade media software, which works in much the same way as Microsoft's Media Centre tools, so you can load and run movies, music and all your media files from one central interface.

We found this worked well but unlike other companies who have used a Linux kernel for these services, which take up less resources and allow you to drop in to this mode straight from boot-up, Arcade loads from within Windows, which sort of defeats the need for it.

However, it is the design and extras that come with this machine that really make it stand out. The screen is a 16-inch Super-TFT panel and is the first notebook to sport this size. The reason is that it supports HD Ready natively, so can be connected with your HD television without having to rescale images.

This means the screen has a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and an aspect ratio of 16:9, the same as a widescreen television, as opposed to 16:10 found on a normal notebook panel.

Movies fit on the screen better and as a result look better. Acer has added a Blu-ray drive, so you can watch the latest HD content with ease. The larger screen also means there is plenty of space for the keyboard, which is of a good size. The keys sit comfortably in the middle of the main body and while they aren't the most secure – they tended to rattle as we typed – it felt comfortable to use.

With an overall weight of 3.4kg, this machine is intended for use about the home rather than being taken on the move. In terms of battery life, we managed to get a little less than 2 hours from a full charge, which is fine for home use.

Acer may have concentrated a good deal on the look of the machine but it hasn't neglected the components inside. Powered by an Intel 2.1GHz Core 2 Duo T8100 and backed by 4GB of memory, this is a powerful machine to use. The 320GB hard drive is more than acceptable at this price.

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VERDICT
The look of the Acer Aspire 6920G-603G25Bn is definitely a love/loath design and as much as we didn't like it, there is no denying this is a great notebook for the price. Acer has been bold with the design and as a result has delivered an impressive machine.

Acer Aspire 8920-6671

Acer has always been a global powerhouse, but the company has had a relatively anemic presence in the United States. Now that it has merged with Gateway (the two brands are still being treated as separate), we are seeing some inroads from Acer in this country, starting with a particularly bold move, the launch of the first laptop we've seen with an 18.4-inch display. The display has the same native resolution as a 1080p HDTV, and coupled with a Blu-ray drive and a unique set of touch-sensitive media controls, it's an impressive package for moviewatchers.

Our review model was the more expensive of Acer's two available configurations. At $2,499, the Acer Aspire 8920-6671 is pricey choice for a nongaming machine. The lower-end version, the visually identical Aspire 8920-6048, trades the Intel Core 2 Duo T9500 CPU for a T5550, goes from 320GB of hard drive space to 250GB, drops from 4GB of RAM to 3GB (which is the maximum amount 32-bit Vista can address anyway), and features an Nvidia GeForce 9500M video card instead of a slightly faster GeForce 9650M. Important differences to be sure, but the cheaper version is available from retail stores for $1,299--less than half the suggested price of the more expensive version, and a much better overall deal.

Price as reviewed / Starting price	$2,499
Processor	2.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T9500
Memory	4GB, 667MHz DDR2
Hard drive	320GB 5,400rpm
Chipset	Intel GM965
Graphics	Nvidia GeForce 9650M GS
Operating System	Windows Vista Ultimate
Dimensions (WDH)	17.4x11.9x1.5 inches
Screen size (diagonal)	15.4 inches
System weight / Weight with AC adapter	8.9 / 10.1 pounds
Category	Desktop replacement

The Acer Aspire 8920 is a boat of a laptop, and its 16:9 display makes for a chassis that is wider but shorter than a typical 17-inch model that features a 16:10 screen. To fit the new panel, the Acer Aspire 8920 is about 1.5-inches wider overall than a 17-inch Gateway P-172. Even though both of these laptops are equally deep (11.9 inches), the Acer has a hinge that pivots the entire lid back, making it about 0.75-inch shorter when you've got the screen open at a 90-degree angle.

Acer refers to the 8920 as part of the company's Gemstone Blue series, which means it has a speckled automotive-style blue/black lid, with a black and silver interior. The large chassis means there's plenty of room on the keyboard tray for a full keyboard, a large touch pad with a separate scroll zone, a sizable wrist rest, and a large speaker grille area above the keyboard.

The usual array of touch-sensitive media controls commonly found on multimedia laptops have been moved from their normal spot above the keyboard to a panel on the left side of the keyboard tray. Acer calls this the CineDash media console, but it's really just the same capacitive touch controls found on other laptops, arranged in roughly the shape of a handheld remote control. It's a clever idea, very eye-catching, and once you get used to it, works fairly well, with a volume slider, transport controls, and an iPod-like directional control for scrolling through menus. Our main complaint about it is there doesn't seem to be a way to access the pop-up menus while a Blu-ray movie is playing. Acer's proprietary media playing software, called Acer Arcade Deluxe, uses its own generic pop-up menus, but it's a clunky compromise. Plus, we always encourage PC makers to stop spending so much time and effort duplicating Windows Media Center (we're talking to you, Hewlett-Packard's QuickPlay), since proprietary media applications usually fail to exceed or even meet Media Center's mediocre standards.

The 18.4-inch wide-screen LCD display is the real star here. The native resolution of our 18-inch screen was 1,920x1,080 (you know, like Blu-ray), while a high-end 17-inch laptop is usually 1,920x1,200. That means Blu-ray or other HD content will fit the screen better. Acer claims this display has twice the color range than normal laptop screens--we're not sure about that, but in playing HD content, the picture was certainly clear, bright, and vivid, and the screen had excellent off-axis viewing--which is important unless you plan on watching all your movies alone (how sad).

We also liked the 5.1 speaker system, with two speakers above the keyboard, and two more, plus a subwoofer, on the front edge of the system. Technically, they can pump out surround sound, but it's not the same as actually having speakers behind and to the sides. There was, however, a better-than-average stereo separation and decent bass for a laptop (but it still won't get your dance tracks bumping).

