Laptops Are Gadgets That Bring The World

Asus Eee PC 1000HE

2009-04-11T23:31:00.000-07:00

It is neither the first ever used processor Intel Atom N280, nor the extremely elegant looking six cell battery that leads it to the top. Even the revamped keyboard would not have done the trick. The best part of the new notebook laptop is that it provides all the above best of the lot features at a very low price. The icing on the cake is their limited time offer of $25 discount for subscribing to their Facebook group. The same discounts are also available when you order through an e-tailer.

You will not find the difference all of a sudden as on the first look the new ASUS EeePC 1000HE looks just like any other notebook in the market. The coating is glossy and the color choice is limited to a few. Of course you will notice certain design variations on a closer inspection. The limited color choice however persists. The only colors that are available are solid black or the navy blue and nothing else. They are in the same line with the contemporaries like the Acer 10 inch Aspire One, Samsung NC10-14GB and the MSI Wind.

When you look at the weight, the new 1000HE is heavier than Aspire One, MSI Wind, and the NC10 at 2.9, 2.6, and 2.9 pounds respectively. The 1000HE is 3.2 pounds. However this is acceptable since the frame is manufactured a bit larger than the others but in the process hides the protruding battery that looks odd in other contemporary models. This can also be considered as a significant development over the contemporary EeePC 1000H.

The improvement of designs will be pronounced when you have a look opening the lids of the machine. Now the caps that are put on the end of the barreled hinges are quite trimmed using steel. Mouse buttons and touchpad are enclosed within a brushed aluminum container. They look more prominent because of the black background of the ASUS EeePC 1000HE. The buttons are located just below the touchpad and they do not flank to either side like the HP Mini 2140. This is also the reason why a company like Acer also changed the position of the buttons to similar location as they realized how inconvenient it is to have the buttons adjacent to the touchpad. This is the feature you find in their latest Aspire One of 10 inch size.

In contrast the mouse buttons provided by 1000HE are larger is size than both the MSI Wind and the Aspire One. It seems that they were wrapped round the front bezel that is located in the middle of the laptop computer. You will therefore have sufficient rooms for pinching between your thumb and index finger facilitating easy navigation. True it is not the first in a laptop but certainly the first of its type in a notebook since none had the gesture based touchpad in the past. You will be scrolling up and down with two fingers only and at the same time can right click with three fingers. The difference of the buttons with the Dell Inspiron Mini 12 is that the buttons of 1000HE are not as silent and produces faint sounds.

The 1000HE uses 10-inch LED widescreen and is not different from many other notebooks as it has the same old 1024 X 600 resolution. HP Mini 2140 in contrast has 1366 X 768 resolutions, considered by them to be high definition screen. However the announced item has not yet appeared on their Web site. Among the note book computers only the Dell Mini 12 has a native 1280 X 800 resolution. A major improvement you will find in the ASUS EeePC 1000HE is in its keyboard. The keyboard is a completed revamped version of the 1000H.

Yes, the keyboard is only 92-93% of the regular size. However they match the sizes of both HP Mini 2130 and NC10-14GB. Keys resemble more with the aluminum make 13 inch size Apple MacBook and the VAIO VGN-Z590 model of Sony. All of them take the appearance of the oversized phone booth keys. The advantage is that you do not feel awkward typing on the comfortable size of keyboard. Of course there is room for arguing that the 1000HE does not carry clear feature wise advantage over other contemporary notebooks. The three USB ports, Webcam, the 4-in-1 card reader, the Ethernet port, the VGA out, and the 802.11n Wi-Fi are all the standard features found in almost every notebook computer. However the built in Bluetooth is a bonus for you. Addition of HDMI port could have made the features even better.

160 GB HDD used in ASUS EeePC 1000HE is just the same as in the 10 inch sized Acer Aspire One, and NC10-14GB model of Samsung. However it lacks some of the features of HP2140 and Lenovo IdeaPad S10 as it does not provider the Express card slot. It also does not provide the built in broadband that is mobile, called the cellular modem, like the HP Mini 1000 or Dell Inspiron Min 9. For the first time in the history of note book computers the 1.66 GHz Intel atom N280 has been used as the processor with the 1000HE introducing it.

It is believed to be a little bit faster than the erstwhile 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU. The new memory controller platform supports the DDR2 memory that provides the speed of 667 MHz as compared to the earlier version’s speed of 533 MHz. Put them to benchmark tests and you will be astonished to find that there is little difference of performance between the 1000HE on one hand and the Wind, 10 inch size Aspire One, and HP Mini 2140 on the other hand. On SYS mark 2007 preview the overall score of the ASUS EeePC 1000HE was matching with Samsung NC10-14 GB and only marginally better than the HP Mini 2140 at 5%. In Video encoding too the 1000HE bettered both Aspire One and 2140 by 3-4% each.

