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dell vostro 1400 laptop review

2009-10-16T01:40:00.000-07:00

The Dell Vostro 1400 vostro 1400 battery is a 14.1" screen business notebook recently released. Dell is targeting small business buyers with the Vostro line of notebooks, but given the sturdy build, excellent price and option for installing Windows XP and less bloatware, models such as the Vostro 1400 Acer Aspire One battery might appeal to consumers as well.

Specifications:

Core 2 Duo T5470 (1.6Ghz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)

14.1” Wide Screen XGA LCD Display with TrueLife

1GB DDR2 667Mhz

128MB Nvidia Geforce 8400GS

120GB 5400RPM SATA

Genuine Windows Vista Home Basic

Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem

8x CD/DVD Burner w/ double layer DVD+ write capability

Integrated High Definition Audtio

Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g Wi-Fi Mini Card

Integrated 2.0 mega pixel web camera

85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery

Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate)

1 Year Limited Hardware Warranty with Mail-in Service

Reasons for Buying:

Ever since selling my XPS M140 satellite a200 battery , I have been keeping my eyes open for another notebook deal. For a while, I was seriously considering the Asus W3j, but I just couldn’t justify the high price. Instead, I bought a desktop to hold me over.

I wanted a notebook that was portable and had good battery life inspiron 1525 akku (4 hours or more was my goal). I also wanted something in the $600-$800 range. I wanted my future notebook to have a 12-14” widescreen display, have discreet graphics, have a built in webcam and microphone. The Vostro 1400 met all of my needs and at a great price!

Shopping

I had my eyes on the Vostro 1400 sony vgp-bps8 akku vgp-bps8 ever since the day of release and before that. On the day of release I was playing around with different configurations, all which came out to be around $850-$900. The next day to my amazement I saw that it had dropped down to $700 for the configuration that I wanted. I ended up ordering the notebook for $700+ tax.

Between ordering and delivery it took about two weeks for me to get my notebook. I selected shipping via DHL 3-5 days, but it took only about 24hrs to get to me!

First Impressions

The Vostro 1400 came nicely packed in a brown Dell presario v3000 battery box. As I opened it up, the power supply CD’s and some instructions were revealed. Underneath that was the notebook itself. It was surrounded by 1" thick styrofoam.

Construction:

I pulled the notebook out of the Styrofoam and examined it presario v6000 battery very carefully. The looks and everything exceeded my expectations. Though one thing I did notice right away was that the battery didn’t snap in very well. It rattled a little bit after being inserted and was not a snug fit, but it’s something I have seen in other notebooks as well. I found a simple, but inelegant solution to the problem. A small wedge of paper between the notebook and the battery solved the problem and was not visible, unless removing the battery was necessary.

Everything else on the notebook felt very sturdy. The build pavilion dv2000 battery quality greatly exceeds the Inspiron e1405 (Dell’s previous 14” notebook). There is little to no keyboard flex. There is very little screen flex. The screen and hinges feel especially sturdy. The notebook’s lid closes very nicely. Unlike previous Inspiron notebooks, the Vostro 1400 has no latch, which is very nice for easy one hand opening and closing.

The picture above shows the front microphone input and headphone outputs. On the left is the 9in1 card reader.

The picture above shows the pavilion dv6000 battery Optical drive, s-video out, two USB 2.0 ports, and an RGB output.

The picture above shows the kensignton lock slot, the AC input, a heatsink, an IEE 1394 firewire port, two USB 2.0 ports, and an express card slot.

The picture t60 battery t60 akku above shows several blue activity LED’s, the 9in1 card slot, and wi-fi catcher button.

Keyboard:

The keyboard is a typical Inspiron keyboard. It feels just like the e1405 t61 battery . I personally am not super picky about the keyboard. Although it is not a high-quality Thinkpad keyboard, it still is very comfortable to use, and is relatively quiet (good for taking to class).

Touchpad:

The touchpad is very similar to the Inspiron e1405, it is inspiron e1505 battery inspiron e1505 akku dark grey in color. The touchpad is easy to use and I haven’t had any problems with it. I still prefer an external mouse if I’m using the notebook for extended periods of time.

Screen:

I selected the Vostro 1400 with a 1,280 x 1,024 WXGA display with TrueLife. I love the display. The colors are very bright, images and text are crisp, and it provides quite a bit of contrast. There is minor light leakage around the edges.

The viewing angles on the Vostro 1400 inspiron 6400 battery inspiron 1501 akku are good from left to right. But if you look from the top, the screen looks dark and it is hard to make out anything. The backlight is very bright.

Webcam:

Built into the trim of the screen, I selected the 2MP webcam (a $30 upgrade at the time of this review). The webcam is more than worth the money. It does exceptionally well at taking pictures of close up objects and people. When taking pictures of landscapes, it doesn’t do as well. The camera can capture at resolutions up to 3200x2400. However, there isn’t much point of capturing pictures at this resolution as the quality is about the same as at 1600x1200.

As far as video recording goes, the 2MP camera can record up xps m1330 akku to 1600x1200 resolution at very low FPS however (Around 2-3FPS). Video quality at this resolution is quite blurry when there is movement. The video does reasonably well at 640x480, and very well at 320x240. When using the webcam over an instant messaging client, you can select for the camera to use face tracking. With face tracking it will actually zoom into your face and pan in and out as you move.

The webcam also features a blue LED indicator light, that tells you when your webcam is active.

Sound:

The Vostro 1400 has two tiny speakers on the left and right side above the keyboard. They appear to be quite a bit smaller than the previous Insprion e1405 apple powerbook g4 battery speakers. For their size they really do quite well, and on max volume get loud enough to easily fill a small to medium room. The quality of the speakers is just average. The volume these speakers put out is more than enough for one to enjoy a game or a DVD.

Microphone:

The Vostro 1400 xps m1730 battery comes with two digital microphones which are located in the top trim of the screen, on both the left and right side of the webcam. Both microphones capture audio very well. This is great for skype or other VOIP applications.

Operating System:

I selected the Vostro 1400 13" 15" 17" apple macbook pro battery with Microsoft Vista Home Basic. I have never used Vista much besides the Beta versions. There are some really great features that I like a lot in Vista. But some of the features in Xp that I am used to have seemed to disappear or are harder to find. It will take some time to get used to, but it sure is a nice looking interface.

Software:

Dell finally started listening to their customers as far as software goes. You have the option to select if you want various Dell utilities installed on your computer. Dell also gives you the option to select or not to select trial software and other freebies.

I said no to all of the freebies and trial software. I did go ahead and opt for installing a couple of Dell hp pavilion dv9000 battery utilities. Even though I didn’t select much, the computer booted up and was running about 60 processes! In the past when I have purchased a Dell notebook, the first thing I always did, and advised others to do, was to reformat. Dell would just install so much junk that it made a new computer seem slow. Out of the box, the machine booted up in about 35 seconds. After adjusting the startup processes using Microsoft’s “msconfig” utility I was able to shave that number down to about 30.

Benchmarks and Performance

I ran Super Pi to 2 Million digits of accuracy and got 1m 10 seconds as a result. That’s nothing super fast, but it's not bad for a budget processor.

With stock drivers, out of the box, the notebook scored 2,942 on 3DMark05

Heat and Noise:

The Vostro 1400 toshiba pa3535u-1brs toshiba pa3534u-1brs is very quiet. The fan stays off unless I start playing a game or run some other demanding application on it. It puts out a little bit of heat out from the left side of the notebook, but for the most part it runs cool and I can’t feel any heat coming out.

Battery Life:

I ran a battery benchmark application that maxed out the dell gd761 CPU to 100% load and put the sytem under a lot of stress, including the graphics card as it rendered 3D graphics. The notebook kept going for 2 hours 24minutes, until it shut down with 3% battery life to spare. This would be the worst case scenario. I can’t imagine ever getting under 3 hours with the 9 cell battery.

Dell claims that the Vostro 1400 dell kd476 can get up to 8hrs. So far the longest I have seen is 6.5hrs.

The battery is an 11.1 Volt, 9 cell 85Wh Li-ion acer battery. The battery cells were made in Japan. Similar to previous batteries, there is a battery tester right on the battery showing you how much of a charge it has. Right under the battery, I was surprised to find a SIM card reader. I didn’t pay extra for it, and don’t think it is active, but there might be a way to enable it.

Service and Support:

The day after I purchased the notebook, the price dropped by $50! So Immediately I went to the Dell battery small business site, and tried to chat with someone from Dell small business. I was connected with a guy from Dell home, who was unable to help me request a $50 refund, or to help me cancel my order and re-order. He just gave me Dell small businesses’ number and told me that they only work Monday-Friday. So, I was unable to contact them. I eventually decided just to write Dell an email asking for $50 credit back.

The next day I was surprised to receive a response, I thought Dell toshiba laptop battery Small Business only worked Money-Friday? In the email, the rep told me that he would issue me a $50 refund after the notebook had shipped. I agreed and waited. A few days after I received the notebook, I got my $50 refund, which dropped the price down to $650+ tax! (I also used fatwallet to save an additional 1.5% or $10)

What I have concluded from this and previous experiences with Dell sony laptop battery is that, they are really hard to get a hold of usually. You will usually have to play the Dell “game” of phone tag, or wait online from a rep and chat with them. It usually takes a few tries to get a hold of someone with the authority to address most problems. Once you do get a hold of them, they are usually quite responsive and help you with the problem right away! In the past, I have had Hard drive replacements and optical drive replacements sent next day air by Dell, and arrive the next day!

Conclusion:

The Dell Vostro 1400 is an excellent choice for the price! It offers a wide variety of special features, including a webcam (optional), microphone, discreet graphics card (optional). It also provides impressive battery life for its size and price. The notebook is very business looking and has some hp laptop battery tough features which include: a magnesium alloy chassis, spill proof keyboard, and shock resistant hard drive.

Pros:

Excellent Price!

Impressive build quality

Optional Webcam and dedicated Graphics

Great battery life, especially with the 9 cell battery.

Great looking screen, bright and crisp

Cons:

Battery didn’t snap in as tight as it should.

Notebook lid easily smudges and shows your fingerprints

Dell’s always hard to get a hold of

Most Popular Laptops for September 2009

2009-10-15T02:00:00.000-07:00

1. Acer Aspire One (Still holding #1) - The Aspire One battery is the latest "netbook" from vgp-bps8 , offering a convenient, compact design at a budget price. The Aspire One vostro 1400 battery features an Intel Atom Processor, 8.9" WSVGA TFT LCD, and a choice of either Genuine Windows XP Home Edition or Linpus Linux Lite version. (59,009 unique views)

2. Lenovo ThinkPad T400 (Still holding #2) - The ThinkPad T400 battery features an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 14.1" LED-backlight widescreen, up to 8GB of PC2-8500 and integrated Intel X4500 or ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3470. (41,114 unique views) satellite a200 battery

3. Dell Studio15 (Still holding #3) - The Dell Studio 15 is a 15.4" screen multimedia laptop offered in multiple colors and configurations. The Studio 15 can be equipped with an Intel Core 2 Duo and dedicated ATI graphics. It comes with a slot-loading DVD drive, backlit keyboard, sleek drop-hinge design, widescreen laptop akku glossy display and touch sensitive buttons. Software wise the Dell Studio 15 includes a unique Apple Mac OS X launch dock. (34,449 unique views) presario v3000 battery

4. Dell Studio XPS 16 (Previously #5) - The Studio XPS 16 features premium design with genuine leather accents, anodized aluminum, edge-to-edge display and backlit keyboard, 16" ultrawide 16:9 aspect ratio with 1080p HD support & optional RGB-LED for brighter and more vivid colors, the latest Centrino 2 platform for blazing fast performance, amazing battery life and go anywhere wireless connectivity and premium ATI 512MB graphics delivers incredibly lifelike videos, movies and gaming. (26,161 unique views) presario v6000 battery

5. Dell Inspiron 11z (New to the Top 10) - The Dell Inspiron 11z is a slim, lightweight notebook featuring Intel integrated graphics, a 250GB hard drive, and integrated 1.3 megapixel webcam. It is not equipped with an optical drive, but supports use with an external drive. (25,683 unique views)

6. Apple 13" MacBook Pro (Previously holding #4) - This 13 inch notebook is the smallest of the Apple MacBook Pro family. It features an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, NVIDIA GeForce graphics with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory, up to 8GB DDR3 sysetm memory, and 160 or 250GB SATA hard drive. This system is also equipped with a FireWire 800 port, two USB 2.0 ports, and SD card slot. (24,888 unique views) pavilion dv2000 battery

7. Lenovo ThinkPad X200 (Previously #8) - The Lenovo ThinkPad X200 is a 12.1" ultraportable featuring an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, and up to 4GB of DDR3 Memory. (22,928 unique views pavilion dv6000 battery

8. HP ProBook 4510s (New to the Top 10) - The HP ProBook 4510s offers a 15.6-inch diagonal 16:9 HD widescreen LED backlight display and optional HP Mobile Broadband connectivity with built-in Gobi technology or standard Wi-Fi certified and optional integrated Bluetooth wireless technology. Choose from integrated or dedicated graphics and 6 or 8-cell lithium ion battery.(21,343 unique views) t60 battery

9. Lenovo G530 t61 battery (Previously #6) - The G530 features a dual-core Pentium processor, up to 4GB system memory, 15.4" widescreen high-definition display, CD/DVD burner, and built-in webcam and microphone. (19,711 unique views) vostro 1400 battery

10. Lenovo G550 (New to the Top 10) - The Lenovo G550 17" 15" 13" apple macbook pro battery is an update to the Value Line G530 with the primary difference being the shift from a 16:10 to a 16:9 screen. Configurations include either Intel Pentium or Core 2 Duo processor and up to 4GB DDR3 installed memory. (19,503 unique views)

dell inspiron 1525 akku

2009-10-14T23:23:00.000-07:00

Das Dell Insprion 1525 akku kann neben den klassischen Tugenden eines Office-Notebooks auch mit zahlreichen Multimediafeatures punkten. Zur guten Verarbeitung, der angenehmen Tastatur und dem klaren Design gesellt sich so unter anderem ein hochmoderner HMDI-Ausgang. Unter der Haube kümmert sich ein Dual Core Prozessor von Intel in Kombination mit zwei GByte RAM für genügend Vortrieb.

Das Dell Inspiron 1525 dell inspiron 6400 akku gibt sich rein äußerlich alles andere als langweilig. Insgesamt zwölf verschiede Deckelmotive bringen vielmehr Leben in den tristen Notebookalltag. Vom unauffälligen „Mattschwarz“ über „Flamingo-Rosa“ bis hin zu farbenfroher Motiven wie dem „Chill“-Muster steht für jeden Geschmack der passende Look parat. Unser Testnotebook im schwarz-weißen „Commotion“-Design sorgte bei Kollegen, Freunden und auf der Straße schnell für zahlreiche neugierige und gleichwohl begeisterte Blicke.

Im Innenraum setzt das Dell Inspiron 1525 dell xps m1330 akku auf ein elegantes, aufgeräumtes Design. Der durchgängig anthrazit-silbernfarbene Kunststoff wird durch kleinere Metallapplikationen und die nahtlos eingearbeiteten Lautsprecher über der Tastatur ansprechend aufgelockert. Nettes Detail: Die berührungsempfindliche Multimedialeiste begrüßt den Anwender beim Einschalten mit einem eleganten Leuchtsignal.

Angesichts dessen fällt es kaum auf, dass das Dell Inspiron 1525 sony vgp-bps8 akku nicht gerade zu den schlanksten Vertretern seiner Zunft gehört. Immerhin ragt die Silhouette des 15.4-Zöllers auf dem Papier bis zu 4.1 Zentimeter in der Höhe. Selbst an der schlanksten Stelle halten wir noch 3.1 Zentimeter Höhe fest. Knapp 2.8 Kilogramm Lebendgewicht inklusive Akku sind für ein Notebook dieser Klasse dafür wiederum kein schlechter Wert, das Netzteil bringt es auf 364 Gramm.

Verarbeitungstechnisch hinterlässt das Dell-Notebook auf Anhieb ein gutes Gesamtbild. Obwohl hier und da kleinere Schwächen in dell latitude d630 akku Bezug aufs Spaltmaß und die Lackierung ins Auge fallen, überwiegen beim verwindungssteifen Chassis eindeutig die positiven Aspekte. Selbst bei stärkerer Druckeinwirkung gibt die Handballenauflage unseres Testgeräts kaum nach, Knarrgeräusche sind wenn überhaupt nur bei stärkerer Kraftausübung im Bereich des optischen Laufwerks zu vernehmen. Haptisch gibt es an den verbauten Materialien nichts auszusetzen. Sie fassen sich angenehm an, bieten durch ihre angeraute Oberfläche insbesondere im Bereich der Handballenauflage genug Halt und zeigen sich resistent gegenüber Schmutz und kleineren Kratzern – genau so sollte es sein.

Weniger gut ist den Dell-Ingenieuren die Displaykonstruktion gelungen. Sie kommt ohne jegliche mechanische Arretierung in Form eines Verriegelungshakens am Chassis aus und wird nur durch das Eigengewicht des Deckels und die Zugkraft der beiden leichtgängigen Scharniere an der Baseunit fixiert. Entfällt dieses Eigengewicht, öffnet sich der Deckel augenblicklich – ein zweifelhaftes Konzept. Schließen wir den Deckel des Dell Inspiron 1525, drehen es anschließend auf den Kopf oder die Seite und halten das Notebook nur noch an der Baseunit fest, entsteht somit stets ein knapp zwei Zentimeter großer Spalt, in den beim Transport leicht Schmutz oder gar spitze Gegenstände eindringen können. Dell täte daher besser daran, in Zukunft wieder auf einen kleinen Verriegelungshaken mit Schiebeschalter zur sicheren Arretierung des Displaydeckels am Chassis zurückzugreifen – auch wenn dies auf Kosten der Optik ginge. Abgesehen davon kann dem Dell Inspiron 1525 dell inspiron e1505 akku jedoch eine durchweg gelungene Verarbeitung und Haptik attestiert werden

toshiba satellite a200 laptop review

2009-10-13T19:32:00.000-07:00

At some point, the desktop form Acer Aspire One battery factor was deemed too restrictive to be useful, so all the major PC vgp-bps8 manufacturers jumped on the portable bandwagon. Now even 15.4-inch laptop models are being sold as desktop replacements. If they planned on just using them at desks, why didn't they just make desktops smaller and offer an optional battery and handle?

Features

The A200 satellite a200 battery battery code pa3535u-1brs pa3534u-1brs is a strange beast, straddling the line between notebook, desktop, productivity and gaming, but because of this odd mix -- and while it's a fairly solid machine -- it doesn't really do any one task particularly outstandingly when put head-to-head with single-function specialist products.

The A200's presario v3000 battery feature set weighs in at around the middle of the pack with its 1.73GHz Core 2 Duo CPU, 1GB of 667MHz DDR2 memory and a 5,400rpm 120GB hard disk drive. Granted to hit its modest AU$1,799 price point, sacrifices have been made, but it still represents good value for what's in the box. Unfortunately the first thing we noticed was that the system memory comes in a two by 512MB configuration, meaning those wanting to run 2GB for Vista will have no option but to junk both DIMMs and purchase two 1GB replacements to get to their goal.

Graphics are taken care of by NVIDIA's GeForce G7300 presario v6000 battery card, a step above Intel's own integrated product, and enough to run the Vista Aero interface, but pretty average for anything more intensive. The machine returned a score of 655 under 3DMark, and given Toshiba sells it as a desktop replacement primarily designed to sit powered by mains, something with a bit more grunt even at a greater price would have been more appreciated. If graphics are your biggest motivating factor, The PSPBGA-01X015 version of the A200 includes the bigger brother NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600 for better 3D performance.

Because of its sub AU$2,000 price tag, this model forgoes flashy features like a next-gen optical format such as HD-DVD or Blu-ray. pavilion dv2000 battery It's not strictly a gaming PC, but you shouldn't have any trouble running less demanding games from the last few years on it.

Like most consumer notebooks it includes a 1.3-megapixel digital camera pavilion dv6000 battery built into the lid facing the user, a bit big brother, but handy for video conferencing with family and friends or recording YouTube clips of that cute thing your pet does that no one cares about.