	Acer Aspire 8920-6671	Average for category [desktop replacement]
Video	VGA-out, HDMI	VGA-out, S-video, DVI or HDMI
Audio	5.1 speakers w/subwoofer, headphone/mic/line-in jacks	Stereo speakers, headphone/microphone jacks
Data	4 USB 2.0, SD memory card reader	4 USB 2.0, mini FireWire, multiformat memory card reader
Expansion	ExpressCard slot	PC Card and ExpressCard
Networking	modem, Ethernet, 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth	modem, Ethernet, 802.11 a/b/g Wi-Fi, optional Bluetooth
Optical drive	Blu-ray with DVD burner	DVD burner or Blu-Ray

With an 18-inch 16:9 screen, the Acer Aspire 8920 seems custom made for Blu-ray, even if there's dubious value to watching HD content on anything smaller than a 32-inch screen. The HDMI output allows you to hook the system up to a bigger display if you don't have a standalone Blu-ray player.

Intel's Core 2 Duo T9500 CPU is top of the line for Intel, unless you go all the way up to the Extreme processors (as in the Alienware Area-51 m15x). At that level, high-end systems all perform comparably in nongaming applications, and unless you plan to do some heavy video editing or other processing-intensive work, we'd even suggest trading down for the lower-end model in this line, the Acer Aspire 8920-6048, which costs about half as much.

We were perfectly happy with the cheaper model's Intel Core 2 Duo T5550 processor when we saw it in the budget Gateway P-6860FX 17-inch gaming laptop. Both the cheaper Acer and the Gateway cost roughly $1,299--but the Gateway includes Nvidia's high-end GeForce 8800 graphics chip, while the Acer delivers a Blu-ray drive; the choice depends on your preference for games or movies.

A massive laptop like the Acer will probably spend almost all its time plugged into a wall, but we were able to run it for 1 hour and 41 minutes, which is decent for a desktop replacement laptop--many run for only about an hour.

Acer includes an impressive three-year parts-and-labor warranty with the system. The technical support phone lines are open only Monday through Friday from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT and on weekends from 5 a.m. to 2 p.m. PT. The company's online support offers driver and manual downloads, but lacks common features such as forums and real-time chat. Note that the cheaper 8920 model includes only a one-year warranty.

Multimedia multitasking test (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

HP Pavilion dv9700t

759

Asus M70Sa-C1

792

Gateway P-172X FX

806

Acer Aspire 8920-6671

821

Adobe Photoshop CS3 image-processing test (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Gateway P-172X FX

163

Acer Aspire 8920-6671

170

Asus M70Sa-C1

185

HP Pavilion dv9700t

240

Apple iTunes encoding test (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

HP Pavilion dv9700t

139

Acer Aspire 8920-6671

141

Asus M70Sa-C1

142

Gateway P-172X FX

149

Unreal Tournament 3 (in frames per second)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)

1440x900, 4X AA, 8X AF

1280x800, 4X AA, 8X AF

Gateway P-172X FX

91.2

Acer Aspire 8920-6671

53.2

Asus M70Sa-C1

35.4

HP Pavilion dv9700t

33

DVD battery drain test (in minutes)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)

HP Pavilion dv9700t

156

Asus M70Sa-C1

149

<>

115

Acer Aspire 8920-6671

111

Toshiba M700-110

Since the Tablet PC (with a capital ‘T’) appeared in 2002, we’ve seen various ‘slate’ models come and go - but perhaps the more interesting version is the ‘convertible’, which can serve as a regular laptop or as a tablet PC. The Toshiba M700-110 is just such a beast, a well-specified tablet laptop that is relatively low in weight, powerful for business tasks and possessing good battery life.

With the Toshiba M700-110 used as a regular laptop, we find the usual complement of features we expect of a modern portable, including 802.11 networking (a, b, g and draft n), a dual-layer DVD-writing optical drive, Bluetooth and 5-in-1 card reader. Powering all this is an Intel Core 2 Duo processor clocked at 2GHz, supported by 2GB of RAM and a 120GB hard drive.

The screen is a 12in widescreen display, 1280x800, driven by an integrated graphics card - so many 3D games are essentially off limits. Not that that should be a problem for a machine that’s well-tuned to the needs of business users. Windows Vista Business is the OS of choice here, and other features include a fingerprint reader and hard disk lock encryption to keep data safe in the event of loss.

For use as a normal folding laptop, we find a small trackpad with two recessed mouse buttons, making this interface less ergonomic than we’d like for daily use. The screen also suffers a little from being a touchscreen type, leaving it mildly occluded and soft-focus by the extra layer of touch-sensitive clear film.

To convert the Toshiba M700-110 to tablet use, you simply set the screen to the vertical, rotate it by 180 dgrees, then lay it flat against the body. Onboard sensors mean it will sense if it’s being carried in landscape or portrait mode.

Control of the system is then entirely through the touchscreen, either by fingertips to select and double-click icons, or with the plastic stylus that tucks into the side like on a PDA. Using the stylus also simplifies right-clicking, using a button on its stem.

For text input, Microsoft’s Tablet PC software gives the option of a floating keyboard on screen, or handwriting recognition in a floating palette. And this handwriting input method works impressively well, able to intelligently read even our less than perfect scribbling skills.

In bench tests the Toshiba M700-110 acheived a WorldBench 6 score of 77, an averagely good figure for a compact laptop, but more impressive was the battery life. Using MobileMark 2007’s more strenuous ‘productivity’ setting, we acheived over three hours (185 minutes) of true wirefree use.