Following the patterns of the EeePC1002HA, ASUS have now added an over-clocking feature that is software based, in this notebook. The feature is used to control the speed of the CPU. The machine allows you to switch between several modes. You can use the super, high, auto or the power saving performances or navigate between them. The only thing you have to do is to press and application key that is located above the keyboard. You should not consider these improvements as anything remarkable. Even switching to Super Performance settings could enhance the performance by only 6% that is not much.

Transition to the N280 processor however has its own benefits. They reduce the pressure on the motherboard by reducing the sizes of the applications. The form factors turn slimmer and trimmer and it substantially reduces the costs. Even the seamless integration effected in case of the 6-cell battery is the result of the slimming effects. Of course it may not be clear to you from outside. In battery performance, the 1000HE rated better at 63 WH in comparison to the 58 WH of the Samsung NC10-14GB and 48 WH of the Dell Mini 12.

All of them use the six cell batteries but the performance of ASUS EeePC 1000HE is certainly better than others. Test results of battery performances of the machine were extremely impressive. Its Mobile Mark 2007 performance was 6 hours and 36 minutes. This was massive 46 minutes longer than the NC10-14GB. With the battery saving measures the performance became even better at 7 hours and 26 minutes.

In power saving settings the 1000HE dispenses with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth as well as the Webcam. The brightness features of the LCD are also reduced to around 40% only. Despite this ASUS could not reach the battery performance of the Acer Aspire One at 8 Hours and 6 minutes, 40 minutes more than 1000HE.

The point where the HP Mini 2140 failed to become the editor’s choice despite many good features is the strength of ASUS EeePC 1000HE. Despite being one of the best systems, the HP Mini 2140 comes at a massive $650. ASUS comes at much lower price with almost similar features. The absence of a couple of insignificant features does not award much against it. This is also a reason of the cheapest of the notebooks, Acer Aspire One becoming the best seller despite falling short in features in comparison to both Mini and 1000HE.

All said and done, if you take into consideration the design, typing facilities and battery life coupled with the low price, ASUS EeePC 1000HE will be hard to beat.

Specification:

Processor: Intel Atom N280 (1.66 GHz)
Screen Size: 10.1" (diagonal).
Graphics card: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950
Weight: 3.2 lbs.
Memory: 1GB RAM
Hard Disk Capacity: 160 Gigabytes
Networking: WiFi, Ethernet, bluetooth (optional)
Useful For: People with tight budget

Sony Lifestyle PC

2009-04-11T23:29:00.001-07:00

The renowned senior vice president of Sony had the premature model of the Sony Lifestyle PC in his pocket more than two years ago. It was termed as a handheld PC back then. Today however this ingeniously designed achievement has been made public as a fully loaded revolutionary netbook.

A number of big names have been involved in the development of netbooks in recent years. The Sony Lifestyle PC is the company’s attempt at exploring the note book concept. This latest product however is targeted towards the women. This is not to say the men can’t make use of it but Sony has made its intentions quite clear.

Sony’s take on the netbook is strikingly different from any other netbook that you may have seen. The biggest difference is made by the eight inch LED widescreen. This unique feature is truly the first of its kind. The screen has a wonderful display and is bound to catch your attention even from a distance. One glance at the Sony Lifestyle PC in action will make you want to touch it, use it and own it.

Although the Sony Lifestyle PC is classified as a netbook it really has much more to it than what ordinary netbooks have to offer. The machine runs the famous Intel Atom platform and is a rather inexpensive alternative to a full size Sony laptop. It has a rather undersized keyboard which is trademark of all netbooks.

There are however certain extraordinary features in the Sony Lifestyle PC that makes it worth a lot more than a netbook. First and foremost is the incredibly lightweight of the machine despite it being loaded with great features. The features include 3G wireless along with a pre-boot Linux environment which you get to see on a high resolution Led screen.

There is no doubt regarding the superb engineering of the device. The fact that it comes already loaded with Windows Vista as the operating system drags it down performance wise. This drawback is further heightened when you consider the fact that it is being sold for over a thousand dollars. The remarkable design of the Sony Lifestyle gizmo is bound to win over the masses despite its performance drawbacks and high purchase price.

On close observance one can draw out some parallels between this device from Sony and the Intel Moorestown concept drive. Weighing in at 1.4 pounds the Sony Lifestyle PC is only a mere 0.2 pounds heavier than its base model. the UX180P. The device measures 9.7 by 4.7 by 0.4 inches. This makes it almost the same size as the ASUS EeePC but in terms of its width the device is almost half its size. The thin body of the Sony Lifestyle PC makes it a great fit in your suit pocket or a coach clutch bag.