Toshiba t60 battery throws in a biometric fingerprint reader for added security; it's not a deal signer, but it is a nice little extra for the security conscious, or those with bad memories for passwords.

Design

The chassis is finished in a two-tone silver/black combination. The top t61 battery of the lid is finished in a glossy bluish metallic paint and while attractive is a real fingerprint catcher.

Rather than being hinged by the top edge of the lower clam-shell as inspiron 1420 battery is often done, it's attached at the desk level and as a result means there's no room for rear I/O ports. The A200 isn't particularly legacy friendly (which isn't a huge loss unless you're still using with parallel printers or serial mice -- and if you are, get with the times!)

The left hand side of the chassis houses your video options with VGA inspiron e1505 battery and S-Video out, Ethernet port, two USB ports, a 4-pin FireWire connector and Express Card slot. The right has an additional two USB ports and the DVD burner optical drive. The latter ports are particularly handy for right-handed mousers looking to plug in an external device for long desk use sessions.

The touchpad while inspiron 6400 battery responsive is just a tad too small given all the unutilised space above the keyboard where the speakers and quick launch buttons live.

The screen is coated with a glossy finish, and does a good job showing off Vista's new user interface. Movies look great, although turning down the lights exposed some nasty contrast ratio and viewing angle issues with the display.

Performance

Returning just shy of 3300 PCMarks, it offers solid day-to-day vostro 1400 battery functionality, and would suit office productivity applications and play on the side.

While the DVD playback was quite good in ambient lighting, dipping the lights accentuated the flaws a1185 in its contrast ratio and viewing angle -- blacks not quite true and some detail that went missing in poorly lit scenes if you tilted your head too far. That said, this model does offer something we can't often say about notebooks -- it has exceptionally good quality sound for a portable. We're pleased to say it lacks that horrible tinny sound we've come to expect, instead producing a clear and sharp movie soundtrack.

Given 17" 15" 13" apple macbook pro battery this product is designed to spend its life perched on a desk, with the option of portability; we didn't hold huge hopes for the battery run time. At maximum brightness and performance the A200 ran for just over an hour and a half, well short of finishing our DVD movie test. Dropping the display brightness to minimum (which is still quite easily read) and giving the unit an easier reader test yielded an extra hour, for a total of two and a half hours of run time. It's not stellar, but does offer enough juice to get some work or play done on the go.

In the end it tries to be everything to everyone, but trips over in all but a productivity setting. The A200 powerbook g4 battery won't be winning any awards in the performance stakes anytime soon, but that's not what it's designed to do. It's not quite a gaming machine with only a small step above integrated graphics. The memory is about as little as you'd want to run Vista and does present an upgrade challenge, but for the cost it's a good all-rounder with plenty to offer those on a budget.

compaq presario v6000 laptop review

2009-09-16T00:14:00.001-07:00

HP dv2000 and Compaq v3000 14.1-inch Screen Notebooks Announced (pics, specs)

HP has more laptop love for us today, this time with some of that Compaq branding. It's nothing new in the design department, but the shiny new v6000 has a fresh model number, and accompanies the v3000 with more budget laptop goodness. It's replacing the v5000 models, but there's nothing too terribly exciting to see here. The units feature AMD Turion 64 X2 and Mobile or AMD Sempron processors, and eke by with a GeForce Go 6150 graphics card. Luckily, the v6000 shines in the little things, featuring a 5-in-1 card reader, Firewire, three USB 2.0 ports, ExpressCard/54 slot, 802.11a/b/g WiFi and Bluetooth. Unfortunately, most of those features are optional, and it sounds like the barebones version of this PC is very bare indeed. No word on price or exact availability, but at 6.6 pounds, with a 15.4-inch display and some nice new looks, it still shouldn't be a terrible option for the style-conscious consumer on a budget when it does drop.

A stripped-down version of the HP Pavilion dv6000 battery , the 6.5-pound Compaq Presario V6000 offers a choice of either an AMD Sempron or a Turion 64 X2 processor at speeds from 1.6GHz to 1.8GHz; up to 2GB of 533MHz or 667MHz RAM; 5,400rpm hard drives in capacities from 60GB to 120GB; and an integrated Nvidia GeForce Go 6150 video card. Like the Pavilion dv6000, the Presario V6000 features a 15.4-inch wide-screen display with a native resolution of 1,280x800. The presario V6000 battery differs from is Pavilion sibling in that it does not offer advanced media options such as a discrete graphics subsystem, multimedia controls, dual headphone jacks, or QuickPlay software.

With prices starting at $949 (before a $100 rebate), the Compaq Presario V6000 delivers a strong set of components and a decent set of features for a competitive price. As with other AMD-based HPs, though, we're concerned about performance: the first few AMD Turion 64 X2-based systems we reviewed weren't able to keep up with their Intel-based counterparts. We're expecting a Compaq Presario V6000 review unit in the CNET Labs shortly, so look for a full review soon.

HP is releasing two new consumer notebooks: the Compaq Presario v3000 battery and HP Pavilion dv2000 battery .? Both can be configured with either an Intel Core Duo processor or AMD Turion X2 64-bit dual core processor.? Pricing for these notebooks will start at about $1,049.

Featuring a?new and unique?design, the HP Pavilion dv2000 Series Entertainment Notebook PC takes the convergence of mobile computing performance and digital entertainment to the next level. With HP's Imprint finish, the dv2000 incorporates an advanced molding technique produced using Nissha Film Products. The new, stylish exterior, gives the dv2000 a sophisticated design that uses a subtle weave pattern integrated into a polished metallic and piano black high-gloss finish.

With HP QuickPlay 2.1 on a high-definition 14.1-inch widescreen display with optional BrightView technology, the dv2000 allows consumers wherever they are to watch DVDs without booting up.

The dv2000 will replace the currently offered pavilion dv9000 battery.? The dv2000 will be available with the new Intel Core Duo processor and soon to be released AMD Turion X2 dual core 64-bit processor.

Following are some key features of the dv2000:

Smoothly multi-task with Intel's dual-core mobile processor and the upcoming AMD dual-core processor. The dv2000 dell inspiron e1505 battery will soon offer HP customers the first opportunity to experience AMD Turion 64 X2 mobile technology

New touch-technology buttons enable users to launch media applications and control volume and mute functions with the touch or swipe of a finger. The latch-free notebook also features subtle, back-lit LED indicator lights to enhance its sleek and sophisticated design.

The dv2000's optional integrated HP Pavilion Webcam and dual omni-directional microphones make video-conferencing simple and enjoyable; the experience is enhanced by the crisp and clear 14.1-inch optional, high-definition BrightView widescreen LCD display.

The dv2000 features the latest version of HP QuickPlay 2.1, which, in addition to playing DVD or MP3 files without booting up, now provides full-time access to personal photo and video collections through an intuitive widescreen menu or dedicated media buttons.

Control the dv2000 fpcbp155 from up to 10 feet away with the optional HP Mobile Remote Control stored in the ExpressCard slot. Select models include a 5-in-1 digital media reader and up to three USB 2.0 ports to support the latest in consumer devices, files and digital media.

Easily connect the dv2000 to peripherals via the expansion port to the HP xb3000 gd761 Notebook Expansion Base for a true desktop experience.

The dv2000 is available with integrated LightScribe DVD R/RW SuperMulti drive with double-layer support for silkscreen-quality, laser-etched CDs and DVDs.

HP Pavilion dv2000 Specs:

Available with mobile Intel or AMD processors, including Intel Centrino Duo, Intel Core Duo, Mobile AMD Sempron or the upcoming AMD Turion 64 X2 mobile processor

Optional NVIDIA GeForce Go 7200 discrete graphics with Intel, and standard NVIDIA GeForce Go 6150 graphics and NVIDIA nForce Go 430 chipset with AMD processors

Integrated wireless support for 802.11 a/b/g Wireless LAN and Bluetooth technologies on select models

5-in-1 media card reader on select models

Up to three USB 2.0 ports on select models

Large hard drive up to 120GB on select models

ExpressCard/54 Slot

6-cell standard and 12-cell battery available for additional battery life

Powerful but portable: As thin as 1 inch with a weight starting at 5.3 pounds

Two omni-directional microphones on select models

Optional dual stereo headphone jacks -- one with high-definition audio support (S/PDIF capable)

Altec-Lansing speakers

Estimated U.S. street price starting as low as $1099, $999 after a $50 mail-in rebate.?All notebook pricing is before a $50 rebate, depending on the configuration ordered. Intel based systems are expected to be available for purchase in May direct from www.hpshopping.com, or by calling +1 888 999 4747 and select retail outlets nationwide.? AMD based systems are expected be available in the first half of 2006 from the same outlets.

The v3000 will replace the current v2000 dell xps m1730 battery notebook and refreshes the 14.1-inch line with a good looking industrial design.? The v3000 will offer the new Intel Core Duo processor and also the upcoming AMD Turion X2 dual core 64-bit processor once it becomes available in June.?

The 14.1-inch widescreen LCD is available with the BrightView glossy screen look.? HP QuickPlay technology is also incorporated into the V3000 t60 battery for instant playback of movies, music and images without having to boot to Windows.?

Following are some key features of the V3000:

The V3000 is cloaked with HP's Imprint finish which incorporates an advanced molding technique produced using Nissha Film Products.? The V3000's unique high-gloss, brushed pattern design incorporates a UV hard-coat finish for enhanced durability.? A roomy keyboard with smooth, rounded keys keep style and comfort at the consumer's fingertips.

Configurable with the?Intel Centrino Duo mobile processor or AMD Turion 64 X2 mobile processors

New touch-technology buttons enable users to launch media applications and control volume and mute functions. The latch-free notebook also features colorful LED indicator lights that further enhance the sleek and sophisticated design.

HP QuickPlay 2.1 allows users to watch DVD movies, listen to music and browse pictures without booting up. Consumers can easily switch between movies, music and pictures with a slick, widescreen interface in the HP dell inspiron 6400 battery QuickPlay 2.1 application or with the dedicated media buttons

Built-in Altec Lansing speaker system

Easily connect the V3000 to peripherals via the expansion port to the HP xb3000 Notebook Expansion Base for a true desktop experience.

compaq presario v3000 laptop review

2009-09-11T02:22:00.000-07:00

The HP Compaq Presario V3000 the original battery code hp compaq presario v3000 battery inaugurates a new look and feel for HP's Presario line of laptops. Departing from the familiar silvery design of previous Presario models, the V3000 is dark gray (and subtly pinstriped), with a high-gloss finish that HP says is particularly scratch resistant. Looks aside, however, the Presario V3000 sticks to the same basic script as previous Presario models (including the V2000 that it will replace): you get a strong set of components and most of the features that a basic home user will want for a competitive price (it starts at $950). HP has upped the ante with the V3000's processor options, however: you can configure it with either an Intel Core Solo or Core Duo or, when it debuts, AMD's dual-core processor. If you're looking for a slightly stronger set of multimedia features for a similar price, check out the Dell Inspiron E1405, which starts at $700 (we haven't tested the E1405 yet, but we have reviewed the very similar XPS M140).

Measuring slightly more than 13 inches wide, 9.5 inches deep, and just shy of 1.5 inches thick, and weighing in at 5.5 pounds (6.3 pounds with its compact AC adapter), the thin-and-light Presario V3000 replacement battery code compaq presario v6000 battery is portable enough for regular travel and is one of the more compact models in HP's portfolio. Competitive models with 14.1-inch wide-screen displays, such as the Inspiron E1405, the ThinkPad z60t, and the VAIO FJ, are roughly the same size and weight.

The Presario V3000's keyboard has relatively large keys that are comfortable enough to type on for extended periods, though the ThinkPad Z60t's keyboard, which is a bit less jammed together, remains our favorite in this class. The Presario V3000's touch pad and mouse buttons are sizable, but the glossy touch pad felt a bit slippery for our taste. That said, we appreciate the touch pad's vertical and horizontal scrolling functionality, and we approve of the Presario V3000's touch pad on/off button, which eliminates rogue cursor movement when working with an external mouse. The Altec Lansing stereo speakers, located above the keyboard, deliver audio that's moderately loud and of decent quality, though lacking on the low end; unfortunately, the sound becomes hopelessly muffled when you close the laptop lid. The Inpsiron E1405, whose speakers sit along its front edge, delivers superior audio whether its lid is open or closed. While we like the Presario V3000's the same as hp pavilion dv6000 battery new light-touch multimedia controls, which offer audible feedback similar to the iPod's clickwheel, we prefer the Inspiron E1405's more complete set of controls, which, again, are conveniently placed along the front edge for closed-lid access.

Our Presario V3000 test unit had a 14.1-inch wide-screen display with a standard 1,280x800 native resolution. Configured with HP's BrightView technology, which is just a glossy coating that overlays the display, the Presario V3000 so as hp pavilion dv2000 battery delivered acceptable video quality; while the screen was considerably brighter than the ThinkPad Z60t's, the picture wasn't as crisp as we would have liked.

For the needs of a typical home user, the Presario V3000 incorporates almost all of the necessary features, ports, and connections. You get three USB 2.0 ports, one four-pin FireWire port, S-Video out, VGA out, a connector for HP's optional expansion base, an IR port for a small, optional wireless remote, and a port for the AC adapter, which glows blue when the laptop is being charged--a neat feature, but still short of the magnificence of Apple's MagSafe plug. Networking connections include 802.11a/b/g, Gigabit Ethernet, and a 56Kbps modem; there's also a handy switch that turns the wireless radio on and off to conserve battery power. Though it lacks a standard Type II PC Card slot, the Presario V3000 dell xps m1730 battery has an ExpressCard slot as well as a handy 5-in-1 memory card reader. For comparison, the Inspiron E1405 has a very similar set of connections, plus one additional USB 2.0 port. Our Presario V3000 test unit came with a CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive that read and burned CDs, but only read DVDs; when we laid our right hand down on the case above the optical drive, the CD that was playing buzzed noisily.

Our test unit was configured with Microsoft Windows XP Professional, but you can also opt for XP Home; with the Inspiron E1405, you can get both of those or XP Media Center Edition. With the Presario V3000 dell inspiron e1505 battery , HP also throws in a decent bundle of software, including the basic productivity Microsoft Works suite; a few disc playing and burning apps; its own QuickPlay multimedia program, which can play CDs and DVDs whether or not Windows is booted; and a handful of wireless and tech support utilities.

At $999 (after a $50 rebate), our Presario V3000 dell inspiron 6400 battery test unit came with a solid set of specs for the price; essentially, you're getting a Core Duo configuration for the price of an otherwise similar Pentium M configuration from this time last year. Specs on our test system included a 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo T2400 processor, integrated Intel graphics, 512MB of DDR2 SDRAM, and a 60GB, 5,400rpm hard drive. We built a very similar Inspiron E1405 configuration for about $975 (after a $250 instant rebate). The Presario V3000 turned in a very respectable performance in CNET Labs' benchmark tests, running right with the similarly configured Core Duo laptops we've tested during the past few months; it can easily handle word processing, e-mail, and even considerably more-demanding tasks, though without a dedicated graphics card, we can't recommend it for serious gaming. It lasted just short of 4.5 hours in our battery-drain test, which is quite good for a laptop of its size and at its price point. The ThinkPad Z60t configuration we tested turned in slightly superior scores but cost about $1,200 more than the Presario V3000; we have not yet tested the Inspiron E1405.

HP backs the Presario V3000 np-bg1 bp-511 with an industry-standard one-year warranty; however, for a reasonable fee, you can extend the term to three years. HP will also cover the cost of returning the system for repairs throughout your warranty. The company's toll-free telephone-support lines are open 24/7 and offer free help during your warranty period. The HP support Web site includes one of our favorite support features--real-time chat with a tech rep--though the company limits your free chat time to just one hour. After that, you can try to troubleshoot problems yourself by searching through the site's FAQ database.

System configurations:

HP Compaq Presario V3000Windows XP Pro; 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo T2400; 512MB PC4300 DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz; Intel Mobile i945GM Express 128MB; Hitachi Travelstar 5K100 60GB 5,400rpm

Kodak EasyShare Z740 Digital Camera Review

2009-09-10T02:15:00.000-07:00

The Bottom Line

The Kodak EasyShare Z740 digital camera original battery code klic-5001 packs a whollop with its impressive 10x optical zoom and its 5-megapixels. This digital camera, ideal as a next-step-up camera for a digital photographer, features the best of two worlds. It has much automation, such as scene modes, one would expect from a point-and-shoot. But it procudes quality images and has limited manual controls one would find in a digital SLR. Find out more with the Kodak EasyShare Z740 digital camera review.

Pros

Impressive 10x optical zoom

Nice 5.0 megapixels produce fabulous enlargement prints

Comfortable camera to hold and use

Shoots up to 80 minutes of video with sound

Cons

Pricier than starter models

Features could overwhelm a rookie photographer

Description

10x optical zoom (38-380mm equivalent)

sixteen scene settings

aperture priority or shutter priority

five color modes

shutter speed: (automatic) 1/8 to 1/1700 seconds or (manual) 8 to 1/1000 seconds

Guide Review - Kodak EasyShare Z740 Digital Camera Review

Kodak has done a great job impressing with the Kodak EasyShare Z740 not like the sony cybershot g3 battery code np-bg1 , which is everything an advanced point-and-shoot digital camera should be. Just having five megapixels puts a nice smile on my face, but it also comes with a 10x optical zoom and that gets me absolutely giddy.

One thing that's great about this camera is its ability to cater to someone who wants to do very little thinking and the more advanced user who prefers a little manual control.

Kodak has given us 16 scene modes, including portrait, children, beach, night, snow and even museum (when you want to be a little discreet). Along with all scene modes you also get 5 color modes, aperture or shutter priority and nice size 1.8 inch LCD screen.

Shooting video is also easy (and of high quality) with the Z740 so also canon powershot series bp-511 . Depending on what size memory card you use, the Z740 is able to capture 80 minutes of video with audio.

Kodak claims using the best setting of five megapixels will give you prints up to 20"x30". I’d be a bit cautious of that and aim a little smaller. That shouldn’t prevent you from buying the Z740 though, as most home printers only print up to 8x10, which this camera can easily handle. Hit the photo lab for larger prints when you get that special picture.

This camera is easy to use, and it feels comfortable in my hands. It has enough features to keep most recreational and advanced amateur photogs happy.

canon powershot g3 digital camera

2009-09-09T01:35:00.001-07:00

The Canon PowerShot G3 ($799) is an evolutionary, rather than revolutionary upgrade of the PowerShot G2 battery code bp-511 . But Canon has added more than just bells and whistles. Here's what's new with the G3 np-bg1 :

New DIGIC image processor - noticeable improvement in photo quality, plus faster performance

Totally new 4X zoom lens

New FlexiZone auto focus

Refined body design

Now records up to 3 minutes of video with sound; editable in playback mode

Built-in neutral density filter

Support for wireless flashes

New iSAPS technology

You're probably confused by that last item. iSAPS stands for Intelligent Scene Analysis based on Photographic Space (what a mouthful). The system is a database of photographic data, which has been accumulated by Canon over the last 60 years. When you press the shutter release button halfway, the G3 canon bp-511 compares the current scene to the scenes in the database, and choose the best settings for that situation.

According to Canon, one of the key advantages to this new feature is a reduction in shutter lag time compared to earlier models like the G2. The G3 spends less time hunting for focus because it already "knows" how far the subject should be based on statistical analysis of other photos shot at the same focal length and light level. Pretty slick!

So that's the iSAPS system -- now learn about the other new G3 bp511 features in our review!

What's in the Box?

The PowerShot G3 has an excellent bundle. Inside the box, you'll find:

The 4.0 Mpixel Canon PowerShot G3 camera

32MB CompactFlash card

BP-511 Li-ion rechargeable battery

AC Adapter / battery charger

Neck strap

Lens cap w/strap

Wireless remote control

USB cable

A/V cable

CD-ROM featuring Canon Digital Camera Solutions and drivers

205 page camera manual + software manual (both printed)

The PowerShot G3 is ready to go right out of the box. The only minor quibble np-bg1 I have is the 32MB memory card. Sure it's a good start, but you should plan on buying a much larger card right away if you want to get serious about digital photography.

The G3 uses the same BP-511 Li-ion battery as its predecessor. The battery has a very respectable 8.1 Watt/hours of power. For the sake of comparison, the EN-EL1 battery used by the Nikon Coolpix 5700 is 5.0 Wh and the NP-FM50 on the Sony DSC-F717 is 8.5 Wh. Canon says that you'll shoot about 750 pictures per charge with 50% LCD usage; you can stay in playback mode for 6 hours on a single charge.

