April 2010 Archives

Tech Radar have published a review of the Packard Bell EasyNote TM86 laptop. 'The sleek, custom-designed chassis looks great. Combining glossy black and patterned silver plastics, it provides an eye-catching yet understated style. Impressive build quality is shown throughout and the laptop feels far more luxurious than its low price would suggest. Weighing 2.5kg and with a depth of just 35mm, it's surprisingly slim. It adds little bulk to hand luggage and its curved edges make it very comfortable to carry. Battery life, at 242-minutes, also betters most similar laptops.'

Tracy and Matt have published their review of the Aspire One D250 netbook. 'Acer were one of the first to get on the netbook train with their Acer Aspire One AA0 that we tested some 18 months ago. As time has gone on they have expanded the range and here we have the D250 which is a dual booting version - in this particular case it's dual booting Windows 7 and Android. Android on a netbook you say, isn't that normally used for mobile phones? Well yes, but as proven here it can also be used as an OS on other hardware.'

A review of the MSI Wind U160 netbook has been posted over at Notebook Review. 'The MSI Wind U160 has a very good looking appearance with a glossy piano black finish inside and out. Compared to the U135, MSI went with a cylindrical hinge design on the U160, which allows the extended battery to blend with the shape of the back of the netbook. Gateway and Sony have also used a similar design on some of their notebooks. The common trend with these configurations is including the power button at the end of the hinge, which MSI also does.'

Laptop Magazine have published a review of the Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch (2010). 'The 13-inch MacBook Pro looks identical to last season's MacBook Pro: the aluminum chassis, black island-style keyboard, large multitouch touchpad, and thin, rounded lid all look familiar. Even its weight (4.4 pounds) and dimensions (12.8 x 8.9 x 1 inches) remain the same, making this notebook a cinch to carry. The ASUS U30Jc-1A, another 13-inch thin-and-light with powerful graphics, weighs almost half a pound more. Like its predecessor, the 13-inch MacBook Pro is made from a single, seamless piece of aluminum, which means it's more durable than most other notebooks in this price range.'.

PC World have published a review of the ASUS ROG G73Jh gaming laptop. 'The $1599 G73Jh swings hard in our benchmarking, rating an overall 89 in its performance score while rattling off 111 points in our WorldBench 6 test suite. An Intel Core i7 Q 720 running at 1.6GHz powers nearly any application, from content-creation to gaming. In the Unreal Tournament 3 test (at high-quality, 1024-by-768-resolution settings), the laptop pulled in an average of 92.5 frames per second; that shows enough power to keep any current title smooth. We pushed the system further, testing the latest titles, including Just Cause 2 and Metro 2033. Both look and play great. With the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870 GPU and a gigabyte of dedicated graphics RAM, it might be a while before some upcoming title causes this system to break a sweat.'

A review of the Gateway NV7901u notebook has been posted over at MobileTechReview. 'The Gateway NV7901u comes with Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit and Microsoft Works 9. Gateway includes its own Recovery Management software and back up software as well as a webcam tool and Launch Manager. An MS Office 2007 60-day trial software and Norton Internet Security 2010 60-day trial are also onboard. Gateway has been using the same notebook design on all its laptop lines except the very large P series notebooks. The shiny cover with chromed edges worked on the smaller Gateway LT2118u netbook and it works well here on the NV79 series. The brushed chrome edging and hinge are eye-catching, and the Gateway badge decorates the shiny patterned cover.'

Pocket-lint have published their review of the Dell Studio 17 laptop. 'The Dell Studio 17 1747 is a hefty beast. You'll want to use it as a desktop replacement rather than a portable to carry around with you. Still, the glossy black case with subtle patterning and red edging looks pretty neat, so it won't be out of place on your desk, whether that's in the office or bedroom. It's aimed at satisfying all your multimedia needs, thanks to its high-definition screen and dinky JBL speakers promising "Premium Sound". Usually these are quiet or tonally bland, but despite the small size, the results here were reasonably impressive, boosted by the built-in sub-woofer.'

Trusted Reviews have published their review of the MSI Wind Top AE2220 Hi-Fi All-In-One Desktop. 'The machine comes securely packaged and of course is a doddle to set up as the main unit comes pre-assembled, while a multi-lingual quick start guide does a decent job of showing you what to plug in where, etc. In addition to manuals, software discs and peripherals, the AE2220 Hi-Fi comes with a retail, two-CD edition of Il Divo's album The Promise, just to convince you it's serious about the whole audio angle. What really surprised us about this AIO PC was its weight: it's significantly heavier than similarly-sized competitors and at just under 8cm thick is also a tad thicker. Of course, both these factors give us hope for its audio capabilities. Overall build quality is excellent, with not a hint of unwanted flex or creak anywhere. Adjusting the height and angle of the PC, with its spring-loaded rear leg, is easy if not exactly smooth.'