Sony has paid a great deal of attention on the device in terms of its design. The unique looking product is bound to stand out from other devices of the like including the ASUS EeePC, Acer Aspire One and the MSI Wind based on its design alone.

One of the unique strategies employed by Sony was the compressing of the screen from the top. This makes the eight inch wide screen appear even longer than it is. Although it is still smaller than the ten inch screen of the Wind, the fact that it has a far superior resolution is what gives it the edge.

Unlike the conventional netbooks that make use of a 1024 by 600 resolution the Sony Lifestyle PC has adopted a 1600 by 768 resolution. This resolution setting will enable the users to open three explorer windows at the same time without any of them overlapping each other. The device is also embedded with a special Windows Arrangement button. This helps to align all your applications in a row.

The high resolution screen comes into its full when you run different multimedia applications on it. A movie clip on the Sony Lifestyle PC will seem to be popping out due to the super quality of the display. It is however quite likely for you to develop an eye strain if you continue using the device for over an hour.

In order to counter this problem the device has been loaded with an in built magnifying tool. To be quite honest, the tool is quite impractical and probably no one will feel comfortable using it. Despite its great features the Lifestyle PC is not the optimum choice for people with sensitive vision having emailing and word processing as their top priorities. The fact that you can watch a movie while the Microsoft Word and PowerPoint windows are open as well is however quite an intriguing aspect of the device.

Sony has declared that the main target audience for this unique device is women. The company will however be marketing the Lifestyle PC to college students and young professionals as well. Sony stated that for the women the device would sell more because of its unique looks rather than its features. Hence Sony has made the device available in a variety of shiny colors ranging from red, green and white with a polished exterior. This is something that all netbooks have to offer. The area in which the Lifestyle PC stands out from the rest is in the accessory selection domain. Users have a wide spectrum of choices when it comes to selecting a sleeve for the device. The variety is truly mind numbing and is sure to excite the target audience. Buyers will also be getting a pair of excellent noise cancelling headphones with each set.

The predecessor of the Sony Lifestyle was dragged down to its undersized keyboard. By incorporating a wide screen in the Sony Lifestyle PC the company has been able to put an 87% keyboard in the device. This makes it only slightly smaller than the keyboard you would find in the Lenovo IdeaPad S10. The spacing between the keys is excellent and the raised individual keys add convenience as well. Compared to other netbooks of its kind, the Sony Lifestyle PC features the smallest keyboard of them all. Your typing speed on this machine is however likely to increase with time. Generally people with slender fingers will find it easier to adjust to this machine rather than those that have stubby fingers. The device was also too small for the company to incorporate a touch pad. Rather the device functions with a pointing stick. The ergonomics of the device are such that it works best without a palm rest which is why it doesn’t have one.

The keyboard features one key that most people would be unfamiliar with. Pressing this key boots the device into the Linux environment. Hence Windows Vista takes a maximum of 20 seconds to load rather than a minute. This is something that works well with the users. The interface of the device bears likeliness to that of the Sony PS3. It features similar features that allow transparent menu items to drop down to reveal more items. The Sony Lifestyle PC shares the Xross Media Bar found in the PS3. The pre-boot mode lets you access all your drives, applications and network connections. Again, in terms of the functions that this device has to offer, this is probably the most useful one and comes in quite handy when you are running low on battery life.

The Lifestyle PC comes embedded with two USB ports which gives it the edge over the UX180P and the Fujitsu LifeBook U280 which featured only one port. The device also features two separate card slots for Secure Digital and Memory Stick formats. Ideally you would want to go with the 64GB solid state drive set. This is because the 60GB hard drive alternative does not match up in terms of performance.

The Lifestyle PC is also embedded with a number of other technologically advanced goodies such as Bluetooth, GPS and Wifi modules. The GPS comes loaded with Microsoft Streets and Trips. There is no doubt about the effectiveness of GPS in the Sony Lifestyle PC but by no means is it going to be a replacement for a stand alone GPS device. This is because in this device you will have to wait until Windows Vista loads and your GPS starts to receive signals.

The thin chassis of the Lifestyle netbook does not enable to sport a VGA or an Ethernet port. Rather the device comes with an additional adaptor that featuring the VGA and Ethernet. This device can be plugged into an AC adapter with both weighing in at 0.3 pounds.

By offering the device in Windows Vista, Home Premium and Business as the only operating systems Sony has attempted to make it stand out from the other netbooks that offer Windows XP Home Edition and stand alone Linux options.