This earnest laptop is a jack of many trades, with a good selection of features and relatively impressive battery life for untethered productivity. The price premium over a comparably specified regular laptop will be a good investment if you need a versatile laptop-cum-tablet that works well in either guise

Review Toshiba Satelite Pro U400

Satellite Pro U400 is the business version of the more consumer oriented Satellite U405. This 13.3" notebook gives business users or standard consumers another notebook option if they really like the size and features of the Satellite U405, but don't want the "Look at Me!" glossy finish. Feature wise you can configure each notebook the same, with the exception of Windows XP being exclusive to the business notebook. Read on to see what we think of this business counterpart to the consumer U405.

Toshiba U400 review unit had the following specifications:

* Windows XP Professional (SP2)
* Intel T8100 Penryn (2.1GHz) Processor
* 13.3" WXGA 1280x800 TruBrite Display (Glossy)
* Intel X3100 Integrated Graphics
* Intel Pro 3945ABG (802.11a/b/g) and Bluetooth V2.1 +EDR
* 1GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM (maximum capacity 4GB)
* 160GB 5400rpm Toshiba Hard Drive
* DVD SuperMulti (+/-R double layer) drive
* 1.3 megapixel webcam
* Stereo speakers
* Fingerprint reader
* Dimensions (WxDxH Front/H Rear): 12.4" x 9.02" x 1.08" /1.38" with feet
* Weight: 4.61lbs with six-cell battery
* 75W (19V x 3.95A) 100-240V AC Adapter
* 6-cell (4800mAh) Lithium Ion battery
* 1-Year Standard Limited Warranty

U400's stylish design features a 2-tone color scheme of matte silver on black. Many of the traditionally-square notebook features have been softened with round edges. The overall style is carried onto the keyboard and touchpad areas with both reflecting the shape of the notebook itself. Once the factory stickers are removed from the palmrest areas, the notebook's design blends into a cohesive whole.

The plastic case of the notebook is fairly durable, with no squeaks or creaks when carrying it around. Some flex is present on vast open areas like the screen cover or palmrest, but it is pretty minor unless you always find yourself giving your notebook a death grip. The left edge of the palmrest above the ExpressCard slot is probably the worst point of flex on the entire notebook, since it has no bracing unless a card is inserted.

I feel that the matte paint on the Satellite Pro doesn't hold up quite as well as the Fusion finish on the consumer Satellite series. After a week or so of testing, the notebook is already showing some scuffs around the corners from my backpack and sliding around my desk. With the Fusion finish notebook, it is hard to find a small scratch, let alone an entire scuffed edge. I figure I have just been spoiled with the newer glossy textures which hold up to abrasion much better than anything found on prior notebooks.

The 13.3" WXGA screen found on the Toshiba Satellite Pro U400 rates average, and came with no problems or defects. The screen was dead/stuck pixel free during our review period, and was sealed well enough to prevent any major backlight leakage. The screen backlight was powerful enough to allow comfortable viewing in an office setting with as low as 40-50% backlight brightness level. The backlight levels were even throughout the screen, without any backlight bleed showing through, even on the lower edge of the taskbar.Color reproduction was good when screen was tilted in its optimum viewing range, but if you moved outside of that area colors would quickly invert or distort. The poor viewing range was the main cause of me giving this screen an average rating instead of above average.

keyboard found on the Satellite Pro U400 was very good for a notebook of this size. The keyboard stayed in place while typing, even under heavy pressure. Very little sagging was present during our testing, although the left side did have a smidgen more movement than the right side.

Typing on the keyboard is very comfortable, with plenty of space to make the keyboard feel anything but cramped. Key size was perfect, with good throw lengths and smooth action. Typing noise was low, and you could get away with secret ninja typing if you were careful.

The touchpad rated average with accurate finger tracking use, but lacked many customization features I have come to expect from touchpad utilities. Although the touchpad was a Synaptics model, the menus did not allow for any adjustment for sensitivity, scrolling, or additional functions. The lack of scrolling was my biggest complaint, since no notebook on the market right now lacks that ability. The touchpad buttons were smooth and easy to trigger, with a shallow and soft click when pressed.

Conclusion
The Toshiba Satellite U400 gives business users a solid feature list and moderate performance, but did not do as well as the nearly identical configured Satellite U405 we previously reviewed using Vista instead of XP. Performance across the board was less in every test we performed, with the only configuration difference between increased RAM on the Vista model. The other downside to this configuration is the paint finish which doesn't hold up as well as the Fusion finish on the consumer line, evident by the scuff marks already found on our review sample. If you were looking to purchase this notebook, I might direct you to a Vista configuration of the business U400, or the consumer U405 entirely for the better Fusion finish.

Pros

* Cool and Quiet
* Great Keyboard
* Adequate Port Selection

Cons

* Touchpad is not configurable
* Much lower performance on XP model over Vista

Dell Inspiron 1420

The Dell Inspiron 1420 (R510304) Laptop PC is powered by 1.67 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T5450 and it features 14.1 inch WXGA widescreen TFT display, Dell Wireless 1390 802.11a/g/n Mini-Card wireless connection, integrated 2.0 Megapixel webcam, and 8X Super Multi DVD Writer.

Dell-inspiron-1420-laptopThe Dell Inspiron 1420 (R510304) laptop is built on Intel ?Santa Rosa? notebook platform and it is powered by 1.67 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T5450 having 2-MB L2 Cache and 667Mhz FSB and it features 1-GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz (maximum 4-GB), 160-GB 5400 rpm 2.5 inch SATA Hard Drive and 8X DVD Super Multi Double Layer (8.5 GB) DVD Writer as standard configuration.