When it's time to recharge, you just plug in the included AC adapter. This same AC adapter can be used to power the camera sony np-bg1 in the studio, or if you're just transferring photos to your computer. Charging the battery takes about 80 minutes.

The downside with proprietary batteries like the BP-511 is the cost ($60) and the fact that you can't use standard batteries (as you can with AA-based cameras) if you're in a bind. That's why I usually prefer cameras that use AA batteries.

The G3 includes a lens cap and strap to protect your lens. I must say I'm happy that everyone seems to be including both the cap and retaining strap these days.

Another nice surprise is the inclusion of the WL-DC100 discount np-bg1 wireless remote control (shown above). You can control the camera in both record and playback mode with this device.

Like the PowerShot G2, the G3 is an accessory lovers dream. There are even some new options available. In the lens department, you can use the WC-DC58N wide-angle converter ($199) to shorten the focal length to 24mm, or the TC-DC58N tele converter ($129) to bring the top end up to 240mm. I tried both of these and was impressed with the results. A 58mm close-up lens ($125) is also available. Note that the LA-DC58B conversion lens adapter ($24) is required in order to use these.

The G3 is compatible not only with EX-series Speedlites, but also the Macro Ring Lite MR-14EX ($750), Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX ($1100), and the Speedlite Transmitter ST-E2 ($340).

Other accessories include a soft carrying case and dual battery charger w/car power adapter ($180).

The G3 can also print directly to Canon's CP-10, CP-100, S830D, and S530D photo printers.

The Canon PowerShot G3 is one of the finest digital cameras on the market. It offers robust performance, tons of manual controls, unmatched system expandability, and excellent photo quality. The DIGIC processor has made the G3 one of the most responsive cameras I've used. The playback and movie modes are some of the best out there, as well. The neutral density filter is a nice bonus, but my guess is that the average shooter probably won't use it. But it's not a perfect camera. The redeye and strange (but rare) purple fringing that I noticed were surprising for a camera of the G3's caliber. The diopter correction knob was hard to use, and I didn't care for the view of the lens through the optical viewfinder at wide-angle.

Now for the million dollar question: is the G3 the best 4 or 5 Megapixel camera out there? Guess what, I'm not going to answer. I don't think there is one camera that is best for everyone (I mean that honestly, not as a cop out). The G3 is definitely a contender that goes up nicely against cameras from Minolta, Nikon, Olympus, and Sony. Do your research and you (rather than me) can decide what the perfect camera is for your needs.

If I was a PowerShot G2 owner, I probably wouldn't race out and upgrade. If I was deciding between a G2 and G3, I'd pony up the extra cash for the G3. My main reasons for doing so would be the DIGIC processor and the 4X zoom lens.

So I hope this helped somewhat in your decision making!

What I liked:

Excellent photo quality in most situations

Amazing expandability in terms of lenses, flashes

Super fast performance

4X zoom a nice change from the usual 3X zooms

Impressive movie, playback modes

Has an AF illuminator lamp

Tons of manual controls

FlexiZone focusing system lets you focus on any area of frame

Great software bundle

What I didn't care for:

Redeye worse than expected (even with repeated tests)

Strange chromatic aberrations (rare, but annoying)

Images not as sharp as the very best 4/5 Megapixel cameras

Diopter correction knob difficult to operate

Lens blocks view from optical viewfinder at wide angles

sony cybershot h3 digital camera

2009-09-08T02:13:00.001-07:00

If you're reading this, then you probably already know that there are a lot of different kinds of cameras in the world. This year, we saw the birth of a new variation with the advent of superzooms that don't have electronic viewfinders, such as the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H3 np-bg1 I'll be writing about here. The upside is that the cameras can be smaller than their EVF-laden counterparts, and if you despise peering into a tiny hole at an LCD while framing your shots, then you'll welcome this evolution. However, if you've discovered as I have that an EVF can come in handy when shooting certain subjects (I like using one when shooting baseball batters), then you might want to check out one of Sony's other superzooms, such as the DSC-H7 sony np-bg1 or DSC-H9.

While the H3's small body design (for a superzoom) is definitely handy when trying discount np-bg1 to fit it in a bag or jacket pocket, it leaves few options for the button layout. Sony basically had to put the zoom rocker smack in the middle of where your thumb should naturally rest, which might seem good at first, but I ended up accidentally nudging it often when shooting, throwing off my zoom setting and messing up the framing of my shot. If Sony would've moved the shutter button a little to the left and the mode dial forward, the zoom rocker could've been moved farther right and given room for your thumb. However, as the body design goes, that's the biggest flaw. The grip, though small, is effective--curl your middle finger over the top of the grip, and the rest of your fingers fall nicely into place, though it does leave your pinky dangling, which always irks me. It seems as though camera makers have begun to despise the pinky finger. Most entry-level dSLRs and almost all superzooms have grips that can't fit a pinky.

Dominating the front of the camera is a Carl Zeiss-branded Vario-Tessar 10x optical 38-380mm equivalent f/3.5-4.4 zoom lens, which feeds light to an 8.1-megapixel CCD sensor. Around back you'll find a 2.5-inch, 115,000-pixel LCD. Caffeine addicts should be pleased to know that the H3 includes Sony's Super Steady Shot optical image stabilization to help compensate for hand shake. In case the built-in lens isn't wide or long enough for you, Sony offers both a 0.7x-wide angle converter (VCL-DH0758) and a 1.7x telephoto converter (VCL-DH1758). The necessary adapter ships with the camera and can also accept 58mm screw-on filters. The camera also comes with a lens hood that attaches to the front of the adapter. Unfortunately, it's so large that it obscures a large portion of the flash, which makes the use of fill flash almost useless if you use the hood. However, the adapter itself can likely provide enough shade from the sun when the lens is zoomed to its widest, which means that the hood is only really necessary when shooting telephoto shots, in which the camera's built-in flash probably won't be able to provide fill flash anyway.

As is the rage these days, Sony separates the H3's menu system into two sections. If you press the Menu button, it brings you to the shooting menu, which is home to settings you change often while shooting, such as image size, face detection, exposure and flash compensation, ISO, white balance, and more. If you press the Home button, you go to the setup menus, which let you control less-oft-changed settings, such as whether you have a lens adapter attached, or whether you want the AF assist light on or off. The menus use a new design that looks very similar to the menus on Sony's PlayStation Portable. They look nice and are pretty intuitive, though it's strange that there's an option for the shooting menu in the home menu, but if you select it, it tells you to press the Menu button instead of just porting you over to that menu.

Like a lot of superzooms, the H3 includes manual exposure controls, though there are only two apertures to choose from and these vary depending on the focal length you're using at any given time. You won't find aperture- or shutter-priority, but there are the usual array of scene modes, some of which are in the menu and some of which reside on the mode dial, as well as program and full auto shooting modes.

Sony says that the H3 can output images and video to an HDTV if you buy the optional VMC-HD1 component video cable for about $40. However, since it's not included with the camera and Sony didn't send us one with the review sample, I can't verify this, though I don't really doubt them. This is a nice option, but I'd rather have seen an HDMI output on the camera instead of being forced to buy Sony's cable. Either way, viewing images on HD has always been a better experience for me than using the regular standard-definition outputs found on most compact cameras.

Except for a slow flash recycle time, the DSC-H3 performed well in our lab tests. The camera took 1.8 seconds to start up and capture its first JPEG, no doubt slowed a bit by the fact that the lens has to extend before you can shoot. It took 1.3 seconds between JPEGs with the flash disabled, jumping to 2.6 seconds between shots with the flash turned on. Shutter lag measured an impressive 0.4 second in our high-contrast test and 1 second in our low-contrast test, which mimic bright and dim shooting conditions, respectively. In burst mode, we were able to get an average of two frames per second, regardless of image size.

Image quality from the H3 can be quite nice if you stick with ISOs 100 and 200, though that niceness is marred a bit by the lens' noticeable distortion, as well as some purple fringing on high-contrast edges toward the edges of images. I saw more noise than I would've liked at ISO 400. While images are still very usable and much of the noise is minimized during printing, there is a noticeable falloff in shadow detail and fine detail at ISO 400. Stepping up to ISO 800, noise increases only slightly, but there's more of a falloff in shadow and fine detail. At ISO 1,600 noise becomes heavy and most shadow and fine detail is lost. The top sensitivity setting of ISO 3,200 yields extremely noisy images with completely blocked up shadows and fine details. For example, text which was crisp and clear at ISO 200 and below, becomes completely illegible at ISO 3,200. I suggest staying below ISO 1,600 when shooting with the H3 and sticking with ISO 100 or ISO 200 whenever possible.

If you want a long zoom lens in a camera that's smaller, if not lighter, than most superzooms, Sony's DSC-H3 is a decent choice. Since this is a new category, it's hard to draw comparisons, but when Canon's Powershot SX100 hits the market in October, we should be able to get a better idea of how this Sony compares with the competition.

Sony Brings High-Definition Photo Viewing To The Living Room

2009-09-03T02:30:00.000-07:00

Sony pushes its Cyber-shot W-series forward by inches, not miles, with the DSC-W90. This 8-megapixel point-and-shoot camera offers a higher resolution than its predecessor, the Cyber-shot DSC-W80 original battery code np-bg1, sony np-bg1 , but otherwise doesn't change much of anything.

From the outside, the W90 looks almost indistinguishable from its 7-megapixel little brother. Its slim metal body measures less than 0.9 inch thick and weighs only 5.3 ounces with battery and Memory Stick Duo. Unfortunately, just like the W80, its small, flat buttons can feel uncomfortable to large-thumbed users.

Along with the same design, the W90 shares a nearly identical feature set with the W80. The 8-megapixel camera uses a 35mm-105mm equivalent, f/2.8-5.2 lens, giving it a standard 3x zoom range. Its 2.5-inch LCD screen isn't huge by today's standards, but it offers a decent view and leaves enough room on the camera for an optical viewfinder. Despite being part of Sony's budget line, the W90 incorporates a 9-point autofocus system and a face detection mode, both useful when your subject is not in the center of the frame. The W90 also includes 31 megabytes of internal memory, enough to hold a few dozen photos or about a minute and a half of fair-quality VGA footage. Invest in a Memory Stick Duo to get any shooting longevity out of this camera.

As with the W80, a generous suite of onboard retouching options help offset the W90's cookie-cutter feature set. Once you've taken a picture, you can crop it, rotate it (in 90-degree increments), or remove red eyes from portraits taken with the camera's flash. It even offers a handful of picture effects, like soft focus, fisheye, and cross filter. Most of these retouches feel more like gimmicks than actual useful features, but they can still be fun to play with.

In our lab tests, the W90 fared similar to the W80, with a quicker shutter but otherwise slightly slower performance. After a 1.7-second wait from power-on to first shot, the W90 could capture a new picture every 1.3 seconds with the onboard flash disabled. With the flash turned on, that wait more than doubled to 3 seconds. That's slower than we like to see, even for a budget point-and-shoot. The shutter lagged a scant 0.4 second with our high-contrast target, and a respectable 1.1 seconds with our low-contrast target. In burst mode, the camera captured 15 full-resolution shots in 7.4 seconds for an average rate of 2 frames per second.

The W90's photos generally look pretty good, save for a few quirks. On the review unit we acquired, the left third of the camera's photos appear distinctly softer and out-of-focus compared with the rest of the frame. It looks a lot like what happens when a lens is out of alignment, which isn't all that uncommon for budget cameras. It's likely you won't see an identical problem, though you may see something similar or your unit may have no such problem. Outside of the softened area, details appear clear and crisp at the camera's lowest ISO settings. Extremely subtle noise creeps in at ISO 200, but definitely won't show up in prints. At ISO 400, noise becomes more prominent, may show up in prints, and ever so slightly eats up some finer detail, such as hair or the texture of objects. At ISO 800, grain causes more damage to finer textures, but enough detail remains for respectable 4x6 prints. ISO 1,600 pictures get far too noisy for prints, though enough detail remains for e-mailing them or posting them to the Web. Photos taken at the camera's maximum sensitivity of ISO 3,200 are nearly unusable, becoming so covered in noise that they look like they were drawn on shag carpeting with spray paint.

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W90 discount np-bg1 adds a slight resolution bump to an already good snapshot camera. If you're looking for a simple, modestly priced pocket camera that shoots quickly and produces good pictures, the W90 makes a nice choice. If you already have a Cyber-shot DSC-W80, you don't need to give the W90 much consideration; the minor increase in picture size doesn't justify getting an entirely new camera.

Designed to make photo viewing entertaining and fun,sony announced today its new Cyber-shot® W-series digital cameras featuring high-definition component output. These new cameras offer simple and direct connection to an HDTV set so you can easily integrate full 1080 HD photo viewing into your home theater.

At the top of the line is the DSC-W200 camera, the most compact 12-megapixel camera in the industry. It’s followed by the 8-megapixel DSC-W90 unit and the 7.2-megapixel DSC-W80 model. All sport Carl Zeiss® 3x optical zoom lenses; traditional, eye-level viewfinders; and large, 2.5-inch LCD screens wrapped in sleek metal bodies.

These new cameras can help you turn your photos into an entertainment experience thanks to their high-definition outputs.

“As HDTV becomes more pervasive in American households, it is only natural to want to view all of your content in high definition, including photos,” said Phil Lubell, director for digital cameras at Sony Electronics. "Our new cameras support a shift in customer behavior -- from viewing digital photos on a PC to having a full entertainment experience in the living room.”

Sony is offering three accessory options to begin enjoying high-definition photo viewing. The new cameras are compatible with the Sony VMC-MHC1 high-definition component cable for simple connection to an HDTV set.

The cameras can also be used with the new Sony CSS-HD1 high-definition Cyber-shot Station®, which comes with the component cable. You can connect the cameras to the station just one time, and it will also work as a charger for the camera.

For complete integration into your home theater system, there is the DSC-W80HDPR kit, which bundles a DSC-W80 camera and Sony’s DPP-FPHD1 printer package. This package consists of the VMC-MHC1 high-definition component cable, a Cyber-shot cradle, a remote commander, and a digital photo printer with high-definition component output.

This new printer lets you print photos on the spot in about 45 seconds. Designed to complement any living room, it comes in elegant black and can be positioned horizontally or vertically.

All of the new cameras feature a built-in slide show function. You can play back your images with pans, fades and wipe transitions set to your choice of music clips.

With these cameras, you can be more confident in your ability to take properly-exposed, sharp photos. All incorporate Sony’s new face detection technology, which can identify up to eight faces in the camera’s LCD frame, and automatically adjust white balance and flash as well as focus and exposure.

If you decide that the flower arrangement should be in the picture as well, the new multi-point auto focus (AF) feature can automatically determine the right focus of up to nine points in the camera frame, rather than focusing on what is in the middle of the frame.

You can easily knock out blurry photos, especially in challenging low-light conditions. The cameras incorporate Super Steady Shot® optical image stabilization to safeguard against blur caused by camera shake. Their high sensitivity (up to ISO3200) settings can help to fight blur associated with fast-moving subjects. Sony's Clear RAW ™ noise reduction technology will minimize picture noise common to images shot at high ISO levels.

The new W-series models incorporate selectable in-camera editing functions that can save you from hours of post-editing time at the computer. Equipped with Sony’s Dynamic Range Optimizer, the cameras can analyze captured image data and instantly determine the best exposure and tonality of each picture before JPEG compression.

Other helpful in-camera functions include red-eye correction and retouching effects. You can create artistic photos with the soft edge filter that emphasizes a focused subject by blurring the background. The partial color filter highlights the subject by letting it remain in color while making the background black-and-white. Photos can be enhanced with the cross filter that adds four-point star effects to the light in an image, and enlivened with the fish-eye filter for an amusing fishbowl effect.

All of the new cameras are powered by the Bionz™ processing engine, first used in Sony’s Alpha digital SLR camera system. This newly-added circuitry delivers the fast image processing speeds needed to produce color rich, detailed pictures for true high-definition photo viewing.

The Bionz engine also helps to speed up the cameras’ response times and extend battery life. On a full chare, the W90 camera can shoot up to 350 shots, the W80 model up to 340 shots and the W200 unit up to 270 shots.

Ten ways to upgrade your netbook

2009-08-31T19:17:00.000-07:00

Netbooks are universally regarded for their portability, but no two netbook models are exactly alike, and each seems to come with different trade-offs. A netbook with a superior battery might have a horrible keyboard arrangement; a netbook with a solid-state drive might slip out of your price range; a netbook with a killer list of specs might be missing 802.11n connectivity. These are all common problems--and you won't find common solutions.

Due to their diversity, netbooks ibm thinkpad t61 battery don't share common lifebook t4220 battery upgrade paths as typical desktop PCs do. Each model is unique in what you can do to it, and the exact procedures for modifying your device are as varied as the netbooks themselves. If you want to upgrade your machine, we recommend that you hunt down the instruction manual or, in the case of trickier upgrades, a community of users who can walk you through the process of modifying and hacking new functionality into your extremely portable PC.

That said, you can make a wealth of netbook customizations, and they range in difficulty from 5-minute routines to soldering-gun-based surgeries. We'll take you through some customizations for a Dell Mini 9, as it's one of the more tweakable netbooks we've come across. While your mileage (and procedures) will vary with your own netbook model, this guide will give you a good idea of the kinds of upgrades that could be possible for your machine and skill level.

Easy Upgrades

Insert a Better Battery

In our testing the Dell Mini 9's battery lasted around 3 hours, 34 minutes. That's not too shabby for a four-cell battery, but you can do better. Though you may find a few guides online that teach you how to create a laptop battery vgp-bps2a using a number of aftermarket batteries all wired together, that's a recipe for disaster. Instead, look to eBay: There you can pick up a 77-watt-hour, eight-cell battery that's entirely compatible with the existing connections (and size) of your Dell Mini 9. You'll double the longevity of your netbook--provided you aren't bothered by the unruly mass sticking out from underneath your system. To replace the battery, flip your netbook hp dv6000 battery upside-down and move the two switches from the locked icon to the unlocked icon, and push up on the battery tray.

Upgrade the Operating System

If you want to install a new operating system onto your netbook, you certainly can: Just pop the CD in any external USB optical drive and install away.

Want to dual-boot your netbook? Grab the GParted utility, by downloading the .iso file for its LiveCD and burning the file onto a disc. Insert that disc into the external optical drive, restart your netbook, and jump laptop battery into the BIOS to change the boot settings for your machine. Boot off of the dell laptop battery optical drive first, and GParted will load. Right-click on the primary partition and select Resize/Move. Microsoft recommends at least 16GB of space for Windows 7; if you were hoping to use that OS but your netbook doesn't have that much room, your experiment ends here. For any OS, if your netbook does have space for it, enter a new partition size of your choosing. Click Resize, and you'll see the newly unallocated space sitting to the right of your primary partition in GParted's graphic. Right-click on this area and select New. Enter zeros for the 'Free Space Proceeding' and 'Following' selections, select Primary Partition under 'Create as', and click the add button.

If you prefer not to use an external optical drive, you can follow these steps for using GParted and installing the new OS with a simple USB thumb drive.

Rearrange the Keyboard

Is the default layout of your netbook's keyboard conflicting with the muscle memory you've built for desktop keyboard layouts? Pop an offending key off of your netbook by wedging a tiny screwdriver under the key and gently applying upward pressure. As long as the keys you're swapping around are of the same size, you'll be able to interchange them as you please. Once you've made the physical transformations, use the Sharp Keys utility to reassign how your operating system interprets the keystrokes. If you don't mind a bit of visual confusion, you could leave the physical keys exactly where they are and simply redefine their purpose with this helpful application.

fujitsu lifebook t4220 laptop review

2009-08-25T20:17:00.000-07:00

Fujitsu has made many users happy with the release of their newest Tablet PC, the LifeBook T4220. The LifeBook T4220 steps in to take the place of its predecessor the LifeBook T4215. Both contain many of the same features, but the T4220 is built on the Santa Rosa platform. The T4220 is the perfect travel companion considering in only weighs a little over four pounds and its bi-directional hinge will definitely have heads turning.