CNET have published a review of the HP All-in-One 200-5020 All-in-One. 'HP's Pavilion All-in-One 200-5020 hits the shelves at a time when most of HP's primary competition is still working through legacy inventory. That makes this $779 PC seem relatively impressive at a slow time in the PC market. We expect Intel's new Core i3 and Core i5 CPUs will make their way to the affordable all-in-one market later this year, at which point a Pentium Dual Core-based all-in-one like this one could seem out of date. For those of you disinclined to wait, you will find HP's new all-in-one fast and relatively capable, although you might wish for a few more connectivity options.'

Notebook Review have published a review of the HP EliteBook 2540 ultraportable. 'The main body of the EliteBook 2540p is covered in the new "HP DuraCase" and "HP DuraFinish," which is essentially a hard plastic and strong magnesium alloy inner shell - similar its predecessor - and strengthened by a brushed aluminum outer shell that even resists scratching from steel wool. The base of the laptop feels very strong and would definitely survive bumps and bruises that other laptops might not. There is absolutely no flex in the solid keyboard. The underside of the notebook is also similarly rigid and strong with just a tiny amount of flex in the area immediately under the notebook's optical drive.'

PC Magazine have published a review of the MSI Wind Top AE2220 all-in-one desktop PC. 'At 16 by 22 by 2.5 inches (HWD), the AE220 is a compact desktop system. It will fit on most desks, or you can opt for a VESA mounting system to put it on your wall or get an arm for $15 direct from MSI. The AE2220's 21.5-inch multitouch display looks it has a standard 16:9 aspect ratio, with a thin black bezel ringed by clear plastic. The front firing stereo speakers are decent for playing back TV and standard system sounds, but you can hook up an A/V receiver to the system with an optical TOSLink cable via a SPDIF port for better sound. On the side of the monitor are controls to adjust and change the video inputs, but I wish there were buttons designated to control TV and volume functions, so you don't have to search for the mouse, keyboard, or IR remote.'

A review of the Asus G51J 3D (NVIDIA 3D Vision ready notebook) has been posted over at PC Perspective. 'Overall the Asus G51J 3D is a fine product with a lot of other good features like support for two hard drives, a backlit keyboard, a cooler thermal profile over the G51J "standard", and an overall good design. However, the underpowered feeling when playing current games with 3D Vision enabled should make you think a little harder before shelling out money (see Dirt2, Dragon Age, Mass Effect 2, Demigod, and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 in our testing).'

Laptop Magazine have published a review of the Dell Inspiron 14 (1464) notebook. 'It's a rare budget notebook that looks, performs, and sounds better than its $599 price tag suggests. That's the Inspiron 14 (1464) in a nutshell. It has a sleek design, and the speaker volume--thanks to SRS sound--literally frightened us at first. Plus, Intel's Core i3 processor provides plenty of pep, even though the battery life is below average. Despite a few weaknesses, this 14-inch notebook is a good fit for students or anyone else looking for a system that's powerful enough to keep obsolescence at bay and portable enough to take out of the house.'

Geekçom have published their review of the Alienware M11x notebook. 'The M11x is a 4.4 pound computer with an 11-inch 720p-ready display. It packs Nvidia's GeForce GT 335M graphics, making it what Alienware calls the most powerful sub-15-inch gaming computer on the market. There no optical drive and the battery is not removable, but it has all the other perks found on Alienware's portable computers, including a custom nameplate, lots of case lighting, a metal exterior, and a backlit keyboard. A system this small and light is made possible by two big decisions on Alienware's part. The first is switchable graphics. The M11x can game with the 335M and then switch over to Intel integrated graphics for general usage.'

MobileTechReview have published a review of the Toshiba Satellite M505 notebook. 'We take a look at the Toshiba Satellite M505-S4020 Touch edition in this review. The Satellite M505 runs on the Intel Core i3-330M processor at 2.13GHz with 3MB L3 cache. The notebook has 4GB (3.8GB available to user) 1066MHz DDR3 memory, integrated Intel GMA HD graphics, and a 500GB SATA hard drive. The notebook has a SuperMulti DVD burner with Labelflash, built-in Wi-Fi, an HDMI port and a media card reader. The Satellite M505 comes with Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OS and Toshiba's own software.'

