Canon EOS 100D Review

Though it essentially uses the same body as the 450D, it shaves a couple of grams of the weight; it only weighs 450 grams. Its smooth, plastic body still feels a little on the cheap side, and we're not crazy about the grip. We can't quite put our finger on the reason; it's not especially shallow, and Canon has improved it over the 400D's by giving it a more rubbery-feeling cover. Still, we don't find it as comfortable to hold as most other dSLRs. Almost all the buttons lie under your right hand, and each feels slightly different so that you can grope them without looking. None require two-handed operation; when you push the button to change ISO, white balance, metering and so on, the menu persists while you navigate the options.

The biggest operational advantage the 1000D offers over competitors is My Menu, which, unlike some other features, it inherits from higher-end models. With My Menu you can build a go-to-list of the most frequently accessed menu settings — in our case, for instance, Format and Live View settings. However, like the 450D, the menus can be — irritatingly — a little inconsistent and sometimes dumb. For instance, you can change ISO sensitivity with either the dial or the navigation buttons, but can only navigate metering choices via the navigation buttons. Also, in some cases, when you have two columns to navigate, as with Picture Style settings, it doesn't let you navigate to the right or left; you must navigate all the way down the first column to get to the settings in the second.

But, we consider the AF indicators in the viewfinder the most annoying aspect of operating the 1000D (this was true in the 450D, as well). The AF indicators are tiny red dots that briefly flash when focus locks. They're neither persistent nor large enough to be easy to spot, so we frequently found ourselves having to prefocus several times to make sure that the spot was on the correct subject and that it was focused. As you can imagine, it slows shooting a bit. Is it more annoying than the faint focus lines Sony uses? We think so.
Features

For the most part, the 1000D offers a solid set of entry-level specs: 10-megapixel, APS-C-size, CMOS sensor (for Canon's traditional 1.6x focal-length multiplier) and 7-point user-selectable autofocus system. That falls behind the Nikon D3000's 11-point AF system and the 9-point AF in the Sony Alpha DSLR-A230. We also mark the switch from CompactFlash to SD/SDHC in the plus column. Also, like the 450D, the 1000D includes Canon's Auto Lighting Optimiser, which automatically adjusts contrast and brightness in case the image you captured isn't quite perfect. Introduced in the 40D, the Auto Lighting Optimiser is now available in all exposure modes and employs face detection to prevent the underexposure of backlit faces we complained about in the 400D. Remaining specifications are in line with the 450D. For example, shutter speeds range from 30 seconds to 1/4000th of a second, with a flash sync speed of 1/200th of a second, and the camera employs a 35-zone TTL-metering system. Canon also offers the BG-E5 battery grip. On the other hand, the 1000D lacks common perks Sony, Pentax, and Olympus include in their cameras, like in-body mechanical stabilisation and a wireless flash controller in the body — a feature that we occasionally find quite useful. The inclusion of an image-stabilising lens in some of the kits doesn't quite compensate, since additional optically stabilised lenses tend to cost more in the long run. The 1000D's sensitivity range also tops out at ISO 1600, whereas some others go to ISO 3200 (but those models generally don't have usable photo quality at that level). Though it offers a Live View shooting mode with contrast-detection AF, Live View's usefulness is limited without support from an articulating LCD, and it functions too slowly to be of any use with live subjects. Furthermore, all the manufacturers seem to incorrectly think that the equivalent of Canon's Picture Styles — custom contrast, sharpness saturation and colour tone — are more important in this market segment than the capability to save groups of custom exposure, white balance, metering, drive-mode settings, and so on. Our biggest peeve, though, is the lack of a spot meter — not even the huge four per cent spot from the 450D. Another attribute of the 450D that the 1000D lacks is the Highlight Tone Priority mode, which helps preserve detail in the brightest portion of a scene. And the 1000D has a 2.5-inch LCD compared with the 450D's 3-inch version — the A200 and K200D have 2.7-inch LCDs. Performance Overall, in CNET Labs' tests the 1000D outperforms all but the Nikon D60 for shooting speed. It goes from power-to-photo in a bit less than 0.2 second. At 0.4 second in good conditions, the 1000D's JPEG-shooting lag matches the rest; its 0.8 second duration in dim conditions is quite good for any class — just a bit slower than the D60 and inexplicably far better than the 450D. Once focused, shot-to-shot time typically takes about 0.7 second for RAW shots. Oddly, JPEG shooting is a much faster 0.4 second — these days there's typically no difference between RAW and JPEG speed in dSLRs. Adding flash-recycling time bumps it to only 0.8 second, which is also very good for any class, and is the same as the D60. Burst JPEG shooting outpaces all but the K200D, however that camera is limited to about five shots per burst whereas the 1000D goes to at least 85. It's pretty close to the D60's burst rate, however. Shooting RAW slows down after three frames and, like the 450D, maxes out at six frames; you'll have to move to another class of camera if you take shooting your childrens' soccer games really seriously.

Image Quality

The 1000D's only really obvious advantage over the competition is its photo quality, which is quite good, especially at high ISO sensitivities. In general, colour and exposures are accurate (as accurate as you can get when the situation doesn't require a spot meter), it renders a relatively broad dynamic range, and the kit lens delivers sharp photos for its class.

Conclusion

All of which leads us to two burning questions: is it worth the extra bucks for the 450D over the 1000D? And how does the 1000D stack up overall compared with its sub-AU$1,000 competitors? As to the first: if you crop a lot, need a spot meter, or merely want the larger LCD, then it's worth paying a little extra for the 450D; otherwise, the 1000D will probably serve your needs well. For more information, check out our Which Canon digital SLR? feature. And if you want the best photo quality and/or need fast, low-light focus, the Canon 1000D outshines its competitors. However, it doesn't deliver the best value for the money overall; that nod goes to the Pentax K200D. You can read more about the competition in Best digital SLRs for beginners.
 

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Apple MacBook Pro 17-inch Notebook Review

Apple Mac Pro Review are happy to stock the fantastic Apple MacBook Pro 17-inch Notebook.
With so many available today, it is good to have a brand you can recognise. The Apple MacBook Pro 17-inch Notebook is certainly that and will be a great purchase.
For this reduced price, the Apple MacBook Pro 17-inch Notebook is widely recommended and is a regular choice with lots of people. Apple Computer have included some great touches and this equals great value for money.
Features:

• 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo , 8GB DDR3 SDRAM, 500 GB SATA HD, 8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW),
• NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT, iSight camera; Mini DisplayPort output port with support for DVI, VGA, and dual-link DVI , omnidirectional microphone
• 10/100/1000BASE-T (Gigabit) Ethernet, AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi , Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
• 17-inch (diagonal) high-resolution LED-backlit glossy widescreen display, 1920-by-1200 resolution, Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard

Following on the heels of the 15.4-inch MacBook Pro and replacing the 17-inch PowerBook G4, the 17-inch MacBook Pro delivers many of the same beloved features as its little sibling, such as a scrolling track pad, the Sudden Motion Sensor, and an excellent software package, and adds a huge, bright 17-inch display that's great for graphics work. Better yet, our fully loaded test configuration powered through most of CNET Labs' performance tests, exhibiting only a few of the growing pains encountered by other Intel-based Apple laptops and desktops, such as the iMac Core Duo. Of course, such performance doesn't come cheap: the 17-inch MacBook Pro's default configuration costs $2,799 (upgrades on our review unit brought the price up to $3,099). But for graphics professionals and other Mac users who have money to spare, the 17-inch MacBook Pro is a dream.
With the MacBook Pro, Apple hasn't radically redesigned the PowerBook form factor, it has just made a few refinements to it. Measuring 15.4 inches wide, 10.4 inches deep, and 1 inch thick, the sleek, aluminum MacBook Pro looks very similar to the 17-inch PowerBook G4 it replaces. At 6.8 pounds, the 17-inch MacBook Pro is a hair lighter than its predecessor and the lightest laptop of its size on the market. With its AC adapter, which like other Apple laptops connects magnetically to the case, the MacBook Pro weighs 7.9 pounds. For the sake of comparison, the Dell Inspiron E1705 weighs 8.2 pounds, while the Toshiba Qosmio G35 weighs 10.2 pounds.
Underneath the lid, the MacBook Pro extends the tradition of the PowerBook's minimalist design. The MacBook Pro has just a power button, a big keyboard framed by stereo speakers, a very large touch pad with a single mouse button, and a handy built-in iSight camera that sits above the display. Though the keys are a bit shallow, they're comfortable to type on, and we love the keyboard's backlighting feature, which adjusts to changes in ambient light levels. We don't like that the keyboard is located 5.4 inches back from the laptop's front edge; we wish it were centered to encourage a more ergonomic typing position. The touch pad lets you scroll through long documents, Web pages, and spreadsheets by dragging two fingers down or across the pad, a terrific feature that's unique to Apple laptops. Arguably the 17-inch MacBook Pro's most stunning feature is its display: the large wide-screen display features a fine 1,680x1,050 native resolution.
The 17-inch MacBook Pro offers a decent selection of ports and connections, though it comes up a bit short of what you'll find on a similarly sized PC laptop, including the Inspiron E1705. That said, the MacBook Pro features three USB 2.0 ports; FireWire 400 and FireWire 800 ports; an ExpressCard slot; and a DVI port (VGA with included adapter) for connecting to an external monitor. It's also equipped with Bluetooth 2.0+EDR (enhanced data rate), and you can access the Internet via 802.11g Wi-Fi radio, and Gigabit Ethernet. As with the PowerBook, the MacBook Pro features a slot-loading SuperDrive that plays and burns DVDs and CDs. One new extra is the Apple remote that controls the included Front Row multimedia player; we wish, though, that the MacBook had a storage slot for it. Unlike most PC laptops, the MacBook Pro lacks a built-in media reader for flash memory cards, and there's no S-Video output or built-in modem--both of which the PowerBook had.
The MacBook Pro ships with Mac OS X Tiger, highlights of which include the incredibly cool Spotlight search utility and the customizable Dashboard, a collection of handy desktop tools. Also included is the robust iLife '06 software suite, Front Row media center software, and a handful of other apps. In addition, the beta of Boot Camp lets you turn the MacBook into a dual-boot machine that runs full versions of Mac OS X and Windows XP (though you need to purchase a full version of Windows separately).
The 17-inch MacBook Pro comes in one default configuration that costs $2,799. Though there aren't a lot of upgrade options, our review unit included RAM and hard drive enhancements that brought the price up to $3,099. For that much money, you'd expect some pretty high-end specs, and the MacBook delivers; it has a fast, 2.16GHz Intel Core Duo processor; 2GB of speedy 667MHz DDR2 RAM; an ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics card with 256MB of VRAM; and a blazing 7,200rpm, 100GB hard drive. Still, the MacBook Pro is a bit more expensive than similarly configured Windows laptops; for example, an Inspiron E1705 with comparable specs costs $2,889.

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Apple MacBook Pro MC374LL/A 13.3-Inch

Apple Mac Pro Review are delighted to stock the excellent Apple MacBook Pro MC374LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop.
With so many on offer today, it is good to have a brand you can trust. The Apple MacBook Pro MC374LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop is certainly that and will be a superb buy.
For this price, the Apple MacBook Pro MC374LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop is highly respected and is a popular choice for most people. Apple Computer have included some nice touches and this means great value for money.
Features:

• 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 250 GB Hard Drive, 8x DVD/CD SuperDrive, 4GB DDR3 RAM
• 13.3 inch LED-backlit display, 1280-by-800 resolution
• NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics processor with 256 MB of shared memory
• Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard Operating System

1) The MBP 13 now has 4 gb of ram standard (2 x 2 gb sticks). This allows you to multi-task easily without any issues ( last years model had only 2gb of ram which was inadequate) Now there's no need to spend more money upgrading your ram UNLESS you're really into heavy duty multimedia work

2) It also features the Nvidia GeForce 320M integrated graphics processor with 48 processing cores. This is an improvement compared to the Geforce 9400M graphics chip in last years model and will help in graphics and content creation.

3) The included hard drive is 250 gb (160gb in last years model).

4) Mini display port now supports video AND sound with a compatible Mini-DP to HDMI adapter (last years model only supported video) 

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Blackberry Playbook Review

The BlackBerry Playbook could well be the tablet that changes the game. In a word, it’s a triumph.

We’ve been talking about the Playbook for months now, but only now at CES in Las Vegas have we been able to have a proper play with it. And boy is it impressive.

Running a brand new BlackBerry Tablet OS and powered along by a 1GHz Cortex-A9 dual core processor and 1GB of RAM, it’s without doubt the most impressive iPad rival we’ve seen. It’s so stonkingly awesome, in fact, that we’d say it’s the first tablet that genuinely has a shot at knocking the iPad off its best-in-class pedestal. Yes, it’s that good.

At first sight, the Playbook doesn’t look particularly special. The bezel is quite wide and makes the 7-inch tablet look a bit bloaty. However, unlike all the other tablet devices out there, the Playbook’s bezel packs hidden secrets.

While the touchscreen interface on most tablets extends only to the edge of the screen, the BlackBerry Playbook’s touch features extend right across the bezel in all directions to the edge of the device. And this is integral to the navigation of the operating system.

Swiping your finger from the edge of the device, across the bezel and onto the screen will bring up all manner of options and features, depending on which side you choose to swipe from and which app you’re using. For instance, in the web browser, a swipe from the top down will pull down the tab menu where you can either switch to another tab or open a new one.

It’s surprisingly intuitive and we picked up the basics immediately.

The Playbook packs two cameras – a 3MP front-facing camera and a 5MP rear-facing one. Both produced surprisingly decent images. While we were unable to transfer the pics we took onto another device to have a proper look at them, they looked very good on the Playbook’s own screen. Even the front-facing camera was producing some very sharp shots.

The screen itself is super sharp. The 1024 x 600 resolution is comparable to the 9.7-inch iPad, but because of the Playbook’s 7-inch display, the increased pixel density makes all the difference. It’s sharp and crisp, and HD video looks fabulous.

Talking of video, the Playbook can play Full HD 1080p videos without breaking a sweat. It can also output them via a mini-HDMI connection and, what’s more, it can play more than one HD video at once.

Indeed, if you’re watching an HD video clip, you can swipe the screen to pull up the media menu and switch to watch another video. If you don’t stop or pause the original clip, it’ll continue to play in the background. In the video menu you’ll be able to see both clips’ thumbnails playing side-by-side. Switching between them is quick as you like. There’s no lag, there’s no brief pause. It’s just slick and easy.

We set a couple of HD video clips playing and then opened YouTube in a browser in order to play a Flash video at the same time. We were amazed – it all worked perfectly.

Of course, the battery drain from this kind of intensive processing is likely to be catastrophic. All the samples at the show were plugged into the power so we were unable to test battery performance.

