Although it wasn’t widely acclaimed, we rather liked the original Toshiba NB100 - a netbook sticking to the small and cheap ethos as the original netbooks. The NB200 represents a slight departure from this, falling more in line with its rivals.

As such, you’ll find the now-default 10.1-inch screen, 6-cell battery and Windows XP in place. The overall design is classier than the NB100, with a more upmarket feel that should appeal to the wider market. It’s available in black or brown, depending on configuration, and silver, pink and blue in the US, the NB200 also offers an attractive patterned finish.

Our review sample, costing £367, featured a brown finish, with black reserved for the slightly cheaper NB200-11L. Priced at £332, the only other difference is the use of a slightly slower and marginally more power-hungry Intel Atom N270 processor.

The 10.1-inch screen is impressive, with LED backlighting helping to offer bright colours and good contrast. The jump in size hasn’t seen an increase in resolution, however, with Toshiba using the ever popular 1024 x 600 pixel panel. It’s capable enough, with space for a webpage or single document, but as with all netbooks it’s simply not cut out for working with more than one window. A glossy finish sees reflections in brighter conditions, but we didn’t find it overly problematic.

The bigger screen brings a much larger keyboard with it, and usability increases as a result. It features an isolated design, with keys sticking out through individual holes in the chassis, making it easier to type at speed without the fear of hitting an adjacent key. Accurate and offering good quality, the keys could offer a slightly increased travel. The touchpad is large and responsive, also offering buttons that are bigger than average.

The quality of this machine impresses most, with robust plastics used throughout the chassis, and a cohesive and usable design. The large 6-cell battery protrudes from the rear of the chassis, but it makes a convenient carry handle and doesn’t raise the height of the netbook during use. As with most of the features on this machine, the 1.3kg weight is average.

Along with an Intel Atom N280 processor - which is slightly more power-efficient than the more popular N270 chip - the NB200 managed to run for over 8 hours between charges, making it a great choice for those needing all-day usability. 1024MB of memory and the reasonably resource friendly Windows XP OS results in smooth performance, although don’t expect to carry out multi-tasking. The 160GB hard drive provides plenty of storage space, although lacks the robust nature of the SSD options found on earlier netbooks.

Peripherals can easily be added via the NB200’s three USB ports, and Bluetooth is also in place for wireless connections. 802.11b/g Wi-Fi offers wireless connections to networks and the internet, with 10/100 Base-T Ethernet provided for fixed connections. A memory card reader offers easy access to SD and MMC Flash storage, and there’s a VGA-out port for hooking up an external monitor. An integrated webcam above the screen rounds off the specification.

Related links:

• Photos - Toshiba NB200 netbook
• Video - Toshiba NB200 netbook

Tags: Hardware Laptops Netbooks Toshiba Toshiba NB200-11H

Toshiba NB200-11H notebook originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:00:00 +0100

Along with a great range of ultraportables, Sony’s VAIO range has also led the way when it comes to multimedia machines, being the first to bring Blu-ray to the laptop market. The VAIO FW41E/H is a mid-spec machine, offering impressive media capabilities while also featuring a semi-portable design.

The 16-inch screen is a joy, with vivid and accurate colour reproduction, and a 16:9 aspect ratio that’s ideally suited to watching movies. You’ll need to opt for the more expensive FW41M/H (£1094) if you want to watch your films in 1920 x 1080 Full HD though, as this model’s resolution of 1600 x 900 pixels isn’t quite sharp enough. That said, it still provides crisp images, and there’s plenty of space to work with multiple windows. You’ll also be able to hook up a high-definition TV using the HDMI port.

Usability is aided by a bank of media keys below the display, letting you skip scenes or adjust volume settings without having to resize the display. The VAIO FW41E/H keyboard is also highly practical, with the same isolated design found on other Sony VAIOs, letting you type at speed without mistakes. It features quite a shallow keystroke, but all of the keys are well attached and it’s a responsive and comfortable keyboard to type on.

Build quality is more mixed, with a sturdy metal lid that looks great and offers loads of protection for the screen, but plastics that could be of a higher quality. The silver finish looks good, but the palm rest bends under pressure.

An ideal family machine, the VAIO FW41E/H offers enough 3D performance to suit all but the most ardent gamers. The powerful ATi Mobility Radeon HD 4650 graphics card enables the latest games to run without issue, and even the most demanding office tasks are dispatched with ease.

Office performance is better than average, if a little behind the latest top-of-the-range systems. The Intel Core 2 Duo T6400 processor is no slouch, backed by 4096MB of memory, and we found most applications ran with ease, only slowing slightly when running a group of programs simultaneously. The Sony’s 3 and a half hour battery life is reasonable, and the weight of 3.3kg means it is light enough to take it on the road with you should the need arise.

The 500GB hard drive is great for storing movies on, providing more than enough space for entire music and video collections. The Blu-ray drive is read-only, so you won’t be able to back up files to blank Blu-ray discs, although it can burn to blank DVDs and CDs.

A trio of USB ports make it easy to connect peripherals, although a fourth wouldn’t have gone amiss on a machine of this size. eSATA is also notable for its absence. 802.11n Wi-Fi, Gigabit Ethernet and Bluetooth offer comprehensive connectivity, although there’s no sign of 3G/HSDPA.

Tags: Hardware Laptops Sony Sony VAIO VGN-FW41

Sony VAIO VGN-FW41 notebook originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:00:00 +0100

With skinny designs and the promise of great battery life, Acer’s Timeline range is perfectly suited to corporate users. We were highly impressed with the 14-inch Aspire 4810T, but it’s the smaller 3810T that promises to be an even better portable partner.

Outside of high-end ultraportables, it’s one of the thinnest laptops we’ve seen, slipping into bags almost as easily as Apple’s super-slim MacBook. The depth of under 30mm - considerably less towards the front of the chassis - comes at a price, however, as there’s no sign of an optical drive.

The 13.3-inch screen offers excellent clarity, with sharp images. LED backlighting helps to conserve power, and also results in more accurate colour reproduction. As with most recent laptops, the 3810T’s display features a 16:9 aspect ratio, with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. Great for watching movies on, there’s also an HDMI port for outputting to external displays. The glossy finish won’t suit all users - it’s fine indoors, but can be annoying in sunny conditions, with prints and reflections proving intrusive.

The wide design is beneficial when it comes to the keyboard, with a spacious layout on offer. The keyboard uses the same distinctive design as the Aspire 4810T - with each of the flat keys raised from the board itself. There’s no sign of flex during use, and it’s responsive and comfortable, but the design allows detritus to fall between the keys, and the flat finish also makes it difficult to distinguish between the keys when touch typing.

The quality of this machine places it above many similarly priced laptops, and also above most previous Acer products. An aluminium lid offers a premium feel, and also helps to protect the screen. The plastics inside are also of a high standard. Weighing 1.65kg, it’s also a highly mobile choice.

Mobility is a key part of the Timeline series, with battery life placed ahead of performance. As such, you’ll find an ultra-low voltage Intel Core 2 Duo U9400 processor used, running at 1.4GHz. With 4096MB of memory, performance is reasonable, but it gets a bit sluggish when running multiple applications. It’s a price worth paying for frequent travellers, however, as the 3810T lasts for a staggering 10 hours between charges - one of the best results we’ve seen from any laptop, and offering true all day usability.

The 320GB hard drive offers plenty of storage space, with a memory card reader for adding further storage or transferring files. Networking is comprehensive, with 802.11n Wi-Fi and Gigabit Ethernet both in place.

On the left-hand side of the chassis sits a VGA-out port, headphone and microphone sockets and a single USB port. The right-hand side offers a further two USB ports, an HDMI-out and an Ethernet connection. There are no ports on the rear of the 3810T, with the display swinging down over it when open. The front features an inch-wide plastic strip, behind which sit several coloured LEDs, indicating charging status and battery life.

Tags: Hardware Laptops Acer Acer Aspire 3810T

Acer Aspire 3810T notebook originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Mon, 22 Jun 2009 09:00:00 +0100

Acer has impressed on several occasions with its cut-priced netbooks, but its Aspire One lags behind rivals when it comes to quality and usability. The Aspire One 531 looks set to change this, with a highly attractive design, decent mobility and good quality.

The form factor is average, with a 10.1-inch screen, but it’s one of the better netbook displays we’ve seen. With LED backlighting, colours are brilliantly bright and vibrant. The 1024 x 600 pixel resolution results in reasonably crisp images. It’s a glossy panel though, so be aware that reflections will play a part in sunny conditions.

The One 531 features a stylish design, and at under 19mm in depth, it’s one of the thinner machines currently available. It offers a nice mix of matt and glossy plastics, and has a tidy and cohesive design. At 1.1kg, it’s also a highly portable choice, and slips easily into bags and cases.