While the LifeBook T4220 battery orignal battery code fpcbp155 falls in the middle of the weight range for a thin-and-light laptop, it is a bit hefty for a tablet; we were able to cradle it in one arm, clipboard-style, but never for more than a few minutes. Like most tablets larger than a UMPC, the LifeBook T4220 seems best for those who want to take handwritten notes while sitting at a desk or conference table.

The LifeBook T4220's 12.1-inch display offers a native resolution of 1,024x768. That resolution and its standard (4:3) aspect ratio are rather ho-hum compared to the wide-screen displays found on most thin-and-light laptops, but we appreciated the T4220's dell vostro 1720 batttery larger type and icons while we were navigating with the stylus. Our review unit's price includes an indoor/outdoor display that provides excellent off-angle viewing and is readable in a variety of different lighting conditions, including summer afternoon sun. (If you're likely to only use your tablet in typical work environments, you can save $150 by opting for a standard display finish.) While most tablets include a small slot in the base so you can tuck the stylus out of sight, the LifeBook T4220's stylus sits in full view on the left side of the display bezel--a somewhat unattractive design that nevertheless keeps the stylus within easy reach. A number of other features around the bezel help you navigate when the computer is in tablet mode: a fingerprint reader for quick and keyboard-free log-ons, plus buttons for Alt, Fn, page up, and page down.

Like its predecessor, the LifeBook T4220 vgp-bps2c features a bidirectional swivel, which lets you twist the screen in any direction you like. When you rotate and fold down the display, the computer automatically locks the laptop's optical disc drive and rotates the screen 90 degrees into portrait mode. A button alongside the display also lets you manually adjust the screen orientation in all four directions. Because the LifeBook T4220's vents get quite hot, however, we don't recommend orienting the screen so the vent side rests against your body.

Writing on the LifeBook T4220 was comfortable enough for quickly scribbled notes but not ideal for writing a lengthy document: the stylus lacks heft, and we wish the writing surface offered a little more resistance. We found the stylus responsive, however, and loved the eraser feature on top, which works exactly like a pencil eraser; though the eraser isn't unique to Fujitsu, we consider it a key feature for any tablet stylus. When not using the system in tablet mode, the amply sized keyboard and rectangular touch pad function well, although the keys are somewhat loud. We appreciate that even the heaviest key strokes weren't enough to make the LifeBook T4220's display wobble. We also love the scroll button, located between the laptop's two mouse buttons, which let us coast through long documents and Web pages with ease.

The Fujitsu LifeBook T4220 dell latitude d630 battery has a more or less average selection of ports and connections for a thin-and-light laptop, though it does lack a mini-FireWire jack. An ExpressCard slot would have been nice as well, especially if you want to add mobile broadband later on (Fujitsu does not offer a built-in WWAN radio, even as an option). We do like the LifeBook T4220's integrated smart card reader, which lets you add a level of security beyond just passwords. And we appreciate the port covers that keep dust and debris out of some (but, strangely, not all) of the laptop's ports. As would be expected on a work-oriented tablet, the LifeBook T4220's stereo speakers produce extremely tinny sound.

As befitting a laptop built on Intel's latest Centrino Duo platform, the $2,249 Fujitsu LifeBook T4220 performed well on CNET Labs' mobile benchmarks. Its performance equaled or exceeded that of the $2,102 Gateway E-265M and the $1,499 Lenovo 3000 V200. One notable exception: the LifeBook T4220 trailed far behind both systems and even a previous-generation Dell XPS M1210 dell kd476 on our Photoshop test. The most likely culprit is the Fujitsu's paltry allotment of RAM--half as much as the competing systems. If you're likely to do resource-intensive tasks beyond Web surfing and pounding out memos, you should consider upgrading to at least 2GB of RAM, which will add $150 to the price.

The Fujitsu LifeBook T4220 lasted an impressive 2 hours, 41 minutes on our resource-intensive DVD drain test; this test is especially grueling, so you can expect longer life from casual Web surfing and office use. The Dell XPS M1210 managed to last longer than the LifeBook T4220, but the Dell also included a much larger battery. The Lenovo 3000 V200 dell vostro 1000 battery included similar components (with the exception of a slightly slower processor) and lasted only 2 hours, 16 minutes.

Fujitsu covers the system with a one-year warranty. Support is available through a 24-7, toll-free phone line, and technicians can connect to your computer over the Internet to diagnose problems. Standard Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and driver downloads also are available. Adding an extra year of service costs $100, and upgrading to next-business-day on-site service is an additional $50 per year. Fujitsu is also unique among laptop vendors in offering a no-questions-asked Screen Damage Protection Plan that costs $150 for one year and $383 for three years.

The LifeBook T4220 is an impressive notebook. As I mentioned earlier the display is bold and clear and it has great viewing angles thanks to the bi-directional hinge. The chassis is solid and there is no wobble from the screen. The design is kind of plain-Jane, but it out-performs many of its contenders, which the benchmarks prove. The keyboard showed a lot of flex, which I am not a fan of. I would rather have a solid keyboard with stiffer keys. Overall the T4220 is a durable tablet that can be used anywhere. It's great for note-taking or office work because it isn't too heavy and it has Wacom.

dell vostro 1500 laptop review

2009-08-19T19:29:00.000-07:00

The Dell Vostro 1500 is the small business equivalent of the Inspiron 1520. This computer, starting at less than $600, can be configured with anywhere from a Celeron M540 processor to a much faster Core 2 Duo 7500. Unlike the Inspiron model, an AMD option is unavailable.

Configuration:? (Total: $877)

Intel Core 2 Duo T5470 (1.6Ghz)

1GB 677Mhz DDR2 SDRAM

120G 5400RPM Hard Drive

nVidia GeForce 8600M GT, 256MB

8x DVD Burner with Double Layer capability

15.4” widescreen anti-glare screen (1280x800)

Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate)

Dell Wireless 1505 Mini-Card (Pre-802.11n)

85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic

Note: Since this machine was purchased, Dell has increased the price of this computer.

Upon unpacking the Vostro 1500 dell latitude d620 battery and first handling it, I was rather impressed by the build. Upon picking up the system, it’s clear the computer is very sturdy and will hold up over time. Unfortunately, the side effect of this build quality is the heaviness and size. This machine is a beast. I make a note of handing it to people and watching their reaction. Everyone is shocked by the sheer weight of this machine.

Build/Design

The design of this system is rather spartan, but also very professional with the solid black styling. It’s not flashy like a high-end gaming laptop would be, but it doesn’t look bad to my eyes. The LEDs have a nice saturated blue color, though Dell latitude d820 battery was inconsistent in the styling. Several lights, including the battery level LEDs, the CD drive LED, dell vostro 1500 battery and the “Wi-Fi Catcher” LED are green. In addition, the low battery light is an odd shade of hot pink, which fits with nothing else in the system. While this is by no means a major functional concern, I would have preferred the colors to be more consistent. I also dislike the hot pink color the battery light turns when the battery reaches a low level.

The build of this system, as noted above, is very good. The back of the screen and bottom of the case appear to be a fairly thick magnesium alloy, which is solid, but has the side effect of adding a lot of weight. My configuration, without the battery, is 6.2 pounds. The battery is 1.1 pounds, as is the charger. In total, the system carrying weight is 8.4 pounds. Clearly, this computer is not designed to move very far. When I pushed around the casing, the only places that gave were in the largest areas of the palm rest, and then only a little bit. The keyboard has no discernable give. I was disappointed, as I was with the Inspiron 1501 dell vostro 1000 battery , with the Express Card release button. In the out position, it’s extremely difficult to push back in for those of us with chubby fingers.

The build of the screen is a not quite as good as the rest of the notebook. Neither twisting nor pushing on the back of the screen yielded any rippling. However, the screen itself is relatively easy to twist, and squeaks when twisted. Pushing on the top of the screen yields only a small amount of wobbling, but not enough to be a problem in my opinion. As noted in reviews of dell inspiron 1720 battery the Inspiron 1520/1521, the screen latches leave a slight amount of room between the rubber pads on the screen and the palm rests, about the thickness of a dime. This is enough to wiggle a bit and make some noise if it’s closed and it gets jostled.

Screen:

The screen on the Vostro 1500 is relatively ordinary. I opted for the anti-glare 1280x800, 15.4” resolution model. The vertical field of view on this screen can be described as poor at best, and I frequently find myself adjusting the tilt of the screen to match the way I’m sitting. The horizontal field of view is considerably better than the vertical, and I have no complaints. Even looking closely at the screen, I am unable to distinguish the “Dell noise” that some other reviewers have described. What does bother me, however, is this screen’s ability to attract dust. Cleaning the screen is an ordeal that has to be done frequently to remove the dust from the screen. I do not know if the glossy screen would improve this or not.

In the screen’s defense, it is rather bright when put on full brightness, and colors seem adequately saturated and accurate to my eye. The light leaks are relatively minor on this computer and are only noticeable on a completely black screen, and then only on the top and bottom.

Speakers:

As can be expected of most laptops in this price range, the speakers are nothing spectacular. There is an excess of sound in the 4K range, and not nearly enough in the lower-end range, causing very tinny sounding speakers. I would recommend using an equalizer if you intend to listen to music on this computer. As an example, the following screenshot shows my iTunes EQ settings. Fortunately, these speakers do get rather loud, and due to the position on the underside of the computer, they don’t get muffled by hands.

PCMark 2005 is a synthetic benchmark that tests all areas of system performance. The Vostro 1500 ibm thinkpad t60 battery was, however, unable to complete this test. I am uncertain why, but it seemed worthy of note.

Unfortunately, the stock 5400RPM hard drive doesn’t always cut it. Since I now use this computer as my standard gaming computer, I’ve loaded games onto it. What I’ve discovered is that with some games, Battlefield 2 in particular, the hard drive loads everything slowly enough that by the time I have loaded the game, the match is half over. If you’re intending to use this computer for gaming and you have the money, spend the extra on the 7200RPM hard drive.? If you intend to use it solely for less hard drive-intensive applications, the 5400RPM drive will be fine.

HD Tune is a basic hard drive benchmark that tests the transfer rate and access speed of the hard drive. As is evident, this hard drive sets no performance records, and the transfer rate is inconsistent.

Keyboard and Touchpad:

The keyboard and touchpad of the Vostro 1500 sony vgp-bps2c are both very sturdy and without flex. The keyboard, as with all laptop keyboards, takes some adjustment to learn the unique positioning of the keys. I am a huge fan of the way Dell laid out this machine’s keyboard. The function key, as seen in pictures, is placed just to the right of the control key, and is the same size as the Windows key (I have on occasion pressed the Windows key instead of the function key). The delete key is positioned in the upper right corner, and it’s probably the most natural spot it can go. It’s out of the way enough not to be accidental, and it’s easy to find.? Function keys are fairly standard, and include F1 for sleep/hibernate, F3 for battery status (Which requires installed Dell software to operate), F8 to switch monitors, and the up/down arrow keys for monitor brightness. One gripe I have is that the numpad not only requires numlock to be on, but the function key must also be held down while using it. I also had a key stop working properly for a while. I will explain in the customer support section.

The touchpad is not as good as the keyboard. Dell chose to move down the keyboard in this line of computers, which, while it makes it more attractive and better laid out, shrinks the touchpad significantly vertically. By my own measurements, it’s 3” wide by 1.5” tall -- certainly usable, but far too short for my tastes. The scroll zones at the top and bottom are also difficult to adjust properly using software, and I frequently have trouble getting them to activate regardless of their setting. Large-handed users beware: I often find the edge of my palm rests or taps the touchpad on occasion, causing clicks where they weren’t intended. The large buttons placed below the touch pad are suitably sized, though they are mushy as with the older Inspiron computers. There’s no satisfying click as there is with some touchpad buttons.

Input and Output Ports:

This computer features a host of ports, though surprisingly it apple powerbook g4 battery lacks a DVI-out port as may be expected. The VGA port is located on the right hand side of the system. Dell designed this system to have 4 USB 2.0 ports, two on the back next to the power plug, and two on the side next to the Ethernet port. Also featured are an IEEE 1394 (Firewire) port on the same side as the VGA plug, 10/100 Ethernet port, and the CD drive. The system also has an 8-in-1 memory card reader, which can read: SD, xD, MMC, SDIO, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, Hi Speed-SD, and Hi Density-SD. In contrast to the heavily utilized right side, the left side of the case features few ports. There is a microphone jack, a headphone/speaker jack, and an Express Card slot. The back is also fairly unused, with nothing but the power input, an S-Video output (notably also supporting several adapters Dell will sell you for component video and the like), and the two USB ports I noted earlier.

Wireless:

I opted for my computer to use the Dell Wireless 1505 dell latitude d630 battery , which features pre-N functionality. The wireless range on this card is fairly average, and it connects to most networks with ease. However, it’s important to note that this card does not communicate with all wireless routers without a fight. My recommendation, for compatibility, is the Intel Wireless card instead of the Dell wireless. It seems to be more compatible according to what I have read (the lower-end Dell cards also seem to have the same connection problems). I do, however, like the wireless switch on the left-hand side of the notebook. This switch allows control (configurable via the Dell software in Windows or through the BIOS) of the system’s internal wireless cards, including, if installed, Bluetooth, 802.11X, and any WWAN cards. This switch has three options: On, off, and a third, momentary switch, dubbed “Wi-fi Catcher.” This technology, if used while the system is off, will turn a small LED green if a wireless network is detected in range of the system within around five seconds. If used from within Windows when the Dell software is installed, a window will instantly pop up with all the wireless networks in range. While it sounds pointless, considering a similar feature is available through Windows, the Wi-Fi Catcher is considerably faster.

Battery:

I opted for the 9-cell extended life battery on the notebook. This battery extends about three-fourths of an inch past the edge of the computer, and spans nearly the entire back. On the underside of the battery are 5 LEDs and a button which, if pushed, illuminates the LEDs to indicate battery charge remaining (20% per LED). I tested the battery life by instructing the computer to standby when the battery got to 2% and to not shut down anything on inactivity. On full brightness, while connected to a wireless access point and watching a DVD, I managed to squeeze 3 hours and 20 minutes out of the battery before it abruptly went into standby. This seems adequate for most purposes, and it is likely that with lower power consumption (Word processing on low screen brightness with no wireless, for example) would yield above four hours, a reasonable amount of time for a desktop replacement machine. Don’t expect it to be a road warrior. If you need the extra battery life, Dell offers a battery that replaces the optical drive.

Operating System and Software:

The Dell Vostro 1500 comes with only two CDs: One to reinstall the Dell MediaDirect feature and the other is a driver CD, including both XP and Vista drivers. No operating system reinstall disk is included, much to my dismay. The Dell MediaDirect install disk appears to be only for Vista, if Vista was the chosen operating system. More on this in a moment.

My system came preconfigured with Windows Vista Home Basic. After a day with Vista, I decided I preferred Windows XP, and promptly began to install the older operating system. This process, which in the past has taken around an hour, took 10 hours to do. My attempts were plagued by the Dell MediaDirect software. MediaDirect, for those not familiar, is a quick-booting Linux operating system accessed using a small ‘home’ button near the power button. It allows one to watch movies, read documents, listen to music, look at pictures, and a few other things. According to the instructions packaged with the disk, the MediaDirect disk is to be installed first, then the operating system is to be installed in the empty partition MediaDirect leaves. I did this. Several times. As it turns out, Dell did not intend to leave a downgrade path. When I tried invoking MediaDirect, the first few times it didn’t install properly. When it finally did, it set itself up then told me it couldn’t access the information on the hard drive. Upon restarting the system, it became apparent that MediaDirect was going to be a problem. It went through its “unable to access the hard drive” routine again- I was stuck out of Windows. Eventually, my solution was to install Windows without MediaDirect and simply not press the MediaDirect button.

The software on the Vostro is surprisingly free of bloatware, as is advertised on the Dell inspiron e1505 battery website. I requested my system without security software, and it came exactly as I wanted it: A clean slate. This was a very welcome relief after some systems I’ve worked with that take hours to uninstall the bundled software.

The Dell configuration software is relatively spartan and pales in comparison to the configuration software available in systems manufactured by some other companies, particularly Toshiba. There are a few power setting options, a configuration tool for the Wi-Fi Catcher, some basic screen settings, and that’s all that’s included. There is no option to slow down the CPU to improve battery life that was visible to me.

Customer Support:

Several weeks after receiving the laptop, the ‘a’ key on the keyboard began dropping keypresses seemingly randomly. I contacted Dell technical support on a Sunday evening with my problem. They asked for an address and by Tuesday morning, the new keyboard was at my doorstep. It was a self-install keyboard, which was easy due to the instructions in the substantial manual. When I was done, I put the old keyboard back in the box that was shipped to me and used the included return label to ship the old keyboard to Dell. (If you don’t do this, they invoice you for the replacement keyboard).

On the note of the manual, it is impressive by today’s standards. It’s 222 pages long and covers everything that a basic user could likely need. In the second half of the book is the shortened service manual, which includes how to remove and install the hard drive, memory, keyboard, and wireless cards. For me, having the printed copy was a nice touch.

Conclusion:

The Dell Vostro 1500 battery is a moderately powerful and relatively inexpensive system for businesses and home users alike. Its good build quality and good configuration options allow it to be an excellent and versatile machine for many different applications. Despite some design flaws, the Vostro 1500 is still an excellent machine.

ibm thinkpad t400 laptop review

2009-08-12T01:41:00.000-07:00

The IT world is buzzing with all the new ThinkPad models from Lenovo and the range that is creating the most excitement is the ThinkPad that for many epitomizes the ThinkPad and that’s the T Series.

<– Click To Redeem the latest ThinkPad T400 and T500 dell latitude d620 battery Coupon Codes

The new T Series in the form of the ThinkPad T400 battery and ThinkPad T500 ushers in a new naming convention, which replaces the ibm thinkpad T60 battery, T61 style system

Gossip abounds right now so we are going to tell dell latitude d820 battery you what we know and take a look at the images that we have managed to get hold of.

The new ThinkPad’s will feature 14.1″ and 15.4″ LED-backlight apple powerbook g4 battery widescreen displays that will help lower power consumption and deliver brighter colors.

The notebooks also come equipped with a range of technology that includes Solid State Drives (SSDs) as an option, an integrated camera which is a first for the T Series, DDR3 memory modules, new DisplayPort technology, and a wider TouchPad for improved ergonomics.

Lenovo Goes Green

Lenovo is going all out to produce ‘green machines’ and the new T Series notebooks are no exception. Both the T400 dell xps m1530 battery and the T500 xps m1730 battery and ?meet EPEAT Gold qualifications.

? Industry’s first PC with Greenguard Air Quality certification

? Less power consumption with LED-Backlight displays compared to a standard LC D display

? Increased power efficiency with BatteryStretch feature

? Less power consumption with Solid State Storage Drives compared to standard hard drives

? Greater use of recycled plastics

? Mercury free LED Backlight displays

The new ?T400 apple a1175 and T500 models will be? Wireless WAN (WANN) ready and will include a unified WWAN antenna design which provides superior performance and global roaming.? All ?models feature superb connectivity options and support (WWAN and WiMAX? which should be available in late ‘08.? With Ultra Wide Band (UWB), we should see faster data transfer rates than the T61 hp pavilion dv9000 battery. and Bluetooth capability.

Also featured in the new design will be switchable graphics (integrated and discrete) which is a further power saving feature, GPS capability (on WWAN models), high performing DDR3 apple powerbook g4 battery memory. ?Available on the T500 hp pavilion dv6000 battery will be DisplayPort – the next generation VESA interface incorporating HD video.

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Quick Specs for the ThinkPad T400 and T500

Choice of processors, Intel? Core?2 Duo processor P8400 (2.26GHz, 3MB L 2, 1066MHz FSB, 25 watt) – Intel? Core?2 Duo processor P8600 (2.4GHz, 3MB L 2, 1066MHz FSB, 25 watt) -

Intel? Core?2 Duo processor P9500 (2. 53GHz, 3MB L 2, 1066MHz FSB, 25 watt) – Intel? Core?2 Duo processor T9400 (2.53GHz, 6MB L 2, 1066MHz FSB, 35 watt) – Intel? Core?2 Duo processor T9600 (2.8GHz, 6MB L 2, 1066MHz FSB, 35 watt)

Hard Drive choice will? include 80, 160, 250, 320GB / 5400 rpm – 160GB / 7200 rpm – 200GB / 7200 rpm with Full Disk Encryption (FDE) and of course a 64GB Solid State Drive as an option.