Dell Inspiron 1420 laptop PC sports anti-glare, widescreen 14.1-inch (35.8 cms) WXGA+ TFT Display with TrueLife technology which can provide upto 1280 x 800 pixels resolution (or optional 1920?1200 screen resolution) powered by NVIDIA GeForceTM Go 8400M graphics, 128MB DDR3 dedicated graphic memory.

The Dell Inspiron 1420 laptop PC offers a wide range of component upgrades - including integrated WWAN or a Blu-ray DVD burner optical drive - and offers color choices for typical home users to suit budget and applications. For example. besides standard black and white colors, the new Inspiron 1420 series also comes in red, blue, green, yellow, brown, and pink colors.

With Dell MediaDirect, one can have fast, easy one-button access to movies, music, photos, & Microsoft Office content without starting Microsoft Windows!

Genuine Windows Vista Home Basic OS preinstalled Dell Inspiron 1420 series of laptop PC for networking offers Dell Wireless 1390 802.11a/g/n Mini-Card for wireless networking, and comes with internal 56 kbps Fax/Modem connection along with internal 10/100 Ethernet LAN connection and an optional EVDO and HSDPA wireless broadband connections.

Dell Inspiron 1420 laptop has 4 USB v2.0 high speed ports, Firewire IEEE 1394a, an 8-in-1 media card reader, an optional Infrared, an optional Bluetooth v2.0 connection, S-Video TV-out, standard VGA out port, and an empty ExpressCard 54mm slot.

The Dell Inspiron 1420 laptop also ports integrated 2.0 megapixel webcam with 2 built-in stereo microphones for video chatting.

Dell Inspiron 1420 laptop comes with several software including Dell MediaDirect which allows one-button access to movies, calendar, contacts and presentations, without waiting for your operating system to start up and Video Communications Pack which allows Chat with friends and family with integrated 2 megapixel webcam dual digital microphones and earbuds.

Weighing 3.45 Kgs (with combo drive and battery pack) the Dell Inspiron 1420 laptop PC comes with 6-cell 56Whr Lithium Ion Battery which can provide upto 2.5 hrs of backup (without Wi-Fi).

I/O Ports:

* 4 USB v2.0 ports
* IEEE1394a
* ExpressCard 54mm Slot
* 8-in-1 Memory Card Reader
* VGA video output - external monitor
* S-Video TV-Out
* RJ45 - Integrated 10/100 LAN
* RJ11 - Integrated 56K Modem
* Stereo in Jack
* Headphone/speaker out jack
* Dual digital mics
* PCMCIA Port

Dell Vostro 1310

When Dell launched their new Vostro line of computers last year the Vostros where immediately praised for meeting the needs of small businesses and budget-minded consumers alike. The Vostro 1310 is the newest and smallest addition to the Vostro family of notebooks. This compact business notebook comes with a 13.3" display, dedicated graphics option and a slot-loading optical drive, but does it still offer the right combination of features, options, and price that made the Vostro line so popular? Keep reading and you can find out.
The Dell Vostro 1310 is available with a range of Intel processors (from the 1.86GHz Celeron M M540 up to the T9500 2.6GHz Core 2 Duo). There are two 13.3" screen offerings, a 1280x800 WXGA with matte anti-glare coating and 1280x800 WXGA "TrueLife" glossy display. The notebook can take up to 4GB of RAM and Dell offers 32-bit versions of Microsoft Windows Vista Business or Windows XP Professional. The system is priced starting at $749 with integrated Intel X3100 graphics at the time of this writing, but is also available with nVidia 8400M GS dedicated graphics.

Our pre-production Vostro 1310 is equipped with the following specs:

* Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T8100 (2.1GHz)
* Memory: 2GB - 2 DIMM (DDR2-667) (4GB max)
* HDD: 160GB 5400RPM HDD
* Graphics: 128MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
* Display: 13.3" WXGA Antiglare
* Optical drive: Slot-loading 8x DVD +/- RW
* OS: Vista Business SP1 (available with XP Professional)
* Software: 30-day security subscription anti-virus, No trail-ware
* Wireless: Dell 1505 Wireless-N Mini Card (802.11a/g/n)
* Battery: 6-cell battery
* Other: Webcam and fingerprint reader
* Services: Network assistant; 10GB of Datasafe online; Dell Support Center; PC Tune-up
* Dimensions (HxWxD): 0.94" (front)/1.59" (back) x 12.48" x 9.57"
* Weight: 4.45 lbs (with 4-cell battery), 4.63 lbs (with 6-cell battery)
* Base configuration price: $749
* Price as tested: $1,357


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Build and Design

Dell received some much needed attention in 2007 with the introduction of the sleek, high performance XPS M1330 and XPS M1530 notebooks. While these more expensive notebooks in the Dell lineup were praised for their looks and low weight, the Dell Insipron and Vostro notebooks were criticized for being bulky and unattractive laptops. Dell listened closely to this criticism when they designed the new Vostro 1310. The Vostro 1310 is in fact roughly 20% smaller and lighter than the Vostro 1400.

Unfortunately, the lighter weight and thinner profile come at some cost. Namely, the plastics used in the chassis feel thin and in some areas, such as above the keyboard and on the palmrests, there is a significant degree of flex. The edges of the chassis are also sharper than what we've seen on earlier Dell notebooks and these sharp edges and thin plastics make the design of the Dell Vostro 1310 feel slightly unfinished or unrefined.

Much like last year's Vostro releases, the 1310 doesn't come in multiple colors or display lid patterns. Black is your only option. However, this year Dell decided to get rid of the matte black finish in favor of a glossy black finish with just a hint of metal flake. The black paint with the fine metal flakes is inlaid with the molds so there's no risk of the glossy finish coming off.