Despite all the fancy features the Lifestyle PC might face some trouble processing. Embedded with a 1.33 GHZ Intel Atom Z520 the device falls short of its competitors that have are embedded with slightly more powerful processors. Plus the fact that the Lifestyle PC will be operating Windows Vista places even more hurdles. The 2GB hard drive along with the solid state drive however helps to counter Vista’s drawbacks. Nonetheless they are not powerful enough. The Atom based device is loaded with various not very useful operations that further limit its ability.

The slowness of the device truly comes into light when you attempt to open the control panel in Windows Vista. It will take for ages to load the hundred or so pictures in the control panel. In terms of its Window encoding tests the Lifestyle PC took two minutes longer than the MSI Wind and HP Mini 2140 at seven minutes twenty seconds.

The thin body of the Lifestyle PC makes it prone to heat up at times although no complaints of overheating have been made. One of the major draw backs of the device is the disappointingly low battery life which matters a lot when it comes to wireless device.
The Sony Lifestyle PC is being offered at a retail price of $1999 which is around three to four hundred dollars more than the other netbooks in the market. It makes a great travel companion and with its remarkable design it is bound to reach out to a wide audience despite its technical glitches.

Specification:

Processor: Intel Atom Z520 (1.33 GHz)
Screen Size: 8" (diagonal)
Graphics card: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 500
Weight: 1.4 pound.
Memory: 2 Gigabytes
Useful For: Ultraportable, general purposes

Asus M50Sa-A1

2009-03-11T10:51:00.000-07:00

Writing about Asus M50Sa-A1 reminds me a lot to Apple MacBook Pro with Penryn technology. Although there are gaps between their price and specification but apparently Asus M50Sa-A1 would be a heavy competitor to Apple latest product. If you test various programs on both laptops, you'll realize that Asus M50Sa-A1 is absolutely a good choice. And it's 50% cheaper than Apple MacBook Pro with Penryn, even more!

Nevertheless, Asus M50Sa-A1 is not available except in NewEgg at the moment. Despite it could be available in offline stores in the next few weeks (or months) but Asus policy to test their newest laptop only in NewEgg has caused me to raise my eyebrows. About this laptop itself, apparently Asus M50Sa-A1 is designed for multimedia users and graphic designers.

Take a look at the 15.4" monitor. Yes, it's not the biggest monitor ever (there are many laptops with 17" widescreen monitor) but this laptop still gives us a really amazing experience if we watch movies or other multimedia things thanks to the nice 1,440x900 screen resolution. Even you could still play some interesting games like Heroes V or Neverwinter Nights 2.

Asus uses 3 GB RAM memory, ATI Radeon HD 3600 graphics card, and of course the best part is its Penryn technology. About ports, this laptop has one HDMI port and one eSATA port. It means although Asus M50Sa-A1 has a massive storage capacity (250 GB) but you can buy an external hard drive to increase this number even more. In overall, Asus M50Sa-A1 is a really nice laptop, not too far behind Apple MacBook Pro w/ Penryn, and it's not expensive either. Oh I almost forgot, you should buy a 9 cell battery if you already own this laptop because this kind of battery will boost your Asus M50Sa-A1 battery life to almost five hours.

Specification:

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T9300 (2.5 GHz)
Screen Size: 15.4" (diagonal).
Graphics card: ATI Radeon HD 3600
Weight: 7 lbs.
Memory: 3GB RAM
Hard Disk Capacity: 250 Gigabytes
Ports: 3 USB
Networking: Wi-Fi, Ethernet, bluetooth
Useful For: Multimedia users, gamers

Sony VAIO VGN AW190

2009-03-08T01:15:00.001-08:00

Professionals like graphic designers or photographers usually employ the use of external monitors with their laptops for achieving color accuracy. This defeats the whole purpose of using a laptop. To deal with this problem Sony has come up with a new Model. It is the Sony VAIO VGN-AW190. It is the perfect laptop for professional designers and photographers.

The Sony VAIO VGN-AW190 provides a wonderful color reproduction. It has a high-definition Adobe RGB-compatible display. The way it displays pictures and graphics is comparable to any high priced HD LCD monitor.

Design

The Sony VIO VGN AW190 has a pretty looking glossy-black exterior. It has a complete professional look which appeals to the eyes. The laptop weighs around 8.4 pounds. It is the lightest laptop in the 18-inch range. This makes it easier to carry the laptop around. It is designed in a luxurious way and its palm rest is draped in leather like material. This makes it easy and comfortable to use the palm rest while typing.

