Toshiba Satellite M55-S325
Laptop Magazine has some details on the Satellite M55-S325 notebook.
Similar in size and shape to the HP dv1000, the 5.3-pound Satellite M55-S325 features an attractive peacock-blue lid that protects the 14-inch TruBrite widescreen.
The keyboard has plenty of room, but the touchpad is a bit short compared to the other systems. The two sets of USB ports are stacked vertically, making plugging in multiple peripherals at once a chore. Having both the volume control wheel and Wireless On/Off switch up front is convenient.
The higher-end configuration of the Satellite M55 is powered by Intel’s 1.7-GHz Pentium M processor and 512MB of RAM. What makes this system unique among the four systems we tested is that it has the largest and fastest hard drive: 100GB running at 5,400 rpm. In addition to four USB ports, there’s a FireWire port, 5-in-1 memory card reader, and a dual-layer DVD burner.
It’s 3 hours and 13 minutes of battery life, however, trailed those two systems. The biggest dissapointment was this Satellite’s wireless range, with the internal 802.11g connection mustering a measly 3.8 Mbps 50 feet away from our access point. That’s significantly less than our 8.1 Mbps average for thin and lights.
Like the HP dv1000, the Satellite M55 enables users to listen to music and watch DVDs without having to boot into Windows. Toshiba calls this feature Express Media Player, and it worked fine on both our Coldplay CD and Spider-Man 2 DVD. A special row of multimedia keys to the right of the keyboard are for playback control, but we wish these keys worked in Windows mode, as well.
Loud and proud, the Harmon Kardon stereo speakers with SRS TruSurround XT technology produced the best sound of any of the thin-and-light systems we tested, edging out the Altec Lansings on the HP dv1000. In a unique design twist, the speaker is actually integrated into the top half of the notebook beneath the display for maximum impact. We’d like to see the M55 come with a slim remote control, as this notebook pumps out enough volume to be heard from across the room.
Sony VAIO VGN-A790
PCMAG.com reviews the Sony VAIO VGN-A790 and give it a three out of five. The notebook is a very expensive edition to the Sony VAIO’s already pricy line, but is it worth having?
The Sony VAIO VGN-A790 ($2,799.99 direct), the update to the VAIO VGN-A690, is undoubtedly the most powerful machine in Sony’s laptop lineup. Its exterior is unchanged–same gorgeous 17-inch display, same ultrathin chassis. Inside, the updates are minor; a boost in processor speed and more graphics memory. Sony also keeps the VAIO Zone suite, a worthy adversary against Microsoft’s Windows XP Media Center Edition (MCE). All in all, the A790 is an impressive media-center laptop.
At 8.6 pounds the A790 isn’t light, but it is relatively thin at just 1.8 inches. The 17-inch XBrite screen, always a favorite, delivers a mind-blowing 1,920-by-1,200 resolution—great for photo editing, gaming, and watching movies.
The A790 comes with a 2.0 GHz Pentium M 760, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, and the ATI Mobility Radeon X600 graphics card with 256MB of memory. With a faster processor than the Qosmio G25, it earns higher SYSmark 2004 SE scores. The A790’s MobileMark 2005 results were a modest 1 hour 55 minutes. Sony should probably offers a battery bigger than the standard 44-Wh one, but then again, it’s unlikely you’ll be lugging the 8.6-pound A790 far from a power source. Gaming, something Sony usually falls short on, is actually quite decent on this system, but the A790 still lagged behind the Qosmio G25 on our Doom 3 and 3DMark 2005 tests. The Dell Inspiron XPS Gen 2 remains, however, the system to pick if gaming is your passion.
Averatec AV1050-EB1
There have been lots of great Averatec releases lately, and the AV1050-EB1 does not look like it will disappoint. The AV1050-EB1 is Averatec’s lightest notebook, weighing a nice and light 3.5 pounds. The system has many features which are rare among ultraportables, like a built-in optical drive, and an 80 gig hard drive.
The AV1050 will come in many colors including Brandy Burgundy, Wandering Rose, and Caribbean Green to add that extra little bit of style to an otherwise black or white laptop market.