The keyboard features impressive quality, with sturdy keys that are all firmly attached. We found no sign of the board flexing as we typed, and all of the keys proved responsive. That said, it’s not the largest keyboard, and those with big fingers will still have to spend some time adapting to it. The touchpad suffers from no such issues, and is large enough for comfortable use.

Within the One’s casing, Acer has stuck with the tried and tested Intel Atom N270 processor and 1024MB of memory. Performance is respectable, if unexceptional, although the use of a 3-cell battery limits use away from a power point to around 3 and a half hours.

The left-hand side of the chassis sees one USB port, a 5-in-1 memory card reader, and a second SD card reader intended to expand storage space. It’s a nice touch, and with a 160GB hard drive already in place, it offers more potential storage than most.

There are another two USB ports on the right-hand side, with all ports featuring marking above them on the chassis for ease of use. The rear corners of the chassis are angled back slightly, offering a distinct look, with a VGA-out port and Ethernet socket neatly integrated. Wi-Fi is limited to 802.11g, but optional 3G/HSDPA makes this a useful tool for business users.

Tags: Hardware Laptops Netbooks Acer Acer Aspire One 531

Acer Aspire One 531 notebook originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:00:00 +0100

Toshiba’s Portégé A600-122 is the company’s mid-range ultraportable offering, targeting corporate users wanting a similar experience to the range-topping Portégé R600 at a cheaper price. It’s not quite as thin as it’s more expensive sibling, but it’s still a highly portable choice, with a 12.1-inch display.

The screen is a standard TFT panel - a technology that’s becoming increasingly rare. Colours are slightly muted, but most business users will appreciate the fact it can be used in bright conditions - such as on a train or near a window - without reflections becoming a problem. It also uses LED backlighting, consuming less power and leading to an enhanced battery life.

This is a feature that runs throughout the A600-122, with most of the components optimised for the best possible battery life. The graphics card is an integrated Intel chip, resulting in limited 3D capabilities, although office performance and DVD playback is fine.

The biggest difference between this and most laptops, however, is the use of an ultra low-voltage processor. With Intel’s Core 2 Duo SU9300 chip and 2048MB of memory in place, performance falls behind what we’ve come to expect from a modern business machine. The lack of performance is further exacerbated by the inclusion of Windows Vista, and running multiple applications sees the system slow noticeably.

That said, there are benefits from running a ULV processor - the main one being battery life. Along with all the other power saving components, it helps the A600-122 to achieve a highly impressive 8 hours between charges, so as long as your needs aren’t too demanding, you’ll be able to work for a full day out of the office.

The A600’s keyboard offers excellent comfort, with large and well-shaped keys that are responsive and near silent in use. It’s not the most robust system we’ve seen, but the silver keys look good and we’ve no qualms about the ergonomics. The touchpad is also precise and responsive.

Toshiba has constructed the Portégé A600 from magnesium alloy, as with the more expensive Portégé R600. It helps to keep the weight down to an impressively light 1.5kg, but it feels suspiciously like plastic. Bendy plastic at that, with both the chassis and the lid flexing disturbingly under little pressure. It may help to prevent the screen from cracking, but it doesn’t feel like a £1000 laptop.

The Toshiba impresses more when it comes to features. Wireless networking is excellent, with integrated 3G/HSDPA letting you browse the web at speed wherever you go, and an 802.11n Wi-Fi adapter offering speedy connections once in the office.

The A600 falls behind most machines when it comes to ports, however, with just two USB ports, an eSATA interface and a VGA-out for hooking up an external display. Many business users will notice the lack of a multi-card reader but there is an SD card slot, and Bluetooth is provided, letting you transfer files wirelessly. An ExpressCard slot is also provided.

Tags: Hardware Laptops Toshiba Toshiba Portege A600

Toshiba Portege A600-122 notebook originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Mon, 08 Jun 2009 13:09:07 +0100

Sony’s VAIO range has offered some of the most impressive ultraportable laptops over the past few years, from the tiny VAIO TZ and TT, to the larger and more powerful VAIO SZ. The 13.1-inch VAIO Z21ZN/X is the latest, and sits at the top of the VAIO range.

It features one of the more unusual screens we’ve seen, offering an odd combination between Super and standard TFT. While it’s not a glossy panel, it’s not completely matt either, with an almost "somebody’s spilled something sticky on this" finish. That said, it does repress reflections surprisingly well, and LED backlighting helps with accurate and bright colour reproduction, while proving more power efficient.

The screen's 13.1-inch diagonal is a good size for everyday use, and is just about small enough to fit comfortably in most bags. It’s also the sharpest screen available on an ultraportable, bar the oddball VAIO P-series, with a resolution of 1600 x 900 pixels. While that proved a little uncomfortable on the P-series, it’s great on a slightly larger display. There’s enough space to work with two or more windows, and films play back with stunning clarity.

In a bid to justify the massive price tag, Sony has made the Z-series out of a host of high quality and even exotic materials, with magnesium alloy used for the chassis itself, and carbon fibre used for the skinny lid of the machine. At around 4mm thick, it was never likely to offer ThinkPad-like rigidity, but some may be surprised at the amount of flex.

It’s not necessarily a bad thing, however, as the flexible nature reduces the likelihood of the screen cracking if anything is leaning against it in your bag. That said, if you do carry it around with lots of other kit, it makes sense to leave a piece of fabric between the keys and screen, to prevent them rubbing against each other.

The inside of the Z-series is finished in brushed aluminium, running between the keys and also making up the palm rest area. The overall result isn’t as robust as a MacBook Air, for instance, but it looks and feels stunning, and is also light, at 1.5kg.

As with most VAIOs of late, the keys protrude individually through the chassis, offering better than average spacing. This makes it easy to type at speed without fear of hitting the adjacent keys, and a decent travel also makes it comfortable to use. The touchpad is large and responsive, and features a fingerprint reader between the buttons.

This machine’s party piece is the ability to offer an astounding battery life without having to resort to low-voltage components, offering the best of all worlds. As with Sony’s previous VAIO SZ range, you’ll be able to switch between an integrated Intel chipset and a dedicated Nvidia graphics card depending on needs.

If it’s performance you’re after, the Nvidia GeForce 9300M GS provides a surprising amount of shove for a laptop of this size. Granted, you’ll struggle to play Crysis in full detail, but it still offers enough power to play most games when you’re not hard at work.

When you are, a switch on the top of the chassis lets you switch from "speed" mode (dedicated GPU) to "stamina" (integrated). With the latter enabled, we managed an astonishing 8 hours away from a power point, offering true all-day use.

All this is even more surprising after a look of the spec sheet. With high-end rivals such as the Dell Adamo or Toshiba Portégé R600 opting for low-voltage processors, and the MacBook Air using a distinctly average 1.6GHz or 1.86GHz Core 2 Duo chip, Sony has stolen a march on everything this end of a full-on Quad-core gaming machines, offering a high-end Intel 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo processor and 4096MB of high speed DDR3 memory. There’s also a 128GB SSD (Solid State Drive). Office performance is astounding, proving quicker than anything we’ve seen so far in a laptop, let alone an ultraportable.

Unlike the MacBook Air, the Z offers a full complement of ports. Two USBs may still put off some users, but at least they’re now located on separate sides of the chassis - unlike the cheaper VAIO SR, which places both within millimetres of each other.

This is also one of the first VAIOs to offer HDMI-out, along with VGA, for high-definition output. ExpressCard and 1394 Firewire ports sit on the left-hand side of the chassis, along with a Gigabit Ethernet connection. You’ll also find support for both regular SD cards and Sony’s Memory Pro/Duo. The optical drive is a pop-out item, rather than slot-loading, and supports Blu-ray playback.

Tags: Hardware Laptops Sony

Sony VAIO VGN-Z21ZN/X notebook originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Mon, 01 Jun 2009 09:00:00 +0100

Dell’s Studio 15 has been around for a little while now, impressing on a number of levels. The widespread adoption of 16:9 widescreen displays meant it was only a matter of time before a major update appeared, and the latest Studio 1555 has a lot to live up to.

The 15.4-inch screen featured on the original Studio 15 has been replaced by a 15.6-inch item, boasting a 1366 x 768 pixel resolution. Having seen this resolution on a number of smaller machines, it looks overly large on a screen of this size, and images could be sharper. That said, there’s still plenty of space to open a couple of applications side by side.

Colour reproduction is excellent, aided by LED backlighting and a glossy Super-TFT coating, and as with many laptops we’ve seen recently the wider aspect ratio is perfect for watching films on. Business users may lament the lack of standard TFT option, however, with reflections proving typically intrusive in sunny conditions.

The wider screen offers more space for the keyboard, but Dell has decided to stick with the same interface as the previous Studio 15. This is no bad thing, as it’s one of the most comfortable keyboards we’ve seen on a mainstream laptop. The keys offer a decent amount of travel, yet also prove responsive and firmly attached. Backlighting is provided, which is still an unusual feature outside of high-end laptops, making it possible to work in poor lighting conditions.