The AW190 has a distinctive keyboard design that is similar to the Apple MacBook. The keys are perfect squares in shape. They are slightly raised and have a visible spacing in between all of them. The laptop also has a numeric keypad with similar keys in the right side of the keyboard.

The processors

The Sony VIO VGN AW190 has a variety of processors to choose from. The best that one can go for is the Intel Core 2 Duo T9400 or the T9600. Both the processors are wonderful for video encoding.

Other features

For photographers with a D-SLR or any other type of digital camera, there is a Compact Flash memory card slot. Also present are slots for SD cards and memory sticks as well. Another wonderful feature is the storage capacity which is 1 terabyte. Also there are two hard drives of 500GB each.

The laptop also has a Blu-ray reader (BD-ROM). This makes the laptop fit for any technological innovation in the next 5 years. There also is an internal ATSC tuner and speakers similar to the HDX18t.

The Sony VIO has 4GB RAM, which is essential for running Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit. The AW190's has a small 53-Wh battery. In fact it is the smallest in its class. This makes it lighter and provides with a decent battery backup.
The fact of the matter is that the Sony VAIO VGN-AW190 is more than the average desktop replacement. The laptop is the most suitable machine for professional photographers, artists, or graphics designers.
Although priced a little higher because of its Adobe RGB display, it still is better than the other 18 inch systems like the HP HDX18t and Acer Aspire 8920G. All in all it provides a complete package. Its Blu-ray drive and media-centric features make it perfect for entertainment freaks also. So if you are a photographer, designer or a simple laptop fanatic, Sony VIO VGN– AW190 is what you should buy. So check it out yourself and see how it gives you the best value for your money.

Specification:

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T9400 (2.53 GHz)
Screen Size: 18.4" (diagonal)
Graphics card: nVidia GeForce 9600M GT
Weight: 8.4 lbs
Memory: 4 Gigabytes
Useful For: Media, Business

HP Compaq 2710p

2009-03-08T01:13:00.000-08:00

This new HP Compaq laptop has received many critics. The most interesting part from Compaq 2710p is the combination of its batteries. Beside of the powerful batteries, Compaq 2710p doesn't provide any positive things. The 3.9 pounds Compaq 2710p uses 2GB RAM memory, 12.1" widescreen monitor, Intel GMA X3100, Intel Core 2 Duo U7600 (1.2 GHz), and 100 GB Hard Disk capacity.

Lenovo IdeaPad S10

2009-03-08T01:07:00.000-08:00

The computer market has seen an onslaught of laptop models in the recent past. There are various models to satisfy your basic computing needs, however some models can help you take the usage to the next level. One such useful laptop is the Lenovo IdeaPad S10.

Design

The laptop has everything just right. It has a 10-inch screen, which has an amazing display. The processor in the laptop is the Intel Atom. The laptop has a sufficiently spacious 160GB hard drive. There also is an Express Card slot.

The Lenovo IdeaPad S10 features the same design as its contemporary models from its competitor companies. Its dimensions are 7.3 by 9.8 by 0.9 inches (HWD) and is similar to a rectangular box I shape. It has a fewer curves than the other popular laptops. It has a matted cover and is not as shiny as the other models.

The laptop is weighed at a fair At 2.7 pounds. It is one of the heavy notebooks. It's about a tenth of a pound heavier than the popular MSI Wind. Mainly the weight is added due to the 10-inch screen.

Features

The S10 has a screen with a minimal border. The screen is big enough to fill almost the entire inside lid. All the other contemporaries have a thicker border that is approximately around their 8.9-inch screens. Some of them also have 10-inch screens with a smaller border.

The Lenovo S10 does not have a very flashy keyboard. Still it is good enough to meet the excellence of the typical Lenovo keyboards. The 90 percent keyboard is as good as any of the keyboard on the other laptop models.

The Lenovo IdeaPad S10 also has some distinct features that make it better than all other of its competitor laptops that are available in the market. The laptop has two USB ports. It also includes express card slot. This slot is very useful as it helps to add an expansion card for mobile broadband.

Hard drive and Processor

The company has also included a spinning hard drive rather than the meager SSDs included in the other laptops. The whole drive is the 160GB hard drive. Other features are the four-in-one card reader, a VGA-out slot, an Ethernet slot. It also has a useful web cam as well as an 802.11g Wi-Fi connection.

The laptop has a 1.6-GHz Intel Atom N270 processor. This is the fastest and most energy-efficient laptop processor. This does not get warm and is faster than the other processors. The laptop has a RAM (Random Access Memory) of 1GB. It has a wonderful operating system in the form of Windows XP Home Edition. You can also go for a Linux version. The windows version is definitely faster.
The fact is that the Lenovo IdeaPad S10 is a wonderful laptop. It is complete value for your money. It is available at all the popular electronic stores and websites. The Laptop is truly what is needed by everyone today.

