August 2009 Archives

A review of the Packard Bell dot m/a notebook has been posted over at Pocket-lint.com. 'The left-hand side of the notebook is also prone to getting hot, much more than the right-hand side, which does give a strange sensation during long periods of use. The heat sink and ventilation holes are on the left (which explains this) and we found the fan ran most of the time so it isn't the quietest of notebooks to use. The screen, however, is impressive. With a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels, Windows Vista Home Basic looked sharp and impressive, with sumptuous colours and plenty bright. The screen does have a glossy finish, so suffers from reflections fairly significantly. A matte version would be much more friendly for those looking to use it on the move.'

Trusted Reviews have published a review of the Dell Latitude 2100 netbook. 'As far as design goes, rather than looking like a children's toy we'd call the 2100 industrial. This rugged, serious impression is enforced by its strong, aggressive lines and uniform, matte black insides with the blue-backlit power button and indicator icons. The matte bezel surrounding the screen contains the optional webcam as well as surprisingly impressive (by netbook standards) speakers. Though inevitably on the tinny side when it comes to bass, the mid range is generally clear and they manage relatively high volume levels without significant distortion.'

A review of the Portable One SX-N7350 notebook PC has been posted over at NotebookReview.com. 'The Portable One SX-N7350 is a compact 13.3" notebook built on the Clevo M735T platform. It offers a professional design that could be easily passed off as a business notebook, with a very durable chassis to hold up to the rigors of day-to-day abuse. Inside the notebook packs a glossy LED-backlit display and power-efficient Intel X4500HD integrated graphics. Read our full review to find out more about this notebook and if it deserves a spot on your lap.'

A review of the Samsung Go N310-13GB netbook has been posted over at PC Magazine. 'Draped in orange, the N310-13GB conjures up images of a life preserver or a ruggedized piece of luggage. The rubbery texture that surrounds the entire frame has the ability to withstand wear and tear, as well as your grimy fingers. Netbooks like the NB205 and the HP Mini 5101 achieve the same effect with their texturized chassis, whereas the shiny coats on the Acer Aspire One (D250-1165) and the Lenovo Ideapad S12 are smudge magnets. The round edges make the N310-13GB look more oval than boxy, which is another design element that shouldn't be overlooked. At 2.9 pounds, it's as heavy as the NB205 and the Dell Inspiron Mini 10v, but, in the case of the N310-13GB, that weight's mainly attributable to the large 6-cell batterY.'

A review of the Sony Vaio W netbook has been posted over at MobileTechReview.com. 'The Sony Vaio W runs on the 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 with 1 gig of DDR2 RAM and Windows XP Home Edition. It has a VGA webcam, Bluetooth 2.1 +EDR with A2DP stereo support, WiFi 802.11b/g/n and a 1366 x 768 XBrite-Eco LED backlit gloss display. The netbook has 2 USB ports, VGA, 10/100 Ethernet, 3.5mm stereo headphone, 3.5mm mic, an SD card slot and a Memory Stick Pro Duo slot. It weighs 2.62 pounds with the standard 3 cell battery and measures 0.54 x 1.28 x 7.07 inches.'

The Register Hardware have published a review of the Asus UX50V laptop. 'The UX50V is its latest attempt at creating a laptop for those who like to stand out from the crowd. It features a glossy 15.6in display with a 1366 x 768 resolution, delivering a 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio. It is powered by a 1.4GHz SU3500 - an ultra-low voltage, single-core CPU from Intel's Core 2 Solo range. A more powerful Core 2 Duo SU9300 version of the UX50V with a 500GB hard drive appears on the UK web site, yet Asus tells us this isn't actually available in the UK, so we're stuck with the Core 2 Solo model.'

Press Release

Espoo, Finland - After more than 25 years as a pioneer and leader in the mobile industry, Nokia will bring its rich mobility heritage and knowledge to the PC world with the new, Windows based, Nokia Booklet 3G.

Powered by the efficient Intel Atom processor, the Nokia Booklet 3G delivers impressive performance with up to 12 hours of battery life, enabling people to leave their power cable behind and still be connected and productive. Delivering the rich experience of a full-function PC inside an ultra-portable aluminum chassis, the new mini-laptop weighs 1.25 kilograms, measures slightly more than two centimeters thin, and has the features one would expect from the world's leading mobile device manufacturer. A broad range of connectivity options - including 3G/ HSPA and Wi-Fi - gives consumers high speed access to the Internet, including Nokia's broad suite of Ovi services, and allows them to make the most of every moment and every opportunity.