There’s no sign of the touch-sensitive media buttons above the keyboard - a strange choice considering the suitability of the new widescreen display when it comes to playing DVDs. In their place, you’ll find several of the function keys dedicated to controlling your media files. It works, but it’s not as neat a solution as the hotkeys found on previous Studio models.

Despite the change in screen size and shape, the Studio 1555 looks near identical to the Studio 1525. You’ll find the shame wedge-shaped profile, hardwearing rubber lid, and tough plastics used for the chassis itself. The lid is available in a range of colours, including black, blue and red. You can also opt for some less subtle hues, including lime green, purple and "flamingo pink".

You’ll find the latest components within the chassis, and 3D performance is better than average thanks to an ATi Mobility Radeon HD 4570 graphics card with 512MB of dedicated video memory. We found ourselves able to play the latest games, even including notoriously demanding titles such as Crysis, although detail settings had to be turned down to get the best out of it.

Office performance is also excellent, helped by a high-end 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 processor and 4096MB of memory. We found Windows Vista ran smoothly at all times, and it’s possible to run a host of applications before there’s any sign of lag. A battery life of around 4 hours from a 6-cell unit is better than its predecessor, and helps to provide usability for the daily commute. Rounding off the specification is a generous 500GB hard drive.

The Studio 1555 boasts comprehensive networking features, with 802.11n Wi-Fi and Gigabit Ethernet both in place. Bluetooth is also included, along with three USB ports, an ExpressCard slot and a 1394 Firewire port for adding peripherals. There’s also an eSATA port for backing up your files to external hard drives. An external display can be added by either VGA or HDMI.

As with other Dell Studio models, on the right-hand side of the chassis sits a slot-loading DVD drive, which can be upgraded to a read-only Blu-ray drive for £100, or a rewritable Blu-ray drive for £280.

Tags: Hardware Laptops Dell Dell Studio 1555

Dell Studio 1555 notebook originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Mon, 25 May 2009 09:00:00 +0100

The boom in netbooks over the past year has seen nearly every laptop manufacturer release at least one model, with Sony and Apple the two noteable exceptions. Instead, Sony has produced the P-series - a netbook-sized, Intel Atom powered, highly portable device the Japanese company resolutely refuses to call a netbook.

Most noticeable is just how tiny the thing is, with an 8-inch screen and weight of just over 620g, it’s comfortably smaller than any netbook. At 20mm in depth, it’s also a lot thinner than most, and feels more like a lightweight paper diary in the hand.

The screen features an absurdly wide aspect ratio, with more in common with Psions of yesteryear than a laptop or netbook. Turn on the P-series, and you’ll notice it’s even more unusual than it first appears, featuring an amazingly sharp 1600 x 900 pixel resolution.

With crystal clear image quality, it’s fantastic for playing films. That said, we had to turn off Vista’s Aero effects in order to get the best out of it - with everything turned up to the max we found movie playback suffered, with the Atom processor struggling to run films at full frame rates.

At this size, it’s also fair to say some users will find the resolution simply too high - icons and text are tiny, and while there’s space for fitting multiple windows onscreen, for many people it simply won’t be comfortable.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of this machine, considering its tiny dimensions, is just how usable it remains. The keyboard is the best aspect, with usability that doesn’t fall a long way short of Sony’s regular VAIO laptops.

You’ll find the same isolated key design, with each key poking out of its own hole in the chassis, and the decent spacing meant we had no trouble at all typing at speed. The small chassis does result in a shallow keystroke, however, which may bother some users.

With its odd ultra-wide display, there’s very little space in front of the keyboard, so instead of a touchpad you’ll find a pointing nipple between the G, H and B keys. It takes some getting used to, and some users will no doubt prefer an external mouse, but it’s a reasonable enough solution for navigating the OS and carrying out simple tasks.

The touchpad buttons are slightly more problematic, perched on the very front of the chassis. Using them is a slightly fiddly procedure, but again it’s something we found ourselves adjusting to, and didn’t prove too troublesome once up and running.

Perhaps a strange choice for a machine at this price point, and inviting comparisons with the current crop of netbooks, the P11Z/W uses an Intel Atom processor. Even more surprising is the fact it’s the Z520 chip - running at 1.33GHz - rather than the 1.66GHz chips found in many of the latest netbooks.

The 60GB hard drive is limited, although the range-topping model - at a whopping £1369 - comes with a 128GB SSD. It also comes with a 1.6GHz Atom processor and an extended battery - providing a claimed 5 hours additional use, although we don’t know what this adds to the P’s weight.

With 2048MB of memory and Windows Vista to push along, performance is inevitably stunted. It’s fine once up and running - as long as you’re seeking a machine for word processing, internet browsing and the like. Ask anything more, such as multi-tasking abilities, carrying out Photoshop tasks while running virus scans, and the system slows to a crawl.

Battery life, at around 3 hours, is enough for shorter commutes, but anything longer and you’ll have to take the power adapter with you. At least it’s a swappable unit, and the power adapter is also one of the smallest we’ve seen, making it easy to slip into a bag alongside the P.

It’s a limited device when it comes to ports, but it’s still better equipped than portables like the Apple MacBook Air. The two USB ports are sensibly placed on either side of the chassis, so you’ll be able to add two bulky peripherals simultaneously, and on the front you’ll find card readers for SD and Sony’s Memory stick.

There’s no space for a full-on display adapter, with the screen opening down behind the chassis, so instead you’ll find a proprietary port, and an accompanying mini docking station. In reality, the dock is an adapter with an Ethernet port and a VGA-out, offering networking and the ability to hook up a monitor. Wireless connectivity is good, with both 3G/HSDPA and Wi-Fi provided.

Tags: Hardware Laptops Netbooks Sony

Sony Vaio VGN-P11Z/W notebook originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Wed, 20 May 2009 09:09:38 +0100

Samsung’s R-series targets those on a budget, offering impressive features and quality at decent prices. The R522 is a 15.6-inch laptop that offers comfort, style and decent office performance.

As with most laptops we’ve seen recently, the R522 features a 16:9 aspect ratio display, offering reasonable if average quality. It’s bright enough, but colours are slightly lacklustre, the glossy Super-TFT coating doing nothing to aid vibrancy. The 1366 x 768 pixel resolution also looks a little low on a display of this size, and image quality could be sharper.

The wide screen creates loads of space for the keyboard, but unlike some manufacturers Samsung has opted not to fit a numeric keypad. The board itself is all-but identical in style to the design previously favoured by Sony, and currently found on Dell’s Studio XPS range.

This means large square keys that feature slightly raised centres, and that offer enough travel to make it a great option for long-term use. Unfortunately you’ll also find similar flaws, with a noisy typing action that lacks the quality of the best keyboards from the likes of Lenovo or HP.

The touchpad features the same aspect ratio as the display, making it easy to navigate and position the cursor with accuracy. It’s circled by blue LEDs that light up when you touch the pad, and dim soon after. While it doesn’t add anything to usability, it’s distinctive, and the fact it’s not visible after a couple of seconds means it’s not intrusive when watching films.

Build quality is largely impressive, with a brushed aluminium effect palm rest that offers a touch of style, and plastics that are hardwearing enough for daily use. As with all current models, you’ll still find a glossy outer lid, and like its siblings this is quickly covered in prints, grime and scratches.

Busy corporate users will appreciate the spill-proof chassis and keyboard, letting you risk drinks nearby without the worry of damage should you accidentally tip some of your coffee onto it. An antibacterial coating on the keyboard is also featured, which Samsung claims kills most germs and prevents the rest from breeding – ideal for those who snack while working.

With some of Samsung's smaller offerings - such as the Q320 - offering decent 3D performance, it’s a shame to find an integrated Intel graphics card in place. It’s capable enough for standard office tasks - creating documents, browsing the web or watching films - but it offers precious little in the way of multimedia power, and you should look elsewhere if you intend to play games in your spare time.

Processing power is provided by an Intel Core 2 Duo T6400 chip, running at 2GHz. It’s backed by a generous 4096MB of memory, and we found it a great machine during daily use. There were still signs of lag when running a host of intensive applications, but for the most part it ran smoothly and without trouble.

Battery life also impressed: lasting for over 5 hours, this is a great choice if you need a machine for long durations away from a power point. The 320GB hard drive offers a good amount of storage space, both for business and home use.

Rather strangely for a mid-level machine, Wi-Fi is restricted to older 802.11g standards, with no support for the faster 802.11n. Bluetooth is something else that’s omitted. You will find Gigabit Ethernet though, and four USB ports - one which doubles as a high-speed eSATA port. External displays can be connected by either VGA or HDMI.

Tags: Hardware Laptops Samsung Samsung R522

Samsung R522 notebook originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Mon, 18 May 2009 09:30:00 +0100

Over the past few years Samsung has released an impressive range of affordable laptops, mixing quality with features and usability. The Q320 continues this trend, and its portable nature makes it a great choice for business users.