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Although I wasn't a huge fan of the glossy black plastic lid with metal flake paint on our pre-production Vostro 1310, it does look and feel nice. Still, the new glossy lid design is a magnet for fingerprints and might not resist light scratches as well as the matte black finish on the previous generation Vostro notebooks.

Another of the new innovations for the Vostro line is the "Hyperband Multi-Antenna" housed inside the LCD lid which Dell claims "can provide excellent reception and help reduce dropped signals" for both Wi-Fi and bluetooth. I've never had serious problems with dropped signals while using older Dell notebooks so I can't speak to whether the new internal multi-antenna actually improved wireless reception ... but I can say that I never experienced dropped Wi-Fi connections during the testing period.

Conclusion

Overall, the Dell Vostro 1310 is an impressive budget notebook with clean looks and solid performance. Whether you need a simple business notebook or a budget portable laptop with modest gaming capabilities, the Vostro 1310 makes an excellent choice.

That said, the chassis isn't as nice as we hoped ... the edges are sharp and could be smoother or more rounded, the case feels more flimsy than the earlier Vostros, the touchpad button placement is bad, and the mono speaker does not provide a good audio experience. Still, none of these issues are "deal breakers."

The other huge advantage to the Vostro line is the support, lack of bloatware, and excellent return policy. Dell will let you purchase a Vostro, use it for 30 days, and if you don't like it you can send it back for a full refund without any restocking or shipping fees. That's just amazing.

In short, the Vostro 1310 is an excellent addition to the Vostro family and gives business professionals and consumers on a budget a low-cost alternative to the Dell XPS M1330. Unfortunately, the price as configured ($1,357) places it neck-and-neck with the XPS M1330. Although the Vostro is a great system at the entry level price of just $749, once the price exceeds $1,000 most consumers (and even many business professionals) would be better off with the XPS M1330.

Pros

* Thinner and lighter than the Vostro 1400
* Reasonable battery life
* Nice screen and easy-to-use media buttons
* Good selection of ports
* Solid performance
* No bloatware
* Available with Windows XP
* Excellent return policy (NO restocking or shipping fees within 30 days!)

Cons

* Glossy LCD lid is a magnet for fingerprints
* Chassis plastics feel too thin and hollow
* Mono speaker is painfully weak
* Uncomfortable touchpad buttons
* No S-video or HDMI port
* Price as configured is a little expensive compared to the XPS M1330

Toshiba Satelit A305-S6845

Toshiba's Satellite A305 is a bit chunky for a thin and light notebook computer system, but this extra girth allows it to pack in an extra hard drive for some class leading hard drive storage. Performance is quite good from thanks to its balance of components but it is the attractive price that will entice most people.

Pros

* Lots of Hard Drive Space
* Glossy Fusion Finish Holds Up Well
* Excellent Pricing

Cons

* A Bit Larger Than Average 15.4" Thin and Light Laptop
* Glossy Screen Can Have Significant Glare

Description

* Intel Core 2 Duo T8100 Dual Core Mobile Processor
* 3GB PC2-5300 DDR2 Memory
* 200GB 5400rpm SATA System Drive and 200GB 4200rpm SATA Data Drive
* 8x DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Burner
* 15.4" WXGA (1280x800) Wide LCD with 1.3MP Webcam
* ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650 512MB Graphics
* v.92 56Kbps Modem, 10/100 Ethernet, 802.11a/g/n Wireless
* Four USB 2.0, One FireWire, ExpressCard/54, HDMI, 5-in-1 Card Reader
* 14.3" x 10.5" x 1.6" @ 6 lbs.
* Vista Home Premium, MS Works, Ulead DVD Factory, Norton 360

Guide Review - Toshiba Satellite A305-S6845 Thin and Light Notebook

5/20/08 - The first thing that most people will notice is all the glossy surfaces on the Toshiba Satellite A305. From the exterior case cover to the keyboard, just about every surface has gloss. This Fusion surface will show fingerprints quite easily, but Toshiba has managed to create a surface that is surprisingly resistant to scratches. Of course, some might find using the glossy keyboard a bit annoying and the glossy LCD screen will have significant glare in certain lighting conditions.

In terms of performance, the Satellite A305-S6845 does a very good job thanks to its newer Core 2 Duo T8100 mobile processor and 3GB of PC2-5300 DDR2 memory. Even with the Vista operating system it is able to handle most tasks without any issues at all.

The Satellite A305-S6845 has some of the largest storage space available on a thin and light notebook system. This ability comes from the fact that Toshiba has actually put in two 200GB hard drives into the system rather than a single drive. This is one of the reasons why the Satellite A305 has a bit larger dimensions than a traditional thin and light notebook making it a little less portable than some of the competition.

Graphics wise, Toshiba has elected to use the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650 over the more popular GeForce graphics from NVIDIA. This doesn't hurt the 3D performance of the system much as the 3650 is able to handle most 3D graphics without much issue and the driver offers more multimedia support than the 8000 series GeForce processors.

Overall, the Toshiba has the advantage over the competition thanks to its price tag being several hundred dollars less than competing notebooks. This makes the Satellite A305 a great value.

Toshiba Satelit A300

The Satellite A series has been one of the more popular models from the Toshiba. When the previous Satellite A200 was bundled with an HD-DVD drive, it was one of the cheapest machines with a next-gen optical drive.

The good: Webcam with face-recognition technology; HDMI-CEC output; powerful graphics performance; Sleep-and-Charge USB ports; strong multimedia suite with FM tuner.

The bad: No subwoofer; expensive; high-maintenance glossy keyboard; large and heavy for a midsized portable; no TV tuner; no Blu-ray option; stiff touchpad buttons.