A review of the Alienware M17x gaming laptop has been posted over at DigitalTrends.com. 'Our evaluation unit was equipped with some of the most powerful mobile components currently available, like Intel's top-of-the-line Core2 Extreme Quad QX9300 processor, which is composed of a quartet of cores running at 2.53GHz with a 12MB cache and 1066MHz front-side bus. It also had a couple of SLI-enabled NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280M cards each with 1GB of dedicated video memory, as well as 8GB of all-purpose DDR3 RAM running at 1333MHz. We were surprised that the notebook didn't belch smoke from its vents.'

CNET have published a review of the Asus Eee PC 1101HA Seashell (black) netbook. 'The design of the 1101HA will seem familiar to anyone who has seen the 10-inch 1005HA version of the Eee PC (one of our favorite Netbooks). There's a tapered front lip, and a gentle slope to the system, making it slightly thicker in the rear. There's still enough room for standard VGA and Ethernet jacks on the sides, but just barely. Thanks to the slim design and efficient use of space, the 1101 doesn't feel much bulkier than a 10-inch Netbook, which makes it worth a look, if 10-inch screens are just too small, but you still value portability and weight above all else.'

Laptop Magazine have published their review of the Lenovo IdeaPad S12 netbook. 'The S12 has similar design features common to other models in the IdeaPad line; not only does it share traits with the smaller S10-2, but its keyboard is also reminiscent of the larger IdeaPad Y450. While it has the same polarizing pattern on its lid (which is either a subliminal advertisement for Target or misplaced nostalgia for 70s-era wallpaper), we like the S12's design a bit more than the S10-2, mainly owing to its larger size. While its edges are still beveled like the S10-2, they're not as pronounced, making the S12 seem more like the original S10, whose boxier design we admired. Still, the chrome-wrapped edges of the Samsung NC20, and the fact that it better conceals its six-cell battery (the S12's protrudes out the back) give the Samsung a slicker look.'

PC World have published a review of the Gateway NV5807U laptop. 'The 320GB SATA hard drive and the 8X dual-layer Super Multi optical drive will give you plenty of storage space, and the standard array of ports (two USB ports on each side of the laptop and a multiformat card reader) and connectivity options (56-kbps modem, gigabit ethernet, and 802.11a/g/n Wi-Fi) will give you plenty of ways to fill that hard drive up. Note that the NV5807 doesn't have FireWire, so if you have a video camera that requires it, look elsewhere.'

A review of the Lenovo IdeaPad S10-2 netbook has been posted over at ThinkComputers.org. 'Opening the S10-2 up you have a 10.1-inch WSVGA glossy LED-backlit display with integrated camera at the top. Lenovo has improved the keyboard from the original S10 also. It is now an 89% full-sized keyboard that also has an enlarged right shift key. Also new to the S10-2 is the Lenovo QuickStart button, which we will talk about a bit later in the review. The touchpad has also been enlarged a bit, which is nice. Other improvements over the original S10-2 include optional 3G built-in, new Dolby sound enhancements, an extra USB port, and around 30% more battery life.'

Pocket-lint have published a review of the Dell Latitude E5400 Notebook. 'The dark plastic finish looks painfully drab, but the austere styling is ideal for the corporate market, with form placed ahead of function. It lacks the high quality feel of premium products, but it's an incredibly hardwearing design, with no sign of weakness from any of the plastics. There's plenty of protection from the thick screen surround, and the plastic chassis also feels more than capable for daily use. The 14.1-inch screen is great for business use, with a sharp resolution of 1440 x 900 pixels, and a matt finish to keep reflections to a minimum when out and about. Washed out colours make it less than ideal for movie playback and photo editing, however.'

InfoSync World have published a review of the Lenovo IdeaPad Y550 multimedia laptop. 'The Lenovo IdeaPad Y550 is a big, glossy, plastic machine, a departure from the company's sleek, understated, business ThinkPad lineup. The top of the lid is coated in a sort of textured, worn-looking pattern that's hardly visible except in direct light, and the black, glossy scheme is hardly unbroken except for a distinguishing band of orange around the middle. The laptop didn't feel especially solid in our hands. The bottom half would wobble and bend when we plied it. The top half required two hands to open, as the unlatched top was nice and stiff. There seemed to be a lot of give in the laptop case wherever we tried squeezing it.'

A review of the Packard Bell EasyNote Butterfly s notebook PC has been posted over at NotebookCheck.net. 'After lifting the lid of PBs ultraportable notebook our very first positive impression of the Butterfly´s case is confirmed. The precious wrist rest is made of brushed aluminium. The haptically comfortable metal of the lidcase is even after a longer use quite cool. Stylish: Also the black and matt slim keyboard perfectly fits the whole subnotebook. There might be a divergence of opinion about the glare black plastic lid and the display frame. On the one hand glaring synthetic material can look very attracting, but on the other hand it is covered with fingerprints and dust by a blink of an eye.'