To be perfectly honest though we cannot see many people opting for an SSD drive on a a T400 toshiba pa3465-1brs or T500 until capacities increase

Memory – Up to 8GB of PC2-8500 1066MHz DDR3

Optical Drive – Options include DVD-ROM , C D-RW/DVD-ROM , DVD Burner, ?and Blu-ray

Graphics

Integrated Intel? X4500 with ATI Mobility Radeon HD dell vostro 1500 battery 3470 w/256MB Switchable Graphics in the T400 pa3399u-1brs or in the T500 you get ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650 w/256MB Switchable Graphics. Anybody for hotel night s with a movie? World of Warcraft or maybe even Halo?

Available Integrated Communication – Gigabit Ethernet -Integrated WWAN (with GPS) – Ultra Wide Band (UWB) (available later in 2008) – Bluetooth 2.1 and WiMAX (available later in 2008)

ThinkPad T400 a1060

Lenovo are quoting some great battery life figures and if the 9 dell latitude d630 battery cell battery plus additional a1078 bay battery option is anything to go by 13 + hours? is really ground breaking stuff for a notebook of this size and power

Li-ion Battery Life (Windows Vista?)14

4-cell: starting at 4.3 hrs

6-cell: starting at 6.5 hrs

9-cell: starting at 9.8 hrs

9-cell + bay battery: starting at 13.0 hrs

Dimensions

13.2 x 9.4 x 1.1 – 1.3″ with the 4/6-cell battery

(335.3 x 238 x 27.6 x 31.9mm)

Weight

4-cell battery models starting at 2.13 kg/4.7 lbs

Display

WXGA – 1280×800, 98dpi

WXGA+? – 1440×900, 129dpi

WXGA+ W/LED Backlight – 1680×1050, 129dpi

Ports and Slots

Ports: 3 USB, I EEE 1394a, VGA, Microphone/line-in,

Headphone/line-out

Slots: Standard Express C ard 34/54 mm and optional choice

of either PC C ard, or 7-1 M edia C ard Reader

ThinkPad T500 dell latitude d830 battery

Li-ion Battery Life

6-cell: starting at 4.3 hrs

9-cell: starting at 6.4 hrs

9-cell + bay battery: starting at 8.5 hrs

Dimensions

14.1 x 10.0 x 1.2 – 1.3″ with a 6-cell battery

(357.5 x 255 x 29.7 x 33.5mm)

Weight

6-cell battery models starting at 2.63 kg/5.8 lbs

Display

WXGA – 1280×800, 98dpi a1012

WSXGA+ resolution – 1680×1050, 129dpi

WXGA w/LED Backlight – 1280×800, 98dpi a1022

Ports and Slots

Ports: 3 USB, I EEE 1394a, VGA, Microphone/line-in,

Headphone/line-out, DisplayPort and optional DVI-D

monitor cable

Slots: Standard Express Card 34/54 mm, 7-1 Media Card

Reader and optional choice of either PC Card or SmartCard

dell xps m1730 laptop review

2009-08-06T01:12:00.001-07:00

Dell XPS M1730 Review

The XPS M1730 is Dell's new 17-inch high-performance gaming notebook, the replacement for the aging M1710 (dell latitude d600 battery). It is based on the latest Intel Santa Rosa platform and features cutting-edge Nvidia GeForce SLI graphics.

Before I start this review I would like to thank Dell for sending us a test unit.

Our test unit specifications are as follows:

Windows Vista Home Premium

Intel Core 2 Extreme X7900 (2.8GHz/4MB L2/ 800MHz FSB)

17-inch WUXGA display

Dual Nvidia GeForce 8700M-GT in SLI (256MB each)

Dual 200GB 7200RPM Hitachi drives in RAID 0 (striped data)

2GB DDR2-667 RAM in dual-channel

Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN wireless

Integrated Verizon Wireless Mobile Broadband

8X DVD Burner

9-cell battery

Build & Design

A simple glance at the M1730 (apple powerbook g4 battery )establishes that this notebook is not for those who do not want to show off. There is no other notebook like this on the market. For starters, the M1730 (dell latitude d620 battery)is absolutely enormous; its weight starts at 10.6 pounds and is two inches thick.

Dell chose an intimidating design scheme for their flagship notebook. The visible exterior has a deep glossy black surface with a 'hydrographic' design pattern. The intricacy of the design can best be seen in a well-lit room. The back of the lid deserves special attention – two clear plastic windowed areas on the sides have a color background that is illuminated by the LED lights; our test unit has the Smoke Grey panels. The XPS M1730 (gd761)is also available with Sapphire Blue, Crimson Blue, and Bone White. In the center of the lid is a large shiny Dell logo illuminated by a bright white LED backlight. The lid is an instant attention-grabber and the most visually striking part of the M1730 (dell inspiron e1505 battery)in this reviewer's opinion. The speakers in the front of the machine are illuminated by LED lights as is the touchpad and its buttons. While the LED lights on the back of the lid do not change colors, the ones on the front can. All the colors in the rainbow are available (more or less) and each speaker as well as the touchpad can be individually controlled via the Dell QuickSet software. The keyboard is LED backlit and visually impressive. This is the first machine I have ever tested with a backlit keyboard and I would like to see more notebooks implement this feature. It is useful in low light scenarios and for those late-night gaming sessions.

The build quality of the M1730 (dell xps m1530 battery )is impressive, as it should be for the price. The chassis feels as solid as high-end competing notebooks from Sager and Alienware. There is zero flex in the palmrest or surrounding area, although the area beneath the display does not feel as solid as the aforementioned surfaces. Pressing on the back of the lid did not affect the display. The undersides of the notebook are made from magnesium and add to the build quality of the machine. In addition, they also help with heat dissipation. Moving to the top of the notebook, there is one display latch in the center of the display and it is solid. Its gunmetal color is a smart match for the black and gray exterior. The lid closes with a reassuring 'click' and holds secure. The front of the M1730 is angled nicely when the lid is closed; the M1730 ibm battery may be big, but it is also sleek. Its front end almost looks like it was aerodynamically designed. The gaps between the various parts on the notebook are evenly spaced and everything fits together well, which shows attention to detail.

Overall I am more than impressed with the level of build quality and the exterior appearance of the XPS M1730 battery. The flashy looks are a selling point of the XPS M1730 (dell latitude d820 battery)– buy this machine to get noticed.

Display

The 17-inch glossy 1920 x 1200 pixel widescreen display that came on our test unit is the only option for the M1730 (ibm t60 battery ). WUXGA is the highest resolution available on a notebook. This display is fantastic; for starters, it is the brightest single-lamp 17-inch display I have seen on a notebook. The high contrast makes colors pop off the screen; blacks are deep and whites are bright and pure. Viewing angles are excellent; the side-to-side angles are near perfect and there is minimal distortion from above and below. The picture is crystal clear and there is no distortion or graininess. Light leakage is minimal, with only a small amount coming from the bottom of the display.

Speakers

The M1730's stereo speakers are located at the front of the notebook below the palmrest area. Two small speaker cones can be seen through the speaker grills; they visibly pulse when playing music at elevated levels. For notebook speakers, the M1730's are wonderful. Treble is respectable and while bass is a bit lacking, it is still noticeable which is not something that can be said about many notebook speakers. Sound is detailed; I could hear bullet shells hitting the ground in games and picks hitting guitar strings in acoustic music. Overall, Dell has equipped the M1730 (dell d630 battery)with two competent stereo speakers which suffice for playing music and games.

The M1730 has two headphone jacks located on the left side, which allows two people to tune into a movie or other audio.

Processor and Performance

I had high expectations for the fully-loaded review unit Dell apple ibook g4 battery sent us. The Core 2 Extreme X7900 a1189 is a rare and special processor in that it will not work in most Santa Rosa notebooks; its TDP is higher than most notebooks’ cooling solutions can handle. The standard Core 2 Duo mobile processor has a 35W TDP in comparison to the X7900's 44W. A heavy-duty heatsink is needed to handle its high heat output.

The real advantage to the Intel Extreme processors is their unlocked multiplier, so overclocking is simple. I ran each benchmark that involved scoring the processor twice; the first time with the processor at its stock 2.8GHz clockspeed, and the second time overclocked to 3.4GHz via the BIOS. The maximum overclock is 3.4GHz. Dell allows the end user to set 2.8GHz (stock), 3.0GHz, 3.2GHz, and 3.4GHz via the BIOS, but they recommend that the machine be run with 2.8GHz.

Testing notes: Prior to testing, I defragmented the hard drive and did a Windows Update. I installed the latest Nvidia drivers (169.04) for the video cards. All frames per second (FPS) benchmarks were done with FRAPS.

Gaming Benchmarks

Gaming is what the XPS M1730 is all about, so the gaming aspect of this notebook deserves a lot of focus. As such, we've broken this aspect of the notebook out into a separate article, the XPS M1730 Gaming Benchmarks can be viewed here.

Heat & Noise

The M1730 a1012 has one of the largest cooling solutions I have ever seen on a notebook. The entire backside of the machine is essentially one giant vent. There are two large-diameter fans in the bottom of the notebook which force outside air into the notebook. During normal use the notebook is nearly silent; the fans come on in intervals and usually do not stay on for more than a minute. It takes a skilled ear to hear the fans even with no background noise. In a silent room, a quiet movement of air can be heard when the fans turn on. While gaming the fans are always on, but again, they are extremely quiet. I noticed that in games that make use of the Ageia PhysX card such as Unreal Tournament 3, the left-most vent jets out warm air and slightly more noise is made. I should note that when the system is overclocked, the fans are locked at full blast which IS noisy. I do not recommend running this machine overclocked due to the noise level.

The M1730 a1022 has a full-size keyboard with separate number pad. It is LED backlit which is a handy feature in a dark or low-light area. The overall feel of the keyboard is not as high quality as the rest of the machine in this reviewer's opinion; the keys feel thin and I do not feel that the keyboard is as solid as it should be. There is an ample amount of flex when slightly more than average pressure is used. On the plus side I like the way the keyboard sounds and most keys are in their normal positions.

Touchpad

The M1730's touchpad has a high-end feel to it. Tracking is reliable and precise enough for most uses. The touchpad buttons feel solid and make a satisfying 'click' noise. The only potential downside to the M1730's a1039 touchpad is its relatively small size; I would not mind if it were a bit larger.

Input & Output ports

All descriptions are from left to right.

Left Side: DVI, S-video, USB, Firewire, 5-in-1 card reader, fixed optical bay, microphone jack, 2x headphone jacks

Wireless

The M1730 comes with an Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN wireless card as standard equipment, which supports 802.11a, b, g, and n wireless formats. I had no trouble connecting to wireless networks and it held wireless signals well, even through walls. Oddly enough the M1730 does not come with Bluetoth wireless as standard equipment and our evaluation unit did not have a module installed. It did however have Verizon Wireless Mobile Broadband WAN built in, which worked beautifully. I was able to connect to the Internet over the fast EV-DO network within seconds. I measured download speeds around 1 Mbit/second and upload speeds approaching 700kbps. Built-in WAN can be a handy feature but its usefulness on the M1730 is debatable, since this is the type of machine that will spend most of its life on a desk.

Battery

The battery in the M1730 a1060 serves as more of an Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) than anything else. Running with the screen brightness at full while surfing on Verizon wireless WAN, I measured 56 minutes of life. With the screen dimmed and the wireless turned off, battery life improved by about 20 minutes. Consider for a moment how much power this notebook consumes; Dell's regular Inspiron 17-inch notebook achieves almost 3 and a half hours of life with the same battery. With dual hard drives, dual video cards, and an Extreme processor, it is no wonder that the M1730 cannot stay unplugged for long. Anyone buying this notebook is probably not concerned with battery life so I do not view it as a con.

Power Adapter

There are few notebooks that get a mini-review of their power adapter, but the M1730 a1078 is one of those special notebooks. Most will be shocked by the sheer size of this brick. It is so large because it needs to provide over 200 watts of power; the standard notebook power adapter provides 65 or 90 watts. The M1730's adapter weighs several pounds by itself. Its power cord is about twice as thick as the standard Dell power cord. I liked the blue power LED Dell put into the brick; most of the time they are green.

Operating System & Software

The M1730 is available with Windows XP Professional different versions of Windows Vista; ours came with Vista Home Premium 32-bit. I find it rather odd that such an expensive machine does not come standard with Vista Ultimate. I was most surprised at the amount of bloatware pre-installed; there is as much on here as there is on a traditional Inspiron notebook. It took a good half-hour to rid the system of unwanted software.

Customer Support

Dell XPS systems come with special service as part of the price premium. According to Dell apple macbook pro battery , the majority of service calls are answered within 2 minutes. The M1730 comes standard with a 1-year limited warranty and 1 year of XPS warranty support. In-home service is also standard.

Conclusion

Dell has respawned its flagship XPS gaming notebook into an even bigger and more powerful beast. The M1730 is one of the fastest gaming notebooks on the market and is certainly the flashiest. The M1730 is the most attention-grabbing notebook I have seen to date; its exterior appearance is sleek and intimidating. Taking the M1730 to a LAN party is sure to get one recognized. Dell has done a wonderful job with the M1730 inside and out; the software support may not be perfect at the moment but the hardware is all there, which is what counts.

dell d600 laptop review

2009-08-05T00:31:00.000-07:00

If legacy connections and long battery life are what you need in a business laptop, the Dell Latitude D600 battery delivers. The slim Wi-Fi-ready unit weighs 5.4 pounds and has parallel and serial connections for old office peripherals. For typists, the D600 battery provides both a low-profile pointing stick in the center of the keyboard and the more popular touchpad. The two sets of mouse buttons cater to polar-opposite tastes: The pointing stick's buttons are squishy and deep-depressing, while the touchpad's buttons are extremely stiff. In our battery tests, the D600 12" 15" 17"apple powerbook g4 battery lasted just over 4 hours, about an hour longer than the average laptop.

The keyboard feels springier than most, though the nice layout includes a set of press-and-hold volume buttons. The stereo sound emitted from the front speakers is powerful enough for small presentations or close-quarters entertainment. The 14-inch screen can be had in 1024-by-768- or 1400-by-1050-pixel resolution; we tested and priced a D600 (dell gd761 )with the higher resolution.

Nicely upgradable for a laptop, the D600 (dell inspiron 1720 battery )offers a hard drive that can be removed from the front of the case, as well as a modular media bay. The latter can hold an optical drive, a second battery ($50 extra), or a second hard drive. The variety of available docking stations makes the D600 (dell inspiron e1505 battery )a viable primary PC. Options range from simple monitor stands to the $279 D/Dock Expansion Station, which provides four USB ports and a DVI flat-panel port.

Other convenient touches include an external battery gauge and battery release latch. Also, a button on the optical drive pops out when pressed, making it easy to remove the drive, and status lights are placed prominently in the right-side screen hinge. Finally, though the cards and security software aren't included in the price, the D600 (dell xps m1530 battery )comes with an integrated Smart Card slot for protecting files and making Web logons more convenient; Dell sells the optional OtaniumSuite PKI software with two Smart Cards for $60. In keeping with its business orientation, the D600 has no FireWire port or multiformat DVD burner option.

The D600 is a bit disappointing on one front: speed. Not an aggressive performer for a 2-GHz/600-MHz Pentium M 755-equipped laptop, it earned a WorldBench 5 score of 81 in our tests, compared with a score of 89 earned by a similarly equipped Acer TravelMate 8000 (dell xps m1730 battery ). The difference, however, should not be overly apparent when using mainstream applications.

The D600's documentation is not very convenient to access. We did not receive a complete printed users' manual, and electronic information is scattered throughout the Windows Help and Support Center. However, the answers are there if you don't mind searching.

Upshot: Though not quite a go-getter in the performance department, the D600 (a1079 )offers a nicer design than many thin-and-light business machines, including dual pointing devices.

Configurations & availability

The Latitude D600 (ibm thinkpad t60 battery )configuration tested for this review was a fairly high-end version, with a 1.4 GHz processor, a 40 GB hard drive, a SXGA+ screen, a CD-RW/DVD-ROM 'combo' drive, a dual-mode 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi card, and Bluetooth. With these specifications, it comes in at approximately $1,800 educational - the kind of competitive pricing the University has come to expect from Dell.

The Latitude D600 is offered in many build-to-order configurations, which can be ordered through the Computer Connection. Major configuration variations include processor (1.3 GHz to 1.6 GHz), hard drive size (20 GB to 60 GB), screen resolution (1024x768 [XGA] or 1400x1050 [SXGA+]), optical drive (CD-ROM, CD-RW, DVD-ROM, or CD-RW/DVD-ROM 'combo'), integrated Wi-Fi (Dell or Intel), and integrated Bluetooth (yes or no).

The Computer Connection also has a specially priced configuration available for the Latitude D600 (dell latitude d620 battery ):

1.4 GHz/512 MB/30 GB/combo/14.1-inch XGA/modem/ethernet/802.11b (PennKey authentication required)

Analysis

The Latitude D600 shows the improvements gained from both a complete redesign and the Pentium-M chip. Compared to its Latitude C640 (dell latitude d830 battery )predecessor, the D600 (a1189 )is about 0.7 pounds lighter (5.3 pounds versus 6.0 pounds with optical drive onboard) and 0.2 inches thinner (1.2 inches thick versus 1.4 inches thick). This brings Dell's professional laptops into the weight and size mainstream in this laptop segment.

The Latitude D600(apple a1012 )also shows significant refinement in other ways. In addition to being 2/3 the size of the C-series modules, the D-series removeable modules are now in the more standard side-entry configuration, instead of the front. Furthermore, the modules can now be ejected without turning the laptop over.

These workstations form the vital center of Dell's professional laptop line. Dell (a1022 )attempts to differentiate in this market by the additional of value-added features, such as:

Standard

The D600 includes an integrated SmartCard. This technology is one of many ways to add hardware-based security to a workstation. It is unclear as yet how much traction SmartCards have in the marketplace.

The D600 includes standard gigabit (10/100/1000BaseT) Ethernet, which is still fairly unusual on a mainstream laptop.

Optional

Dell offers one of the first integrated 'dual-band' 802.11a/b/g cards in the D600 a1039.

Integrated Bluetooth lets one connect without cables to enabled peripherals such as printers, cell phones, and handhelds. When (and if) Bluetooth takes off, having it integrated will be a considerable advantage.

Technical issues & recommendations

Information Systems & Computing (ISC) does not expect there to be significant hardware-related compatibility problems with the Latitude D600. However, the Latitude D600 will have the same software-related conflicts that any Windows 2000 a1060 Professional or Windows XP Professional workstation would have.

ISC has tested the Latitude D600 a1078 for compatibility with University-supported hardware and software. The Latitude D600(dell latitude d820 battery )is compatible with the 2002 PennConnect CD-ROM and with Penn’s supported network applications.

It should be noted that the Latitude D600 (15" 17" apple macbook pro battery ), like many newer laptops, does not ship with a standard floppy drive. Dell's suggested solution for users who need a floppy drive is to connect one via USB.

Properly configured, these workstations meet ISC’s Recommended Configurations for Mid-Weight 'Desktop-Equivalent' Laptop Workstations. As always, support providers should be aware of the potential technical issues associated with any new workstation design.

dell latitude d830 laptop review

2009-07-28T20:47:00.000-07:00

Overview

The Dell Latitude D830 is the successor to the Latitude D820 (apple a1175), a mid sized business notebook with a 15.4" screen and the new Santa Rosa platform. Weighing in at nearly six pounds it tips the scales at the upper end of the thin-and-light category. Pricing as of this writing starts at $899, and like most Dell notebooks there are plenty of customization options available.

My Latitude D830 is configured as such:

Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, 2.00GHz

15.4 inch Wide Screen WUXGA LCD

2.0GB, DDR2-667 SDRAM, 2 DIMM

256MB NVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M

80GB Hard Drive 9.5MM 7200RPM

90W AC Adapter

8X DVD+/-RW w/ Roxio Creator and Cyberlink

Intel 4965 WLAN (802.11a/g/n)

9-Cell/85 WHr Primary Battery

6-Cell/48-WHr Modular Battery

Vista Business, with media English

Dimensions are 1.39" x 14.2" x 10.34"

Weight is 6.5lbs with 9-cell battery and optical drive

Reason for Buying

When I began looking for a laptop (dell latitude d620 battery )nearly a month ago my primary objective was to find a solid machine that would last me through four years of college. My last notebook was an old Inspiron 500m which I deemed sufficiently thin-and-light for heavy travel and light tasks so I began looking into a larger, more powerful machine though I did not want a full-out desktop replacement. As this notebook would also be a graduation gift, price was not an object and I wanted something that was really something!