The AV1050-EB1 has a 10.6-inch AveraBrite widescreen. This display is specially treated to make it brighter and ideal for watching movies.
The system uses an ultra low voltage Pentium M 1.1 GHz processor which is a little below average in todays marketplace, but more than enough for the more common tasks that an ultraportable is needed for.
A rarity in the market with some interesting features, the AV1050-EB1 is an affordable $1,379 USD.
Real Notebook Security
Laptop Magazine has an article up on laptop security and all the different ways it can be done, highlighting many pieces of hardware that can secure your notebook. A very interesting read.
For IT managers, mobility is both a blessing and a curse. Having workers who are productive out of the office helps the bottom line, but a company’s assets could easily be compromised by a single stolen system. In June, someone stole a laptop computer with the personal information of 5,800 former Eastman Kodak employees, including Social Security numbers, names, and birth dates. A Kodak spokesperson said the laptop was password protected, but any determined hacker could get around that obstacle within minutes.
What are your security options today? To see how notebook security technology is developing, we reached out to Dell, HP, Toshiba, and Lenovo (which recently purchased the PC business of IBM), as well as behind-the-scenes players like fingerprint reader manufacturer AuthenTec.
Continue reading Real Notebook Security
Sony VAIO VGN-TX670P
The Sony VAIO VGN-TX670P has got an excellent 8.1 out of 10 from Cnet, and in the review they list all of the great features of the laptop, and continually remind you how it is expensive, so don’t forget while reading the review that the VGN-TX670P is expensive.
Less than a year after debuting its VAIO T series ultraportable laptop (and several iterations later), Sony gives its thinnest and lightest model a new look, some new features, and a new name. At $2,300, the VAIO VGN-TX670P costs about as much as the previous VAIO VGN-T350 model but adds a slightly wider screen and subtracts a few ounces from an already lightweight profile.
This is an eminently ultraportable laptop: the VAIO VGN-TX670P’s carbon-fiber body measures 10.75 inches wide, 7.65 inches deep, and less than an inch thick. At 2.8 pounds (3.5 pounds with its small, ice cream sandwich-size AC adapter), it’s one of the smallest and lightest machines around, especially for having an optical drive onboard. The Sharp Actius MP30, which also weighs 2.8 pounds and has an optical drive, costs about $700 less than the Sony, though it has a significantly smaller, 10.4-inch standard aspect display and lacks many of the Sony’s multimedia and connectivity niceties. The Fujitsu LifeBook P7010D weighs less than a pound more, offers a comparable set of features and specs, and costs several hundred dollars less; the $1,379 Averatec 1000, weighing a pound more, is another low-price option. Other laptops in the Sony’s weight class, including the $2,000, 2.7-pound Toshiba Portege R200 and the $2,000, 2.5-pound Dell Latitude X1, lack the optical drive.
Averatec AV1050-EU1
A new notebook from Averatec, the AV1050-EU1 is tiny, maybe too tiny, and looks like another Averatec try at making an Apple look a like.
Laptop Magazine with the details on the laptop.
The 3.6-pound Averatec AV1050-EU1 is ideal for users looking for the lightest possible system with a built-in DVD/CD drive and that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. The 10.6-inch screen will be too small for some, but this $1,299 mini Centrino machine offers good performance, strong battery life, and a stylish package.
The AV1050 will certainly turn heads, whether it’s around campus or at a neighborhood hotspot. Its white shell bears a strong resemblance to Apple’s iBook, and the burgundy lid adds a touch of class. The body itself is as slim as can be, measuring only 10.5 x 8 x 1.2 inches.
The 10.6-inch widescreen display is tiny, but clear and crisp thanks to Averatec’s AveraBrite LCD technology. It would be difficult to sit through an entire movie if the screen were not as bright as it is. Spider-Man 2 looked great on the glossy display, but you won’t be watching a flick with several friends. Coupled with weak audio, the overall mobile movie experience was passable at best. When you’re back at your desk, the VGA port and two USB ports can connect an external monitor, mouse, and full-sized keyboard.