Trusted Reviews have published a review of the OCUK Titan Xenomorph AVP Edition PC. 'The PC itself is a relatively light affair, housed in the plain but not unattractive Antec Three Hundred, which we last encountered in our review of the Wired2Fire HellSpawn ALC. OCUK has decided to add a little unique visual appeal by giving the Titan Xenomorph's front and top fans "alien" green LEDs. It's certainly an unusual choice and I must admit I would prefer blue, especially since the case's power and activity LEDs still remain this colour

A review of the MSI Wind U200 netbook has been posted over at Computeractive. 'It was the first computer to combine a 10in screen, 160GB hard disk, 1GB of memory and a low-power Intel Atom processor - almost every netbook sold today has an identical specification. However, the MSI Wind U200 has little in common with its predecessor. Netbooks are popular because they are cheap and portable, but while they are good for word processing and web surfing, after regular use their shortcomings become apparent. The small screen size and keyboard can be uncomfortable and they perform poorly when used for much more than the simplest of tasks. Until recently, the only alternative was a full-sized laptop, more expensive and not as portable.'

PC Advisor have published a review of the Acer Aspire X3900 desktop PC. 'The Acer Aspire X3900 has a mini-ITX form factor, and the cabinet measures 265x100x352mm: significantly smaller than your traditional desktop PCs, even smaller than the HP Compaq dc5800s. The Aspire X3900's cabinet doesn't weigh too much and it can be easily carried around in one hand. The X3900's cabinet has an all-black exterior and it comes with a cabinet lock to prevent access to its innards. Acer has done a good job with distributing ports around the X3900 cabinet's front and back.'

CNET Asia have published their review of the Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3t (Intel Atom N450 Processor 1.66GHz, 1GB RAM) netbook tablet. 'With a sleek, flat design and curved lines around the edges, there's a lot to like about the build of the S10-3t. Lenovo has made big strides since the IdeaPad S10-2 which we criticized for its less-than-full-size keyboard and bulging battery. No protruding battery bulge in the back, clean edges, and an overall size that's slightly larger than the average soft-cover book make the IdeaPad S10-3t easy to pick up and carry around. Though the review unit holds an Atom N470 chip, this configuration is not sold in Asia at this time. So, for the tablet below, we've given the price and specifications for machines which are available in this region.'

Notebook Review have published a review of the Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 14 notebook. 'The Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 14 has a consumer-driven design that goes a few steps beyond SL-series ThinkPads. While the SL-series looks like a ThinkPad with the rubbery paint replaced with matte-black paint, the Edge has a completely new shape and contrasting paint scheme. The borders of the screen cover and keyboard are trimmed with silver plastic. The top cover on our review unit is matte black, but Lenovo offers it in other colors too. Another subtle change is the standard indicator lights have been replaced with a single red LED that also happens to be the dot above the ThinkPad "i". The design is so different from other ThinkPad models that if you were to cover the logo with another sticker, few people would recognize it as a ThinkPad (In fact, most people wouldn't believe you right now even if you said it was a ThinkPad.)'

A review of the Gateway FX6831-01 desktop PC has been posted over at CNET. 'Whether the Gateway FX6831-01's "armored" front panel and red exterior lighting will appeal to you depends on your aesthetic sense. From a value standpoint, this desktop Gateway is one of the best gaming PC deals available for $1,299, offering enough power to play current titles with no hassle. Enthusiasts might demand more upgradeability. Extras like wireless networking and a Blu-ray drive are absent, and the design could become polarizing if you plan to put this PC on prominent display. Based purely on performance for the dollar, we'd recommend the Gateway FX6831-01 to anyone looking for a fast midrange gaming desktop.'

ChannelWeb have published a review of the Toshiba Tecra A11 notebook PC. 'The Toshiba Tecra A11 came to the CRN Test Center lab with an Intel (NSDQ:INTC) Core i7-620M, dual-core processor at 2.66GHz, 4 GB of memory and a 320-GB HDD. It was preloaded with Windows XP Professional 32-bit. Using Primate Labs' Geekbench 2 benchmarking software, the Tecra A11 scored a rating of 4,706 -- making it the highest-performing dual-core CPU system we've ever evaluated in the CRN Test Center lab. Performance, frankly, just felt much faster than other notebook systems.'

PC Magazine have published a review of the Asus U30Jc-1A laptop. 'In terms of physical size, the U30Jc-A1's 13.3-inch widescreen has as much workspace as the MacBook Pro 13-inch, despite having different screen resolutions (both are considered WXGA). A 14-inch widescreen, as seen on the Dell i1464-4382OBK and HP Pavilion dv4-2153cl ($749.99 list, ) would be the next size up. The Asus UL50VF-A1 bumps it up even further with a 15.6-inch screen and weighs about as much as the U30Jc-A1. The island-style keyboard means the U30Jc-A1's square keys are non-interconnecting. It's not a traditional keyboard, like the one found in the Dell i1464 and HP dv4-2153cl, and it doesn't have a backlit function like the one on the MacBook Pro 13-inch.'