Specification:

Processor: Intel Atom N270 (1.6 GHz)
Screen Size: 10.2"
Graphics card: Intel GMA 950
Weight: 2.7 lbs
Memory: 1GB RAM
Hard Disk Capacity: 160 Gigabytes
Useful As: Ultraportable

Fujitsu Lifebook S6520

2009-03-08T01:06:00.001-08:00

When it comes to a trade off between portability and wide screen resolution in a Lap Top, you will need something special. The task will undoubtedly be a challenging one. You have no reason to loose heart however. The Fujitsu LifeBook S6520 may be the answer to your problems.

Light and handy Fujitsu outplays the lighter Panasonic model
Coming at a cost of around $1,689, this marvelous device is an ultra light weight at only 4 pounds. At the same time it provides a screen that is 14” wide. There is an optical drive with qualitative performances so essential in commercial circles. The lightness of the Lap Top is surpassed only by Panasonic Toughbook CF-Y7 that is even lighter with a 14” display screen.

However in terms of raw horsepower, Fujitsu LifeBook S6520 far outflanks the Panasonic Toughbook CF-Y7.

Specialties of shape and size
The shape of S6520 model comes to 9.3” X 12.4” X 1.2”. It is smaller in comparison to the size of 9.4” X 13.2” X 1.3” inches as in case of Lenovo ThinkPad T400. However in terms of the traditional lap top it is still quite large though lighter at the weight of only 3.9 lbs. In comparison both HP EliteBook 6930P as well as the Lenovo ThinkPad T400 weigh about five pounds.

Despite being enlisted among the portable computers neither the EliteBook nor Lenovo is as light as S6520. Moreover the S6520 even outpaces its lighter counterpart in Toughbook CF-Y7 with the pop-up optical drive, a processor that is energy efficient, and reduced cooling components.

The exterior is colored with light magnesium ally metals and a plastic mixture forming its base. However, the device is more prone to scratches than other models like EliteBook and Tough Book.

Resolving the issues relating to resolution
Resolution wise S6520 comes lower compared to ThinkPad T400. However the glossy screen provided with these computers may cause your eyes to glare under the fluorescent lights. However unlike the others such as Elite Book, Tough Book and Think Pad, it does not provide matte screens.

User friendly features in S6520
One of the most user-friendly components in S6520 is the keyboard that could be second only to the keyboard provided in the Lenevo’s ThinkPad. Typing is quite easy and convenient and at times a pleasant experience on S6520.

The built-in optical drive can work as an additional bay provided an extra battery is attached to it. You can have the basic essential for the commercial people with S6520. There are as many as three USB ports, FireWire port, reader of fingerprints, megapixel webcam at the size of 1.3. You also get a 4-in-1 card reader.

Wireless diversity features
Inherent is the weakness of wireless diversity in S6520. Features available in other products score over it in this respect. With an integrated 3G S6520 could have matched others conveniently.
Standard wireless components for S6520 are Intel’s Centrino 2 Wi-Fi as well as the Bluetooth technology. Rival companies like the ThinkPad and EliteBook obtain 3G options from AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, and Vodabone.

S6520 is a refreshment of previous generation devices
Previous generation LifeBook S 6510 is the father of the current day S6520. Naturally enough many old components are discarded while new components have come up. The new components are mostly from the Intel Centrinon 2 platform.
Notable refreshment is the 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 processors. This is a real jump from the much inferior 2.4GHz T7700. The functions remain the same at supporting energy efficiency and battery optimization. S6520 has also moved from DDR2 to DDR3 in terms of memory slots that fully supports Centrino 2's speedier 1,066-MHz front-side bus

Knockout preview
When previewed it was found that S6520’s SYSmark 2007 indicates an overall score of 117. It simply knocked out the predecessor S6510 and also Toughbook CF Y7 with scores of 80 and 66 respectively. However it fell short of the Think Pad T400 as well as the Elite Book 6930, both of whom had faster processors and with their own discrete graphics notched up scores of 146 and 149 respectively.
So far as the performance of the battery is concerned, once again the ThinkPad fared better with a time span of 4 hours and 12 minutes as against the S6520 time span of 3 hours and 45 minutes. However, the S6520 provides a feature that allows you to insert an extra battery into the modular drive providing you more time if you so require.

Neither the fastest, nor the cheapest, yet unique
Fujitsu LifeBook S6520 lap top is not the fastest among the computers. It is not the cheapest either. However, it is still unique with the largest screen in a light weight lap top weighting only approximately 4 pounds.
If you are constantly on the move or an avid traveler, this one quality will ensure that you consider S6520 seriously in comparison to others due to the rare combination of the features of portability and clarify of vision. This will also be your consideration if you are habituated in working with multiple applications at one time.