Even if RIM has put the best battery in the world in there, if you buy one you’re going to have to be very careful with how you use the multitasking. It’s so good that it’s exceedingly easy to leave videos and music playing in the background without realising.

Videos aside, general multitasking on the Playbook really is fantastic. It makes the multitasking on Android 2.2 look mediocre, and needless to say it makes the ‘sort of but not really’ faux-multitasking on the iPad and iPhone 4 look utterly last-generation.

The interface is a joy to use and absolutely matches iOS in terms of ease of use. Unfortunately, RIM had disabled the settings menu on all the display samples so we were unable to take a look at that side of things. We’ll have to wait for a proper review sample for that.

But in terms of being able to easily find and load apps, manage your music and videos, play games and browse the web, BlackBerry has an absolute gem on its hands.

The Playbook is due to go on sale in the US within the next few months and should be launching in the UK in the spring. We can’t wait to take another look at it, and of course we’ll bring you our full review as soon as RIM gives us a sample.

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Alienware M17x R.3 17.3-inch 3D Gaming Laptop Review

In an earlier review, the base configuration of the Alienware M17x R.3 (R.3 stands for Revision 3) was rated. Today, the 3D version of the M17x R.3 is up for review. The price point on this model is substantially higher starting at $1,924 with the upgraded screen and 3D Vision bundle, along with a required video card upgrade.

For starters, since the 3D version of the Alienware M17x R.3 is just an upgraded base M17x R.3, the design is the same. The refreshed M17x features a soft touch finish that was originally in the M11x. Two color schemes are available: stealth black and nebula red. Overall, the M17x R.3 is a nicely designed machine with a great feel.

Considering this review is dedicated to the 3D M17x R3 configuration, it's imperative to discuss the display. The bulk of what drives the price from $1,499 for the base model to $1,924 for the 3D version is the upgraded screen. For $350, you get the NVIDIA 3D Vision Bundle and a full 1080p 120Hz WLED screen with a max resolution of 1920x1080. It's a very nice display that offers gorgeous HD resolution for gaming and enjoying movies.

In order to configure the Alienware M17x R.3 into a 3D model, you'll need to also upgrade the graphics card from the AMD Radeon 6870M to the NVIDIA GTX 460M with 1.5GB of GDDR5. This is in order to take advantage of NVIDIA 3D Vision. Normally for around $2,000, I'd hope for a higher-end card (such as the NVIDIA GTX 480M), but since this system is a 3D model, you're paying for that feature.


Processing power is solid with an Intel Core i7-2630QM that runs at 2.0GHz and can Turbo up to 2.8GHz. This 2nd Generation Sandy Bridge CPU features 6MB of cache. Of course, if you want only the fastest speeds, an upgrade to the Intel Core i7-2820QM with 8MB of cache is available.

Unfortunately, the saying "all good things must come to an end" rings true. While the display and processor offer excellent qualities, the amount of memory does not. For over $1,924, only 4GB of memory is standard. To upgrade to 8GB is another $250. That is absurdly expensive. If you're into gaming and spending this much for a laptop, having only 4GB of memory at your disposal is a definite drawback.

Hard drive space is also a bit scarce at 320GB, although it is a fast 7200RPM model. However, you can purchase two 320GB drives in RAID 0 configuration for $150 more. Another option you may want to consider is upgrading to a Blu-ray drive, since the display features HD resolution.


To sum up the Alienware M17x R.3 (3D model), it's a slick gaming notebook that offers enhanced 3D gameplay. The large 17.3-inch display and high definition screen make it a great desktop replacement. But the lack of memory is a definite bummer. It'd also be nice if a higher performance video card was available as an option, but it is understandable why it isn't. A higher end card draws more power, and more power equals added weight and heat. This brings us to the Alienware M17x R3's dimensions. The weight of the M17x with a 9-cell battery starts at 9.4 pounds, but of course weight is based on how the system is configured. The R.3 is slightly thinner at 1.77 inches compared to the past, which measured in at over 2 inches. While you won't want to lug around the M17x everywhere you go, this desktop replacement can travel with you on occasional trips.

Overall, the Alienware M17x R.3 (3D model) is best suited for moderate gamers looking to play in 3D. It's easy to enjoy HD multimedia, especially when combined with the upgraded Blu-ray drive. The design and soft touch finish add a nice feel to a notebook that is built for gaming.
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Nikon D5000 Review

Nikon jumped on the consumer digital SLR/HD video bandwagon this morning but with a slight twist – not only does its new 12.3MP D5000 snap photos and capture high-def movies, it also sports a unique 2.7-inch flip-out LCD screen.
Along with the vari-angle screen, the new Nikon D5000 trumps the recently announced Canon EOS Rebel T1i (500D) in one other area – price. Retailing for $849 as a kit with a NIKKOR 18-55mm VR lens – $749, body only – the D5000 is about $50 cheaper than the 15.1MP Rebel T1i.

Otherwise though, the two cameras have some similar features and are targeted toward the same audiences – entry-level consumers – making the DSLR/HD combo-cam one of the hottest categories in photography right now. Up until recently, these types of two-in-one DSLRs were aimed mostly at advanced users and professionals.
Along with its similarities to the Canon Rebel T1i, the Nikon D5000 has a lot in common with the entry-level Nikon D60 which is staying in the line; and the aforementioned Nikon D90, which shares the same DX-format (aka non-full-frame) sensor.

(I'm told the Nikon D40, which was released way back in 2006, will also be staying in the line. If you're looking for a bargain, that 6.1MP, entry-entry-level camera is now selling for as low as $400 for the kit.)

The D5000's small black body has a lot in common with the D60 which, if you have small hands, might be appealing. Large-handed folks such as yours truly aren't so thrilled with these tiny DSLRs though.

While carrying the camera around yesterday, I almost felt like I was holding a dainty teacup. But that's just my own pet peeve. It's clear that Nikon is aiming the D5000 at entry-level females photographers, such as new moms, who will likely find the camera's petite profile easy to hold and inviting. (Though it's been about a month since I shot with the Canon Rebel T1i – which is also a small camera – the D5000 feels smaller.)

Despite its small size, the D5000 is a powerful, feature-rich camera. Along with all the previously mentioned specs, the D5000 can capture still images at a fairly fast speed of 4 frames per second, making this a solid choice for Soccer Moms and Soccer Dads wanting to capture their kids in action.

As for the D5000's 12.3MP CMOS imaging sensor, I'm told it's exactly the same as the one in the prosumer-level Nikon D90, which is Nikon's other DSLR/HD combo cam. So in many ways, the D5000 is a hybrid of a hybrid; blending entry-level and advanced digital SLR features while offering the ability to capture high-resolution photos and HD (720p) video at 24 frames per second.

And then, of course, there's that twist – the flip-out screen which can be turned below the camera for capturing low-angle photos via the D5000's Live View mode, and low-angle HD videos in D-Movie mode. The screen can't turn and twist to the side of the camera as on some of Olympus' digital SLRs which have vari-angle LCDs, but it can tilt from the back of the camera to help you compose photos when shooting overhead.

Since Olympus' DSLRs don't capture video, the Nikon D5000 now has the distinction of being the only DSLR with a vari-angle screen which can also shoot HD video. A bit of a small niche, perhaps, but it is a first.

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Android 3.0 HoneyComb Review

Google today unveiled the Android 3.0 a.k.a Honeycomb at the CES,the new enhanced 3.0 version of Android is specially designed for Tablets and is first ported on the LG’s G-Slate and Motorola Xoom.Lets have a look over the new features and enhancements in the android 3.0 Honeycomb.