Battery life was strong overall. The standard runtime of 3 hours and 22 minutes dropped by only six minutes with the Wi-Fi connection switched on.
Read the rest at Laptop Magazine
New Line of Panasonic Toughbooks
Panasonic has expanded it’s line of “Toughbook” notebooks with the CF-29 and CF-18.
The display has a brightness of 500cd, or approximately 1.5 times brighter than the previous line of Toughbooks. The LCD has Anti Reflection adjusting which makes it possible to view the display even under direct sunlight.
All the joints are sealed with silicon rubber to prevent water and dust from getting inside. And the rubberized casing helps absorb shock and damage from falls.
The “CF-29LW1AXS” has a 13.3″ 1,024×768 (XGA) display. The “CF-18″ has a 10.4″ rotating display. Common features are Intel 915 GMS chipset, 256 MB RAM, 60GB hard drive, battery life of up to 8 hours, Windows XP Professional and Wi-Fi.
The “CF-29LW1AXS” measures 302×273x63.5mm and weighs 3.69 kg and the CF-18 measures 271×216x49mm and weighs 2.1 kg. They will be avaialble in Japan on October 26.
Sony VAIO A500
Infosync World has a look at the VAIO A500 laptop from Sony. With an abundant amount of features and a tiny amount of battery life, the A500 is a desktop replacement.
Ranging in processor choices from Intel’s Pentium M 740 up to the M 760, the A500 series offers speeds of up to 2 GHz in combination with up to 2 GB of 533 MHz DDR2 SDRAM. Hard drive sizes range from 80 to 120 GB in the shape of SATA disks spinning at 5,400 RPM, with the A500 series also offering a DVD±RW Dual Layer drive.
A 17-inch display is standard across all models, sporting a WXGA+ resolution of 1440 x 900 pixels and Sony’s X-Black technology and being powered by a 256 MB ATI Radeon X600 graphics card.
A range of connectivity options are available including 10/100/1000 Ethernet and a V.92 56K modem; three USB 2.0 ports; FireWire; VGA and combo AV out ports; and a Memory Stick expansion slot supporting both standard Memory Stick and the newer Duo format. Furthermore, the A500 series also integrates Bluetooth 2.0 and Wi-Fi 802.11b/g.
Hunting for cheap laptops
Cnet has an article up on cheap laptops. If you are like me, and just need a mobile typewriter or web terminal, the machines they list might be good enough for you.
Most people simply don’t need a $3,000 laptop. Unless you’re a hard-core gamer, a multimedia pro, an obsessive audiophile, or just a conspicuously consuming blowhard, you can probably make do with an inexpensive notebook. The good news is that today’s average-performing systems are often powerful enough to give you what you need to surf the Web, spit out some e-mail, and watch a movie or two. We present to you seven of the least-expensive laptops we’ve seen over the past year or so. Many of them are configurable and start well below $1,000, while others press the $1,500 mark. But don’t be fooled: there are even less expensive options out there.
Thinkpad Z Series: A Fresh Direction
Lenovo is taking the ThinkPad range in a fresh direction with the launch of its Z series widescreen laptops. The Z series is designed to fit equally well in the office and home environments, one of many departures from the strict business focused ideal of IBM before selling its PC division to Lenovo.
The Z60t features a 14-inch display, while the Z60m is fitted with a 15.4-inch display.
In addition to classic black, the Z series is available with a scratch-resistant brushed titanium cover which is something that many people have already remarked on as IBM has only really offered their laptops in black.
Another interesting innovation is that the laptops employ a mechanism which houses internal components including the hard drive in a one-piece magnesium casing that acts as a protective shell. This safety feature is in addition to the Active Protection System which lifts the heads from the hard drive in the event of the laptop being dropped. I would love to know how much protection is provided between these two systems in comparison to notebooks without such things.
The Z60t goes on sale immediately, while the Z60m will hit shelves in mid-October. Pricing starts at $1,099 USD for the Z60t and $799 USD for the Z60m.
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