the 8GB SanDisk Ultra Backup,Sony VGP-BPS9/S Batterythe 8GB SanDisk Ultra Backup,Sony VGP-BPS9/S Battery

At 0.48 ounces, the 8GB SanDisk Ultra Backup is the lightest of the USB drives we recently Sony VGP-BPS13 Battery tested. It's also the least stylish; its all-black design looks a bit dated. At 2.9 inches long, the Ultra Backup stuck out a full finger's width longer than the Lexar MX drive, making it a little more obtrusive when connected to a laptop. Still, it's about the same length as the Patriot Memory Supersonic.

Even if the Ultra Backup looks a bit staid, it has a unique backup button on top that worked remarkably well. Also, an activity light on the drive helps you see what is happening; during backup or file transfer, the light flashes quickly. In a ready state, the light stays Sony VGP-BPS9A/B Battery steady.

Backup Software

The Ultra Backup comes with same Dmailer app that comes with the Lexar MX drive, but it worked well and setup only took five minutes. While you can set the app to automatically back up files, you can also just press the backup button on the drive; it's so easy that you may find yourself clicking the backup button even as you work, Sony VGP-BPS9/B Battery saving the latest version of a Word doc or a recent iTunes download.

One of the unspoken truths of computing is that even power users often forget to do backups Sony VGP-BPS9/S Battery on the road. Yet it only takes one crash to lose your Word documents, photos, music collection, movies, and other locally stored files. The SanDisk Ultra Backup makes this process so easy that you might decide it's time to stop taking your chances.

Design

Performance

Unfortunately, the SanDisk Ultra Backup was the slowest drive Sony VGP-BPS9 Battery of the bunch when it came to copying large amounts of files. When we transferred 5GB of media files and Word documents to the drive, it took a long 8 minutes 41 seconds, which equals a write speed of just 9.8 MBps. That's two and a half minutes longer than the next slowest drive, the Lexar Echo MX (6:08, 13.9 MBps). If you're looking for fast transfers, the USB 3.0-powered Patriot Memory Supersonic blows all of these drives away with a write speed of 41.3 MBps.

Likewise, copying those same files from the SanDisk to a notebook took 4:45 (a read speed of 18 MBps), about 40 seconds Sony VGP-BPS13A/Q Battery longer than the next slowest drive, the Imation Defender F200 (4:07, 20.7 MBps). The Patriot Memory drive took just 55 seconds, a rate of 93.1 MBps.

Pricing

The Lexar Echo MX is one of the more innovative USB drives we've tested. The main reason: There is a Sony VGP-BPS13A/B Battery small gauge that shows the capacity level, even when the 128GB device is not plugged in. An included backup program, free 2GB of online storage, and speedy operation make the pricey Echo MX ($500) an option worth considering for those who need a lot of capacity in a tiny package. Read on to find out how this drive Sony VGP-BPS13/B Battery performs.

Design

Measuring just 2.6 inches long, the Echo MX is the smallest drive we tested, but we had to wonder Sony VGP-BPS13B/B Battery about its construction. When the idea is to rely on this drive for backups, you want to make sure it holds up to abuse. Weighing 0.96 ounces, the MX's all-black plastic build felt a bit cheap compared to the Patriot Memory Supersonic and the Imation Defender F200, both of which have metal cases. A thin strip along the top that looks like an E Ink display fills up as you load the Echo MX with your files, which helps this drive stand out.

Backup Software

Not only does the 8GB SanDisk Drive offer a relatively Sony VGP-BPS13B/Q Battery small amount of storage space, but it also doesn't offer the best value. The 8GB version we tested normally retails for $45, but was on sale for $30. That's $3.75 per GB, which isn't bad, but the Patriot Memory drive costs $210 for 64GB, which comes to $3.30 per GB. SanDisk also offers the drive in a 64GB capacity for $202, which gives you the best value. There are also 16GB ($75) and 32GB ($113) versions available.

Verdict

While its transfer speeds aren't great, we love the simplicity of copying files to the SanDisk Ultra Backup. Sony VGP-BPS13A/S Battery Sometimes, that's all that matters.

The Echo MX drive includes the same Dmailer backup program that comes with the SanDisk Ultra Backup USB drive. Setting up the drive took less than five minutes, since the software is so easy to install and configure. The software has 128-bit AES encryption and automatically backs up Sony VGP-BPS13/Q Battery files.

There is one extra step with the Echo MX, since you have to create an account on the Dmailer service for online backups. While this OEM service has its own website (www.dmailer.com), you can't login directly from its website; you have to go through the backup app. That means Sony VGP-BPS8 Battery you can't check your online backup from any computer unless you install Echo Backup first. The 2GB of online backup is free, but a more useful capacity of 30GB costs $35 per year.

The main issue we had with the Lexar Echo MX was not the speed or software, but the price. The 128GB drive we tested costs $500--$3.90 per GB--but the 8GB version is also a bit expensive, at $45. (The Echo MX is also available in 16, 32, and 64GB capacities.) By comparison, the 64GB Patriot Memory Supersonic costs $210, Sony VGP-BPS8A Battery which is just $3.30 per GB.

Verdict

We like the Lexar Echo MX's read and write speeds, its intuitive backup software, and 2GB of online storage. However, for the amount of money the Echo MX costs, we wish it felt more durable. Still, its fuel gauge is a decided benefit to anyone who wants to know at a glance just how much free space they Sony VGP-BPS21A/B Battery have.

Performance

Among the USB 2.0 thumb drives we tested, the Lexar Echo MX Sony VGP-BPS21/S Battery drive was one of the fastest. Copying 5GB of files (including a 2GB HD movie) to the drive took 6 minutes 8 seconds, a rate of 13.9 MBps. That's about 20 seconds slower than the Imation Defender F200 (14.8MBps) but more than two minutes faster than the SanDisk Ultra Backup (9.8 MBps).