The inside of this lappy is far more robust than the machine it replaces - the Q310 - featuring tough matt-black plastics that wear much better than the glossy finish favoured on the older machines.

Chrome highlights around the touchpad and hinges contrast nicely, although the design is still on the conservative side. Weighing in at just over 2.2kg, the Samsung offers similar portability to Apple’s MacBook.

As with several of its rivals, such as the Dell Studio XPS 13, you’ll find a glossy cover to the display that stretches right to the very edge of the panel. It looks great when the laptop’s turned off, hiding the bezel neatly and proving easier to clean, but it’s also a nightmare for reflections.

The screen features a 16:9 aspect ratio, measuring in at 13.4-inches. The resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels produces sharp image quality, and bright and accurate colours make it a good bet for media use. That said, the relatively low vertical pixel count can result in lots of scrolling on websites.

In addition to making it a great tool for watching films on, the widescreen aspect ratio also provides plenty of space for the interface, and the keyboard is large and comfortable to use. The keys also move quietly and with a perfectly judged action, adding a sense of quality.

The Q320 is the first laptop we’ve seen to feature Nvidia’s latest G105M graphics card. Considering the compact chassis, 3D performance is outstanding, with more power than any laptop we’ve tried under 14-inches. Along with running multimedia tasks with ease, we were even able to run games, making this a great all-rounder.

Other features are more standard, such as the 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T6400 processor and 3072MB of memory. Office performance is reasonable, with applications running smoothly and with little lag. A battery life of around 4 hours is reasonable, and Samsung is also set to release a larger 12-cell battery for the Q320.

Storage space is generous at 320GB, and you’ll be able to back up your files using the integrated slot-loading DVD rewriter. There are three USB ports - one that also doubles as an eSATA high-speed data interface, letting you quickly copy files to external hard drives. Bluetooth is also included.

Monitors, projectors and HD TVs can all be connected, via the VGA and HDMI ports. Gigabit Ethernet is provided, offering speedy internet connections, along with 802.11n Wi-Fi.

Tags: Hardware Laptops Samsung Samsung Q320

Samsung Q320 notebook originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Tue, 05 May 2009 10:18:37 +0100

Dell's Inspiron Mini netbook range has done remarkably well, considering its late entry into the market, although neither the Mini 9 or Mini 12 have proved perfect. The Inspiron Mini 10 is an attempt to change this, taking the best features from both models.

As the name suggests, you'll find a 10-inch screen (or 10.1, to be exact), with the now de-facto 1024 x 600 pixel resolution. It's a Super-TFT panel, so it can be highly reflective in direct sunlight, but it also features great colour reproduction and we found it a pleasure for watching movies on.

As with its siblings, the Mini 10 features a glossy design, with attractive curved edges and a thin chassis. It's one of the more portable netbooks on the market, and weighs in at 1.3kg, making it great for those always on the move.

Where the Mini 9 feels slightly cramped, and the Mini 12 just that little two large for a netbook, the 10 is an ideal size. The chassis is wide enough to allow a keyboard that's not compromised in any way, save for half-sized directional keys, and it's one of the best netbook keyboards we've seen.

It's near identical in design to the excellent keyboards found on HP's range of netbooks – including the Compaq Mini 702ea and the Mini-note 2133. You'll find the same large square keys, with the same slight indent in the centre of the keys, helping to minimise typing mistakes. Stretching right to the edge of the chassis, all of the keys are of a good size, and it's easy to type at speed for long periods of time.

As with the HP machines, the Dell also features a very shallow touchpad, but you won't find mouse buttons fitted on either side. Instead, Dell has integrated them into the touchpad itself. It's not ideal, but it's a reasonable compromise, and helps to keep the chassis as compact as possible.

The battery sits slightly higher than the top of the chassis, with a slight indentation below the display to accommodate it when the lid is closed. Unfortunately it’s only a 3-cell unit – rather than the 6-cell batteries found in some of the Dell’s rivals, giving the Mini 10 a battery life of around 3 hours.

Performance is slightly below that of some of the Mini 10's rivals, due to the use of an Intel Atom Z520 processor. It's the same chip found in Sony's P-series ultra-portable, running at a relatively slow 1.33GHz. That said, it runs the Windows XP OS smoothly, and it's still capable of running the usual netbook tasks.

Those needing more power will be able to opt for the Z530 chip, for an additional £30. Both models come with 1GB of RAM. The additional £30 also gets you a larger hard drive, at 160GB, vs. 120GB.

The biggest surprise when it comes to ports is the inclusion of an HDMI port rather than the more standard VGA-out. It means you'll be able to output HD content to an external display – although the Atom processor and integrated GPU struggles to handle this convincingly, so we're not sure it's really a benefit. Aside from this, you'll find three USB ports and a memory card reader. There's also an Ethernet port.

Tags: Hardware Laptops Netbooks Dell Dell Inspiron Mini 10

Dell Inspiron Mini 10 notebook originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Mon, 27 Apr 2009 16:00:00 +0100

HP’s Pavilion dv2 strikes a balance between laptop and netbook - offering budget, low-powered components in order to keep the price below £500, combined with fantastic portability that rivals ultra-portable machines costing three times the price.

The 12-inch screen is better than those found on most netbooks, mostly because of the higher 1280 x 800 pixel resolution. It’s easy to view two documents simultaneously, and there’s no need to scroll when viewing webpages. Although it features a standard 16:10 aspect ratio, you’ll find a thick bezel at the top and bottom, giving the mini HP an unusual, near-square footprint.

The dv2 features similar keyboard to those found on HP’s range of netbooks - including the Mini-note 2133 and the Compaq Mini 702EA. As with those machines, it’s a joy to type on, the keys proving large and perfectly weighted, with slightly indented centres to ensure typing mistakes a kept to a minimum. Unlike its smaller siblings, however, this laptop isn’t saddled with a frustratingly tiny touchpad, and the buttons are also located in the more traditional and comfortable place.

In addition to excellent usability, you’ll also find better than average build quality and, despite the skinny dimensions the dv2 feels reassuringly tough. The chrome-effect plastics are convincing, and contrast nicely with the glossy black finish - although, as with any other shiny product, it’s quickly covered in fingerprints and smears.

As with the netbooks this machine rivals, you won’t find full-on desktop-replacement performance on offer, as the dv2 uses AMD’s latest budget processor - the Athlon Neo 64 - a rival to Intel’s Atom chip.

Our review machine - the dv2-1030ea - features a 1.6GHz Neo MV-40 processor, 2GB of RAM and a capacious 320GB hard drive. Performance proved slightly mixed; the dv2 takes a frustratingly long time to install programs and, with lots of pre-installed software already running in the background - such as an antivirus suite and a host of HP software - the Neo processor is soon bogged down.

Close any unnecessary applications, however, and the HP is more than quick enough for everyday use. We wouldn’t particularly want to use it as our main machine - but as a larger than average netbook, used for word processing, browsing the web or watching the odd movie - it’s fine.

HP promises the perfect blend of performance and portability from the AMD chip, so it’s a slight disappointment to find out the battery life is no better the an average, lasting for just over 3 hours during our time with it.

If everyday performance is underwhelming, we were far more impressed by the HP’s multimedia abilities. Featuring an ATi Mobility Radeon HD 3410 GPU, you’ll find enough power to play back HD movies smoothly, or even play the odd older game. It’s a world ahead of netbooks equipped with Intel’s integrated GMA 950 chip, and closer to a regular laptop.

Wireless connections are limited to 802.11b/g speeds, although we never found this to be a problem. Some buyers may be put off by omission of an integrated optical drive, although every dv2 also comes with a matching external DVD rewriter. Compact and finished with a similar design, it makes installing software or simply copying DVDs a possibility, and the weight saved makes it more than worth the compromise, for us at least.

You’ll find a range of ports on the left-hand side of the dv2, comprising an Ethernet connection, VGA and HDMI and two USB ports. The rest of the space is taken up by an air vent. On the right side sits a third USB port, power socket, microphone and headphone jacks, 4-in-1 memory card reader and a hardware button for activating wireless functions. You’ll also find the power button on this side. The rear of the machine is covered by the battery - at which point the skinny chassis also gets slightly deeper to accommodate.

Tags: Hardware Laptops HP HP Pavilion dv2-1030ea

HP Pavilion dv2-1030ea notebook originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Mon, 20 Apr 2009 09:27:38 +0100

When it comes to multimedia laptops, Toshiba is best known for its high-end Qosmio range, although spending 2 grand on a laptop during a recession may not seem like the smartest idea. This is where the Toshiba Satellite A350 comes in - a budget media centre Toshiba hopes to attract the more cash-strapped consumers with.