Being a long time Dell user, my initial inclination was towards a Dell, but I looked into machines of other brands as well. HP (dell latitude d820 battery )and Asus dropped out early on due to cosmetic preferences, but I put some consideration on the 14 and 15 inch Lenovo T60 series.

A few of my friends own older Thinkpad models and have nothing but praise for them. Indeed, Lenovo is known for superior build quality though typically at a price. By all means the T60 is a beautiful machine, but I was put off by a couple of small details. My biggest qualm is that I cannot stand having a battery stick out. Apparently that seems to be the current trend with a lot of smaller machines sporting bigger batteries and the 14-inch T60 was no exception. I wasn't terribly fond of the port configuration either, particularly the positioning of display and telecom ports on the side of the chassis and the lack of an S-video output. The small touchpad and some very minor aesthetic points also put me off. The 15 inch T60 was a bit better but it still lacked an s-video output and was a tad bit too heavy.

Subsequently I went to Dell. After deciding against Inspiron and XPS notebooks - I hated those big white Inspiron bumpers and there isn't a 14 or 15 inch XPS - my choices came down to the Latitude D630, D830 and Precision M65. The D630 was the thin-and-light of the group but suffered from the same issue as the 14 inch T60 in that the battery stuck out and it was missing an S-video port. Reviews I read about the D630 (dell xps m1530 battery )also mentioned poor sound and a loose battery. The D830 addressed most of my concerns with the D630 but I fretted over the weight of a 15 inch notebook. After changing my mind several times, the D830 finally won me over.

Shopping

After deciding on a machine I poked around the Internet for coupons and discounts, though I did not find many for the Latitude line. I did discover that Dell (dell latitude d600 battery )was offering $400 off the price of each Latitude configured over $1,600 and figured it wouldn't get much better than that. Dell's customization and order process is very straightforward and I made sure to spend plenty of time agonizing over choices like integrated versus discrete graphics or 9-cell versus 6-cell batteries. All in all it was a smooth and pleasant shopping experience. The machine arrived just over a week after I ordered it.

First Impression

The computer shipped with everything shown here. The container was divided into two sections, a cardboard container for the power supply, media bay battery, resource disks and documentation and a styrofoam crate for the actual computer. I was actually somewhat surprised that the notebook came with printed documentation; the last few Dell machines my family bought came with a short pamphlet telling you how to plug in the computer in several different languages.

When I first pulled the D830 out of its protective envelope boy was I impressed. Things have changed since the days of my 500m. I expected the build quality to be good, but it was unexpectedly good. It's really quite solid. It's also very pleasant to look at it; I think the rather subdued appearance is much nicer than the flashy white-bumper Inspiron.

When I first opened up the machine I found the hinges quite stiff with pretty much no play. The outer shell of the notebook is made of a magnesium alloy though the inner surfaces are still made of plastic. The chassis has no flex whatsoever; I can pick it up by a corner without a problem. Unfortunately though there is a bit of flex in the screen and palmrest, but it is much less than that of older Dell machines. The latch is a bit loose but the travel is very small. The overall build quality might not be on par with that of the Thinkpad series but it is getting close.

Like I said before, I'm very fond of the somewhat simplistic Latitude design. Save for the small curves that make up the corners of the machine the lines of the laptop (ibm thinkpad t60 battery )are straight and parallel forming a nearly rectangular solid. I think this gives it a more rugged and balanced appearance than wedge shaped notebooks which seem to be appearing more and more these days. The two tone color scheme also contributes to the smart appearance of a business laptop.

Input Devices

The keyboard looks like a typical Dell keyboard; it's very similar in appearance to the keyboard on my 500m (dell inspiron 1720 battery ). I found that the keyboard is generally more pleasant to use; the keys have a slightly greater travel and a greater amount of feedback as well. There isn't any flex in the keyboard as far as I can tell, though I am not a terribly hard typist. Overall it's a decent keyboard, good, but nothing special.

The touchpad feels the same as the one on my 500m(dell KD476). It's responsive and easy to use, but again, nothing terribly special. I really like the buttons under the touchpad. Instead of having a short, hard click the D830 has buttons that have a longer, softer click to them which I just find to be rather nice. The same can be said for the power button and media buttons.

I don't use a pointing stick very often; in fact there isn't one on my 500m (Dell gd761), but I found it to be less responsive than the touchpad and harder to use. I tended to overshoot where I was aiming much of the time. It may just be because I don't have much experience with the trackpoint. The buttons for the trackpoint are the same as those for the touchpad with that same long, soft click.

I don't like having a bunch of multimedia buttons cluttering up the front of my computer, so I am glad that the D830 only has three. There are three buttons to control the speaker volume: higher, lower and mute.

Sound

One of the reasons I turned down the D630 was a that speaker quality was reported to be pretty bad. I usually use headphones when listening to movies or music but I'd like to have a decent set of speakers for the rare times I don't. That being said, the speakers on the D830 (12" 15" 17" apple powerbook g4 battery )are pretty good as far as laptop speakers go. Being set on the sides of the keyboard means they are quite clear when I am sitting at machine and the sound carries itself pretty well even across the length of a living room. The sound does start getting fuzzy at really high volumes, but my ears usually start to ring before it gets to that point.

Processor and Graphics

In high school I did quite a bit of CAD work on my 500m for my school's robotics team. Autodesk Inventor 8 took more than a minute to load. Inventor 10 took twice that and ran at a crawl once it started. It was rather frustrating. As I would be majoring in engineering in college, I figured I could use a discrete graphics solution which led me to select the NVS 140 GPU as I read that it was optimized for "business" applications such as CAD. I have not done anything GPU intensive since purchasing this machine so I'm not certain about the real world performance of the NVS 140.

The single core AMD Barton processor in my desktop is clocked at 2.3GHz and I have not known it to really struggle with anything I threw at it. Subsequently I did not think I'd need the fastest processor I could get and went with the 2.0 GHz Intel T7300 because it was a nice round number. Recently I needed to do a fair amount of video encoding and I split the task between the D830 (dell latitude d600 battery )and my desktop. I daresay I was somewhat surprised as to how much faster the T7300 was compared to the older AMD processor. Encoding a certain video file was nearly twice as fast on the D830. I guess there's no doubt that multiple cores are the wave of the future.

Operating System and Software

I'll come right out and say that I'm not very fond of Vista. I'm even less fond of the fact that Microsoft really isn't giving me a choice as to what OS I want to use. I bought my D830 with Vista in the event that I would be forced to upgrade in the near future but with the intention of using XP until then. I chose Vista Business because it is supposed to be the Vista equivalent of XP Pro which I have been happily using for a long time.

Vista came preinstalled along with Roxio Creator and Cyberlink, neither of which I need or use.

While waiting for my D830 I learned that Dell's stock drivers for the NVS 140 (15" 17" apple macbook pro battery )were rather poor. Indeed, there was a noticeable amount of lag every couple seconds when opening and closing tabs or moving windows around. It was recommended that I should use Nvidia's Forceware drivers in place of the stock drivers, so I looked around for a compatible version. Revision 160.05 did not officially supporting the NVS 140, but it definitely improved my system's graphical performance. It was not free of problems though; I noticed that standby stopped working properly after the driver update and I'm sure there were bugs that I did not notice.

Afterwards Vista ran quite smoothly. A cold boot took just under a minute.

Installing a fresh copy of XP was a pain. My XP installation CD cannot recognize SATA drivers. I had to switch the HDD controller to ATA mode, install the OS, install the SATA drivers and switch the HDD controller back to its default setting. Dell's resource CD only included drivers for Vista so I downloaded XP drivers for the D830 (dell xps m1730 battery )from Dell's technical support site. Some of these XP drivers did not want to work with my machine and I had to use the corresponding Vista drivers. All in all the installation process took a full morning, but I eventually got the system in working order with Windows XP.

Heat and Noise

When the laptop is idling it is very quiet. I can only hear it if I try to. When going about my normal business, it's very easy to ignore. Under a heavy load such as video encoding or benchmarking, the fan will start running at higher speeds. At this point a significant amount of noise is generated, but I believe it is from the moving air rather than the fan itself. Also, the optical drive makes a bit of noise when it is running, though that is pretty typical for optical drives in general.

When the laptop is idling it is also quite cool. The lower half of the keyboard and palmrest stays at room temperature while the upper half just gets a tad bit warmer. Under a heavy load the upper half will heat up a noticeable amount, but the fan does a good job of keeping the temps at a reasonable level. The bottom of the laptop and the air coming out the back can also get pretty warm under these conditions.

Battery Life

I did a simple test to emulate light use of the D830 under battery power. I turned the screen down to half brightness and let windows media player play music at a relatively low volume. This test was also done under the default Vista setup, prior to the installation of ForceWare drivers.

The 9-cell primary on its own reached 10% in a bit under three hours. Together with the media bay battery it reached 10% in just over four and a half hours.

Considering that my 500m could do three and a half hours on its one primary battery, I was a bit disappointed with the battery life at first, especially when owners of D620s and D630s were claiming battery lives of up to five hours. But considering I have a 15 inch WUXGA screen and discrete graphics I guess a drop in battery life is expected.

Dell inspiron 1720 laptop review

2009-07-24T01:37:00.000-07:00

A powerful laptop does not have to be a boring laptop. Take Dell's Inspiron 1720 (dell latitude d820 battery ), a robust system that also happens to be available in seven colors besides black. The 1720 is a heavyish 17-inch notebook, but its multimedia design is outstanding.

The Dell Inspiron 1720 (dell xps m1530 battery )is a 17" desktop replacement targeted towards younger consumers, most of whom are in school. This notebook competes against such notebooks as the HP dv9500t and Toshiba P200/P205. The 1720 offers a wide range of hardware configurations, as well as 8 different color options to be customized exactly as you want it. Processors range from the T5250 all the way up to the T7700, RAM from 1GB to 4GB, HD from 120GB to 500GB (250GB x 2), display resolutions starting at WXGA+ up to WUXGA, and color ranging from jet black to sunshine yellow.

Our review model came with the following options, bringing the price up to $2,438 as configured from a base of $899.

Windows Vista Home Premium (32-bit)

Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7500 (2.20GHz, 4MB L2, 800MHz FSB)

Mobile Intel P965 Express Chipset

Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN (802.11a/g/n)

2GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM (maximum capacity 4GB)

320GB Total Space (160GB x 2, option no longer offered at the time of this writing)

8x DVD (+/-R double layer) drive

17.0" diagonal widescreen TrueLife TFT LCD display at 1920x1200 (WUXGA, Glossy)

256MB nVidia GeForce Go 8600M GT

2.0 megapixel webcam

Bluetooth version 2.0 plus Enhanced Data Rate (EDR)

ExpressCard slot (ExpressCard/34 and Express Card/54)

5-in-1 media card reader

VGA out

Mic/Headphone connectors

IEEE-1394 (FireWire)

Five USB 2.0 ports

Dimensions (WxDxH Front/H Rear): 15.5" x 11.5" x 1.7"

Weight: 7.62 Advertised, 8lbs 13.2oz actual w/ 9-cell battery

90W (19V x 4.62A) 100-240V AC adapter (1lb 1.4oz)

9-cell (85Wh) Lithium Ion battery (1lb 1oz)

1-Year Standard Limited Warranty

Build and Design

Gone are the white bumpers of old, replaced with a solid shimmering silver paint, giving the body of the Dell 1720 (dell latitude d600 battery )a much cleaner and refined look. The body still allows some user configuration with its custom top cover paint options, including jet black, alpine white, espresso brown, ruby red, midnight blue, spring green, flamingo pink, and sunshine yellow. The high level of personalization can even go as far as a color matched Logitech mouse as an added $29 option during checkout.

The cleaner look and feel is matched with an even stronger and more durable chassis. During testing no plastic creaks or squeaks could be heard, with flex only apparent in the plastic painted screen cover. The entire bottom shell is a metal alloy which gives the laptop (apple powerbook g4 battery )a strong footprint on your desk, and is gives enough strength to resist bending if you hold the laptop by the edge of the palm rest walking around the room. The only downside to the chassis was the metal HD bay cover had some movement, and would make clacking sound if tapped with your finger, or placed on an uneven desk. Overlooking that fact, the underbody is strong enough to hurt your knuckles if you try to punch it without giving up as much as a millimeter of flex in the process.

Screen

The glossy WUXGA (1920x1200) screen on the Dell 1720 (hp pavilion dv6000 battery )is absolutely beautiful. ?No dead pixels were found during testing, and backlight bleed while noticed on some dark screens was minimal. Colors were vibrant as with many glossy screens, and wide viewing angles made the screen look sharp even at odd contorted angles. Backlight adjustment was very broad, allowing me to adjust low enough for darker room settings, and bright enough to still be readable in sunlight or a bright office. I had the adjustment sitting around the 80 percent mark or two notches down from max level for most of my testing.

Speakers

The speakers on the 1720 (ibm thinkpad t60 battery )were better than average for most laptops, comparable to speakers found on most midrange televisions. While lower bass was lacking, volume levels were quite loud, and distortion at peak levels was not present. Combined with the 17" display, it would not be hard at all to entertain a small group of friends in a dorm room with the laptop by itself.

Keyboard and Touchpad

The keyboard and palm rest structure matches the strength of the bottom panel of this laptop. Pressing down very firmly, the keyboard flexes less than my T60 Thinkpad. The palm rest is just as firm, supporting my wrists or elbows pressing down with barely a hint of flex.

Heat and Noise

Coping with heat under stress is one task that this laptop shrugs off with ease. Using two instances of Prime95 (dell kd476), each stressing an individual core, the processor went up to 75C after 40 minutes. Outside temps were barely fazed though, even with internal parts scorching hot. With a room temperature of 24C, the palm rest was 27C on the right side, and 29C on the left side. Keyboard temperature was between 30-33C going right to left. Air coming out of the heatsink grill came out at around 46C. Underside temps were into "warm blanket" range of 40-42C, so wearing pants while gaming intensively should be recommended. After letting the laptop cool down for 20 minutes, the keyboard and palm rest evened out at 29-30C with the bottom peaking at 36C under the heatsink area.

Software

This laptop came with Windows Vista Home Premium preinstalled, as well as other smaller applications included through Dell. The most notable addition being the Norton Internet Security package which I uninstalled from the system during review to speed it up. ?Another item unique to Dell is the "Dell QuickSafe" online storage system which comes included free for one year. This gives a user 3GB of online storage space for backing up documents, pictures, or other information to an outside source incase of system failure (or losing your laptop). The user then selects the folders they want backed up, what interval to have it pulled off the system, and let the software do the magic behind the scenes.

Battery

Under normal web browsing use the 9-cell dell inspiron 1720 battery performed quite well, pushing out 3 hours and 12 minutes of life before going into hibernation mode at two percent. Screen brightness was two notches below max, or about 80 percent, and other items were set to Vista’s balanced power plan. This gives more than enough time for taking notes (surfing the web) during a couple of classes throughout the day away from an outlet.

Conclusion

This Dell 17" laptop is a great performer and extremely well built laptop structurally. It seems to be built well enough to be thrown around in day to day use, and hold up throughout an entire college career. It will roll with the punches, and probably hurt your fist in the process. The only problems I found which don’t relate directly to the function of the laptop are the peeling paint, which should hopefully be worked out as production goes on in the upcoming months. Dell has mentioned paint quality problems with this new design, and how they were working to improve the painting process. Counting out that problem this is a great laptop, and I hope Dell continues on this trend of well built, affordable machines.

Dell xps m1530 laptop review

2009-07-23T00:49:00.000-07:00

Dell made a serious effort in 2007 to listen to customer feedback criticizing Dell’s older, thick and heavy laptops. The result was the amazingly thin and light XPS M1330, one of the sexiest looking notebooks of 2007. The new Dell XPS M1530 (dell xps m1530 battery )is an impressive 15.4" screen notebook designed similar to (just larger than) the very successful 13-inch XPS M1330.

Our pre-production XPS M1530 is equipped with the following specs:

15.4-inch WXGA (1280 x 800) CCFL glossy screen

"Crimson" red paint (also available in "Tuxedo" black or "Alpine" white)

2.2GHz Core 2 Duo T7500 processor, Santa Rosa chipset (up to 2.4GHz available)

2GB DDR2-667 SDRAM (up to 4GB DDR2 SDRAM available)

160GB 5400 RPM SATA HDD (32GB SSD drive available)

Slot-loading dual-layer DVD±RW drive

NVIDIA GeForce Go 8600M GT with 256MB GDDR3

WWAN option for Verizon

Ethernet, 802.11a/g/n (Intel 4965), Bluetooth option

Integrated 2.0 megapixel webcam

HDMI, VGA, S-Video, Firewire/1394, three USB 2.0 ports, integrated media reader (MS, SD, xD), fingerprint reader

Media Center remote located in ExpressCard slot

Windows Vista Home Premium

Dimensions (with 6-cell battery): 14.06" x 10.34" x 0.93" - 1.38"

Weight starts at 5.9 pounds with 6-cell battery (6.29 pounds with 9-cell)

Build and Design

The Dell XPS M1330 has received high praise for its design and feature set in a 13.3" portable form factor, but the most popular selling laptops are in the 15.4" screen size. Dell, being in the business of selling more laptops and making customers happy, figured it would be wise to offer something that's larger and appeals to more people. And that's exactly what the M1530 is -- a larger version of the M1330.

As we said in our First Look article, it's as if Dell put the M1330 on steroids and the M1530 (dell latitude d820 battery )is the end result -- the laptop size increased proportionally and it's also more powerful in its new form. The design and look is mostly the same, the keyboard feels the same, the touch sensitive controls are replicated and for the most part the ports are the same (though you do get an extra USB 2.0 port on the M1530). That said, when we compare the M1530 and the M1330 side by side we can't help but think the design of the M1530 is "overweight" in comparison.

There are some notable differences other than size between the M1530 and M1330 (dell KD476 )however. The M1530 can be configured with a more powerful Nvidia 8600M GT graphics card for boosted gaming performance over the XPS M1330 that only offers up to the Nvidia 8400M GS. The M1530 also offers up to a 2.80GHz Intel T7800 processor, whereas the XPS M1330 tops out at an Intel T7500 2.2GHz processor. Obviously if you're all about the performance metrics and don't carry a laptop around much, the XPS M1530 is a better fit for you.

Some people might wonder if they should go for the Dell Inspiron 1520 15.4" notebook or the Dell XPS M1530 15.4". After all, they're both consumer notebooks from the same company that can be configured similarly, so what's the point? For one, the XPS M1530 is way more eye catching in terms of design than the Inspiron 1520. The barrel hinge, dropdown screen and sloping look of the M1530 is just cool. Second, the XPS M1530 (DELL Latitude d630 battery )weighs just 5.9 lbs with a standard 6-cell battery and just 6 lbs and 4.6 ounces (6.29 lbs) with its 9-cell battery. The Inspiron 1520 weighs more than 7 lbs with the 6-cell battery. Other benefits of the XPS M1530 notebook include a sleeker slot loading optical drive, touch sensitive light-up buttons, dedicated XPS tech support, media remote control and thinner profile.

Screen

Another difference that should be mentioned is that currently the M1530 is offered with only a standard 15.4" widescreen XGA (1280 x 800) display, while the XPS M1330 has the option for a thinner and more power efficient LED backlit display. Dell says the XPS M1530 should be available next year with different resolution screens ... including LED backlight options.

Even though some will be a little put out by the lack of LED backlighting being offered on the M1530 initially, the standard CCFL display is still gorgeously bright and flawless. Plus you get a higher 2.0MP web cam with the standard thicker CCFL screen, whereas with a thinner LED screen only a VGA resolution cam can be fitted.

The screen on our pre-production unit looks flawless from straight on and the horizontal viewing angles are great. Upper vertical viewing angles are good, but colors did begin to invert at lower viewing angles when the screen is tilted back.