Copying the files back to our laptop took 3 minutes 30 seconds, a rate of 24.4MBps, which beat out the SanDisk (18MBps) and the Imation (20.7MBps) by a fair margin. Still, it took the USB 3.0-enabled Patriot Memory Supersonic drive just 2:04 to write those files, and just 55 seconds to pull them Sony VGP-BPS21 Battery off.

Value

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The NB550D netbook appeared on Toshiba Germany‘s website this Sony VGP-BPS13 Battery week carrying a sparkly new 1GHz AMD C50 APU.

You may recall the AMD Ontario family Sony VGP-BPS13A/B Battery of next-gen netbook chipsets comes complete with video graphics on the CPU die. In the case of the NB550D, the C50 APU includes Radeon HD 6250M video graphics (along with other specs like 1GB of DDR3 RAM and 250GB shock Sony VGP-BPS9/S Battery absorbing HDD).

The added graphics muscles will certainly help power the NB550D’s HDMI output, as Sony VGP-BPS9A/B Battery well as its two-channel audio from the separated Harman-Kardon speakers that reside in the netbook’s palm rest.

Over in the battery life department, Ontario sucks down Sony VGP-BPS9/B Battery just nine watts of power and Toshiba estimates the NB550D to last 9.5 hours of run time.

At $9.99 a month for the Premier option, Rhapsody is a solid value, giving you unlimited access to an impressive 10.6 million-Sony VGP-BPS9 Battery song catalog of on-demand streaming music and downloads, lots of programmed radio stations, and online or offline listening on mobile devices Sony VGP-BPS8 Battery (mobile downloads are currently supported on Android, the iPhone, and the iPod touch). We also love that the extensive editorial content is Sony VGP-BPS8A Battery integrated into the mobile and desktop services, with easy access to artist info and much more. Bonus: If you want to buy the MP3 of a song, you can get it at the Rhapsody MP3 Store, without having to log into another service. Sony VGP-BPS13A/Q Battery Premier Plus offers music downloads to three mobile devices.

Playlist Central is a clearinghouse for user-posted playlists, themed lists, label spotlights, and Sony VGP-BPS13/B Battery celebrity playlists from Anthony Bourdain to Sonic Youth. You can create your own playlists or have Rhapsody create an instant playlist for Sony VGP-BPS13B/B Battery you based on songs you've played or rated. Sharing playlists on Facebook, Twitter, or via e-mail is simple, and you can make them public in your user profile, which others can see via Rhapdsody's Community Sony VGP-BPS13B/Q Battery feature.

Rhapsody Community is very well designed, letting you add users as friends and see what they've Sony VGP-BPS13A/S Battery been listening to recently. We like that you can easily add your friends' music to your own queue or playlist, and you can create Sony VGP-BPS13/Q Battery an instant playlist from friends' recent plays. We wish you could search for people by name/e-mail or add friends via Facebook.

Rhapsody is very versatile, thanks to its extensive hardware compatibility and massive catalog, and we love the depth provided by Sony VGP-BPS2 Battery the well-integrated editorial content. The social component is a very good start, and we hope Rhapsody continues to Sony VGP-BPS2A Battery develop it.

The very isolated keyboard layout provided good tactile Sony VGP-BPS2B Battery feedback and key placement that makes typing on it a breeze. However, you will notice that the keyboard has no function keys, but instead has dedicated keys for forward, back, refresh, full screen mode, change windows, brightness up, Sony VGP-BPS2C Battery brightness down, mute, audio up, audio down, and power on/off. The caps lock key has been replaced a search button, because Google Sony VGP-BPS21A/B Battery says it wants to discourage all-caps typing

There are numerous keyboard shortcuts which match Sony VGP-BPS21/S Battery those you would find in the Windows version of Chrome. These include such as CTRL + H to see the history, CTRL + W to close a tab, and CTRL +/- to zoom in and out. You can see a complete list of these by hitting CTRL + Sony VGP-BPS21 Battery ALT + ?.

The touchpad does not have built-in buttons, but like many notebooks these days, is itself a Sony VGP-BPS21A Battery button. In our experience most clickpad designs, apart from the MacBooks, are unpleasant to use particularly if you like to navigate with one Sony VGP-BPS21B Battery finger and click with another. The Cr-48’s clickpad alternated between making our cursor jump and stopping it mid-movement. Pinch-to-zoom didn’t work either. As we expected, right-clicking doesn’t do anything. To finish the Sony VGP-BPS22 Battery review, we had to plug-in an external mouse.

True to Google’s word, initial set up takes only a minute or so. After you power on the Cr-48 for Sony VGP-BPS22A Battery the first time, you’re asked to configure your Internet connection by selecting a Wi-Fi network, then you’re asked to agree to the Sony VGP-BPS13B/S Google EULA, and finally asked to login with a Google account and given the option to take your picture with the webcam so the picture can accompany your Sony VGP-BPS13S login.

When it came to logging in, we noticed two interesting flaws. First, the system did not recognize any Google account we used Sony VGP-BPS13/S with a username that did not end in @gmail.com. When we tried to login with our laptopmag.com address, which is a registered Google Apps Sony VGP-BPS13AS user account, or with another Yahoo address that’s registered with Google, the system said our account could not be laptop battery located.

Screen

The 12.1-inch screen has a 1280 x 800 resolution, which is extremely rare on notebooks these days but a welcome improvement hp battery over the nearly-ubiquitous 1366 x 768 panels we see every day, because it allows plenty of vertical screen real estate for viewing web pages. The screen’s sony battery matte surface allowed it to provide really strong viewing angles to the left and right.

Ports

There are very few ports on the device. On the right side is dell battery an SD card reader, an audio-out jack, and a USB port. On the left is a VGA port. As stated above, storage devices and memory cards work for uploading files to the cloud, but do nothing else. We were able to attach both a wired and a wireless ibm battery mouse to the USB port and both worked pretty well.

If you don’t have a valid Gmail account already, you hit a bit of a wall at the login prompt, fujitsu laptop akku because there’s no way to create one during setup. If you don’t already have a valid Google account, your best bet is to walk over to your nearest toshiba laptop akku non-Chrome OS device, visit Google.com, and create your account there before continuing.