The bottom line: The Satellite A300 backs up its high price tag with a strong multimedia suite. Unfortunately, this machine is found lacking when it comes to HD movies as it does not have a Blu-ray drive

MSI Wind

Now that the MSI Wind has finally started to trickle out to consumers, we were finally able to get our hands on one of these for review. The Wind is another mini notebook in a field originally started by the ASUS Eee PC, but with one primary catch: It is priced well under the equivalent Eee PC. Now having a better price doesn't always mean you are going to win in any given market, but the MSI really outdid themselves and created a great mini notebook. Read on to see just how much ASUS should fear the MSI Wind.

Specifications

* 1.6GHz Intel Atom Processor
* 10" WSVGA 1024x600 LCD
* Windows XP Home Operating System
* 1GB 667MHz DDR2 Memory
* 80GB 2.5" SATA Hard Drive
* Wireless: 802.11b/g and Bluetooth 2.0
* 3-Cell 11.1v 2200mAh Battery

The MSI Wind really has a great look and feel to it. The soft rounded edges coupled with the glossy texture make it easy and comfortable to grip onto, while also giving the mini notebook a very professional look. Another great aspect of the Wind is nothing appears "look at me" flashy, making it very appealing to business professionals, as well as children and teenagers alike. No chrome is found anywhere, and all the labeling and branding is a light grey which really goes well with the pearl white finish.

Build quality is excellent, and reminds me very much of the HP Mini-Note. Fit and finish is top notch with smooth and tight plastic seams, beveled edges, recessed hinges, and plenty of touches here and there that make you feel you are getting every pennies worth of notebook from MSI. The quality of the plastics used is top notch, and most thick enough to prevent flex even under a firm grip. The LCD cover and palmrest show no flex under heavy pressure, but the bottom panel is thin in a few spots and easy to bend. Not a deal breaker by any means, but I'm just saying it might not hold up well to being run over by a car.

The Wind has a LED backlit matte textured LCD. It is very bright and easy to read, and rates very well to others screens I have used. Colors are vibrant and contrast is excellent. On the flip side, the screen does have the infamous sparkly texture to it giving solid colors a dirty look, and on high backlight settings you can see some backlight bleed and almost make out each individual LED. None of those drawbacks would be enough to make me not buy one, but it might be enough for someone to give it a second thought it they were more on the obsessive side of things.

Viewing angles are just how I like them, wide in both vertical and horizontal planes. I have always found it kinda funny that "cheap and affordable" subnotebooks can always manage to beat out multimedia powerhouses in this screen aspect. With some screens inverting colors or going distorted with minimal vertical movement, the MSI Wind's LCD keeps colors true until much steeper angles. I could say you could probably go 45-50 degrees above or below the screen before you might want to reconsider your seating position.

The MSI Wind really shines with its keyboard, and taking up almost every inch of space side to side to have the largest possible keys on such a small device. The keyboard takes all but 2-3mm of space going side to side, and is really great to type on even with large hands. The only big flaw I can find with the keyboard is the super narrow ",", ".", and "/" keys which are 2/3 the width of standard letter keys. This threw me off at first trying to type in websites, and hitting the "/" key instead of a period. Once you got used to the layout it wasn't as much of a problem, but come on, why ruin such a good thing? The shift keys on both sides should have been reduced in size by half and still been perfectly fine, and you wouldn't have to have 2/3 size symbol keys.

The touchpad is slightly recessed from the palmrest by about 1mm, giving a defined lip around the entire perimeter. For small touchpads this can be very handy, letting you keep your finger inside the detection zone, and not always slipping out accidentally. As far as touchpads go, the sensitivity is great, letting you slide your finger along without excessive pressure for perfect tracking. At times the preset vertical and horizontal scrollbars messed with that perfection, making the mouse veer far from the intended path, but with a few adjustments peace was restored. The touchpad buttons consist of a single see-saw bar, ala early Eee PC, with shallow feedback and a semi-soft click. The clicking noise could probably best be described as a Microsoft Intellimouse clicking inside a sock.

System performance--with great help of Intel Atom processor--was stellar. Boot times into Windows XP were on par with many full-size notebooks, and casual use programs opened up without any lag. We haven't had a chance to install any of our more intensive applications such as Gimp, Half-Life, or AIM yet, but from what we can tell it should handle them just fine.
One downside we noticed that differs from pre-release model reviews is the complete lack of Turbo button. The FN+F10 overclocking feature is no more, and replaced with a simple "ECO feature" that switches between battery saver mode at 800MHz and normal mode which dynamically switches between 800MHz and 1600MHz depending on processor load.

For a user who has put up with super hot keyboards and bottoms of subnotebooks far too long under the excuse of "its small and space cramped", the MSI Wind was a huge surprise. After sitting on for on for a couple of hours in normal mode while plugged in, the bottom of the notebook was 90-94 degrees Fahrenheit, and the keyboard was below that. Compared to the Eee PC 900 which broke 100 degrees on the bottom and 105F on the keyboard, this is a huge advantage. For someone like a writer who might spend hours on a keyboard typing away on the road, not having your fingertips sweat like crazy is a incredible feature.

Fan noise is completely silent at best and minimal at worst ... and seemingly always running in the background. This is probably one of the big reasons the MSI Wind runs at reasonable temperatures, as it always has some air flowing through to carry away excess heat.

The MSI Wind has a laundry list of features, including everything you would expect to find on a fullsize notebook. Key features include 802.11b/g wireless, Bluetooth 2.0, Webcam, and a card reader, with USB, VGA, LAN, and audio making notable appearances. While Firewire would have been nice to see, it was understandable to be missing, with an already crowded port selection on each side.

EGS E101L Mini NoteBook to Hit US Market in September

Elitegroup Computer Systems’ ECS G10IL mini-notebooks, featuring the Intel Atom processor, 10-inch displays, and HSPA connectivity, will be available in the United States in September, said company’s vice president of sales Henry Kwan.