Android 3.0 Honeycomb New features

1)Interface : The new interface is much more user friendly,the very first sight of the UI took us aback and this certainly looks something more than the Android OS we have seen till now.The home screen space is brilliantly distributed with the four corners decorated with well thought in  functions

• Top right :Shortcut to apps and to customize the home screen with desired widgets (add or remove).
• Top left :The mighty google search has been placed in top left (*both voice & text search).
• Bottom right:Quick look on the battery,WIFI,Time & and date-the traditional place for these stuff has been retained.
• Bottom left:Going Back,Jump to Home & switching different apps is possible from here

2)Browser & Keyboard :A new browser which feels like a flavor of the chrome has been implanted,has got everything from tabbed browsing to bookmarking to incognito mode,impressive !

There has been considerable changes in the QWERTY pad compared to Gingerbread ..what ,where ?? Check it out yourself.Honeycomb qwerty is followed by Gingerbread’s,which looks better ? , your call !

3)Gmail & Gtalk : Gmail is very intelligently customized,all features are kept in reach and looks pretty neat

Gtalk looks loaded and enhanced specifically for video chat ,one could use the front or the rear cam,mute themselves,mix the video all together. The video quality could have been better,but we aren’t sure whom to blame,the app or the cam of tablet.
4)Maps:Nothing new here,curious people may still have a look …

5)Books:Now this has been totally revamped,tablet exclusivity can be seen over here,unlike simple tiles of books we could flick through each book this time, also the two-page format feels great. All in all the Tablet exclusive Android Honeycomb 3.0 lived upto its expectation and by far is the best version of Android we’ve seen so far,but it would be interesting to see how it fits on mobile devices.

Showcase of  Android Honeycomb at the CES 2011 Verizon event

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Samsung Galaxy Tab

The Samsung Galaxy Tab is the first major tablet release since the Apple iPad launched about five months ago.
It's been a long time coming, too. The Galaxy Tab was one of the all-time worst kept secrets in tech until it was finally unveiled at Berlin's IFA show back in September, and as the first major Android tablet release, it holds a weight of responsibility on its shoulders.
With a tidal wave of Android tablets about to sweep through the tech world, it's possible that if the Galaxy Tab were to disappoint, it could damage the perception that Android tablets will be able to top the iPad on features and performance.
The price certainly indicates that Samsung believes the Galaxy Tab can topple the Apple iPad from its tablet tower. The 16GB model costs £530, which is £100 more than the Wi-Fi only version of the iPad. It is, however, exactly the same price as the cheapest 3G iPad, which is clearly no accident.
That price doesn't include any 3G access either, so if you want web connectivity on the go, it's going to cost you a monthly fee from one of the mobile networks. Prices will likely start at around £10 a month for 1GB of data.
Once the Tab has gone on sale, you should be able to pick up a subsidised model from one of the mobile networks, in return for signing a contract. However, currently we're not sure how much these deals are likely to cost.
This pricing strategy is slightly surprising - the Android tablet would be a lot more appealing if it was a bit cheaper than the iPad.Samsung's decision no doubt also has something to do with it not wanting to undercut the cost of its own Android smartphones, but it's a big risk. The Samsung Galaxy Tab has a lot to live up to, then. Especially when you consider it's a lot smaller than Apple's tablet - its 7-inch screen is dwarfed by the iPad's 9.7-incher.

Keeping up appearances
With a slick black and white-styled body and a bright and shiny TFT touchscreen, the Samsung Galaxy Tab gets off to a good start in that it looks absolutely fabulous.
It looks every bit the iPad killer that Samsung wants it to be. And while it may look lot like the iPad in pictures, it's quite a bit smaller and feels a lot different in the hand.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab sitting between the Apple iPad and iPod touch 4G

At 12mm it's quite thick, only fractionally thinner than the 9.7-inch iPad. As such it feels proportionately more chunky than the Apple device; not necessarily a bad thing.

The body is entirely made of plastic, so it feels less solid than the aluminium-backed iPad but it still feels adequately sturdy and tough. The plastic case enables it to stay pretty light at only 380g.

On the front of the device there are four touch buttons, similar to to those found on your average Android phone – one for home, one for options, a back button and one for search.
On the top of the device sits a 3.5mm headphone jack. The on/off button sits on the right hand side next to the volume controls and further down that left hand side you'll also find slots for a SIM card and a microSD expansion card.
The underside of the device is adorned by a charging and docking connector which looks identical to that of the iPad and iPhone. This will come into play when all the planned Galaxy Tab accessories start to spill out onto the market. The only external feature on the left side is a small microphone.

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Alienware Aurora 5500

Alienware is well known for its audaciously designed and highly effective gaming PCs. The Aurora 5500 is no different, thanks mainly to its use of the latest Nvidia graphics card – the Geforce 7800 GTX.

In comparison to its high-end graphics card, the Aurora 5500 uses a fairly average CPU. The Athlon 64 4000+ is by no means a slouch, but it looks quite average next to more established gaming CPUs such a the Athlon FX-55 or FX-57.

Alienware has managed to extract a strong performance from this graphics card and processor combination. Its 3Dmark 2005 score of 8,061 is amongst the highest we’ve seen from any PC using a single graphics card configuration.

It can’t match PCs using two graphics card in an Nvidia Scalable Link Interface (SLI) or systems using a single Radeon X1800 XT combination, but it racked up a fairly impressive 81.29 frames per second in Far Cry using the default settings.

If this isn’t quite fast enough, you can add a second Geforce 7800 GTX graphics card, thanks to the Asus A8N SLI motherboard.

The Aurora 5500’s performance is less impressive when running more mundane applications. Its Sysmark 2004 SE score of 204 isn’t bad, and certainly indicates the PC is capable of running any software thrown at it, but if you intend to use mainly everyday office tasks, such as word processing or image and video editing, you’re better off opting for a PC using a dual-core CPU.

Alienware hasn’t done itself any favours with its choice of hard drive. The 200GB Western Digital offering has a fairly quick 7,200rpm spin speed and 8MB of cache memory, but we think the amount of storage provided is relatively small given the price and target audience of this PC.

Alienware has included the fastest memory possible. A pair of 512MB low-latency DDR400 modules are supplied, each with a black Alienware-branded heatsink to reduce their operating temperature (and increase reliability) during memory-intensive tasks.

We were very impressed with the neat assembly of this PC. All its cables are tidily arranged, so users won’t find it hard to tinker with the existing setup or add new components. This also promotes good airflow, which helps the reliability of the PC. Alienware says the arrangement of its internal cabling is worth £50, but this service is provided free in all its PCs.

The Aurora 5500 also includes a Logitech Internet keyboard (coloured ‘space black’), a matching Microsoft Basic Optical Mouse and a gimmick in the form of an Alienware-branded extra large t-shirt.

The software package is very impressive; Alienware only includes Pinnacle Studio 9SE video-editing software. No games are bundled, despite this being the main focus of the PC. No monitor is included, either, but you can add a Hyundai L90D 19in TFT for £300 or a 20in NEC Multisync LCD2080UXBK for £633. The latter is preferable, as its high 1,600 x 1,200 native resolution makes the most of the PC’s excellent graphics card.