First Acer, then MSI, now Toshiba co-signs next-generation accelerated processors from Intel’s chipset dell laptop akku rival AMD.

Notebook Italia points out that the Intel Atom version of this netbook can stand on its acer notebook akku feet for 10 hours. That’s a little less, but a 30-minute drop-off isn’t too shabby when you throw in the performance boost from Radeon apple notebook akku graphics.

Despite the fact that the Toshiba NB520, a different config of the NB550D, launched in Singapore earlier this ibm notebook akku month, there’s still no word on stateside availability for any versions of the machine, but we’ll see what comes out of CES hp notebook akku next week.

Rhapsody has been around for 10 years, and through partnerships the service is widely available sony notebook akku on iPhone, Android, and Blackberry smart phones; MP3 players from Apple, Philips, and SanDisk; as well as a whole host of home audio asus notebook akku hardware including Denon Systems, Logitech Squeezebox, Philips Streamium, Sonos, and Tivo.

The desktop interface sparkles, with plenty of easily accessible features, info, and listening recommendations right on the fujitsu notebook akku homepage. The mobile interface is also uncluttered and easy to navigate. Downloads and streaming content sounded very good in 128Kbps MP3 format, toshiba notebook akku though a high-fidelity option for downloads à la MOG would be nice.

The Radio feature lets you choose from 200 stations programmed by a dell notebook akku 15-member editorial staff. The selection is outstanding, with a wide variety of imaginatively named subgenres such as "Acoustic Dawn" and "Big Hair." We found it to acer battery be a fun method of music discovery.

Kensington KeyFolio Bluetooth Keyboard and Case for iPad

This keyboard lets you type much faster than you can with touch-typing VGP-BPS13 while protecting your tablet, but is it worth $99?

When the iPad first came out, there was a lot sony VGP-BPS9/B Battery of speculation as to whether it could replace a full-fledged notebook. However, many came to realize that, without a keyboard, it was difficult to type longer documents. Enter the Kensington KeyFolio, a Bluetooth keyboard built into an iPad case. Will this $99 accessory Sony VGP-BPS9A/B Battery let you leave your laptop behind?

Design

From the outside, the KeyFolio looks like an elegant iPad case--which in fact, it is. It's made sony VGP-BPS9 battery of black faux leather with white stitching. Flip over the cover, and you reveal its second function as a wireless keyboard.

The keyboard is covered in a rubber membrane sony VGP-BPS9/S battery that protects it from spills and prevents the screen from getting scratched. A few ridges above the keyboard let you adjust the angle of the iPad, but in doing so, it covers the Pairing button. There's no way to secure the iPad to the keyboard, so the KeyFolio has to Vostro 1510 Battery be used on a flat surface such as a desk; putting it on our lap caused the iPad to fall backwards.

The case weighs just over one pound, which is light in the grand scheme of things, but, when Inspiron 1545 battery coupled with the 1.5-pound iPad, this combo weighs almost as much as the Asus Eee PC 1015PEM.

Performance

Pairing the KeyFolio with the iPad was easy. Simply Dell Latitude E6400 Battery turn the keyboard on (there's a small switch on the right side above the keys), and press the large Connect button on the top. A message will appear on the screen asking you to type in a code on the keyboard to complete the pairing.

The keyboard on the KeyFolio is about the same size as one you'd find on a netbook. However, it's not nearly as good as, say, the Vostro 1710 Battery Toshiba Mini NB305. The rubber membrane was soft to the touch, and in general, we found the keys responsive. In fact, they Vostro 1720 Battery were a bit too responsive; we found that we would often accidentally type the same letter twice in a row until we figured out just how much pressure to apply.

We found the KeyFolio, like early netbook toshiba PA3534U-1BRS Battery keyboards, to be slightly irregular. For example, in order to make room for arrow keys, there's no right Shift key. (For touch typists, that's a dealbreaker right there.) Also, the quote button is not in its usual place between L and Enter--only the Colon key Sony VGP-BPS13A/B Battery is there. Until we realized this, we found ourselves writing things such as "I;m" instead if "I'm."

However, we like that Kensington reversed the function keys; that is, media controls and volume Dell GD761 Battery can be accessed without having to press the Fn key first. Also, the F5 key can be used to bring up the on-screen keyboard, which is nice when you don't want to use Kensington's

The KeyFolio's battery is rated to last 90 hours; that's a lot of typing. When--or if--it runs low, you can recharge it using the microUSB port on the side.

Verdict

The idea that you can take just a tablet good battery with you on business trips is an intoxicating one, as it would free up weight battery and room in your carry-on. The $99 Kensington KeyFolio makes this dream a reality. However, the keyboard's misplaced keys (and missing right Shift key), the inability to use it securely in one's lap, and oversensitivity are real turn-offs. The KeyFolio is certainly better than nothing, but you may want to wait until something better comes battery along.

Smile! Hands-On With the Most Candid Camera, the Looxcie Wearable Camcorder

To all you fanatic live bloggers, You Tubers, Tweeters, and Facebookers, the Latitude 131L Battery ultimate device to capture every second of your life has finally arrived. Today, Artiman Ventures launched the Looxcie, a $199 wearable camcorder that loops over the ear like a Bluetooth headset. In conjunction with an Android app, it allows users to capture short clips and immediately share and publish those videos on the web using the Looxcie smartphone application.

We wore the camera VGP-BPS9/B Battery around for a few days to try it out, and see how well it worked capturing the mundane and extraordinary.

Except for its obvious white boom extending forward, the camera looks like an oversized Bluetooth headset

. Still, it has a sleek spy-tech aura, like something you might see in Mission: Impossible. For sure, you won’t catch anyone unawares: We certainly got more than our share of odd looks from people as we wore it on the street. Overall the headset was comfortable, but over extended periods VGP-BPS9A/B Battery of time and movement from walking, the device would slip off and often needed readjusting.