In an interview for Laptop Magazine, Kwan said that there will be an 8GB SSD version running Linpus Lite 9.4 Linux and an 80GB hard drive version running Windows XP. Pricing will start at $399, but the least expensive systems will not include 3G options, he added.

The company also plans to launch an 8.9-inch screen version of the netbook, but US customers will be the most likely offered with the 10-inchers only.

According to an ECS’ press release, the Intel Atom CPU in the G10IL is accompanied by the Intel 945 GSE chipset, and up to 2GB of system memory. ECS said HSPA (HSDPA/HSUPA) mobile broadband technology built into the G10IL allows download speeds of up to 7.2Mb/s and up to 2Mb/s upload.

The G10IL mini-laptop also sports an embedded 1.3-megapixel web camera, three USB ports, Ethernet LAN port, a 56k modem, wireless LAN and Bluetooth, and a 4-in-1 media card reader

DELL XPS M1710

ell released the XPS M1710 as a gaming notebook with amazing Intel Core Duo processor. The notebook design with striking red and metallic black lid, which is will catch anyone eyes. It’s build very sturdy. The case made by magnesium-alloy and covered the notebook from top to bottom. The palm rest made by a thick rugged plastic. The hinges are constructed of steel and the lid is so strong. But the plastic on the bottom of the LCD is easy to bend and flex, Dell should do better on this side.

The Intel Core Duo T2600 2.16 GHz, which is powering the notebook is outstanding. It’s so powerfull. The Nvidia GeForce Go7900GTX graphics card also amazing. You can play any high-end games you want and you’ll found no problem. This absolutely great gaming machine. The hard disk comes with the notebook is 100 GB, 7200 rpm.

The notebook’s screen is 17″ WideScreen with 1920 x 1200 pixels resolution. The screen is WUXGA LCD with the Dell TrueLife treatment, which is provide amazing bolder colors and contrast. It’s a wonderfull screen for playing games or watching movies. It is very sharp with excellent contrast and brightness.

The speakers are decent. The sound is loud enough. There’s also integrated sub-woofer which is provides decent bass. Overall, the speakers is better than other notebook’s speakers, but for more great sound, add some external speakers is highly recommended.

The XPS M1710 is quite cool. The surface of the notebook only gets midly warm after several hours of gaming but still copmfortable. The palm rest never gets warm. Not only cool, this notebook also quiet. The fan is so quiet but doing a great job to cooling down the machine.

The keyboard is silver color, bit different than other Dell’s leyboard. But it’s still nice keyboard. It’s build sturdy with no flex. Type on this keyboard is a nice experience. The touchpad has decent size and works well.

The battery is 9-Cell and located at the front area of the notebook. The battery life is adequate for a powerfull notebook like it. Under normal use, it can get 2 hours. Not bad, but not amazing.

Overall, the Dell XPS M1710 is great gaming and entertainment notebook. The processor is so powerfull and the machine also very cool. The screen will give more pleasure when playing games. It’s absolutely great notebook.

The Dell XPS M1710 specs are :

Processor : Intel Core Duo T2600 2.16 GHz
Display : 17″ WUXGA
Memory : 2 GB 667 MHz
Graphics : 512 MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7900 GTX
Hard Drive : 100 GB, 7200 rpm
Optical Drive : DVD+/-RW
Wireless : Intel 3945 802.11b/g
Battery : 9-Cell Li-Ion
Weight : 8.8 pounds
Price : Starting at $2,600

Lenovo ThinkPad X200

Lenovo ThinkPad X200 is an update and evolution of the ThinkPad X61 12.1" screen ultraportable and, as the name suggests, borrows a bit from the design cue of the much praised ThinkPad X300 ultra-slim laptop. To be sure, the X200 is not as expensive nor as cutting edge as the X300, the high-end features and supermodel thin X300 outdo what you'll get design-wise with the X200. With that said, the ultraportable X200 certainly has a lot to like about it, offers better performance than the X300 and has a more reasonable price. This review will delve into the features and updates the X200 has to the previous X61.

The Lenovo ThinkPad X200 is an ultraportable business laptop, but certainly some consumers that want a portable and durable laptop might also be interested in this notebook. Like its larger brothers from the ThinkPad line, the X200 shares all of the same rugged features, and now even has the comfort of a keyboard that matches the size of the larger ThinkPad T400 and T500 series. Thanks to the new widescreen design the X200 is now wide enough to support larger sized keys.

Although the X200 is indeed smaller than its ThinkPad counterparts, it still packs the same power. Our review unit comes with a new Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 2.40GHz processor from the Intel Montevina family, and it's definitely no slouch. The option for speedy SSD storage, 4GB of RAM and Intel Turbo memory can all contribute to a powerhouse in a small package.

With all this newly found power under the hood you might be wondering if the X200 is a power monger that will drain the battery like it's its job and generate so much heat you can warm your nearby coffee. This is not the case, incredibly battery life capability has increased over the X61 and the laptop remains very cool, indeed cooler than the X61.