Pocket-lint have published a review of the Fujitsu Lifebook T4410 laptop. 'As this is a business computer, it comes with a matte rather than a glossy screen (12-inch, 1280 x 800 pixel resolution) with consequently muted colours that wouldn't suit DVD playback. Anyway, a resistive touchscreen never makes graphics look quite their best. The laptop is built into a serviceable rather than a glam case. Actually, it's pretty dull-looking and quite a weight at 1.79kg. It's certainly solid and sturdy, lumpy rather than svelte, with unexciting colouring: dark grey with a light grey surround on the keyboard, with matching trackpad and mouse buttons. At least it has curvy corners.'

A review of the MSI Wind Top AE2220 All in One Touch PC has been posted over at Notebook Check. 'MSI positioned its AE2220 als a compact Display-PC for those entertainment-minded folks. MSI wasn't weary about emphasizing the coolness and conversation-factor that the touch input brings about. Optically, the 21.5-incher is easy on the eyes dressed in white, the display of which is covered by see-through Plexiglass nicely rounded off at the edges. A few status-LEDs can be found under the Plexiglass frame, providing a nice radiating ambiance. Because the LEDs are not evenly distributed, users will find primarily the right side of the case is illuminated.'

TweakTown have published their review of the Gateway NV7901u 17.3-inch multimedia notebook. 'The keyboard of the Gateway NV7901u is large and has well spaced keys. The keys are actually a bit larger than the keys on the keyboard I type on with my desktop PC. The keyboard has a full number pad on the right side and offers great typing feel. The notebook also has media control keys built-in as well. The track pad is exactly what you expect from a track pad. It's accurate and worked without any issues.'

A review of the Lenovo IdeaPad U550 ultraportable has been posted over at MobileTechReview. 'For a 15.6" notebook, the Lenovo IdeaPad U550 is very thin measuring 14.84 x 9.88 x 0.94/1.15 inch and it weighs a little over 5 pounds. The heavily textured cover has a very dark brown (like deep dark chocolate) color and a sculpted diamond pattern. Inside, the IdeaPad U550 has a bright, glossy 15.6" LED backlit display that has 1366 x 768 native resolution and 16:9 aspect ratio. The screen has very good color contrast and images and videos look very sharp on the screen, but the viewing angle is quite small. Two people can watch a movie on the notebook together only if they sit very close.

Trusted Reviews have published a review of the HP Pavilion dv6-2113sa - 15.6in laptop. 'While it's always difficult to gauge build quality on a new product - it takes long term usage to get a full picture - our initial impressions are positive. HP has used decent quality plastics throughout and the large, chunky hinge inspires confidence. Only the slightly unsightly joins near the Tab and Caps Lock keys (mirrored on the opposite side) where different parts of the trim meet are cause for complaint, but it's mostly a cosmetic issue.'

Laptop Magazine have published their review of the Alienware M11x gaming notebook. 'This thin-and-light notebook looks like the company's M15x spent too much time in the dryer. Like its larger brethren, it features a prominent Alienware logo on the lid whose eyes glow when the system is turned on. Our system came with a gray finish (called Lunar Shadow); consumers can choose Cosmic Black as well. Also like the larger Alienwares, the front edge of the M11x has an angled design reminiscent of the newer Chevy Camaros. The deck is a matte black plastic, which doesn't pick up fingerprints, but the glossy black screen bezel shows every little mark.'

A review of the Toshiba NB305 netbook has been posted over at Pocket-lint. 'The netbook's lid has a gleaming Toshiba logo in the middle of its slightly ridged finish. This finish is pleasantly tactile and the chrome hinge has a central power switch that glows white when you turn the computer on. The inclusion of Windows 7, even though it's only in the netbook-friendly Starter Edition, means it launches quickly, and the 10.1-inch, 1024 x 600 pixel screen, though not HD resolution, is a bright, LED-backlit affair that looks decent enough. It has a glossy finish though so is prone to reflections.'

CNET have published a review of the Alienware M11X gaming laptop. 'Opening up smoothly on a plastic hinge that protrudes from an otherwise flush backside, the M11x interior is all black with a very familiar Alienware LED-backlit multicolor keyboard and an edge-to-edge glossy 11.6-inch screen. The sturdy-feeling chassis and slightly compressed but otherwise Alienware-quality keyboard are much better than average, as is the comfortable, large touch pad. Much like other Alienware laptops, the bold colored keyboard, grille, and Alienware logo lights can be customized in any of a rainbow of colors, or even set to strobe if you prefer. These effects are set using a set of Alienware apps.'