Although the Aurora 5500 range starts at £1,001, this particular configuration is fairly pricey; we’ve seen PCs with dual-core CPUs, bundled monitors and otherwise identical specifications retailing for less. However, if you want strong gaming performance and the kudos of owning a top-brand gaming PC, it is worth a look

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Blackberry Torch 9800 Review

Blackberry Torch 9800

BlackBerry Torch 9800 smartphone - Adept for socially connected consumers and packed with the tools business customers love, the new handset is the world's first smartphone to combine a BlackBerry keyboard with a full touch screen experience. Whether users choose to type out messages on the capacitive touch screen or easy-to-use BlackBerry keyboard, browse the Internet using pinch to zoom or fluidly navigate with the optical trackpad, the BlackBerry Torch allows them to communicate any way they want. BlackBerry 6
The BlackBerry Torch is the first BlackBerry smartphone to launch with BlackBerry 6, a new operating system that retains the familiar and trusted features that distinguish the BlackBerry brand while delivering a fresh, approachable and engaging experience that's powerful and easy to use.
BlackBerry 6 features a redesigned interface that seamlessly works with the touch screen and trackpad, includes expanded messaging capabilities with intuitive features to simplify the management of social networking and RSS feeds (Social Feeds), and provides integrated access to the BlackBerry Messenger (BBM), Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and various instant messaging applications available on the BlackBerry Torch smartphone. Its enhanced multimedia experience rivals the best in the industry and includes a dedicated YouTube app and Podcasts app.
BlackBerry 6 also integrates a new and rich WebKit-based browser on BlackBerry Torch that renders HTML web pages (as well as HTML email) quickly and beautifully for a great browsing experience. It features tabs for accessing multiple sites simultaneously, pinch to zoom for easy navigation and an auto-wrap text zoom feature that can intelligently wrap text in a column while maintaining the placement of a page's key elements (simply double-tap on the BlackBerry Torch).
Universal search, always accessible from the Home Screen, allows users to search through email, messages, contacts, music, videos and more on the smartphone, as well as extend search to the Internet or to discover applications on BlackBerry App World.
Advanced Messaging
Messaging has always been a core element of the BlackBerry smartphone experience and the BlackBerry Torch 9800 smartphone expands on RIM's popular messaging solutions with the support of AT&T's advanced messaging features for SMS and MMS. RIM's new Text Messages application is especially exciting for users who communicate most via SMS and MMS, providing support for AT&T's next-generation messaging experience, which includes group messaging with "reply all" functionality for up to 10 contacts. And for the first time, AT&T's platform includes a new Locations feature.
Locations lets users easily search for points of interest, businesses, and even the user's own location, and insert this information directly into a message, all without leaving the messaging application. Using group messaging and locations together, users can arrange to meet a group of friends easily by sending one message to all of them, discussing together where to meet and then sending a map – all in one threaded conversation. AT&T designed the service based on research that revealed customers want features that help facilitate social planning, improved message organization and location sharing.
Apps At Your Fingertips
After powering up the BlackBerry Torch 9800smartphone for the first time, users will notice a set of pre-loaded icons which allow them to download and immediately begin using a variety of rich entertainment and social networking applications to access Bloomberg, ESPN, The Weather Channel and Slacker Radio content in addition to Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and more. Also available is AT&T's Web Video Search, a unique new app that searches video content from over 70 major Internet video websites.
In addition to searching the Internet for video, the BlackBerry Torch 9800 smartphone also features more multimedia apps that let users download TV shows and watch live TV, as well as create video content and upload it to YouTube. The new Podcasts application makes it easy for users to find and manage audio and video podcasts.
Another application that puts a key function of a phone at your fingertips is Visual Voicemail, which benefits customers by allowing them to select the voicemails they want to hear first.
The BlackBerry Torch 9800 is also the first BlackBerry smartphone to include BlackBerry App World pre-installed, supporting carrier billing through AT&T, making it easier for customers to discover and purchase applications.
BlackBerry Torch Smartphone Features

• Elegant styling, measuring approx. 4.4" (5.8" open) x 2.4" x .57" and weighing 5.68 ounces
  
• 3.2" 360x480 capacitive touch screen display
  
• 35 key full QWERTY backlit slide-out keyboard, designed to feel optimally balanced when opened for typing
  
• Optical trackpad that makes navigation fast and smooth
  
• Powerful 624 Mhz processor with 512 MB Flash memory
  
• 4 GB built-in memory storage plus a microSD/SDHD memory card slot that supports up to 32 GB cards; a 4 GB card is included giving users 8 GB of storage out-of-the-box
  
• 5 MP camera with flash, continuous auto focus, image stabilization, scene modes, geo-tagging and zoom, as well as video recording at up to 640x480 resolution
  
• Built-in GPS for location-based applications and geo-tagging
  
• Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n); qualifying smartphone customers can enjoy seamless connectivity to over 20,000 AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots at no additional cost
  
• 3.5mm stereo headset jack
  
• Premium phone features, including voice activated dialing, speakerphone and Bluetooth (2.1) with support for hands-free headsets, stereo headsets, car kits (including systems that support the Bluetooth Message Access Profile standard) and other Bluetooth accessories
  
• New BlackBerry Desktop Software 6 with integrated media sync for easily syncing music, photos and videos. It also includes Wi-Fi Music Sync, a unique feature that allows users to view their entire iTunes or Windows Media Player music libraries from their BlackBerry smartphone, create and edit playlists as well as select music for download. When in range of their home Wi-Fi network (or via USB), the changes are synced with iTunes or Windows Media Player and the songs are automatically downloaded to the smartphone
  
• Tri-band HSDPA (3G) and quad-band EDGE support for the option of voice service in more than 220 countries, data service in more than 195 countries and 3G connectivity in more than 125 countries, including Japan and South Korea
  
• Removable, rechargeable 1300 mAhr battery that provides approximately 5.8 hours of talk time on 3G networks or 30 hours of audio playback or 6 hours of video playback

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HP Pavilion Dv5t

You might call it a notebook that walks the line—several of them at once, in fact. Equipped with a Core i5 CPU, a Blu-ray drive, and copious amounts of storage, the HP Pavilion dv5t is a well-appointed notebook designed for frequent travel, yet powerful enough to handle most of your multimedia-playback needs, as well as crunch through home-productivity tasks. (It's a configurable machine, and prices start at $599.99; our tricked-out review model, as configured, will set you back a cool $948.99.) It walks the line in the sense that while it is capable of satisfying many uses, it doesn't fully excel at any one. As a result, it left us a little hazy about exactly who this notebook is best for. It manages the portability side with its reasonable size/weight and better-than-average battery life, and it can satisfy a high-definition craving with its Blu-ray drive and integrated HD graphics. But it's not quite light enough to go everywhere with you; the integrated graphics are good enough for playing video but not high-end 3D games; and without dedicated media controls, that Blu-ray drive might get less use than it would otherwise. That said, this is still a powerful laptop and a strong choice for those who value speed and versatility.

 

Smooth lines and a Champagne finish give the dv5t a touch of style.

  

HP has introduced three new color options for the Pavilion line with this model: Black Cherry, Sonoma Red, and Champagne. Our test model featured the last of the three, with a silvery lid in a subtle kaleidoscope-like pattern. A big plus for the finish on the chassis: It's impervious to fingerprint smudges. The chassis also has a bit of heft; weighing 5.2 pounds and measuring 1.4 inches thick, this notebook is heavier than Lenovo’s IdeaPad Y460, which is priced similarly and roughly the same size. It's also a bit bulkier, but it's still manageable for travel.