Aside from its design, the Looxcie device is novel in that the camera is constantly recording, so users never have to worry about missing a key event. When a moment you want to remember occurs, a press of the instant clip button on the top of the device captures the last 30 seconds of video and stores it as a permanent clip. Using the free Android app, users can also immediately share their clips by email. For the most part, sharing instant VGP-BPS9 battery clips was easy to do but, occasionally the app crashed while saving the clip and was never sent. Also, we sometimes received an error message saying the clip was too big to be sent. Looxcie told us that these were beta issues, and would be resolved. The company also says that it will add a feature where you can instantly share your clips to Facebook and You Tube.

The video quality is average–HVGA (480×320) resolution at 15 frames per second; most smart phones capture better quality video. The camera can record up to 5 hours of footage, and can store hundreds of 30-second VGP-BPS9/S battery clips on the device. As a nice bonus, the camera is also a Bluetooth headset and allows you to answer calls and keep recording video at the same time

The accompanying Looxcie smartphone app (we installed it on a Samsung Vibrant) also turns the phone into a viewfinder, remote control, and editing tool for creating clips up to 30 minutes in length. The application is simple and user-friendly: It was easy to scroll though video footage and make our own custom-sized clips. The viewfinder is particularly helpful because you can also use it to turn the recorder on and off without having to fiddle with the record button on the device, and it good battery can be used to adjust to headset to make sure it’s level.

The camera works best in bright, well-lit areas such as the outdoors. Even though the camera adjusts automatically to different settings, it doesn’t capture nighttime or dimly lit areas very well. We also found that if we recorded while walking around, video was somewhat battery choppy and shaky. Also, while wearing the camera, we got a false sense that we were recording exactly what our eyes saw; when we looked back at the footage, objects we thought were in frame were off to one side or another.

Speakers and Microphones

The sound system on the pebble 5920 is composed of two speakers hidden under Latitude 131L Battery a stylish grill located above the keyboard and a subwoofer built in the underside. The combination produces acceptable results that are well above average for notebook sound. However, having a Dell notebook with a subwoofer in the past I expected a more impressive leap out of a newer notebook. The attached Realtek sound driver has an abundance of options and settings though.

Having a volume dial is a good thing, but the dial sony VGP-BPS9/B Battery has no feedback nor resistance which makes it move at the slightest touch and hard to set to the right volume. It also lacks a "stop point" so you can't know when you reached the top/lowest point unless you are using the on-screen volume display. Its location in the front under the lower "lip" means it isn't easy to reach when the notebook is resting on your lap. Likewise with the headphone ports location at the front which always strike me as prone to stress damage.

For video conferencing Acer included a built-in VGA web cam into the lid handle with built-in microphones on each side. Nothing Sony VGP-BPS9A/B Battery spectacular but all in all not bad for a 15" notebook

Keyboard, Touchpad and Media Controls

The weird looking keyboard is on par with today's average, however, it has a noticeable amount of flex in the right shift area which should not appear in a modern notebook of that size and weight.

The even surface touch pad is responsive and easy to use thanks to the texture sony VGP-BPS9 battery and wide aspect ratio, it's so wide I sometimes found myself inadvertently moving the cursor. Fortunately, you can switch it off and on with the designated FN+F7 combination. Acer managed to squeeze in a third middle button that is supposed to act as a four-way joystick for quick scrolling and navigating.

As expected from a media notebook there sony VGP-BPS9/S battery are plenty of shortcut buttons on the keyboard sides for turning the wireless communication on/off, launching a web browser, email client and the Acer arcade. The right side has a blue backlit media player touch panel.

On Acer's behalf, it looks like the entire palm rest area, keyboard, touchpad and buttons are made of solid non-painted plastic which hopefully means it will not wear off after a while. You may think this gray hue isn't attractive but on the bright side it will look gray even years from now. Add (or subtract) a point for that.

Ports and Features

The 5920 spec list continues with a rich selection of ports: quite an achievement with the back profile blocked. Again I wish some Dell Vostro 1510 Battery of the ports (like LAN and video ports) were in the back.

Software

The amount of bloatware preinstalled with the notebook was quite bearable, but let's take a closer look at Dell Inspiron 1545 battery Acer's "empowering technology." Contrary to what you might think, pressing the "empowering" button does not turn you into a strong black woman, instead it opens a nice looking control panel with an assortment of Acer utilities designed to help beginners take control of their laptop:

* eNet for networking management

* ePower for battery optimization

* ePresentation for external display

* eAudio controls the Dolby home theater sound effects

* eDataSecurity protects data with passwords and encryption

* eLock limits access to external storage

* eRecovery backs up and recovery of data (as well as creates factory restore disc)

* eSettings for system information and settings

Along with there "empowering" tools Acer includes Arcade deluxe, a media control center. All in all it's not a bad package for the novice user, even if there is no real technology here and the name is plain silly. No points awarded because we are not Latitude E6400 Battery about competition when it comes to bloatware.

XP compatibility

This is a new review category I made up. Nevertheless, in a world of Vista-only notebooks it is useful to know whether you'd be able to run your favorite proven OS on your new 5920. Well, you can and quite easily as the supplied Vista drivers are compatible with XP. Thanks to some tips from NBR forums members the install process was even easier, updating the bios to the latest version allowed switching the SATA interface to IDE. Then it was a simple XP install using an old XP SP2 disc. Surprisingly the laptop worked quite well (webcam included) even Thinkpad T61 Battery before I installed the Acer drivers. I have yet to find a way to get XP working in SATA ACHI mode which might be the cause of the HD Tune test results.

Performance and Benchmarks

A distinctive advantage of the 5920 is the Nvidia 8600m GT video card, while not the DDR3 version it's still one of the fastest 8xxx GPU available at the time of the review and certainly the top in the 15.4" form factor segment. In addition, it comes in a MXM II slot with easy access, another high point Latitude E5500 Battery in the specification. Playing games proved once again that even the low T5250 was not the limiting factor in this setup, meaning you don't have to spend money on a higher CPU for that purpose alone.

Having two identical 5920's I was able to pit them against each other it those benchmarks, one running XP Home SP2, the other keeping the original Vista Home premium install.