In a bid to back-up its media centre claims, the A350 boasts a 16-inch screen featuring an increasingly popular 16:9 aspect ratio - natively supporting the latest films. You may not find the intrusive black bars framing your favourite movies, but it’s not all good.

As a budget model, the resolution on this machine is just 1366 x 768 pixels. Images actually look surprisingly crisp, but the low vertical pixel count can be particularly annoying, especially when working with spreadsheets (or, more likely for a "multimedia machine", editing photographs).

The fact images are reproduced smoothly does mean this laptop achieves its goal as a system for watching films on, though, and usability is enhanced by some swish backlit touch-sensitive media keys. These allow you to control your films with ease, although a remote control - as with Toshiba’s high-end Qosmio media centre range - would have been welcome.

If the screen is slightly mixed in terms of what it provides, the graphics card is a let down. You’ll find Intel’s integrated GMA 4500M chip at the heart of this machine, and the Toshiba runs out of puff if you demand anything more than DVD playback or photo editing. Family members hoping to play games will be disappointed, and the lack of power is this laptop’s biggest drawback.

That said, everyday performance fairs a lot better. The 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5800 processor is a fairly average choice at this price point, but the inclusion of 4096MB of memory helps considerably when multi-tasking. The 250GB hard drive is reasonable, offering enough space for smaller movie and music collections, although those with hoards of films may have to invest in an external hard drive.

As with most of Toshiba’s laptops, the keyboard is a model of comfort, providing well-spaced keys that move with a precise action. The bevelled edges make it a lot easier to type without errors, although the glossy finish is quite absurd, considering it’ll be plastered in fingerprints from the second you start to use it. The touchpad provides good usability, and the oversized touchpad buttons are also efficient.

On the left of the A350’s chassis sits a VGA-out socket, Ethernet (accompanying 802.11n Wi-Fi), a USB port and an eSATA port that also doubles as a second USB interface. You’ll also find an ExpressCard slot and a 1394 mini FireWire port. The right-hand side of the chassis doubles the USB count to four, along with a multi-format DVD rewriter. HDMI, or any other form of digital connection for an external display, is notable for its omission.

Tags: Hardware Laptops Toshiba Toshiba Satellite A350-11N

Toshiba Satellite A350-11N notebook originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Wed, 15 Apr 2009 09:01:44 +0100

We thought HP’s original Mini-note 2133 netbook was a great machine, offering one of the best keyboards available on a netbook. The Compaq Mini 703EA looks to continue the trend, also bringing more up-to-date internals and a change of colours.

The 10.2-inch screen features the now-standard 1024 x 600 pixel netbook resolution - a shame considering the higher 1280 x 768 pixel panel found on the Mini-note’s display. We didn’t really miss the extra pixels during daily use - it can be a bit more work when viewing web pages, with the need to scroll more often, but that aside we never found it an issue.

Colour reproduction is excellent, helped by LED backlighting, making it a great choice for watching films or viewing your photographs on. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the most reflective panels we’ve seen on a netbook, limiting use when on the road. It’s more than viewable in bright conditions if you whack up the brightness settings to full, but this obviously impacts on battery life.

Along with the lower-res screen, one of the biggest changes between this netbook and its predecessor is swap from a Via chipset to an Intel solution. Incorporating an Intel GMA 950 graphics sub-system and the more standard Intel Atom processor found in most other netbooks, battery life jumps to around 3 hours - a vast improvement on HP’s original 3-cell netbook, and close to the 4 hours we managed from a 6-cell Mini-note 2133.

Performance has also improved over the Mini-note 2133, with the Mini 703EA featuring Windows XP in place of Windows Vista. With 1024MB of memory - as with its Intel-based rivals - and 60GB hard drive you’ll be able to load and run applications in a reasonable amount of time, although it remains a machine better suited to consuming, rather than creating, media.

A dark chequered pattern adorns the rear of the 703EA’s lid, with a glossy finish that proves to be a magnet for grubby fingerprints. It doesn’t feel quite as robust as the original Mini-note, but it’s still a lot sturdier than most of its rivals. The black finish inside the chassis is classy yet conservative.

As with the Mini-note 2133, the best part of the Compaq Mini is the keyboard, and it’s difficult to believe you’ll find larger keys on any other netbook. The keys are actually bigger than most ultraportable laptops, and a responsive and firmly attached typing action makes this one of the few netbooks that you can comfortably type on for hours.

Not so the touchpad, which loses height due to the large size of the keyboard. The touchpad buttons are also located on each side of the touchpad, which takes some getting used to, and it’s not the most intuitive set-up we’ve seen.

One area this machine falls short of its rivals is ports, with a USB port on either side of the chassis, a 10/100 Ethernet port and a 2-in-1 memory card reader. Unusually there’s no VGA-out port, so you won’t be able to hook-up a display.

That’s not to say it’s completely devoid of features, however, as wireless connectivity is better than average. You’ll find HSDPA technology built-in, offering broadband on the move, and Bluetooth lets you connect peripherals wirelessly. Wi-Fi is limited to 802.11b/g - rather than 802.11n - although it still offers reasonable performance.

Tags: Hardware Laptops Netbooks HP Compaq HP Compaq Mini 703EA

HP Compaq Mini 703EA notebook originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Mon, 06 Apr 2009 09:31:26 +0100

We were particularly impressed with Acer’s high-end Aspire 6920G when we tested it last year, but there’s no getting away from the fact it was a pricey laptop. The range has since been replaced by the 6930 and 6935, which proves to be an update rather than a comprehensive overhaul. You’ll still find the same Gemstone Blue styling and an HD Blu-ray optical drive, but you’ll now be able to purchase one at an affordable price.

Our review sample - an Aspire 6930G-583G - comes in at just £500. As with other more expensive models, the 16-inch screen features a 16:9 aspect ratio. Some users will love it because it’ll natively play back movies, often without the intrusive letterbox style black bars at the top and bottom, while others will hate it for the relatively low vertical pixel count.

As a budget model, the 6930G-583G has a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. While it lacks the sharpness of the high-end models, it’s fine for everyday use. You won’t be able to take full advantage of high-definition Blu-ray movies on the move, but there’s an HDMI-out port to hook-up an external HDTV.

We found watching films on this machine a pleasure, aided by bright backlighting, efficient sound reproduction and a host of touch-sensitive media hotkeys below the display. Acer is keen to highlight its Dolby Home Theater integrated surround sound technology as a key selling point of this machine; sound quality is good, but with a built-in subwoofer we were expecting it to be a little more atmospheric.

The 6930G is similarly styled to the machine it replaces, with a glossy dark blue lid, and hard wearing grey plastics inside. It’s a cohesive and reasonably stylish design, but it’s a lot bulkier than many of its rivals, weighing in at 3.2kg. You’ll find details such as the power jack and a Kensington lock hidden neatly in the edges of the cylindrical hinge. Unlike more expensive models in the range, the Aspire 6930G-583G omits Acer’s fussy-looking Cinedash control panel - a circular arrangement of touch sensitive media keys. Instead, you’ll find neater media buttons placed above the keyboard.

The keyboard offers excellent comfort, with soft-touch plastics that are tactile and hard wearing. The board is fixed around the edges, however, and flexes considerably in the centre, letting down quality. That said, it’s still a quiet and responsive board to type on, and better than many we’ve seen at this price. The 16-inch chassis allows plenty of space for large keys, and there’s also a full-sized numeric keypad on the right.

The spacious and responsive touchpad aids usability, along with big touchpad buttons. There’s a fingerprint scanner between the buttons, letting different family members log on at the swipe of a finger.

Along with an impressive feature list, the components inside this machine are also more than a match for more expensive laptops, with a 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5800 processor and 3072MB of memory. Performance proved reasonable, with enough power to multi-task without any problems. The battery life of under 2hrs and 30mins is disappointing however, even at this price.

The biggest difference between the Aspire 6930G-583G and more expensive models in the range, aside from the lower-res screen, is the Nvidia GeForce 9300M GS graphics card. It’s not as powerful as the GeForce 9600M GT sported by some of its siblings, but it’s still fine for all but the most intensive gaming. We were able to run older games with ease, and it also coped fine when running Adobe’s CS4.

The integrated Blu-ray drive is read-only, so you won’t be able to back-up data to blank Blu-ray discs. You’ll still be able to burn regular DVDs and CDs, however. Other features include a 250GB hard drive, 802.11n Wi-Fi and Gigabit Ethernet. Bluetooth lets you transfer files wirelessly, and there are four USB ports dotted around the chassis.

Tags: Hardware Laptops Acer Intel Acer Aspire 6930G-583G

Acer Aspire 6930G-583G notebook originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Mon, 30 Mar 2009 09:00:00 +0100

Sitting between Dell’s entry-level Inspiron and high-end XPS ranges, the Studio range offers a great mix of style and quality at a reasonable price. Until it’s replaced by the cunningly titled Studio XPS, you’ll still be able to get a Studio 1525 and, from our time with it, it’s well worth it.