Heat and Noise

The XPS M1530 does a reasonable job keeping heat under control. The system fan and heatsinks in the M1530 (hp pavilion dv6000 battery )do a great job managing heat when the system is under load ... as we discovered when we ran multiple benchmarks back to back. The CPU temperature peaked at only 58 degrees Celsius during multiple 3DMark06 tests. The fan moved a significant amount of hot air but the noise was reasonably low and wasn't noticeable over background noise most of the time. However, when the fan was at the highest setting we did record the volume of the noise at 53-56dB from about two inches away from the fan exhaust.

Unfortunately, noise was something of an issue with the M1530. The slot-loading optical drive was quite loud during Windows startup, inserting a disk, or ejecting a disk. The sound is something like a small power drill muffled under a pillow. That said, the optical drive produces acceptable noise levels when a disk is spinning in the drive.

The real noise issue involved the hard drive. Because of the way the hard drive is mounted to the case (and due to the thin metals used) the spinning/scratching noise of the Hitachi-brand hard drive was magnified under the left palm rest. The hard drive noise was so loud that I was able to hear the hard drive making scratching noises from two feet away even while playing music at a resonable volume over the built-in speakers. That's just too loud.

Battery Life

The 9-cell extended-life battery provides excellent battery life for the M1530 (ibm thinkpad t60 battery ). With Vista's power management running in "high performance" mode, screen brightness set to maximum and wireless on, the 9-cell battery delivered more than 3 hours and 30 minutes of battery life. We're certain that the 9-cell battery could deliver more than 4 hours of life with the notebook set to "balanced" or "power saver" mode and the screen brightness turned down.

One thing to mention is that with the 9-cell battery in you get an overall greater slope to the keyboard, we actually like this for ergonomics, it feels more comfortable for typing.

Conclusion

Overall, the Dell XPS M1530 is a solid addition to the Dell notebook lineup. We praised the smaller XPS M1330 for having "a design that is second to none in its price range" but we didn't feel quite as strong about the design of the larger M1530. While this is certainly the hottest 15.4" notebook available from Dell, it's hard to shake the feeling that we're looking at a "fat" M1330 with a larger screen.

While issues like a noisy slot-loading drive, noisy hard drive, and limited screen options will make some demanding buyers look elsewhere, the M1530 is an excellent alternative to HP's popular dv6500t notebook in the same price range.

dell vostro 1000 laptop review

2009-07-22T01:03:00.000-07:00

Vostro notebooks are built exclusively for small business and are ready to be customized with the features and software you want without any unwanted trialware. With flexible technology and service options, wireless connectivity, and AMD processors packed into a compact system, the Dell Vostro 1000 (dell latitude d630 battery )gives you the essential mobility that will get your business going places.

The Vostro 1000 surprised us right after opening the box. We supposed it looks similar to the Vostro 1500 with the same screen size, which means like a modified Inspiron 1520. However, it turned out that the Vostro 1000 (dell latitude d620 battery )looks like an Inspiron 1501 in black. It is one of the 'low-end' notebooks in Dell's product range.

The dark color is unostentatious. The top case is more or less smooth, whereas the back panel seems rather matte.

The Vostro 1000 (dell latitude d820 battery )looks not very attractive, on the contrary, it appears to be heavy. This notebook actually weighs a lot, so, this impression proves to be true. Actually, it even weighs too much for a proper mobile computer, so, it's rather desk-bound.

Vostro means YOUR in Italian, and for $499 it's not expensive to make the Vostro 1000 "Your" laptop. The Dell Vostro 1000 (dell xps m1530 battery )is being billed as a bargain priced business notebook. The 6.26 lb black magnesium alloy chassis appears very solid. A thoughtful feature is the mylar sealed keyboard. This will be a crumb and spill safety net for road warriors eating baguettes and drinking at wireless coffee shops while they work.

The base unit of Vostro 1000 is made of plastic, but, in contrast to other Vostros without any use of magnesium alloy. Typical Dell, it is nevertheless perfectly solid. We didn't notice any weaknesses.

The display cover is made of plastic as well. It doesn't yield. However, it wobbles, if closed. Most new Dell models have this weakness in common. The transport hook is black and not silver, so, it fits nicely to the case.

The hinges are sizable and efficient, but, if one moves this notebook while open, the display wobbles a bit.

Typical Dell most of the interfaces are located at the back side. Furthermore, there aren't many provided.

The keyboard is the same as of the Inspiron 1501 (hp pavilion dv6000 battery ).

The size of the keys is satisfying. The right Shift looks really huge.

The keys have an easy stroke, so, one doesn't need to type forcefully. On the other hand, the cushion is quite hard, but, not yet tiresome for the user. We felt that the keyboard is rather quiet.

The touch pad is alright. The pad provides labeled scroll areas. Its buttons are soft, with long, yet not excessively long travel. They are quiet and reliable.

The reviewed Vostro 1000 (dell vostro 1000 battery )was equipped with the new mobile processor by AMD. It belongs to the latest of the 'Tyler' range, but is called Athlon 64 X2 TK-53 (1.7GHz). It differs from the identically clocked Turion 64 X2 TL-56 by providing only 512kB L2 Cache, which is half the L2 Cache of the Turion X2 TL-56.

The integrated Radeon Xpress 1150 video card is the provided video solution.

The reviewed Vostro 1000 come with a rather slow 80GB Fujitsu hard drive. Its average access time was 23.5ms with is very long.

Because the reviewed notebook was only equipped with a 4-cell (29Whr) battery, the battery runtime proved to be very short. It ranges from 40 minutes under full load to a little more than a hour-and-a-half with emphasis on energy saving (with minimum brightness of the screen one can comfortably work in a room).

So, if one looks toward mobility, it's better to order battery with higher capacity (53Whr or 85Whr).

Dell thought it is not worth the effort to develop it in a special way, and has launched an AMD-based Vostro 1000 using on old Inspiron 1501 design. Naturally, this was a cost-minimizing measure.

Accordingly, potential buyers might be discouraged by the old-fashioned look of the Vostro 1000 (dell kd476 ) . On the plus side, the chassis is all black and doesn't get stained quickly by those nasty fingerprints. Too bad this laptop is so heavy, especially compared to its competitors.

However, the Vostro 1000 is intended for simple, casual everyday tasks (web browsing, text editing) and not much more.

The biggest pros are quiet operation and a matte screen. The con is an awfully short battery runtime (with the provided 29Whr battery).

Dell Latitude D630 laptop review

2009-07-19T21:25:00.000-07:00

TheLatitude D630 is Dell’s latest update to the D620, a light-weight business class machine. The Dell D630 comes with the very anticipated Santa Rosa platform but is visually the same as its predecessor. The machine starts at $899 (as of this writing) and most upgrades are reasonably priced.

D630 configuration:

Processor: Intel T7300 Core 2 Duo (2.0GHz, 800MHz FSB, 4MB Cache)

Graphics: Intel GMA X3100

Operating System: Windows Vista Business 32-bit

Display: WXGA+ 1440 x 900 (matte)

Hard Drive: 80GB 540RPM

Memory: 512MB (512MB x 1), up to 4GB max

Ports:
- 4 - USB 2.0 (two in the back and two on the right)
- FireWire (left)
- Security lock (left)
- Headphone out & microphone in (left)
- VGA out (back)
- 56k modem (back)
- Gigabit Ethernet (back)
- Power (back)
- Serial (back)

Slots:
- 1 PC Card Slot
- Smart Card Slot
- Docking station

Optical Drive: DVD +/- RW

Battery: 9-cell 85WHr

Security: UPEK fingerprint reader

Pointing device: Touchpad or Track Stick

Intel 3945 WLAN (802.11a/g) mini Card

Dell Wireless 360 Bluetooth Vista Module

USA keyboard

Dimensions: 13.3" x 9.37" x 1.09 - 1.27" (337mm x 238mm x 27.6 - 32.3mm)

Weight: 5.1lbs with DVD drive and 6-cell, 5.8lbs with 9-cell, 6.6lbs with AC adaptor and 9-cell

3 Year warranty, In-Home Service, International

Total Price As Configured: $1,372

Some of you are probably wondering as to why I chose so little RAM and a rather small hard drive. Like I said, most upgrades are reasonably priced. I purchased 2GB from Newegg for $80, Dell’s upgrade would have been $200.

Battery

I need my machine to last as long as possible. I chose the nine-cell dell latitude d630 battery despite the fact it sticks out from the battery site. I truly believe I made the right choice because this thing lasts a very long time. With Firefox, Office, Wi-Fi, and screen at max (8/8) the battery lasted (I ran it until the laptop shut off) an astounding 5 hours and 15 minutes. Same test bed but no Wi-Fi landed me with 5 hours and 45 minutes.

I did not have enough time to test it with the screen at a medium level but Vista tells me I can safely say it can push a little over six hours with Wi-Fi. If you get the Media Bay battery to go along with the nine-cell, I would venture about 7.5 or more hours. Of course, this is assuming you are using it for lightweight programs and you have 1GB or more of RAM.

At the bottom of the battery there is a button that allows you to check the battery level.it is same as the dell d620 battery and dell latitude d820 battery It goes by five levels, giving you an estimate of how much charge is available. I consider it helpful because you don’t need to turn the laptop on to check the battery level.

Build and Design:

This thing feels like a tank and is extremely sturdy. The hinges on the machine are stiff but not difficult to open and the screen will not wobble. There is no flexing of the screen and you truly have to try to press the back to see ripples. When closed, a small, shiny hinge holds the screen locked. The top and bottom of the machine are made of magnesium. I still wouldn’t recommend dropping the machine in order to test if the material is durable.

The speakers are (I think) inside the laptop because I saw no openings for them. The battery sticks out in the front rather than the back. You are also able to add another battery to the DVD bay or replace the drive with something updated down the road. It is very simple to replace the drive in case something happens.

I do have one complaint: I frequently use my USB slots and I dislike having the other two ports in the back. I prefer them on the side. The USB slots are also a bit stiff. Sometimes you have to try to jam the connector into the slot.

Screen

Many people complained about the terrible brightness level of the D620. Unfortunately, I don’t have a D620 (dell inspiron 1520 battery )to compare it to. I do, however, have a Viewsonic VX2025wm desktop monitor that has been color calibrated with a Spyder2 Suite. This seems like an apples to orange type of comparison but if I am to compare it, I must use something that has been in my possession for at least one full year. The added benefit is that this comparison shows how far the colors differ from a screen that has near-perfect color reproduction.

I am happy to report the 14.1-inch, 1440x900 screen is surprisingly brighter than I expected. I was able to easily see it indoors with the sun behind me. This was tested with highest screen brightness level (8/8).

Speakers

The speakers output at about two watts and are under the left palm (I could feel them vibrating). There are the quick mute and volume buttons on the top of the keyboard, all very handy to have. The speakers are loud ... much louder than I expected. Depending on what is being played they might be able to fill a small room. Unfortunately, a loud speaker does not always equal quality output. At high and sometimes even medium levels distortions start occurring. Granted, this is a business machine that was primarily designed to just output warnings and the like. It’s like Dell bought out all the extra Gameboy speakers and super sized them.

If you like to listen to music, bring your own external speakers and possibly your own sound card.

Processor and Performance

CPU: My machine came equipped with the new Santa Rosa platform. Upgrades to the processor include a faster front-side bus and a new level of power state. According to an Intel rep (I used to work in retail), I was told these new chips are about 10-15 percent faster and equally consume less battery life than the previous Centrino generation. This will not, however, make minor application usage (office programs) run any faster. The design behind this is most likely for the battery use and people that need a faster processor (multimedia users).

HD: The hard drive is an 80GB SATA drive running at 5400RPM. My plan was to buy a 160GB drive and a notebook enclosure from Newegg, replace the 80GB drive, and convert the machine’s original drive to a portable HD. Due to financial reasons, I did not go through with it. The faster transfer speed (higher density) and larger storage are nice ideas but we can’t have everything.

GPX: I’ll be blunt, this machine was not built for gaming. Intel upgraded this generation’s integrated graphics but it is still no match for a dedicated card. Essentially, the X3100 can run old games but don’t expect F.E.A.R. or an equally graphically intensive game to be playable.

RAM: If you wish to run multiple applications, get the 2GB. Vista recommends (read: needs) 1GB to run the OS and any other application(s) smoothly. Before I upgraded the machine with 2GB, it came with 512MB. It was crawling and nearly always accessing the hard drive (and consuming more battery in the process). After the upgrade to 2GB, it ran as smooth as a hot knife through butter. I needed 2GB because Photoshop is a huge memory hog. If you plan to use this machine for office use, 1GB will most likely be enough to accommodate your needs.

Wireless

My machine came pre-equipped with the Intel 3945 Wireless card offering a/b/g wireless reception. I did not opt for the 802.11n because it is still in draft mode and the G reception will be around for a while. Chances are, when I get my next laptop (years from now), a new standard will be accepted for wireless and the N reception will be rendered obsolete.

I was able to test the connection with my Linksys WRT54g router, a somewhat common router. I was able to go anywhere in the house and pick up a signal. No matter where I went, I could not get the laptop to drop the connection, I had to go outside and walk all the way towards the opposite side of my neighbor’s yard to kill it. To put it in perspective, that is about 150 feet.

My D630 (dell inspiron e1505 battery ) came configured with Bluetooth. I tested it with my PDA and was able to synchronize it with no issues.

Operating System and Software

I ordered my machine with Windows Vista Business. The machine came with practically zero useless software. In fact, aside from the amazing bundled security software, it only comes with Roxio Creator 9 and Cyberlink PowerDVD 7. The only thing that I uninstalled was Google Desktop and Google Explorer Bar.

Security and others

The machine came bundled with a security package by Wave Systems. The software comes with a wizard that assists you in selecting what level of security you wish to implement. You are granted the option to ask for a password and /or fingerprint at boot-up. You can even encrypt the hard drive with the same password/fingerprint.

Trying to make use of the fingerprint reader, I opted to prompt for my fingerprint at boot up. The interesting thing about this option would be that if you don’t have either the password or a fingerprint, you cannot even access the BIOS. Essentially, if the laptop is stolen and if the BIOS is properly configured, the thief will have a hell of a time trying to access your data. Business users take note, if you tend to lose laptops, you must purchase this device. I’ve heard one story too many about how company X lost a laptop with employee and/or other sensitive information.

I tried setting the machine to go to sleep only to find out that it asked for both. Basically, if the laptop ever logs-off or goes to bed, you will be asked for both or either types of security, depending on your choice.

Even though the machine is externally very well protected, there are very few firewall programs for Vista. The one bundled with Vista is pretty useless. Just be careful checking important information on an unprotected connection; common sense, people.

Warranty and Customer Support

I chatted with Dell (dell xps m1530 battery )customer support several times to get a feel for the support they would provide. I am extremely happy to report all the customer support reps that I talked with were very knowledgeable. They all answered my questions without hesitation and correctly, all are very polite if you too are polite. The longest I was on hold was for five minutes.

I’ve heard of horror stories from the consumer line of Dell but the business line is unbelievably good. I know I made the right choice by paying for the $100 for in-home service. If some of you are more “butterfingered,” get the Complete Care package.

Upgrading

Upgrading the machine was an interesting journey. The machine originally came with a stick of 512MB and it was upgraded to a matched pair of 1GB sticks (2GB total).

The RAM slots are in two places, under the keyboard and under the laptop. I decided to start with the most difficult, under the keyboard. Let me warn you right here, it was difficult for me to do it and I’ve built more computers than I have fingers and toes. I had to remove the hinge, which felt like it could crack at any given second, followed by the keyboard. After many sweaty but careful minutes, I was able to replace the RAM. The other slot, on the other hand, was extremely easy: one screw and I was done.

dell laptop battery

2009-07-13T18:57:00.000-07:00

When we last reviewed the Dell Inspiron E1505 (dell e1505 battery), the notebook’s rich multimedia features, wireless performance, and strong battery life garnered it an Editors’ Choice award. Now, Dell follows up the E1505 with the 1501 ($844, as tested here), a low-priced alternative and the first Dell machine to house an AMD processor. It’s also Vista capable and Premium ready–something you’re not going to find with run-of-the-mill value notebooks. The 1501 (inspiron 1520 battery )gives you solid performance at a decent price, but what you gain in savings you lose in functionality.The inexpensive Dell Inspiron 1501 doesn’t have all the extra media-centric features or quick-launch keys you’ll find on similarly priced notebooks from Acer and Hewlett-Packard. This $974 laptop does have other things going for it, however—namely, respectable performance and a superb display.Decked out in silver, white, and dark gray, the Inspiron 1501 won’t be mistaken for a business notebook, but its looks are suitably understated for the meeting room. The laptop measures 1.4×14x10.5 inches and weighs 6.2 pounds, straddling the line between travel companion and stay-at-home desktop replacement. It has a sturdy build, too, and feels like it could take a few knocks.The 15.4-inch WXGA (1,280×800-resolution) display, which uses Dell’s contrast-improving TrueLife technology, is definitely a highlight. Text was sharp, and DVDs and Vista’s Aero interface looked great. An integrated ATI Radeon Xpress 1150 (dell d820 battery )adapter that shares up to 256MB of system memory powers the graphics. Casual gamers won’t be disappointed with this chip.The 1501 came configured with a six-cell battery, which enabled us to go unplugged for a solid 3 hours and 16 minutes of life with Wi-Fi on, and an additional two minutes with the wireless connection off. Wireless throughput measured a robust 12.6 Mbps at 15 feet from our access point, and 13.2 Mbps from 50. This is a slight improvement over the E1505’s measurements of 12 Mbps and 9.9 Mbps from the same distances.Despite the missing multimedia controls, the 1501 offers plenty of other ports and jacks: four USB, VGA, headphone and microphone jacks, and a 3-in-1 memory card reader. This is a step down from the E1505, which featured all of those connections plus S-Video, FireWire, a 5-in-1 card reader, and optional Bluetooth. You’ll also find an ExpressCard slot, but nothing for a PCMost of the owners of Inspiron laptops criticize the design of their computers. Not surprisingly, most of the modified laptops are Inspirons e1505/1501 (dell b120 battery , dell b130 battery). In my opinion, designers were having an “off day” when they created those white bumpers. Maybe the most annoying thing about the design is that certain parts of the notebook do not match others. For example, the keyboard, touchpad, and screen have a “keep-it-simple” design (nothing shinny, nothing stylish) while the back of the lid makes a quite different impression.?Despite these style blemishes, the Dell Inspiron 1501 (dell latitude d620 battery )has some charm in its design.The overall build quality is quite good. The chassis feels sturdy, it does not creak when lifted on any of the corners. Applying even a quite strong force on the back of the lid does not make ripples on the screen appear. The screen hinges are tough and keep LCD in place. You will need to use both hands to open the lid. That said, there are places which deform when excessive pressure is applied, but this isn’t an issue. The one negative might be that the screen latch does not feel sturdy — it has a “floating” feeling as you can both move it up/down and left/right — but it holds the screen perfectly well.A very nice feature is that you only need to remove two screws to access the memory modules, WiFi card or HDD. A little more effort is required to access the CPU (I was not that curious).Other budget notebooks we’ve seen have dedicated media-player controls, independent buttons for switching off wireless radios, and a healthy assortment of input/output options, but the Inspiron 1501 falls very short in this area. If having extras like these (and a few more configuration options) is important to you, we recommend stepping up to Dell’s Inspiron E1505 (dell xps m1530 battery). For a couple of hundred dollars more, you get slightly improved specs and lots of extras. Most users, however, will be satisfied with the basic array of connectivity here: four USB 2.0 ports, mic and headphone jacks, a VGA monitor out, an SD/MultiMediaCard slot, and Ethernet and modem ports. Also aboard are an ExpressCard slot and a double-layer DVD±RW drive.The keyboard function keys are marked with icons for easy access to actions such as adjusting volume and screen brightness, switching to an external monitor, and turning on and off the built-in 802.11b/g wireless networking. The keyboard itself is a bit mushy for our tastes, as are the touch-pad buttons, though all are a comfortable size. Speakers at the front of the notebook push (hp dv6000 battery) out clear, loud sound.Dell did a good job outfitting our review model with capable core hardware. Its dual-core 1.6GHz AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-50 processor, aided by 2GB of DDR2 memory, turned in impressive results in our tests and certainly has enough pep to run Vista Home Premium. Battery life was comparable with that of other notebooks in its class, which means it’ll get less than two hours on a full charge (1 hour and 41 minutes, to be exact).For storage, our test unit had a 60GB hard drive. Factor in formatting, as well as the space taken up by the OS, its applications, miscellaneous software Dell includes, and the partitioned section for the built-in system restore, and you’re left with only 40GB. The other notebooks in this roundup have the same problem, but because they have 120GB drives, plenty of room is still left over for files. If you’re not using the notebook as a primary computer, you can get by with 40GB, but an extra $35 will buy you an upgrade to an 80GB drive.Dell includes a standard one-year parts-and-labor warranty, as well as 24/7 tech support.Although the Dell Inspiron 1501 demonstrated stronger wireless performance than the Dell Inspiron E1505 (dell d400 battery)and has a lower price point, we can’t recommend the notebook over its far more functional predecessor. If you’re looking for a decent machine that won’t break the bank, it’s worth a look. Just remember, you get exactly what you pay for.Anyone buying a PC from a well known manufacturer like Dell, HP or IBM hopes to get a good customer support. No surprise, Dell provides fast and pleasant-to-use support. I had to contact them about several minor questions and replies came back very fast.After several weeks I noticed that my laptop did not have a DVD-RW, it only had a DVD Combo. Since DVD-RW is a necessity nowadays and the optical drive cannot be changed in this PC, I went directly to the retailer. They contacted a local Dell office and I got my refund in two days. Sadly, I had to buy a new laptop or risk losing a tax refund from the government. Because they did not have any Dells left in stock, I had to go with another PC. ?

dell inspiron e1405 laptop review

2009-02-05T19:32:00.001-08:00

The Dell Inspiron e1405 (dell inspiron e1405 battery), a recently released portable notebook that includes the relatively new Intel Core Duo CPU, seems designed for those who value a combination of significant processing power and portability but don't want to spend a lot of money to get it. This model, also named the Inspiron 640m on Dell's Small Business website, replaces the non-business XPS M140 (which, by the way, was named the Inspiron 630m when sold as a business model), and its primary advantage over its predecessor is the dual core option. Like the Inspiron e1705, a large desktop replacement notebook that I recently purchased and reviewed, and the Inspiron e1505, a mid-size entertainment notebook, the e1405 can be configured with a glossy screen and comes with Windows XP Media Center Edition, which includes a host of entertainment and multimedia features that appear to target those who desire a computer that will readily and capably handle the ever-increasing entertainment possibilities of our world. One significant difference between the e1405 and its older and larger siblings is the absence of a dedicated graphics option that would allow for intensive gaming. But you can't have everything, including portability, for a mere seven or eight hundred dollars, which is about what a well-configured e1405 will cost you if you're careful about your purchase and do a little preliminary research.