Heat and Noise

Having so many ports limits the air vent to Latitude E6500 Battery the lower left side, and the lid design comes back to haunt us as it limits the space allocated for the back vent profile. The result is somewhat warmer than appreciated inner idling temperatures with the CPU hovering at 50+ °C and the GPU in the 60°C area.

Under load the left side gets noticeably hotter with the GPU peaking to 90 °C and once freezing on me. The notebook might be designed to handle that amount of heat but I'm still uncomfortable with that. Both machines exhibited erratic fan behavior which would come on at full power for a short burst every few seconds. I'd much rather have it work constantly at a low rpm, keeping the notebook cool and quiet as the fan is silent by itself.

I couldn't find a way to enable speedstepping in the bios. NHC doesn't show the CPU to throttle down while CPU-Z shows only 33% slowing to Latitude E4300 Battery 1000Mhz and SpeedFan wouldn't control the fans. The 8600m GT driver will not allow throttling down on DC power either, nor to downclock the GPU speeds.

This is where a proper ePower management should have let me control the fan operation Latitude E5400 Battery and speed as well as enable an aggressive CPU and GPU throttling. It has some sort of CPU power options but I have not seen any big difference. All points melted down.

Battery Life

Interestingly the XP unit reported an estimate of 3:04 hours on a full good battery and maximum screen brightness loosing about one percent battery power every two minutes idling, while the Vista unit reported an extra hour with a 4:10 hours estimate. Yet another unfulfilled promise by Windows Vista.

Conclusion

Despite its many flaws the Acer Aspire 5920 is one of the best buys today thanks to its rich specification, wealth of features and relative low price. I believe a proper new bios would solve the fan issue and CPU management, and a new Nvidia driver should let us use powermizer to reduce GPU heat. That leaves us waiting for a decent LCD panel from Acer or getting one of those LCD films to enhance the blacks. Like its name suggests, the Acer 5920 gemstone is truly a diamond in the rough and with battery a bit of polishing would shine.

Pros

* Best bang for the buck

Cons

* LCD bright but not brilliant

* No sufficient CPU/GPU throttling

* Annoying fan

Asus UL20FT-A1

A relatively powerful Core i3 processor, brushed metal lid, and comfy keyboard make Dell Latitude 131L Battery this ultraportable worth a look, but it's frustrating to use.

Believe it or not, there was a time when 12-inch ultraportables weren't just considered supersized or supercharged netbooks. It was its own laptop category, mostly populated by business machines for road warriors. The Asus UL20FT-A1 focuses more on entertainment, thanks to features such as Altec Lansing speakers, and there's no question that this laptop has enough speed to be your primary work-and-play PC. You also get a stylish sony VGP-BPS9/B Battery brushed aluminum lid and comfy keyboard. But is that enough to justify its $629 price when you can get the 12.1-inch EeePC 1215N netbook for $130 less?

Design and Ports

Handsome but somewhat unassuming, the UL20FT weighs a light 3.4 pounds and features a sturdy and classy brushed metal casing. You won't have Sony VGP-BPS9A/B Battery to worry about fingerprints marring this notebook. The EeePC 1215N is the same weight, but its all-plastic chassis doesn't feel quite as sturdy. Inside the Asus you'll find a plastic sliver deck with a subtle cube pattern that looks elegant, which carriers over to the ridged touchpad, and a glossy black bezel.

The left side of the UL20FT houses an HDMI port, USB port, and headphone and mic jacks. A 5-in-1 memory card reader sony VGP-BPS9 battery and two more USB, VGA, and Ethernet ports line the right side. Above the keyboard is a small power button on the right, as well as a button on the left that doubles as a launcher for the Express Gate instant-on OS (when the system is powered off) and a way for toggling through various power profiles (when the notebook is on).

Heat

The UL20FT managed to keep its cool during testing. After playing sony VGP-BPS9/S battery a Hulu video at full screen for 15 minutes, we measured relatively low temperatures of 88 degrees Fahrenheit on the touchpad and 86 degrees between the G and H keys. The underside of the notebook got up to 104 degrees by the vent, but the middle of the underside was a reasonable 91 degrees.

Keyboard and Touchpad

Asus doesn't have a reputation for delivering great ergonomics, and the UL20FT doesn't do much to change that perception. On the plus side, the keyboard Dell Vostro 1510 Battery offers good tactile feedback with minimal flex (much less so than the Eee PC 1215N). Our only nitpick here is the shrunken right Shift key.

However, the touchpad button will be a deal-breaker for some. It's entirely too stiff, good battery and it's also small. We resorted to double tapping the touchpad to make selections, and whenever we had to right-click we were reminded why we avoided the button. The ridged touchpad offered smooth navigation as well as smooth pinch-to-zoom gesturing. Too bad the pad measures a mere 2.5 x 1.5 inches (versus a relatively mammoth 3.3 x 1.9 inches for the 1215N). We wish Asus could combine the keyboard on this notebook with the touchpad on its souped-up netbook.

Asus UL20FT-A1

A relatively powerful Core i3 processor, brushed metal lid, and comfy keyboard make Dell Latitude 131L Battery this ultraportable worth a look, but it's frustrating to use.

Believe it or not, there was a time when 12-inch ultraportables weren't just considered supersized or supercharged netbooks. It was its own laptop category, mostly populated by business machines for road warriors. The Asus UL20FT-A1 focuses more on entertainment, thanks to features such as Altec Lansing speakers, and there's no question that this laptop has enough speed to be your primary work-and-play PC. You also get a stylish sony VGP-BPS9/B Battery brushed aluminum lid and comfy keyboard. But is that enough to justify its $629 price when you can get the 12.1-inch EeePC 1215N netbook for $130 less?

Design and Ports

Handsome but somewhat unassuming, the UL20FT weighs a light 3.4 pounds and features a sturdy and classy brushed metal casing. You won't have Sony VGP-BPS9A/B Battery to worry about fingerprints marring this notebook. The EeePC 1215N is the same weight, but its all-plastic chassis doesn't feel quite as sturdy. Inside the Asus you'll find a plastic sliver deck with a subtle cube pattern that looks elegant, which carriers over to the ridged touchpad, and a glossy black bezel.