One reason for the extra bulk has to do with the display. The LCD panel measures 14.5 inches (diagonally), an odd size that's exclusive to HP. The screen has a maximum resolution of 1,366x768 with a 16-to-9 aspect ratio, and it's able to display high-definition video in 720p. It uses LED backlighting to produce a bright, crisp picture with very high detail. If you're likely to watch high-definition content on your laptop, you will appreciate the inclusion of a Blu-ray-reader/DVD-burner combo drive on this model. In our tests, the movie Repo Men on Blu-ray disc looked sharp, and the screen delivered vivid colors and good viewing angles. Not so spectacular, though, is the speaker system; the two speakers embedded in the lower chassis aren’t very loud and sound way too tinny when the volume is cranked up.

 

On the right is the Blu-ray/DVD±RW combo drive, two USB ports, and the power jack.

As for the keyboard, the design comprises black isolated keys (a Chiclet-style keyboard). On our test unit, it was surrounded by a roomy deck treated with the same Champagne finish found on the lid. The keyboard is firm and comfortable, and the touch pad is responsive. One big omission, though, is a set of dedicated media-playback buttons, which is surprising considering that HP claims this model is geared for entertainment and productivity use. (Heck, we’d even settle for a volume slider.) Instead, all player and volume controls are relegated to key combinations within the function-key group. Backlighting for the keyboard is a $25 option; we couldn't evaluate how it looked, though, as it was not included on our review machine.

 

The Chiclet keyboard is comfortable and easy to type on.

 

You'll find only three USB ports on the dv5t, and one of them is an eSATA/USB combo port, which allows for faster data transfers with eSATA-compliant external storage devices. The combo port is mounted on the left side of the notebook alongside HDMI and VGA video outputs, an Ethernet port, and a pair of audio jacks. On the right side is a pair of ordinary USB ports and the optical drive. Wireless connectivity comprises built-in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n) radios. Rounding out the feature set is a Webcam built into the screen bezel, and, inside the chassis on the model we looked at, a fast (7,200rpm) hard drive with 500GB of capacity.

 

Here we have VGA, Ethernet, HDMI, eSATA/USB, and headphone/microphone ports, all situated on the left side.

When it comes to handling multimedia and productivity tasks, the Pavilion dv5t is a solid performer. Our test model was fueled by Intel’s Core i5-430M processor and 4GB of memory. Its score of 5,758 on our 64-bit PCMark Vantage test, which measures overall system performance, was almost 500 points above the average score for thin-and-lights and was right behind its 14-inch sister system, the Pavilion dm4t (5,933). It couldn’t keep pace with the previously mentioned Lenovo IdeaPad Y460 (6,618), however, which, despite being roughly the same price and size, uses a more powerful processor and has a discrete GPU. (It also happens to be an Editors’ Choice winner.) The dv5t turned in a score of 5,400 on the 32-bit version of the same test, which was more than 1,700 points above average but still a bit shy of the dm4t’s score of 5,516. Overall, these scores indicate that when you're processing Microsoft Office files, removing red-eye from photos, or surfing the Web, the dv5t will not keep you waiting.

The dv5t made fast work of our iTunes encoding test, in which the tested computer converts 11 MP3 files to AAC format. (It took 3 minutes and 21 seconds to complete this task.) Performance on our Windows Media Encoder (WME) video-encoding test was similarly speedy; it took the dv5t 4 minutes and 25 seconds to finish rendering our test video, although, as with PCMark Vantage, the IdeaPad Y460 was significantly faster. On our processor-intensive 64-bit Cinebench 10 test, the dv5t’s score of 7,685 was more than 1,200 points above average but lagged behind the dm4t by 505 points and the IdeaPad Y460 by 581 points.

Results from the 32-bit version of Cinebench 10 were similar; the dv5t’s score of 6,365 was above average but trailed the Pavilion dm4t and IdeaPad Y460. (We run both 32-bit and 64-bit tests for comparison, since not all laptops come with 64-bit operating systems.) These scores indicate that processor-intensive tasks, such as converting music or video files, will be fast enough to do on a regular basis. If truly demanding tasks like video editing are the core of your profession, you'll want something more powerful, but for the average home user, this is generally impressive performance. The other two systems referenced here perform a bit faster, so if every second counts, you'll want to give them a close look.

Graphics performance was what you'd expect from a laptop with an integrated graphics accelerator. On our 3DMark06 test, which measures DirectX 9 gaming performance, we saw a score of 2,084 at 1,024x768 resolution, slightly lower than average for a thin-and-light laptop. The IdeaPad Y460 and its ATI Radeon HD 5650 graphics card, on the other hand, scored an impressive 8,004 on this test. Gaming performance was no bright spot, either. The dv5t managed just 17.5 frames per second (fps) on our real-world Company of Heroes gaming test, and that was at a low resolution (1,024x768). At its native resolution (1,366x768), it limped along at an unplayable 13.4fps. By way of contrast, the IdeaPad Y460 gave us 74.8fps. What's clear: If you’re looking for a laptop that’ll excel at 3D gaming, the dv5t is not it.

   

The smudge-free keyboard deck shares the same finish as the lid but lacks media player controls.

On the flip side, we were pleased with the dv5t’s battery endurance. On our DVD rundown test, we loop playback of a DVD movie from the laptop's optical drive until the battery dies. The dv5t endured for 3 hours and 28 minutes, more than half an hour longer than what we got from the IdeaPad Y460 and nearly 20 minutes longer than the average time for a thin-and-light notebook. The Pavilion dm4t we tested lasted almost a full hour longer, however.

The hard drive comes with Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) as well as Microsoft Works and CyberLink DVD suite. Trial versions of Office 2007, Norton Internet Security, a boatload of games, and eBay adware are, regrettably, also part of the deal. On the plus side, you get HP’s Recovery Manager utility, which makes performing a system recovery and reinstalling drivers and other software easy. HP’s QuickWeb program, which gets you onto the Internet without having to boot into Windows, is also onboard. HP covers the dv5t with an industry-standard one-year parts-and-labor warranty, which comprises round-the-clock toll-free tech support, as well as one hour of e-mail or real-time chat assistance. This last part is a nice touch, but one hour seems a little skimpy if you've got a real problem to solve.

All in all, the HP Pavilion dv5t is a capable multimedia notebook that delivers good performance in a moderately thin-and-light frame. We wish it had better 3D chops, less bloatware, and some entertainment-centric controls to go with the Blu-ray drive. If you require more graphics muscle, consider spending an extra $100 for the Lenovo IdeaPad Y460, which has a switchable GPU (so you can choose between battery life and graphics performance with the press of a button) and delivers gaming-class 3D power on demand. But if you're looking for a stylish, portable notebook that can scratch your Blu-ray itch, this is it.

John R. Delaney 

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Toshiba Qosmio X500 Gaming Notebook

Toshiba Qosmio X500

Gaming laptops are generally big and heavy and don’t offer much in terms of battery life. Where they do shine is allowing you to carry your gaming rig with you. Now when we are expecting a gaming laptop to drop in, we usually think it would be an Alienware or an ASUS, so we were a bit intrigued when Toshiba called us asking if they can send their Qosmio for review. Our response was- hell yeah!.

Looking at the specifications, the Qosmio fits right at home with the bad boys of mobile gaming. Its based on the quad core Intel Core i7 CPU running eight threads at 1.60GHz along with 8GB RAM and a GeForce GTS 360M with 1GB dedicated frame buffer. That is enough to put most desktops to shame. However, Toshiba doesn’t stop there. The Qosmio is equipped with a beautiful 18.4” screen with full HD 1920×1080 resolution and a Bluray drive and quality harmon/kardon speakers to enjoy movies in full glory.