The 15.4-inch screen on our review sample featured a 1440 x 900 pixel resolution, with crisp and clear image quality. Colours proved equally impressive, with LED backlighting helping with accuracy, in addition to conserving power. For an extra £140, you’ll be able to specify a high-definition 1920 x 1200 pixel panel – a pin-sharp resolution not often seen on machines under 17-inches.

Despite the relatively large screen, this machine is easy portable enough to take out and about with you. The 2.8kg weight is reasonable, and we found the slim chassis helps it to fit easily into laptop bags.

Quality is impressive, with a classier finish than the newer Studio XPS 13 we tried last week. The rubber lid on the rear of the display is far more robust than the glossy plastic finish on its sibling, and the grey plastics inside the chassis are also better at hiding fingerprints and scratches. The Studio 1525 is available in several colours, including black, blue, green, orange, pink, purple and red. It’s also available with different patterns and trim options, allowing a degree of customisation not usually seen on laptops.

The keyboard on this machine is one of the best we’ve used at any price, featuring a perfect amount of travel, and soft-touch keys that make it a comfortable choice for long-term use. The keys also move quietly, adding a sense of quality. Backlighting is provided – a luxury at this price – allowing you to work in any conditions.

Processing power comes courtesy of an Intel Core 2 Duo T6400, running at 2GHz. A mid-range solution, it’s supported by 3072MB of RAM, and offers excellent multi-tasking performance. We found it ran the Windows Vista Home Premium OS smoothly and without trouble, and lag was well contained even when running a host of resource-intensive apps.

Graphics are handled by a dedicated ATi Mobility Radeon HD 3450 GPU, providing enough power for low-level gaming and light multimedia use. Predictably, the Studio has no trouble at all playing back video at a decent rate and, as with office performance, we found the system ran smoothly even when carrying out multiple 3D tasks.

Features include a slot-loading DVD rewriter, and you’ll also be able to add a Blu-ray drive for £100. That’s one of the problems with this machine, however; while there may be so many options available for "just" a few pounds, it’s easy for it all to add up to a seriously expensive machine.

As standard, you’ll get a somewhat limited 160GB hard drive. The six-cell battery offers around 4 hours of life from a single charge, with a nine-cell unit yet another optional extra. 802.11n Wi-Fi and Gigabit Ethernet are both present, and the four USB ports make it easy to connect all your peripherals without compromise. There’s also an ExpressCard and memory card reader. HD connections can be made using the HDMI port, with a VGA port for older displays or projectors.

Tags: Hardware Laptops Dell Dell Studio 1525

Dell Studio 1525 notebook originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Mon, 23 Mar 2009 09:00:00 +0000

The Asus Eee PC 1000HE looks like any other netbook, but has one big distinction - a claimed battery life of over 9 hours. This extra mobility, for some, makes it a proper rival for machines such as Sony’s VAIO TT, as long as you don’t mind the lower-res screen.

The screen itself is a standard netbook panel, with a 1024 x 600 pixel resolution. At 10.2-inches, it looks slightly undersized, surrounded by a thick bezel. However it’s bright and colours are accurate and the matt finish is an improvement over glossy panels when out and about.

You’ll find a similar design to existing Asus Eee PCs - including the same circular hinge, for instance, along with brushed aluminium touchpad buttons and glossy plastic styling. It’s well-made but, at 1.5kg, it’s not the lightest netbook we’ve seen. The design is also starting to look dated, lagging behind newer-looking rivals such as Samsung’s NC20.

The 1000HE’s keyboard is similar in style to those found on the latest Apple MacBooks, Sony VAIOs and Samsung’s high-end X-series. You’ll find the keys protruding through individual holes in the chassis, a design that’s both stylish and functional.

Considering the size, usability is excellent, and somewhat similar to Sony’s P-series. The keys are responsive, and decent spacing makes it easy to type at speed. The board does flex under pressure, however, letting the quality down slightly.

There’s nothing overly radical about the specification; you’ll find an Intel Atom N280 processor running at 1.66GHz (up from the 1.6GHz N270 chip found in most netbooks), along with 1024MB of memory and Windows XP Home. Performance is similar to rival netbooks, we found the system ran smoothly when using a single application, but slowed when running multiple applications.

Asus has fitted a bulky 8700mAh high-capacity battery, which goes some way to making up that 1.5kg weight. It’s the main advantage this netbook has over other machines, and is the component Asus hopes will give a huge battery life.

Even when setting the display at its darkest, along with the wireless connections turned off, we couldn’t match the 9 hour battery life claim. We did get an impressive 7hrs 30min when carrying out simple tasks, however, so this is a netbook good for those with even the largest of commutes.

It’s a well-specified netbook when it comes to connectivity, with 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and 10/100 Ethernet in place. Three USB ports make it easy to connect your peripherals, and there’s also a VGA-out port for external displays. An integrated webcam in the screen’s bezel, along with two microphones, makes video conferencing a possibility.

Tags: Hardware Laptops Netbooks Asus Asus Eee PC 1000HE

Asus Eee PC 1000HE notebook originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Mon, 16 Mar 2009 09:00:00 +0000

The Dell Studio XPS brand combines the company’s high-end XPS range with the more affordable Studio range. The Studio XPS 13 is the first model we’ve managed to get our hands on, and sports a 13.3-inch screen. Despite the compact display, however, it’s not quite light enough to be considered an ultra portable.

The design marks a departure from the svelte lines of the XPS M1330; you’ll still find the same wedge shape, but it’s a bulkier machine weighing in at 2.2kg. The tactile rubber-effect lid has been replaced by a mixture of faux-leather, aluminium and high-gloss plastic. Although slightly tacky, it’s well put together.

Unfortunately, as soon as you take it out the box you’ll find it covered in fingerprints. Open it up, and you’ll find more of the same. The premium brushed aluminium of the XPS 13 has been replaced by shiny plastics, and you’ll also find a reflective sheet covering the screen itself. This stretches right to the edges of the display, and although the flush finish looks good when not in use, it hinders usability in bright conditions.

The 1280 x 800 pixel resolution is average for a panel of this size, providing crisp if unremarkable image quality. We found colours to be accurate, and a bank of touch-sensitive buttons below the display make this a capable machine for media playback.

The keyboard is the biggest departure from either the Studio or the XPS ranges, and it’s identical in style to most previous-generation Sony VAIOs. The keys are large and flat, and although it’s comfortable to type on, the new design direction is sure to polarise opinion. Backlighting is a nice touch, however, letting you work even when it’s dark.

If we’re slightly underwhelmed by the styling, there are no such qualms about performance. You’ll find a 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 processor and 3072MB of DDR3 RAM fitted as standard, and everyday tasks are dispatched with ease. Battery life also impressed, lasting for just under 5 hours from a single charge.

Our review sample featured Nvidia’s impressive GeForce 9400M graphics card – an integrated chip also found on Apple’s MacBook. 3D performance is more than capable when it comes to any office task, or even editing videos and playing mid-level games.

You’ll be able to add the GeForce 9500M GPU for an extra £100, utilising Nvidia’s Hybrid SLI technology for enhanced gaming performance. How well it works remains to be seen, but considering the performance benefits the 9400M gives over existing integrated rivals, the addition of a dedicated GPU on top promises to make the Studio XPS one of the most powerful 13.3-inch laptops available.

The inclusion of just two USB ports limits connectivity somewhat, although you’ll also find an eSATA port, display port and an ExpressCard slot. Compatibility with other digital devices is aided by a 4-in-1 memory card reader, and 802.11n Wi-Fi and Gigabit Ethernet are both provided as standard. Those wanting to connect an external display will be able to do so by both HDMI and VGA-out ports.

Tags: Hardware Laptops Dell Dell Studio XPS 13

Dell Studio XPS 13 notebook originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Mon, 09 Mar 2009 09:00:00 +0000

Lenovo’s ThinkPad X300 impressed us more than most, taking a similar design approach to the achingly desirable MacBook Air, but making the incredibly thin form factor more usable. The ThinkPad X301 is an update which Lenovo hopes will continue to steal sales from its rival.

Outwardly, the design has been left alone, which has both good and bad points. Some will find it difficult to stomach £2000 on a machine that looks little different to all the other ThinkPads from the past decade, even if it is super-slim. On the plus side, it won’t look dated if you still have it in a few years, and there’s no doubting the quality on offer.

Magnesium alloy is used throughout the construction, and the matt finish to the case is both tactile, and a vast improvement over the glossy fingerprint-magnet finish favoured on most current consumer machines.

Lenovo was keen to point out the impressive rigidity this laptop boasts, thanks to an integral roll cage within the chassis and the screen itself. With metal hinges also in place, it feels every bit as impressively made as the MacBook Air, if not tougher, even if it doesn’t look as nice. It’s also light, at 1.5kg.