The left side of the UL20FT houses an HDMI port, USB port, and headphone and mic jacks. A 5-in-1 memory card reader sony VGP-BPS9 battery and two more USB, VGA, and Ethernet ports line the right side. Above the keyboard is a small power button on the right, as well as a button on the left that doubles as a launcher for the Express Gate instant-on OS (when the system is powered off) and a way for toggling through various power profiles (when the notebook is on).

Heat

The UL20FT managed to keep its cool during testing. After playing sony VGP-BPS9/S battery a Hulu video at full screen for 15 minutes, we measured relatively low temperatures of 88 degrees Fahrenheit on the touchpad and 86 degrees between the G and H keys. The underside of the notebook got up to 104 degrees by the vent, but the middle of the underside was a reasonable 91 degrees.

Keyboard and Touchpad

Asus doesn't have a reputation for delivering great ergonomics, and the UL20FT doesn't do much to change that perception. On the plus side, the keyboard Dell Vostro 1510 Battery offers good tactile feedback with minimal flex (much less so than the Eee PC 1215N). Our only nitpick here is the shrunken right Shift key.

However, the touchpad button will be a deal-breaker for some. It's entirely too stiff, good battery and it's also small. We resorted to double tapping the touchpad to make selections, and whenever we had to right-click we were reminded why we avoided the button. The ridged touchpad offered smooth navigation as well as smooth pinch-to-zoom gesturing. Too bad the pad measures a mere 2.5 x 1.5 inches (versus a relatively mammoth 3.3 x 1.9 inches for the 1215N). We wish Asus could combine the keyboard on this notebook with the touchpad on its souped-up netbook.

Asus UL20FT-A1

A relatively powerful Core i3 processor, brushed metal lid, and comfy keyboard make Dell Latitude 131L Battery this ultraportable worth a look, but it's frustrating to use.

Believe it or not, there was a time when 12-inch ultraportables weren't just considered supersized or supercharged netbooks. It was its own laptop category, mostly populated by business machines for road warriors. The Asus UL20FT-A1 focuses more on entertainment, thanks to features such as Altec Lansing speakers, and there's no question that this laptop has enough speed to be your primary work-and-play PC. You also get a stylish sony VGP-BPS9/B Battery brushed aluminum lid and comfy keyboard. But is that enough to justify its $629 price when you can get the 12.1-inch EeePC 1215N netbook for $130 less?

Design and Ports

Handsome but somewhat unassuming, the UL20FT weighs a light 3.4 pounds and features a sturdy and classy brushed metal casing. You won't have Sony VGP-BPS9A/B Battery to worry about fingerprints marring this notebook. The EeePC 1215N is the same weight, but its all-plastic chassis doesn't feel quite as sturdy. Inside the Asus you'll find a plastic sliver deck with a subtle cube pattern that looks elegant, which carriers over to the ridged touchpad, and a glossy black bezel.

The left side of the UL20FT houses an HDMI port, USB port, and headphone and mic jacks. A 5-in-1 memory card reader sony VGP-BPS9 battery and two more USB, VGA, and Ethernet ports line the right side. Above the keyboard is a small power button on the right, as well as a button on the left that doubles as a launcher for the Express Gate instant-on OS (when the system is powered off) and a way for toggling through various power profiles (when the notebook is on).

Heat

The UL20FT managed to keep its cool during testing. After playing sony VGP-BPS9/S battery a Hulu video at full screen for 15 minutes, we measured relatively low temperatures of 88 degrees Fahrenheit on the touchpad and 86 degrees between the G and H keys. The underside of the notebook got up to 104 degrees by the vent, but the middle of the underside was a reasonable 91 degrees.

Keyboard and Touchpad

Asus doesn't have a reputation for delivering great ergonomics, and the UL20FT doesn't do much to change that perception. On the plus side, the keyboard Dell Vostro 1510 Battery offers good tactile feedback with minimal flex (much less so than the Eee PC 1215N). Our only nitpick here is the shrunken right Shift key.

However, the touchpad button will be a deal-breaker for some. It's entirely too stiff, good battery and it's also small. We resorted to double tapping the touchpad to make selections, and whenever we had to right-click we were reminded why we avoided the button. The ridged touchpad offered smooth navigation as well as smooth pinch-to-zoom gesturing. Too bad the pad measures a mere 2.5 x 1.5 inches (versus a relatively mammoth 3.3 x 1.9 inches for the 1215N). We wish Asus could combine the keyboard on this notebook with the touchpad on its souped-up netbook.

Asus UL20FT-A1

A relatively powerful Core i3 processor, brushed metal lid, and comfy keyboard make Dell Latitude 131L Battery this ultraportable worth a look, but it's frustrating to use.

Believe it or not, there was a time when 12-inch ultraportables weren't just considered supersized or supercharged netbooks. It was its own laptop category, mostly populated by business machines for road warriors. The Asus UL20FT-A1 focuses more on entertainment, thanks to features such as Altec Lansing speakers, and there's no question that this laptop has enough speed to be your primary work-and-play PC. You also get a stylish sony VGP-BPS9/B Battery brushed aluminum lid and comfy keyboard. But is that enough to justify its $629 price when you can get the 12.1-inch EeePC 1215N netbook for $130 less?

Design and Ports

Handsome but somewhat unassuming, the UL20FT weighs a light 3.4 pounds and features a sturdy and classy brushed metal casing. You won't have Sony VGP-BPS9A/B Battery to worry about fingerprints marring this notebook. The EeePC 1215N is the same weight, but its all-plastic chassis doesn't feel quite as sturdy. Inside the Asus you'll find a plastic sliver deck with a subtle cube pattern that looks elegant, which carriers over to the ridged touchpad, and a glossy black bezel.

The left side of the UL20FT houses an HDMI port, USB port, and headphone and mic jacks. A 5-in-1 memory card reader sony VGP-BPS9 battery and two more USB, VGA, and Ethernet ports line the right side. Above the keyboard is a small power button on the right, as well as a button on the left that doubles as a launcher for the Express Gate instant-on OS (when the system is powered off) and a way for toggling through various power profiles (when the notebook is on).