Storage is the only area where I think Toshiba could have improved upon. Even though the unit features two 500GB drives, they run at 5400RPM. Ideally, Toshiba should have replaced one of these drives with a 128GB SSD. For communications, you have the built-in wired Gigabit Ethernet along with the older 802.11b/g Wi-Fi standard. I wont be surprised if this gets bumped up to 802.11n specs though the lack of Bluetooth is a bit of a mystery.

The Toshiba Qosmio is certainly big and heavy but with its black body and red outlines, it looks pretty good. The left side of the keyboard has touch buttons to navigate your media as well as volume controls and a nice big power button. On the left side, you have a Gigabit network adapter, an eSATA and a USB port, a four pin Firewire port as well as the optical drive and a PC Express slot.

The front is mainly clean with the exception of a memory card reader and a wireless switch. Some LEDs also reside on the front for charging, disk activity etc. The right side has the power connector, VGA output, two more USB ports and audio input and output.

The huge size of the Qosmio allows for a full sized keyboard along with a nicely sized keypad below which sits the trackpad. The keys are a bit too glossy and slippery for my liking but then, so are the ones in many gaming keyboards such as the Razer Lycosa. Also, the multi-touch and gesture enabled trackpad is a bit small in size but considering that this laptop is mainly for gaming, you will connect an external mouse to it. Thankfully, Toshiba adds a button that quickly enables/disabled the trackpad.

The 18.4” Full HD TruBrite screen with an 8m response time is pretty impressive to say the least. While it has a bit of gloss factor, thankfully its nowhere close to what you see on an Apple MacBook Pro. The viewing angles are also better than most laptops we’ve tested of late and the slight glossiness certainly causes the colors to look pretty sharp. Playing games on the screen of this Qosmio is as equally impressive as watching Blu-ray movies using the Blu-ray drive.

As expected, battery life on the Qosmio isn’t the greatest- it never is on gaming laptops. We managed to get about 90 minutes on it. Interestingly, the laptop never really got too noisy- something most gaming laptops are dreaded with. Running intensive benchmarks did make the fan come on but again, it wasn’t too noisy. Also, the only area that gets pretty warm is right on top between the speakers- an area you wont be accessing frequently. Toshiba has done a good job designing the cooling of the Qosmio X500

In summary, the Toshiba Qosmio X500 is an incredibly powerful laptop with a gorgeous screen which could’ve been a lot better had Toshiba equipped it with an SSD. At AED 9,099, the (US$2500), the Qomsio X500 is decently priced for a gaming laptop with such specifications.

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Macbook Air 11.6inch

The 11.6inch Macbook Air is a beautiful, solid and eye-catching laptop which feels premium all over. These review will be more useful for customers which are going to buy MacBook Air 11.6inch in apple store.It delivers much higher performance than the typical netbooks, and thanks to its SSD storage this mini laptop never keeps you waiting. Keyboard and touchpad are extremely well-designed, just like every other Apple laptops out there. The only thing that will hold most people back is the high price of this mini laptop ($999 for 64GB version and $1199 for the 128GB version ).

Design:

The 11.6-inch Macbook Air is incredibly thin and light. It measures 11.8 x 7.56 x 0.68 inches at its thickest point, and weight just 2.3 pounds. The full unibody aluminum chassis is solid, beautifully designed, and feels premium all over. Despite the super slim design, the manufacturer still manages to include two USB ports (one on each side), a headphone jack on the left, and a mini DisplayPort on the right. The only thing missing is the SD Card slot, which can be found on most 10-inch netbooks.

Keyboard and Touchpad:

Both the full-size keyboard and extra-large glass touchpad on the Macbook Air 11 are excellent. The chiclet-style keyboard provides crisp feedback, and multitouch gestures perform extremely well on the touchpad. If we were to find something to complain about them, it will be the lack of backlit for the keyboard, which is available on the Macbook Pro.

Performance:

The 11-inch Macbook Air runs on the 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SU9400 processor, which is a previous-generation Intel technology. In the GeekBench test, the Air scored 2,159, which is lower than some cheaper ultraportable laptops that run on Intel’s latest Core processors. For example, the $899 version of the Acer Aspire Timeline 1830T that runs on Intel Core i7 CPU scores a whopping 3,742 in GeekBench. Having said that, the 11-inch MacBook Air still feels very fast, especially when it comes to booting up (15 seconds) and waking up from sleep mode (instantaneous), thanks to the SSD storage which is significantly faster than the hard-disk.

Battery Life

Laptop Magazine gets 5 hours and 18 minutes of battery life in their battery test which involve continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi at 40 percent screen brightness; PC Mag gets 3 hours 44 minutes from their continuous MP4 video playback test; and CNet Australia gets 4 hours 23 minutes from their video playback battery drain test. Based on the test results above, it’s save to say that you will get at least 4.5 hours of battery life under normal usage.

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Lenovo Z560 review

Lenovo has a long-standing pedigree with its ThinkPad range of business laptops, but the more consumer-focused Ideapad range is often overlooked. The Z560 is one of the newest models in the series and features the same solid build quality in a well-designed body.
The 15in Z560 has an Intel Core i5-450M processor that runs at 2.4GHz, and supports Turbo Boost for increased performance in single-threaded programs. While there are faster mobile Core i5 chips, this should still be enough power for almost any application. There’s also a mammoth 6GB of RAM, so only the most extreme amounts of multi-tasking should slow it down. Lenovo has sensibly used the 64-bit version of Windows 7 Home Premium to make the most of the extra memory, which was reflected in our benchmarks. A score of 112 in the image-editing test is great and an overall score of 93 is also impressive.
There’s a dedicated graphics card in the shape of an Nvidia GeForce 310M. It’s a strange choice, as it's not really much faster than the processor’s integrated graphics chip. Both chips can play 720p video smoothly on the laptop's screen, or Full HD content on an external display via HDMI. The GeForce chip has 512MB of dedicated memory, but with 6GB on-board, you'd hardly notice if the integrated chip borrowed this amount of RAM from main memory.
The dedicated chip managed a score of 17fps in our Call of Duty 4 test, which is a few frames per second quicker than the on-board graphics, but still not fast enough to be playable. Older games should run reasonably well, but there are far better choices at this price if gaming is a priority.

A stainless steel wrist rest gives the Z560 a premium look, with all the fittings and hinges feeling sturdy. The keyboard has odd keys that are best described as shield-shaped; they curve slightly at the top and bottom which reduces the overall size, making it occasionally difficult to type on. The keys are all very close together in order to squeeze in a number pad, which is less than full size. While it’s a useful inclusion, we would have preferred a larger alphabetical keyboard. There’s hardly any flex in the keyboard tray and there was good tactile feedback, so given a few hours to adapt it’s actually a very good keyboard.
The ridged touchpad is fairly responsive, but there are no multi-touch gestures and it’s slightly too small to span the screen in one movement. The touchpad buttons have very long travel times and felt slightly loose, which is the only part of the laptop with questionable build quality.

The 15in screen has a 1,366x768 resolution that’s large enough to have two documents side-by-side, but not enough for 1080p video. Unusually, a hot-key changes between three preset colour modes, but the differences between them were minimal. Colours were accurate and contrast was high, even at low brightness levels. The pair of speakers above the keyboard produced average quality audio, but they were far from the worst we’ve heard from a laptop.
Almost five hours of battery life is very reasonable given the powerful components, and the 640GB hard disk is generous. As with most laptops, though, the Z560 comes in a range of different configurations, and this is one of the more expensive versions. Given that you can buy a Core i3-equipped version with 2GB of RAM and a 320GB disk for under £500, this particular model looks over-priced. Unless you plan on using programs that need the extra memory, there's little reason to buy this particular incarnation of the Z560.