Specification:

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 (2.4 GHz)
Screen Size: 14.1" (diagonal).
Graphics card: Intel GMA 4500MHD
Weight: 3.9 lbs.
Memory: 2GB RAM
Hard Disk Capacity: 250 Gigabytes
Useful For: Media users, businessmen

Panasonic Toughbook CF-Y7

2009-03-08T01:05:00.000-08:00

It’s something unusual to consider Panasonic Toughbook products as one of the best laptop brands. Their price tags are expensive and their specifications are not as good as other popular laptop brands. Toughbook CF-Y7, despite it’s still expensive, probably is an exception. If we are talking about size, Toughbook CF-Y7 is big, wide, and obviously it’s not thinner than MacBook Air. However, Toughbook CF-Y7 weighs only 3.5 lbs, lighter than most laptops with 14” monitor screen size.

Panasonic claims its Toughbook CF-Y7 would suit all high-class businessmen’s needs. Well, for travelers and businessmen the most important issues usually are the keyboard and mouse. When your laptop mouse and keyboard are not responsive, you’ll try to search for a better laptop. Lenovo ThinkPad laptops and Apple MacBook Air have better keyboard and mouse than Toughbook CF-Y7. But still, I think CF-Y7 is one of the best in these issues.

Sadly, this laptop is expensive and consumes too much energy. When newer laptops always consume less energy than the older ones, Toughbook CF-Y7 still needs 16 watts in its idle mode. About features, there is also nothing special about this laptop. It only has 2 USB ports, one SD card slot, and one VGA-out. Surprisingly, Toughbook CF-Y7 storage capacity is only up to 80 Gigabytes. Well, I think in this era a laptop with minimum 120 GB hard disk capacity is absolutely needed.

Specification:

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo L7500 (1.6 GHz)
Monitor: 14.1 " (diagonal).
Graphics card: Intel GMA X3100
Weight: 3.5 pounds
Memory: 1 GB RAM
Hard Disk Capacity: 300 Gigabytes
Useful For: Businessmen, travelers

Dell Inspiron

2009-03-08T01:02:00.001-08:00

If your budget is as low as $1,000, Dell Inspiron is absolutely for people like you. Dell Inspiron maybe looks not so convincing but actually it’s a great product. Inspiron uses Core 2 Duo and even you can get a hard disk with capacity up to 250 Gigabytes.

Dell Inspiron is only around $899 but you can choose better specification if you think you have more money. Inspiron is not an old product. In fact, Dell always upgrades this notebook so you don’t need to be worry. I think Inspiron is one of the best low-cost laptops in the world. Dell Inspiron 1720 and 1525 are the latest products at the moment.

Acer Travelmate

2009-03-08T00:59:00.001-08:00

Acer created Travelmate for professional people/businessmen. It is a very light notebook and also very cheap. Nevertheless, Travelmate is not for you who need more features and faster processor. This product has been criticized heavily for its performance (depend on what series). Usually busy people need more than just a basic laptop which Travelmate couldn't provide.

There is also a negative warranty issue about Travelmate. According to various sources, Travelmate has a high failure risk during the warranty period. But whatever people say about it, Acer sells the Travelmate laptops easily. In the end, statistic speaks everything, right?

MSI GT725 Notebook featuring ATi Radeon HD4850

2009-03-07T16:21:00.001-08:00

MSI announced the GT725 Gaming Notebook. MSI outfitted the GT725 with Intel Centrino 2 Processor Technology. The ATi Radeon HD4850 video card, a Blu-ray player and a 17 inch 1080P HD LCD display.
MSI built the GT725 in its brushed aluminum gaming case with stamped aluminum sheeting for increased protection and durability. However, despite the rugged case and a standard 9-cell battery, the GT725 weighs just over seven pounds.
Other features of the MSI GT725 include up to 4GB RAM support, 802.11b/g/n, 2MP WebCam, HD Audio, Card reader, 320GB SATA HDD, and HDMI port.

Apple Computer MacBook Pro 15.4" 2.16GHz Core 2 Duo MA609LL/ A

2009-03-07T16:08:00.001-08:00

Whether you’re at the client’s office, on location, or back at your hotel room, just use the Apple Remote to control your videos, music, movies, and more. Front Row lets you quickly navigate through your work and play from anywhere in the room. You can even use the Apple Remote to navigate through Keynote presentations.

Computer Service Business Success And The Need To Focus

2009-03-01T11:19:00.000-08:00

Do you own a computer service business that needs better marketing results?