The Dell e1405 is a brand-new entry in Dell's Inspiron line of entertainment notebooks (it's also marketed as the 640m on the business side of Dell's offerings). With a 14" widescreen display, a Core Duo CPU, a 100GB hard drive, and a gig of RAM, the machine's no slouch in the performance department. But when you can get a system like this—including an extended battery—for US$800, corners have to be cut somewhere. Right?

To find out, we put the laptop through its paces for a few weeks in an attempt to answer the burning question: can such an inexpensive piece of kit really stand up to computers twice its cost? Think of this review as dialoguing with our earlier investigations of two other Core Duo machines: the Thinkpad X60 and the new Macbook. How does the e1405 stack up? The answer might surprise you.

Dell has finally received the memo—you know, the one that Apple has been circulating for the last few years, the one that argues for the importance of style to consumer electronics. Dell, as much as anyone, typified the "beige box" syndrome that afflicted PC vendors for a decade or more, but the company now tries to atone for past design sins with sexier laptops like the e1405 (dell e1405 battery). Whether you like the design or not is a notoriously personal decision, but I'm willing to go on the record with my own opinion: it looks pretty good.

The new Inspiron lineup will never be as hawt as the MacBook Pro, for instance, with all that shiny metal and that smooth silver underbelly, and it will never be as svelte as the X60. Most components are made of a silver-speckled plastic and the machine weighs in at around six pounds with extended battery, but the overall effect is quite pleasing. Looked at from above, the machine has fine lines and an attractive silver/white/black color scheme. It won't be the slickest machine at your local Starbucks, but you'll look pretty decent without dropping more than a grand—no small feat. And compared to the older generation of Dell machines, the e1405 is like an 18th-century allegorical painting about the Triumph of Design.

Take a closer look at the picture above. See that one-inch bulge protruding from the back of the laptop? That's the extended battery. To my eyes, the bulge actually looks pretty decent, more like a beauty mark than a goiter, but opinions may vary on this. If you plan on getting the extended battery, make sure the machine still fits in your laptop case.

Actually, I didn't buy this laptop; it is a review model. But as noted, I did recently buy an e1705 (dell inspiron b130 battery), and will therefore be viewing this e1405 within that context, paying particular attention to portability, an area in which the e1705 is decidedly lacking, and performance, where the e1705 really shines. And although I have no plans to buy an e1405, I often recommend notebooks to friends and family. As I use the e1405 (dell inspiron b120 battery) I find myself wondering whether it would be a good option for them. I would definitely recommend this notebook if someone were to say the following:

"I want a notebook that's pretty easy to carry around and can even be used on a plane. I'm on a tight budget and don't want to pay more than eight hundred dollars or so, but I really don't want to sacrifice performance. I have no plans to play the latest games, but I want good multimedia capabilities and a pretty high resolution. I'd also like it to be sturdy."

The key here is the price; which is, admittedly, what often enhances the appeal of Dell notebooks. In the case of the above-stated requirements, I consider the e1405 to be an excellent choice now that I've tested it fairly thoroughly with particular emphasis on word processing, audiovisual performance and the Internet.

Because a number of purchasers of the e1405 have complained in this sites forums of excessive light leakage, I thought I should address this issue and therefore devoted some time to unearthing the problem in this particular machine, both with the naked eye and the digital camera. Waiting patiently for nightfall to come, I turned off all the lights, got rid of the Windows Taskbar, and looked as closely as I could at the screen, then took scads of digital pictures. At the risk of appearing to be a sensory dullard, I must say that at first I could really see no problem when using eyesight alone, though the camera did reveal light leakage at the base of the LCD. Subsequently there were occasions when I noticed some leakage, but only when the background was dark or when I used Dead Pixel Buddy to set the screen to black. Having said all that, I should add that during my actual use of this notebook, I never once noticed a problem. Of course, others may well be more sensitive to light leakage than I am, and certain screen configurations might be more affected.

I consistently got just over 3 hours out of the 6-cell battery. This rate of discharge seemed a little disappointing, but during these 3-hour periods I was frequently accessing the hard drive and always running the LCD at maximum brightness, with the wireless card enabled as well. With lighter use, the battery lasted for a little more than 4 hours, though the wireless card was still turned on. I find that power savings features are largely a matter of personal preference and tolerance, as well as usage, so some people will undoubtedly be able to squeeze a little more time out of the battery, while others will get less.

The main charm of the Inspiron e1405 is that it manages to provide good portability, pleasurable viewing and high performance at a low cost. With this particular model, there were very few flaws, and none of these was sufficient to warn against this notebook. What impressed me most was the display, though I had recently made a decision to go with a lower resolution matte screen when actually purchasing a notebook for myself. I really enjoyed watching a DVD on the e1405 and found the display surprisingly easy to work with during normal usage, too. What strikes me about the e1405 (dell vostro 1000 battery) is that it accomplishes so much in a small package and does so at such a low cost. There's no way I would purchase a non-dual-core machine, now that I've used a couple of dual cores, and though some people might think it's worth waiting for 64-bit dual core, for my own purposes I consider two years to be a reasonable life for a computer, and figure 32-bit is good enough for this period, provided multiple applications can be run with speed and efficiency, which the Yonah accomplishes. When looking to purchase a notebook computer, it can be useful to think in two-hundred-dollar increments, I find. While there are notebooks available for five or six hundred dollars, these generally have severe limitations and I wouldn't consider any of them, whereas the e1405, at the next step up on the price ladder, has very few limitations, especially when its portability is factored into the mix.

dell inspiron 1501 laptop review

2009-01-08T01:58:00.000-08:00

When we last reviewed the Dell Inspiron E1505 (dell e1505 battery), the notebook's rich multimedia features, wireless performance, and strong battery life garnered it an Editors' Choice award. Now, Dell follows up the E1505 with the 1501 ($844, as tested here), a low-priced alternative and the first Dell machine to house an AMD processor. It's also Vista capable and Premium ready--something you're not going to find with run-of-the-mill value notebooks. The 1501 (inspiron 1501 battery )gives you solid performance at a decent price, but what you gain in savings you lose in functionality.

The inexpensive Dell Inspiron 1501 doesn't have all the extra media-centric features or quick-launch keys you'll find on similarly priced notebooks from Acer and Hewlett-Packard. This $974 laptop does have other things going for it, however—namely, respectable performance and a superb display.

Decked out in silver, white, and dark gray, the Inspiron 1501 won't be mistaken for a business notebook, but its looks are suitably understated for the meeting room. The laptop measures 1.4x14x10.5 inches and weighs 6.2 pounds, straddling the line between travel companion and stay-at-home desktop replacement. It has a sturdy build, too, and feels like it could take a few knocks.

The 15.4-inch WXGA (1,280x800-resolution) display, which uses Dell's contrast-improving TrueLife technology, is definitely a highlight. Text was sharp, and DVDs and Vista's Aero interface looked great. An integrated ATI Radeon Xpress 1150 (dell d820 battery )adapter that shares up to 256MB of system memory powers the graphics. Casual gamers won't be disappointed with this chip.

The 1501 came configured with a six-cell battery, which enabled us to go unplugged for a solid 3 hours and 16 minutes of life with Wi-Fi on, and an additional two minutes with the wireless connection off. Wireless throughput measured a robust 12.6 Mbps at 15 feet from our access point, and 13.2 Mbps from 50. This is a slight improvement over the E1505's measurements of 12 Mbps and 9.9 Mbps from the same distances.

Despite the missing multimedia controls, the 1501 offers plenty of other ports and jacks: four USB, VGA, headphone and microphone jacks, and a 3-in-1 memory card reader. This is a step down from the E1505, which featured all of those connections plus S-Video, FireWire, a 5-in-1 card reader, and optional Bluetooth. You'll also find an ExpressCard slot, but nothing for a PC

Most of the owners of Inspiron laptops criticize the design of their computers. Not surprisingly, most of the modified laptops are Inspirons e1505/1501 (dell b120 battery , dell b130 battery). In my opinion, designers were having an "off day" when they created those white bumpers. Maybe the most annoying thing about the design is that certain parts of the notebook do not match others. For example, the keyboard, touchpad, and screen have a "keep-it-simple" design (nothing shinny, nothing stylish) while the back of the lid makes a quite different impression.?Despite these style blemishes, the Dell Inspiron 1501 (apple ibook g4 battery )has some charm in its design.

The overall build quality is quite good. The chassis feels sturdy, it does not creak when lifted on any of the corners. Applying even a quite strong force on the back of the lid does not make ripples on the screen appear. The screen hinges are tough and keep LCD in place. You will need to use both hands to open the lid. That said, there are places which deform when excessive pressure is applied, but this isn't an issue. The one negative might be that the screen latch does not feel sturdy -- it has a “floating” feeling as you can both move it up/down and left/right -- but it holds the screen perfectly well.

A very nice feature is that you only need to remove two screws to access the memory modules, WiFi card or HDD. A little more effort is required to access the CPU (I was not that curious).

Other budget notebooks we've seen have dedicated media-player controls, independent buttons for switching off wireless radios, and a healthy assortment of input/output options, but the Inspiron 1501 falls very short in this area. If having extras like these (and a few more configuration options) is important to you, we recommend stepping up to Dell's Inspiron E1505 (dell c640 battery). For a couple of hundred dollars more, you get slightly improved specs and lots of extras. Most users, however, will be satisfied with the basic array of connectivity here: four USB 2.0 ports, mic and headphone jacks, a VGA monitor out, an SD/MultiMediaCard slot, and Ethernet and modem ports. Also aboard are an ExpressCard slot and a double-layer DVD±RW drive.

The keyboard function keys are marked with icons for easy access to actions such as adjusting volume and screen brightness, switching to an external monitor, and turning on and off the built-in 802.11b/g wireless networking. The keyboard itself is a bit mushy for our tastes, as are the touch-pad buttons, though all are a comfortable size. Speakers at the front of the notebook push (dell 1420 battery) out clear, loud sound.

Dell did a good job outfitting our review model with capable core hardware. Its dual-core 1.6GHz AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-50 processor, aided by 2GB of DDR2 memory, turned in impressive results in our tests and certainly has enough pep to run Vista Home Premium. Battery life was comparable with that of other notebooks in its class, which means it'll get less than two hours on a full charge (1 hour and 41 minutes, to be exact).

For storage, our test unit had a 60GB hard drive. Factor in formatting, as well as the space taken up by the OS, its applications, miscellaneous software Dell includes, and the partitioned section for the built-in system restore, and you're left with only 40GB. The other notebooks in this roundup have the same problem, but because they have 120GB drives, plenty of room is still left over for files. If you're not using the notebook as a primary computer, you can get by with 40GB, but an extra $35 will buy you an upgrade to an 80GB drive.

Dell includes a standard one-year parts-and-labor warranty, as well as 24/7 tech support.

Although the Dell Inspiron 1501 (dell d410 battery )demonstrated stronger wireless performance than the Dell Inspiron E1505 (dell d400 battery)and has a lower price point, we can't recommend the notebook over its far more functional predecessor. If you're looking for a decent machine that won't break the bank, it's worth a look. Just remember, you get exactly what you pay for.

Anyone buying a PC from a well known manufacturer like Dell, HP or IBM hopes to get a good customer support. No surprise, Dell provides fast and pleasant-to-use support. I had to contact them about several minor questions and replies came back very fast.

After several weeks I noticed that my laptop did not have a DVD-RW, it only had a DVD Combo. Since DVD-RW is a necessity nowadays and the optical drive cannot be changed in this PC, I went directly to the retailer. They contacted a local Dell office and I got my refund in two days. Sadly, I had to buy a new laptop or risk losing a tax refund from the government. Because they did not have any Dells left in stock, I had to go with another PC. ?

dell latitude d420 laptop review

2008-12-25T01:29:00.001-08:00

The Dell Latitude D420 is the smallest notebook currently offered by Dell. It is a fusion of the discontinued Dell Latitude D410 (latitude d410 battery )and X1. It combines notable traits from both and offers great portability, power and versatility. Starting at $1199 it also offers great value featuring an Intel Core Duo ULV processor, 12.1in widescreen LCD, ExpressCard slot, a host of wireless options, and great battery life.

Dell's business-minded Latitude notebooks have always been more about function than form, but the Latitude D420 (latitude d420 battery )manages to pack some decent specs into a package that is both small and attractive, making this ultraportable the smallest laptop Dell currently offers. With almost a full workday's worth of battery life, the Latitude D420 stands up admirably to other similarly configured systems in its price range, such as the Lenovo 3000 V100. The 3.7-pound system has just gotten an upgrade to include Intel's Core Duo processor, and at $1,534, it's a solid choice for both consumers and small business users who need power and portability at the same time. Dell's business-minded Latitude notebooks have always been more about function than form, but the Latitude D420 manages to pack some decent specs into a package that is both small and attractive, making this ultraportable the smallest laptop Dell currently offers. With almost a full workday's worth of battery life, the Latitude D420 stands up admirably to other similarly configured systems in its price range, such as the Lenovo 3000 V100. The 3.7-pound system has just gotten an upgrade to include Intel's Core Duo processor, and at $1,534, it's a solid choice for both consumers and small business users who need power and portability at the same time.

Like most laptops of its size, the Latitude D420's wide-aspect 12.1-inch WXGA UltraSharp display has a native resolution of 1,280x800. The small screen at that resolution makes for some potentially hard-to-read text, but we didn't have any trouble with basic Web surfing or word processing. The display's crispness partially makes up for the loss of impact that comes from a smaller display. While not the brightest notebook screen we've seen, it was easy to see in a brightly lit office environment.

The build quality of the Dell D420 is great overall. It feels very solid and the steel hinges are very tight though not as tight as the X1's. The magnesium alloy casing felt rigid and when pushing the back of the LCD it did not cause LCD distortion. Unlike the X1 which uses the hinges to keep the LCD shut the D420 goes back to the more common latch design.

Another major change was the placement of the battery. On the X1 it was placed to the back of the notebook. This offered a number of advantages. When using the extended 6 cell battery the battery protrudes a little and can be used as a grasp for holding the notebook with one hand. On the D420 (inspiron b120 battery , inspiron b130 battery )the battery is placed in the front. The 9 cell battery sticks out a bit. Unlike the X1 battery the D420 battery does not serve a secondary function. There are some benefits however. I for one like to have my ports in the back and the front placement of the battery enable you to open the LCD with one hand which was very hard to do on the X1.

Aesthetically the D420 is a smaller version of the current line of Dell Latitudes. I prefer the darker, more business-like feel to this laptop however it is nothing to write home about. An interesting difference between the X1 and D420 lie in the placement of the power, hard drive and battery indicators. On the X1 they were placed at the bottom of the palm rest. When the LCD was closed the LED were hidden which was rather inconvenient. On the D420 the indicators are on the right hinge which is a small but definite plus.

Even without benchmarks the performance difference was obvious compared to the X1. The D420 (xps m1210 battery)runs everything I throw at it fine including some light gaming. The Core Duo U2500 at 1.2GHz processor is very fast for its clockspeed. In fact, it is comparable if not faster than the Pentium M 2GHz in my Inspiron 710m for everyday computing. I can easily run a virus scan and watch a HD movie (720p) at the same time. The other two options for processor are the Core Duo U2400 at 1.06GHz and the Core Solo U1300 at 1.06GHz. The U2400 is a sweet spot for those looking to have a Core Duo system yet also wants the lowest power usage and heat output.

Memory is extremely important in today's computing. The D420 (xps m1330 battery )offers up to 2GB of DDR2-4200 (533mhz). This, however, is an extremely expensive option. 2GB is achieved by using a 2GB stick in addition to the 512MB soldered onto the motherboard. Due to motherboard limitation only 2GB instead of 2.5GB is addressable. A more realistic upgrade is 1.5GB of RAM. This is highly recommended for running this system under Windows Vista due to the integrated GMA950. 1.5GB will cost an extra of around $90 if upgraded aftermarket which is a very reasonable price.

The D420 uses Toshiba's 1.8' hard drives. The spindle speed is 4200rpm. While this is rather slow it is not a huge drag on the system. Hard drive capacities come in 30GB, 60GB, and 80GB. 100GB may be an option soon.

In terms of optical drives the D420 is very similar to the X1. It features no internal optical option but does provide an external D-Bay. To some the lack of an internal optical drive is a deal breaker, however it lowers the weight and size of the system significantly. For important discs I use imaging software to copy it onto the hard drive as an ISO. This way I can access these discs even if I don't have the D-Bay on hand. The MediaBase also has an optical drive and with the D-Bay the D420 can be turned into a 3 spindle system.

Unlike the X1 which is dead silent, the D420 (inspiron 1501 battery )is rather loud. In a quiet room the fan is noticeable at medium speed. However it is no where close to being an annoyance. I can work comfortably in the library with the fan on max without being a disturbance. What is an annoyance is the placement of the vent. The vent blows hot air directly at the hands of a right handed user which becomes uncomfortable rather quickly. When the notebook is doing intensive work, the right side of the notebook gets much hotter than the left. However, it is a lot better than the X1 even though the Pentium M ULV on the X1 ran a lot cooler. I tested the temperature of the CPU under load with CoreTemp and it topped out at nearly 90C while the highest the X1 got was around 70C. Still, working on the D420 (latitude d620 battery )is a lot more comfortable over an extended amount of time than on the X1.

The Dell Latitude D420 (latitude d820 battery )is a great notebook for those who want an ultraportable design without sacrificing computing power. The build quality of this notebook is excellent and the price very competitive. Despite some design flaws, notably the location of the vent and the useless brightness sensor, this notebook excels in its primary function as a business ultraportable. Compared to its predecessor the Dell Latitude X1, the D420 (latitude d820 battery )is a great upgrade that will be all ready to handle the demands of newer software and Windows Vista.