Heat

The UL20FT managed to keep its cool during testing. After playing sony VGP-BPS9/S battery a Hulu video at full screen for 15 minutes, we measured relatively low temperatures of 88 degrees Fahrenheit on the touchpad and 86 degrees between the G and H keys. The underside of the notebook got up to 104 degrees by the vent, but the middle of the underside was a reasonable 91 degrees.

Keyboard and Touchpad

Asus doesn't have a reputation for delivering great ergonomics, and the UL20FT doesn't do much to change that perception. On the plus side, the keyboard Dell Vostro 1510 Battery offers good tactile feedback with minimal flex (much less so than the Eee PC 1215N). Our only nitpick here is the shrunken right Shift key.

However, the touchpad button will be a deal-breaker for some. It's entirely too stiff, good battery and it's also small. We resorted to double tapping the touchpad to make selections, and whenever we had to right-click we were reminded why we avoided the button. The ridged touchpad offered smooth navigation as well as smooth pinch-to-zoom gesturing. Too bad the pad measures a mere 2.5 x 1.5 inches (versus a relatively mammoth 3.3 x 1.9 inches for the 1215N). We wish Asus could combine the keyboard on this notebook with the touchpad on its souped-up netbook.

Acer Aspire One D260

If we could use one word to describe Acer's Aspire One D260 (23797), HP Compaq 6715B Battery would be "cute." While other netbooks might cringe at such an epithet, the D260 soaks it up. The target audience for this netbook is users who care more about good looks than battery life, and whomever these people are, they will certainly get their wish. Still, cute isn't a dirty word, especially when the D260 manages to be thinner, lighter, sony battery and less expensive than most other models in its class. Is the charm factor enough to make this slim and pretty $299 netbook fly off the shelves?

Design

Weighing just 2.6 pounds and measuring 10.2 x 7.3 x 0.9 inches, the lithe D260 feels feather-light. Unlike Acer's larger notebooks, the branding on the D260Sony VGP-BPS9/S Battery is much more overt: the upper left-hand corner has Acer's logo in dark gray, and "Aspire One" is emblazoned in chrome across the middle. The light matte gray finish of the lid extends to the deck surrounding the Fine Tip keyboard, and is interrupted only by a gently glowing blue power button at the top and four sony vgp-bps13/b status LEDs on the bottom left.

Those who find a gray finish too staid Sony VGP-BPS9/B Battery can get the netbook with an aquamarine black, pink, or purple lid. The black and charcoal lids are solid, but the others feature a flake-like pattern that extends to the palm rest.

Keyboard and Touchpad

Like other Acer netbooks, this one sports a 93-percent of full-size FineTip keyboard that isolates the keys slightly. Though some may find the keys positioned too close together, we didn't mind Sony VGP-BPS10 . During our typing sessions the keyboard offered strong tactile feedback, and we appreciated the large right Shift and Enter keys. The shrunken arrow keys were easy to locate without looking.

We'd like to see Acer follow the lead of other manufacturers and turn the function key shortcuts into Dell GD761 Battery direct action keys in the top row. For example, to raise the volume you have to press Fn + Up Arrow, when it should just be a dedicated button.

Oddly (but pleasingly), the 3 x 1.6-inch touchpad on the D260 is larger that of the 11-inch Aspire 721 and provides ample room for executing multitouch gestures. Also unlike the Aspire 721, the D260's touchpad is slightly raised from the rest of the deck, providing a tactile clue if your finger strays. The low-friction surface is smooth, making it easy to zoom around the screen. Though we usually prefer separate left and right mouse buttons, the single bar Toshiba PA3534U-1BRS on the D260 is long; we were always able to distinguish between the two buttons.

Heat

After streaming a Hulu video at full screen for 15 minutes, the D260 remained cool, reaching 84 degrees Fahrenheit on the touchpad, 86 degrees battery between the G and H keys, and 88 degrees underneath. The only part of the machine that got uncomfortable was near the vent, which registered 102 degrees.

Display and Audio

The picture on the Aspire One D260's glossy 1024 x 600-pixel display Acer Aspire One Battery was bright and crisp when surfing the web and viewing images. Though there was plenty of detail when watching standard-definition episodes of Lost, narrow viewing angles and reflections during dark scenes made the overall experience less enjoyable.

Though the front lip of the netbook tapers up to give the speakers beneath a boost in volume, we were never able to fill a small room while listening to music. Volume for Hulu was decent, though. Once we put the D260 in our lap the sound was almost completely muffled, just as with the 721. Despite these drawbacks, the quality of the audio impressed us, pumping the bass line in Superchick's "One Girl Revolution" and separating different layers Acer Aspire 5670 Battery of music enough that we heard the flute in Guns n' Roses' "November Rain" over the guitar solo.

Ports and Webcam

Acer included the standard spread of ports along the left and right sides--Ethernet, one USB, headphone, mic, and memory card reader line the right, acer aspire 9800 battery and the remaining two USB ports and VGA connector line the left.

We weren't impressed with the 1.3-megapixel webcam. Even good battery with backlight correction set to its highest level, the images it captured were dark and didn't represent colors well. While chatting with a friend on Skype they reported that we looked blocky and blurry whenever we moved.

BitDefender Total Security 2010

In the past, BitDefender has suffered from something of an identity crisis: in the beginning, its highly Sony VGP-BPS13A/B Battery customizable settings made it a sleeper hit among techies. Then, in an effort to court more mainstream users, it simplified its user interface, angering some of its early adopters. When it tried to make amends, its UI suddenly seemed complicated again (see our review of BitDefender Total Security 2009). With Sony PCGA-BP2V BitDefender Total Security 2010, however, the company aims to please everyone: users can specify, essentially, how tech-savvy they are, and the UI will adjust itself accordingly. The feature set is designed to be all-encompassing, too: in addition to antivirus and malware protection, BitDefender includes identity theft protection, parental controls, tune-up utilities, and 2GB of online storage. While the suite remains king when it comes to manual features, the interface could still use some streamlining—and a slight price Sony VGP-BPL9 drop wouldn’t hurt, either.