Many computer consultants start out thinking the home user, or B2C (Business to Consumer) market is the right place to be; but they quickly realize the difficulty of making a profit as a one-person (maybe two-person) operation catering to the needs of home users.

If you own a computer service business that wants to provide solutions to small businesses, you need to realize that there are a lot of different types of small businesses out there.

This article goes over 3 ways to define the "small" in small business and figure out which type of small business is the best focus for your computer services business.

1. Know about Home-Based Businesses and Micro-Small Businesses.
A home-based business typically just involves 1-2 computers and an individual. A micro-small business is just one very small step up from that in size, with 5-10 employees and that many or fewer computer systems. If you focus too much on home-based businesses and micro-small businesses, you'll have a hard time selling a lot of ongoing services agreements. While both types of businesses are technically within the definition of "small business," they may not be the best clients for your computer service business.

2. Avoid Targeting Micro-Small and Home-Based Businesses.
First of all, these kinds of small businesses often have lots of consumer-grade PC's, which will not be a big help for implementing sophisticated client/server networking solutions. Secondly, these kinds of small businesses often use pirated software, which will give you major problems when you start to develop long-term technology plans and complex networks. Thirdly, most of these kinds of small businesses will be reluctant, and often unable to pay for your sophisticated, high-end professional services. Fourthly, these kinds of tiny small businesses often believe that IT is not that important to their company, so they don't need the benefits you are offering. And finally, these kinds of tiny small businesses are usually too small to afford a real, dedicated server and a real client/server network, making your solutions overkill.

3. Great Computer Service Business Success Resides in Small Businesses with 10 or More PCs.
Computer service business owners that target companies with at least 10 PC's are generally more successful at building strong businesses. At that point, small businesses cannot continue to run peer-to-peer networks. They also cannot afford to wait for volunteers and moonlighters to get around to responding to needs or emergencies. Small businesses that have 10 or more systems start to get really serious about putting in real client server networks, dependable back-up solutions, reliable power protection and secure firewalls. At this size, small business decision makers usually understand the need for more sophisticated total business solutions. They also know that they need to use IT more strategically in order to compete and grow. Small businesses with 10 or more systems are ideal because they will rely on your expertise and will understand why they need a very professional computer service business to take ownership of the total business problem, provide on-going service and not just respond to emergencies one at a time.

By: Joshua Feinberg

How Do I Keep My Laptop In Good Condition?

2009-03-01T11:16:00.000-08:00

Laptops, regardless of the reason you buy them, are very important, not only because of their monetary value but because of the data that is stored on them. Furthermore, if your laptop stops functioning properly, then the time it spends in the repair shop will be time that you can't spend doing your work, studying or whatever it was you used the laptop for.

Here are some tips to help you keep your laptop in the best shape possible, year after year:

1. Vent Cleaning:
The vents on your laptop need to be looked at every week to make sure there is nothing blocking them or impeding their performance. You can buy a can of air at a local store and use this to clean them out, as it is best not to poke anything in them.

2. Fan Functioning:
A malfunction in the fan can lead to your laptop overheating, so make sure that your fan is working properly. Check the website of the company that made the laptop and look for software that will help you determine if the fan is working correctly.

3. Surface:
Try and use a hard surface to keep your laptop on, and avoid both your lap and pillows as this will reduce the airflow to the fans and vents, causing the laptop to heat up.

4. Storage:
Buy a good quality laptop bag or sleeve and store the laptop in this every time you turn it off. This will stop dust from getting into the laptop, as well as protect it from spills, or bumps. Make sure you only store the laptop when it is completely shut down, as putting it in a bag when it is on could make it overheat.

5. Liquids:
Keep all liquids away from your laptop at all times. If you are in the habit of drinking water while working, make sure the bottle is covered at all times. If possible keep the water bottle on a different table to avoid mishaps.

6. Shocks:
Make sure the laptop is well protected when you move it around, and always move it gently to avoid jarring it and breaking something.

7. Humidity:
Protect your laptop from humidity at all times. It can cause damage to the motherboard and the screen. Don't use your laptop when at the beach, or outside when the weather is humid.

8. Dust:
Always protect your laptop from dust. Keep it away from open windows, put it in a storage sleeve when not in use, and every week clean the screen and keyboard with a soft cloth to remove dust.

9. Floor:
Never put your laptop on the floor for storage, as someone is undoubtedly going to step on it or put something on it, damaging it permanently.

10. Surge Protectors:
Always use a surge protector when charging your laptop to protect the battery.

These few tips should keep your laptop in good condition for years to come and enable you to get great performance from it.