Notebook Review have published a review of the Lenovo G550 Notebook. 'The design of the G550 has changed slightly from the G530, switching from a smooth matte exterior finish, to a black weave pattern. The new cover is every bit as strong as the last one, preventing any screen distortion even if you hit or flex the back of the screen. The interior of the notebook shares the same color as the lid, but is textured with a rougher matte finish similar to what you would find on unpainted sections of a ThinkPad. Lenovo took the back-to-basics route with the color scheme on this notebook, making it entirely black inside and out.'

Trusted Reviews have published a review of the Acer Aspire 7735Z-424G32Mn - 17.3in laptop. 'Opening the laptop up reveals a more traditional and somewhat less attractive combination of black and gunmetal grey. Thankfully all the important bits like the touchpad, palm-rests and keyboard have been kept matte, with the only glossy parts being the two strips either side of the keyboard and the screen's bezel. Another noticeable point is that this Acer has no touch-sensitive controls. Playback keys rely solely on secondary functions along the top of the number pad, with volume assigned to the up/down cursor keys.'

Press Release

Toronto ~ August 2009 - Stealth.com Inc. (Stealth Computer) a leading ISO 9001 manufacturer of industrial rugged computers and peripherals has released their new hybrid Notebook Warrior series computer. The all-new Stealth Model: NW-2000 Rugged PC provides the ultimate in mobile flexibility with the ability to quickly transform from a rugged notebook PC into a rugged Tablet PC in seconds. (and vice-versa)

HotHardware have published a review of the Asus G51VX-RX05 gaming Notebook. 'The right side of the notebook is home to a microphone input, audio input, SPDIF / headset output, two USB 2.0 ports, and a Supermulti DVD+/-RW / CD-RW drive with dual-layer support. Its worth noting that the drive hums and vibrates occasionally when reading disks. If desired, the mono microphone jack can be used to connect an external microphone. Doing so automatically disables the built in microphone. Along the left side, the G51Vx features a 15 pin D-sub VGA port, air vents, and USB 2.0, Firewire, eSATA, and HDMI ports. We also find an 8-in-1 media reader that supports the following types of flash media: SD, miniSD, MMC, Memory Stick (Pro, Duo, Pro Duo), and xD-picture card.

The Gadgeteer have published a review of the Acer Aspire One Netbook. 'It comes with a memory card port, Kensington lock port and boasts 160 GB internal hard drive. No, there is no CD/DVD player and quite frankly, I'm fine with that. I'm one of those writers I'm talking about. When the inspiration to write hits me, I don't need to pop in a CD of classical music; that's what I have a Zune for. Writers are tired of writing down ideas on napkins and airsickness bags simply because they didn't want to lug around their six pound laptop to Starbucks.'

CNET have published a review of the Dell Inspiron 15 laptop. 'Covered in glossy black plastic on the inside and matte black plastic on the outside, the Inspiron 1545 looks as if it's headed off to an undercover sting. It's not an unattractive look overall, it's just not that distinctive, and feels like too much black. A wide variety of other colors and designs (including Cherry Red, Promise Pink, Jade Green, Passion Purple, and...you get the idea) can be added for $40 each, which is not a bad deal if you're dead set on something with more flair.'

A review of the Acer Aspire Timeline 5810T (4657) notebook PC has been posted over at LaptopMag.com. 'The 5810T is, essentially, a larger version of the 3810T. With a footprint of 14.9 x 10.2 inches, and tapering from 1.2 to 1.0 inches, it's essentially the same size as the MSI X600. However, unlike MSI, Acer managed to integrate a DVD drive. Weighing 5.4 pounds, the 5810T is certainly one of the lighter 15.6-inch notebooks, but it's still half a pound heavier than the X600. Like the 3810T, the Timeline 5810T's matte gray, fingerprint-proof plastic lid is similar to the company's business-oriented TravelMate series. The chassis has a solid feel that belies its low price.'

PC Magazine have published a review of the ASUS B80A-B1 laptop. 'The B80A-B1 may not be much to look at, but you don't buy a corporate system like this for its appearance. The laptop has an unremarkable slate-gray case and full-size keyboard. Its keys offers a pleasant typing experience with soft tactile feedback. The B80A-B1 is also "spill proof," which we interpret as spill resistant, meaning it could take a cup of coffee, but I wouldn't take it sailing. The keys are illuminated from below by LED lights for late-night work.'