One thing that is a world apart is the 13.3-inch screen – and it’s one of the best panels we’ve seen at this size. The 1440 x 900 pixel resolution is pin-sharp, yet producing images and text large enough to read for those without perfect 20/20 vision.

The matt standard TFT finish also offers usability that matches the best, proving resistant to reflections and fingerprints when used out and about. With LED backlighting, colour reproduction is also excellent, while aiding battery life.

Other components within the X301 are also configured for optimum battery life, such as the integrated Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics card. Performance doesn’t match that of the MacBook Air’s Nvidia GeForce 9400M chip, but it’s a reasonable solution for corporate use, and powerful enough for comfortable movie playback and office use. As a result of the low-powered components - along with a ULV processor - we managed to run the Lenovo for over 5 hours when out and about, easily enough for a morning’s work, and about 20 minutes more than we managed from the X300.

The X301’s ULV Intel Core 2 Duo processor has been upgraded from the 65nm U7600 chip found in its predecessor to the smaller 45nm U9400 solution. Along with a faster clock speed - at 1.4GHz vs 1.2GHz - the latter processor also features more L2 cache and a faster FSB, which promises to enhance performance slightly. Memory remains at 2048MB as standard, although it’s faster DDR3, and overall we found the X301 convincingly quicker than the machine it replaces.

The biggest improvement over the X300 comes as a result of ever-tumbling memory prices and capacity increases, with the SSD storage rising from a mere 64GB to more usable 128GB. It is a pricey inclusion though, and you’ll be able to get a near identical model with a standard 120GB hard drive for £1539.

When it comes to features, as with the laptop the X301 replaces, emphasis remains firmly on business use. This means an analogue-only VGA-out port for hooking up an external display, with no concessions to consumer luxuries such as a high-definition HDMI port or a memory card reader. The X301 is still far more usable than the MacBook Air, however, with three USB ports and a DVD rewriter crammed into that skinny chassis. Connectivity also remains excellent, with an integrated 3G/HSDPA adapter alongside 802.11n Wi-Fi and Gigabit Ethernet.

Tags: Hardware Laptops Lenovo Lenovo ThinkPad X301

Lenovo ThinkPad X301 notebook originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Mon, 02 Mar 2009 09:00:00 +0000

HP’s Touchsmart TX2 is unusual among Tablet PCs in that it’s intended for home use rather than corporate use. You’ll find glossy patterned plastics more in-keeping with the company’s Palivion range than its Compaq machines. The only question is, is there actually a market for touchscreen displays on consumer laptops?

The panel works with both a stylus and fingers, making it easy to navigate the Vista OS. We found it too responsive, however, with the device reacting before we’d even touched the display. As such, it’s impossible to rest a palm on the screen when scribbling away with the stylus, forcing you to adopt a more uncomfortable hovering motion.

Although it’s a bright and sharp screen, image quality is lessened by the touchscreen technology, with a hazy finish that looks almost greasy. It’s at its worst when viewing small text, where we found it uncomfortable to use over longer periods.

Graphics are handled by an ATi Radeon HD 3200 chip, providing a surprising amount of shove for a 12.1-inch laptop. You won’t be able to play anything but older games, but it handles HD video and photo editing tasks with ease. It impacts on battery life, however, with the TX2 struggling to last for 3 hours from a single charge.

The TX2 excels when it comes to regular laptop use. The keyboard offers the excellent usability we’ve come to expect from HP, providing the perfect mix of quality and ergonomics. The tapered edges make it easy to distinguish the keys when touch typing, and the coarse plastics are tactile and robust.

Although the rounded edges help the TX2 to slip easily into bags, our biggest gripe is the sheer bulk of the design. It’s thicker than most similarly sized laptops, and the extra padding that goes into the swivelling screen also sees an increase in depth. Along with a weight the wrong side of 2kg, it makes the TX2 just a little bit too uncomfortable for long-term one-handed use as a tablet.

There’s a dual-core AMD processor within the chassis, and running at 2.2GHz it helps the TX2 to run with a minimal amount of lag. The inclusion of 3072MB of memory further helps with multi-tasking, making this a competent machine in day-to-day use.

In a nod to its consumer pretensions, you’ll find a 320GB hard drive in place – with top of the range models featuring a 400GB drive – the most capacious we’ve seen on a device of this size. The DVD rewriter features LightScribe technology, letting you burn text and images onto the surface of compatible discs. Networking features are equally comprehensive, with the latest Wi-Fi and Ethernet adapters in place, along with the inclusion of Bluetooth.

Tags: Hardware Laptops Tablet PCs HP HP Touchsmart TX2-1015ea

HP Touchsmart TX2-1015ea tablet PC originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Thu, 26 Feb 2009 09:00:00 +0000

Following the staggering amount of publicity Apple’s super-skinny MacBook Air received, with Mac fanatics waxing lyrical about how you can stick it in an envelope and risk accidentally posting it, South Korean manufacturer Samsung decided it could do better with the X360 and X460.

We’ve finally got our hands on the 14.1-inch X460, a hero product that has something of a squashed laptop look about it. With the front of this machine measuring around 20mm, and a weight of just under 1.9kg, it’s the most portable 14.1-inch system we’ve seen so far, although the rear of the chassis does get considerably thicker to house the battery.

The display initially disappoints. The 1280 x 800 pixel resolution falls below that of the equally skinny and slightly smaller Lenovo X300, along with the latest ultra portable Sony VAIOs. At this price, it would have been nice to see a resolution of 1440 x 900 pixels, although images are still fairly crisp. Colour reproduction is a lot more impressive, with vibrant images making it a pleasure for watching movies on.

Brushed aluminium adorns the rear of the lid, and is also available in dark red and blue. Sadly, the surface inside of the X460 fails to live up to its premium price tag. Where rivals use brushed aluminium, magnesium alloy or even leather, Samsung sticks rigidly to plastic. Plastics that are remarkably similar to those found in the company’s £500 laptops, in fact. Here, the glossy finish looks out of place, quickly picking up fingerprints, scuffs and lacking a sense of occasion.

That’s not to say it’s all bad, however. The keyboard uses a similar design to its rivals, and proved one of this machine’s better points. The keys stick out through individual holes in the casing, reducing the chances of mistakes when typing. The keys are all well attached, and move responsively and quietly.

With an entry-level dedicated Nvidia GeForce 9200M GS GPU, 3D performance is impressive for such a lightweight device. We found it struggled with the latest games, but older games ran without trouble, and it also ran more complex applications – such as Adobe’s CS4 – with remarkable ease.

Processing power is equally impressive. The Samsung’s mid-level 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo processor and 3GB of memory isn’t anything out of the ordinary, but we found more than enough performance to run daily tasks, with little lag evident even when running a whole host of programs. There’s definitely no sign of compromise in the pursuit of that light weight, or slim dimensions, and battery life – at just under 5 hours – is also enough for most uses.

The X460 beats the MacBook Air hands down when it comes to features as well. Three USB ports, Gigabit Ethernet, VGA and HDMI-out ports are all in place, along with a fingerprint reader for added security. Wireless connections comprise 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The 250GB hard drive is reasonable for a corporate laptop.

Tags: Hardware Laptops Samsung Samsung X460 Notebook

Samsung X460 notebook originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Mon, 16 Feb 2009 10:00:00 +0000

HP’s Pavilion dv5-1110em is the ideal laptop for the recession, cramming in loads of features at a bargain basement price.

Billed as an Entertainment Notebook PC, the dv5 comes with an integrated Blu-ray optical drive - a surprise at this price. You’ll also find HP’s QuickPlay software for instant-on, and a host of touch-sensitive media buttons for one-touch control of your DVDs, CDs and media files.

The 15.4-inch Super-TFT screen is bright and colourful, although it’s not the sharpest panel we’ve seen. The 1280 x 800 pixel resolution won’t allow you to get the full benefit from high-definition movies, but there is an HDMI port in place - so you’ll be able to hook up an external HD TV.

This machine’s design is another plus point - the shiny chrome-effect plastics may be a little too much for some people, but we like it, and there’s an overall feel of quality. The plastics are robust, and the thick screen surround also provides plenty of protection for the display.

When it comes to comfort, the HP excels. The keys are large and well attached, and we found the rubber-like finish tactile and comfortable. It’s also a quiet keyboard, further adding to the sense of quality. As with other HP Pavilions, we found the touchpad slightly too resistive, and scrolling across pages can quickly prove tiresome.

Basic 3D performance is provided by an entry-level dedicated GPU - ATI’s Mobility Radeon HD 3450. We found it offered more than enough power for regular office tasks, and it also coped fine with HD playback. You’ll even be able to play games, although the latest titles struggled in all but the most basic of settings.