Author: Tom Morgan

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Sony Vaio NW20

The newest model in Sony's budget NW20 range is similar in design to the NW11S/S model we reviewed four month ago. However, beneath the funky silver wood-grain effect is a much more modest specification. You still get Sony's attention to detail and exemplary build quality, but there are a number of compromises at this price.

First of all, the Pentium T4300 processor at the heart of the NW20 is fundamentally the same as the Core 2 Duo chips that we've seen in other laptops, but with only 1MB of cache. This was evident in our benchmarks, where the NW20 scored 56 overall. This level of performance is more than adequate for office and internet applications, and with two cores the T4300 can handle multiple applications open at one time.

Intel's GMA 4500M is about the lowest level of graphics performance you can get in a laptop these days. The HD version of this chipset can decode 1080p Blu-ray video, but the Vaio streamed YouTube's new 1080p content with no problems.

In our Call of Duty 4 benchmark, the NW20 scored a measly 4.5fps, which means it's limited to playing much older games or those with 2D graphics. Neither games nor movies will be flattered by the NW20's dull screen; despite a glossy finish, colours were muted and contrast was poor. The problem is partly the fault of the backlight, which is dim around the edges of the screen.

As ever, Sony's keyboard is well designed. It has separated keys that have a light action with a definite feedback. Sony has also shoe-horned a numeric keypad into the case, and there's plenty of room for all the keys in their standard positions. The translucent touchpad is large and responsive, with large, separate buttons that have a light action.

Although it has both Gigabit Ethernet and 80211.n WiFi, for the fastest of both networking worlds, the NW20 lacks Bluetooth and has only a half-sized ExpressCard slot. It managed to last an impressive four hours between charges, though. Its smart design and build quality can't quite make up for the lack of performance and the dull display, but it's still a decent laptop.

Specifications:

Part Code	VGNNW20EF/S.CEK
Review Date	13 Jan 2010
Processor	Intel Pentium T4300
Processor clock speed	2.1GHz
Memory	3.00GB
Memory slots	2
Memory slots free	0
Maximum memory	8GB
Size	29x370x249mm
Weight	2.7kg
Sound	Realtek High Definition Audio
Pointing device	touchpad
Power consumption standby	1W
Power consumption idle	24W
Power consumption active	41W

Viewable size	15.6 in
Native resolution	1,366x768
Graphics Processor	Intel GMA 4500M
Graphics/video ports	VGA
Graphics Memory	128MB

Total storage capacity	320GB
Optical drive model	Matshita UJ880AS
Optical drive type	DVD+/-RW +/-DL DVD-RAM

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iPhone 4 G reviews

iPhone 4

 

While the last iPhone – the 3GS – hung its hat on the speed improvements it offered over previous models, for the iPhone 4, it’s all about the visuals.

From the phone’s groundbreaking Retina Display screen to its 5-megapixel camera, from HD video recording to FaceTime video calls, the iPhone 4’s top features are all visual. Despite the improvements the iPhone 4 offers, it’s not a big enough step forward to be a must-have upgrade.

Screens and Cameras

Apple touts its Retina Display screen as having the same resolution as the human eye. I’m not qualified to take on the human-eye statement, but this is easily the best screen I’ve seen on a smartphone.

The screen uses a denser pixel arrangement – though they have the same size screen, the iPhone 4 is 960 x 480, the 3GS is 480 x 320 – to create more-detailed images and text. As a result, text is sharper and easier to read than on any other phone I’ve seen. You’ll notice the improved text quality most when reading emails, websites, or books via apps like Kindle or iBooks. Reading on the relatively small screen of the smartphone is now much more pleasant.

While the screen is a breakthrough, the iPhone 4 also adds some long-desired camera features, including a 5-megapixel camera and camera flash, which produce great-looking images.

Beyond those additions, Apple equipped the iPhone 4 with two cameras. The back camera records 720p HD video, while the user-facing camera is used with the FaceTime video chat feature. FaceTime’s limitations make it more for show than daily use right now, but it’s pretty neat.

With the improved camera, and the ability to edit video via the included app or Apple’s iMovie app, the iPhone is a much more appealing photo- and video-creation tool.

Given that users can shoot HD video on the phone, though, the 32GB memory limit is a disappointment. 32GB will fill up fast with HD video. Hopefully we'll soon see a revision offering 64GB of storage.

Faster, Faster

While the visual changes are the biggest, the iPhone 4 gets some nice under-the-hood improvements that produce speedier performance, too.

This is the first iPhone to employ Apple’s A4 processor, which was introduced in the iPad. Generally, the new processor provides a moderate speed increase over the iPhone 3GS. In testing the 4 and 3GS side by side, the iPhone 4 is clearly a step or two faster in launching apps.

The biggest speed improvement comes in the iPhone 4’s web operations. To compare the 4 and 3GS, I tested how long it took each to load three popular websites over the 3G network and WiFi. In both cases the iPhone 4 came out the clear winner.

Over 3G, with the iPhone 4 listed first below, the times were:

CNN.com: 9 seconds vs. 17 seconds

ESPN.com: 11 seconds vs. 15 seconds

Apple.com: 12 seconds vs. 17 seconds.

The 4 didn’t blow the 3GS away over the 3G network, but it’s certainly faster. WiFi, however, shows real improvements. The times there were:

CNN.com: 4 seconds vs. 11 seconds

ESPN.com: 5 seconds vs. 15 seconds

Apple.com: 6 seconds vs. 13 seconds.

As you can see, the iPhone 4 is much faster on the web than its predecessor, making for a much more pleasant experience.

Steadily Improving Battery

While it’s never been a battery powerhouse, Apple has steadily improved the iPhone battery with every new model. That continues to be true with the iPhone 4. In my testing, I was able to get 35 consecutive hours of music playback out of the iPhone 4, a testing period that included phone calls, email, and other regular uses.

This is definitely better than the iPhone 3GS, which I found to have a battery that would give roughly a day or day and a half of life before needing a recharge.

Nagging Reception Issues

Perhaps the most well-known problem with the iPhone 4 are the reception issues that can be caused by placing a hand or finger over the antenna on the left-hand side of the phone.

Despite claims by Apple that this is primarily a cosmetic issue, not a functional one, testing by many parties has concluded that the issue is in fact a flaw in the phone. Signal strength does seem to drop when touched by skin, though it only seems to become a real problem if you’re already in a low-signal-strength area. I haven’t been able to reproduce the problem, which seems to suggest that not all phones are affected.

Still, covering the antenna with tape or a case can go a long way towards reducing the seriousness of the problem. This problem may not be completely fixed until there’s a revision to the iPhone 4, or maybe even the next-generation iPhone, but we’ll see.

The Bottom Line

The iPhone 4 is a terrific package. It offers major upgrades over the 3GS in the areas of display, camera, speed, and battery. If you don’t have an iPhone, or have the original iPhone or iPhone 3G, this is probably a must-have upgrade – especially since it runs iOS 4 and takes advantage of its many excellent features.

However, if you’ve got a 3GS, I’m not sure you need to upgrade unless you love gadgets and want the latest and greatest. The 3GS runs iOS 4, too, so you get those benefits. Unless you’ve got eyesight that will benefit from the new screen or are itchy to make mobile video, this is an optional upgrade.

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