Specifications of the X200 being reviewed are as follows:

* CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 2.40 GHz (3MB L2 cache, 1066MHz FSB) (Montevina)
* Chipset: Intel GM45/ICH9-ME
* Memory: 2GB DDR2 667MHz (1x 2048MB) (can support up to 4GB of DDR3 Memory @ 800/1067MHz)
* Hard Drive: 7200RPM 160GB SeaGate Momentus (ST9160823AS) SATA
* Screen: 12.1" widescreen 1280x800 LCD, 200 nits of brightness
* No built-in Optical Drive (need X200 UltraBase for this capability)
* GPU: Intel X4500 Integrated Graphics
* Network/Wireless: Intel Wi-Fi Link 5300 (802.11 a/b/g/n) 1Gb Ethernet Card, built-in Verizon WWAN and Bluetooth (56 Kbps modem optional, not installed)
* Inputs: 95 Key Keyboard with Three Button Touchpoint
* Buttons: Power, ThinkVantage, Volume Up and Down, Mute, and WiFi/Bluetooth On/Off Switch.
* Slots:ExpressCard/54mm, SD card reader (5-in-1 media card reader optional, not installed)
* Battery: Nine Cell Cylindrical (4-cell, 6-cell and 9-cell options)
* Dimensions (with large 9-cell battery in):
o Width: 11.61 inches
o Depth: 9.2 inches
o Thickness: 0.8-in - 1.4 inches
* Dimensions (with small 4-cell battery in):
o Width: 11.6 inches
o Depth: 8.3 inches
o Thickness: 0.8 - 1.4"
* Weight:
o 4-cell battery starting at 1.34 kg / 2.95 lbs
o 6-cell battery starting at 1.47 kg / 3.24 lbs
o 9-cell battery starting at 1.63 kg / 3.58 lbs
* Operating System: Windows Vista Business
* Extra Options: Web-cam, fingerprint reader, 56Kbps modem, 5-in-1 card reader

Environment

Lenovo has been working on making their products more friendly to the environment. The ThinkPad X200 is the first PC to be certified by GreenGuard, it meets a Silver EPEAT rating and is Energy Star 4.0 compliant -- Lenovo is claiming a 25% lower power consumption than the previous generation of ThinkPads. Less power in but more power out -- not bad.

Conclusion

The ThinkPad X200 is a very worthy successor to the ThinkPad X61. The amazing battery life capabilities and cool and quiet running performance are real highlights. Having so much power in a small package while still maintaining a cool and quiet computing experience further adds to the impressiveness there. The ThinkPad X200 is also durable enough to last a very long time even with the most abusive of owners, shoving the X200 in a tightly packed bag and then physically forcing it under seat 21A on the plane won't cause this laptop harm.

The downsides are that there's no optical drive like you get with the ThinkPad X300 and no touchpad for those that prefer that style of input. The removal of FireWire and then no built-in DisplayPort, HDMI or DVI port could be a deterrent for some. The all black and professional look has stood the test of time and looks both clean and professional, we like it, but those business people demanding their IT department to support the Apple iPhone might just care about how cool their laptop looks too. And let's face it, the X200 won't cause anyone to do a double take for its looks.

Overall though the X200 is yet another step forward for the ThinkPad X-series line and another check in the column for a job well done by ThinkPad designers and engineers.

Pros

* Powerful performance with the new Intel Montevina platform, regular clock speed processor of up to 2.40GHz
* Runs very cool and quiet thanks to unique fan design
* New widescreen display and extra width means more keyboard space and easier for dual-window viewing
* Incredible battery life, close to 10-hours potential on the 9-cell cylindrical battery
* Great wireless options such as BlueTooth, WiMax, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, WWAN
* Cool features available such as integrated GPS and integrated web-camera
* Very sturdy notebook built to last with mag-alloy case and magnesium internal roll-cage

Cons

* No built-in high-definition video output port such as HDMI, DVI or Display Port
* No touchpad available, just TouchPoint
* No built-in optical drive
* Can't fit it inside a manila envelope for inter-office mail like with the ThinkPad X300 and MacBook Air

Lenovo ThinkPad SL400

Lenovo ThinkPad SL400 is the latest addition to the ThinkPad family and promises to offer features and performance at a fraction of the cost of other ThinkPads. Lenovo's new IdeaPad line of notebooks might give consumers plenty of attractive options, but The new SL series is the first line of small business notebooks designed with ThinkPad styling at an affordable price. Is there more here than just traditional ThinkPad shape and a low price? We took a first look at the SL400 to give you some idea of whether this laptop is right for you.

ThinkPad SL400 has the following specifications:

* Processor: 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 (1066MHz FSB, 3MB Cache)
* Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS 256MB
* Screen: 14.1" WXGA, Anti-glare (1280x800, 200nit)
* Memory: 2GB(up to 4GB configurable)
* Storage: 160GB SATA HDD (5400rpm)
* Optical Drive: Dual layer CD/DVD recordable drive
* Wireless and Communications: Intel 4965AGN (802.11 a/b/g/n wi-fi), BlueTooth 2.0 EDR
* Battery: 6-cell Li-Ion
* Dimensions: 13.2" x 9.7" x 1.3"-1.5")
* Weight: 5.5lbs with battery
* Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium
* Warranty: 1-year

The pricing on the SL400 starts at around $799. Unfortuantely, at the time of this writing we don't have pricing information on the configuration that we are testing ... but we'll have that information in our full review coming soon. Needless to say, this is one of the more budget-friendly ThinkPads on the market. More to the point, Lenovo has gone out of its way to give you multiple reasons to consider the SL series over the competition.

ThinkPad SL400 is quite solid in terms of build quality, though the plastics used in the chassis construction do give in to some case flex when squeezed. The entire chassis exterior is plastic and while the appearance is nice, the "feel" of the notebook is a little less rugged than we've come to expect from ThinkPads. Unlike with the other ThinkPads, you don't get a double latch mechanism with button release to make sure the screen is held down when it is closed and being carried. Instead, the SL400 uses hinge tension to hold the screen in place.

The glossy black plastic display cover is probably the most interesting design element on the SL400. Lenovo also decided to modify the traditional ThinkPad logo by adding a small red LED to the dot above the "i" in ThinkPad. I suppose someone still thinks "bling is the thing" in the world of small business. In any case, this certainly isn't a boring ThinkPad