In order to meet that credit crunch defying price, compromises have been made when it comes to the choice of processor. AMD’s Turion X2 Dual-Core Mobile RM-72 chip is fitted, and runs at 2.1GHz. We found it noticeably slower than the other laptops in our office although, with a healthy 3072MB of memory on hand, it’s still a reasonable performer when it comes to multi-tasking. Battery life was the biggest disappointment, and we found it impossible to get more than 2 and a half hours use from a single charge.

Connectivity is reasonable, with four USB ports dotted around the chassis. Along with the HDMI-out, you’ll also find a VGA-out for older displays and projectors. An eSATA interface offers speedy connections to external hard drives, and there’s a 4-in-1 card reader and an ExpressCard slot. There’s no 802.11n Wi-Fi, but the 802.11b/g adapter should suffice for most uses.

Tags: Hardware Laptops HP HP Pavilion dv5-1110em

HP Pavilion dv5-1110em notebook originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Mon, 09 Feb 2009 09:00:00 +0000

Toshiba’s Tecra range is aimed firmly at corporate users, with machines offering great usability and build quality. The Tecra M10-10H fits perfectly into the role of business workhorse, also offering useful performance and a great keyboard.

The 14.1-inch screen strikes a useful balance between mobility and usability. It’s still a long way off ultra portable, weighing 2.6kg, but you won’t have any trouble slipping it into most laptop bags and taking it on the daily commute.

As with many corporate machines, the M10 eschews a glossy panel in favour of standard TFT technology. Despite this, colours are vivid and images are crisp. The 1440 x 900-pixel resolution also offers plenty of space for working with multiple windows. We found reflections, fingerprints and general grime was kept to a minimum by the matt finish, making it a great choice for use on the train and outdoors.

The Toshiba’s chassis is impressively robust, and you can pick it up from the very corner with no sign of flex or groans. It is a bulky design, however, lacking the slim dimensions of many of its rivals.

The keyboard is one of the best we’ve seen on a recent Toshiba laptop, offering faultless usability. The keys are large and of a high quality, and move with a reassuring click. The board remained rigid under pressure, adding to the sense of quality.

You’ll find two ways to operate the cursor, with a touchpad and a pointing stick in the centre of the keyboard. Both offer impressive usability, although we preferred the touchpad for more accurate control. There are two sets of buttons in place, further adding to usability.

3D performance is predictably limited, due to the use of an integrated Intel GMA 4500M graphics card. It offers enough performance for office work, watching DVDs and other everyday tasks, but there’s no chance of playing games in your spare time. Battery life is boosted by the integrated chip, although the 4hrs 30min running time isn’t anything overly special.

Processing power is more impressive - the 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo chip is only a mid-range solution, and the 2048MB of memory could also be improved on. However, we found no sign of major lag even when running a number of intensive applications. Start-up times were minimal, and the system ran smoothly at all times. The 160GB hard drive is smaller than most at this price range.

In-keeping with this machine’s business aspirations, there’s no sign of features such as a Blu-ray drive or integrated webcam. The latter may be a surprise and disappointment for those used to video conferencing, although useful features include an integrated fingerprint reader and a serial port for adding older peripherals. Along with a PC card slot, it may not be cutting-edge, but it’s bound to appeal to small businesses with older equipment.

802.11n Wi-Fi and Gigabit Ethernet make up the fastest network connections currently available, although 3G/HSDPA technology is sadly not present. Rounding off the features list are four USB ports, a multi-format DVD drive and a memory card reader.

Tags: Hardware Laptops Toshiba Toshiba Tecra M10-10H

Toshiba Tecra M10-10H notebook originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Mon, 02 Feb 2009 09:00:00 +0000

While the first netbooks featured 8.9-inch displays, with later models usually boasting larger 10.1-inch panels, Dell’s Inspiron Mini 12 is the first we’ve seen to use a 12.1-inch screen.

It’s bound to appeal to some users - the larger screen inevitably resulting in a less cramped interface, but does the extra size mean you’d be better off with a regular, more powerful full-sized laptop?

Colours and contrast on the Super-TFT screen are excellent, as with the smaller Mini 9. Dell has put the extra real estate to good use, fitting a higher 1280 x 800 pixel resolution than most netbooks and with enough space for multiple windows, it offers better usability than its rivals.

The most surprising thing about this machine is just how thin it is. Those expecting a regular laptop running netbook components are in for a pleasant surprise, as it’s a truly portable device. It measures just 26mm in depth, making it one of the thinnest netbooks on the market, and the 1.3kg weight is in keeping with its 10-inch rivals.

We’ve no complaints about the quality of this machine - some of the shiny plastics can scratch a little too easily, but overall it’s a robust and well made design. The keyboard is better than most netbooks we’ve seen, offering large and responsive keys. Quality is also impressive. With a flat finish, it’s tricky to distinguish between keys when touch-typing, however, and typing mistakes proved more common than we expected.

The Mini 12 is the first netbook we’ve seen to feature an Intel Atom Z520 processor. It’s the same chip found in Sony’s considerably more expensive VAIO P-series ultraportable, but at 1.33GHz it offers slightly less power than the regular 1.6GHz Atom chip. Backed by 1024MB of memory, and running Ubuntu Linux, we found it more than rapid enough for daily use. The 3.5-hour battery life was no better than average, however.

Unfortunately, in terms of operating systems, the Mini 12’s larger screen puts it outside Microsoft’s parameters when it comes to netbooks eligible to run Windows XP. As such, if you don’t like Linux, you’ll have to stick with Windows Vista. This machine is more expensive, at £399, but it does feature a 1.6GHz processor and 80GB hard drive. That said, with just 1024MB of RAM, don’t expect it to fly.

While most rivals offer either limited storage space in the form of a robust and power-efficient SSD, or large capacities from a more fragile mechanical hard drive, the Mini 12 disappoints by combining the two. You’ll find a regular hard drive in place, but at just 40GB, it falls considerably short of rivals.

Standard networking features are also disappointing, limited to 802.11b/g and 10/100 Ethernet. It may not affect everyday use, but again it’s a step behind other netbooks at this price. Rounding up the specification are three USB ports, a 3-in-1 card reader, 1.3-megapixel camera and a VGA-out port. Bluetooth is also built-in.

Tags: Hardware Laptops Netbooks Dell Dell Inspiron Mini 12

Dell Inspiron Mini 12 notebook originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Mon, 26 Jan 2009 09:00:00 +0000

In the UK, Lenovo is known for its corporate ThinkPad range - which it bought the rights to from IBM a couple of years ago. As such, it’s easy to forget that the company also produces a range of consumer laptops. The latest to arrive is the IdeaPad S10 - a netbook looking to take on the established players.

As with most recent netbooks, it’s a 10.2-inch machine, with Lenovo staying away from the smaller 8.9-inch format. The screen features a standard 1024 x 600 pixel resolution, but images are crisp and sharp. If you don’t need a higher resolution, it’s actually one of the best displays we’ve seen on a netbook, with LED backlighting resulting in flawless colour reproduction. It’s a Super-TFT panel though, so you’ll find the usual reflections in direct sunlight.

The IdeaPad is one of the more simple netbooks when it comes to styling, with few stand-out features. That said, it’s still an attractive design, and like Toshiba’s NB100, it feels less toy-like than some of the other netbooks you can buy. At 31mm in depth, it’s also thinner than most of its rivals, but we found it a sturdy and well made device. At 1.1kg, it’s light enough to take with you wherever you go.

The keyboard offers mixed usability. It’s far better than the 8.9-inch Netbooks we’ve seen, and the keys are large enough for comfortable use. We were impressed by the amount of travel on offer, which makes it easy to type at speed. That said, the plastics used are more brittle than those found on the company’s other laptops, and it also rattles more. The touchpad is truly tiny and, although precise, it may prove too small for those with big fingers to use comfortably.

There’s nothing unusual about the IdeaPad’s specification, with an Intel Atom processor and 1024MB of memory in place. Thankfully Lenovo has ignored Vista, pre-installing Windows XP Home on our S10e review sample. You’ll also be able to buy the S10 with Windows XP Pro, or Novell SLED 10 Linux. Unfortunately we haven’t had the opportunity to try the latter, so cannot compare it to rival operating systems.

Performance was adequate for office tasks, but as with other netbooks the system slowed considerably when running several applications simultaneously. The worst aspect of our review machine was its battery life, and at just over 2 hours, it offers considerably less mobility than its rivals.

Feature-wise, the S10e has the standard array of sockets. You’ll find two USB ports, and a VGA port for connecting an external display. The ExpressCard slot is also a welcome touch in a device of this size. Network connections are slightly sub-standard, however - with 10/100 Ethernet and 802.11g Wi-Fi. You will find Bluetooth integrated, making it possible to connect digital devices wirelessly.

Tags: Hardware Laptops Netbooks Lenovo Lenovo IdeaPad S10e

Lenovo IdeaPad S10e notebook originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Mon, 19 Jan 2009 09:00:00 +0000