Installation and Setup

At the beginning of our installation, Total Security 2010 searched the computer for existing security software (we didn’t have any, but if we did it would have suggested we remove it, and would have provided a simple interface from which to do so). Installing the large 600MB program on our Toshiba Tecra M10 took 2 minutes, but before Sony VGP-BPS13 the installation process began, our (sluggish) computer took 10 minutes to install Microsoft .NET Framework Version 1.1.

After all this was done (12 minutes in total), we had to restart the computer, something Symantec and Trend Micro’s offerings did not require us to do. Once our system had rebooted, a screen prompted us to choose what kind of network the computer was connected to (either home/office, or a public/university network). During this time, we were also asked to enter a license key. Meanwhile, we saw a pop-up in our system tray (a firewall alert) when Sony VGP-BPS2B Battery checked our Gmail account in Internet Explorer.

User Interface

When you run BitDefender Total Security 2010 for the first time, you’ll be asked to choose a user profile, defining how tech-savvy you are and how many custom settings should be readily accessible from the main screen. Profiles include Typical, a default UI for novice and intermediate users; Parent, which also highlights parental controls; Gamer, which Lenovo/IBM Thinkpad R51E Battery includes more advanced options and also minimizes the performance impact while playing a game; and Custom, for advanced users who thrive on tweaking their applications’ settings. You can change your profile at any time by clicking the Settings link at the top of the page.

As you continue through the setup wizard, you’ll not only pick a profile type, but specify if you’re using sony vgp-bps13/b a notebook (so that the program can automatically enable laptop mode, which defers unnecessary activity until the computer is plugged in). You’ll also be given the option of setting a time for a daily scan, as well as running one when the wizard completes.

BitDefender also asks you to choose one of three interfaces: novice, intermediate, or expert. This seems redundant, since the whole point of having user profiles

(gamers, parents, typical and custom users) is that each type of user would prefer a different level of simplicity. Although the tabbed interface is pretty self-explanatory, it’s not as slick or easy to use as Symantec Norton 360’s—but then again, Sony VGP-BPS9/S Battery Norton 360 has frustratingly few advanced settings, so at least BitDefender offers more variety.

One last note about the UI: there’s a lot of popups. We mean that in two ways: one, it’s not a self-contained interface. When you open something from the main screen (say, a tuneup utility) it will open in a separate window. You could easily end up with three or four open windows in your taskbar without even trying. But BitDefender also spat out good battery popups from our system tray. One was the firewall alert we got just after setting up the program, and we got another when we plugged in a USB drive. Fortunately, you can check a box (in the popup, of course) to halt the deliver of popups in similar situations.

MSI GT660

MSI is out to prove that powerful gaming chops doesn't necessarily mean a large and barely Sony VGP-BPS9/S Battery portable notebook. The flashy GT660 is heavy, yes, but not so big that users won't be able to carry it in a normal laptop bag. Plus, the flashy lights outside and the Core i7 CPU inside means you won't embarrass yourself at a LAN party. You won't get the full HD experience here, but the GT660's excellent display and juiced Nvidia graphics make this $1,849 system worth a serious look.

Design

Aesthetically, there's a lot going on with the GT660. Almost too Dell GD761 Battery much. Unlike the GT725 and GT627, which lacked the audacious flair of most gaming notebooks, it seems like MSI pulled together as many cool-looking elements as they could while still keeping the GT660 below two grand. So it's got some funky cuts along the edges and a Sony VGP-BPS13A/B Battery glossy, beveled lid complete with glowing MSI logo.

Under the hood you start to notice how busy the GT600 looks. There's a mix of matte and glossy--though the Toshiba PA3534U-1BRS latter dominates--and the piano black of the display bezel and top of the deck fades into a glossy slate color, which then turns into a textured honeycomb pattern on the palm rest surrounding the touchpad.

Two speakers ringed in red sit on the left and right of the upper deck, and between them is a control deck outlined in red and chrome with touch-sensitive LEDs. Though MSI claims this element evokes a Knight Rider aesthetic, it reminded us more of Aquaman's underwear. A light tap activates each function, including enabling or disabling Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or the Windows key, and switching between power modes. There's even a button users can program to HP Compaq 6715B Battery launch an oft-used app. A shield-shaped power button sits in the center. Though we found this strip very useful, it picked up fingerprints.

No gaming notebook would be complete without glowing LED accents. The GT660 sports thin bands of orange LEDs as part of the lid design along the lower edges of the Sony VGP-BPS9/B Battery lid, and wrapped around the edge corners at the bottom of the deck. We don't like that the color doesn't quite match the red accents splashed across the keyboard and top edge, but we it was cool that we could turn the LED accents completely on or off by tapping the icon on the far right of the control Sony VGP-BPS10 deck. With the MSI LED Manager utility, you can turn each area off and on individually or all of them completely. Users can also set the LEDs to "breathe," which results in a gentle fade in and out, or to pulse along with the audio coming from your speakers. This latter feature was a lot of fun when we began playing loud, drum-driven music. Overall, it's not as comprehensive as on Alienware systems, but it's a nice touch.

This 16-inch system is portable in theory, but its 7.4-pound weight will likely keep it sitting on your desk most of the time. Still, at 15.6 x 10.6 x 2.2 inches, the system is nearly 3 pounds lighter than the Toshiba Qosmio X505, and unlike that 18-inch system,Sony PCGA-BP2V will still fit in most regular size notebook messengers or backpacks.

Keyboard and Touchpad

A pool of glossy plastic surrounds the matte, chiclet-style keys on the GT660, Sony VGP-BPL9 was a little distracting under bright lights. Since the keys aren't backlit, you won't be able to game as easily with the lights dimmed as, say, the X505. Still, we appreciate the red accents on the keys most games default to for movement--WASD, 8462, and arrows--making them easier to find.

Though the keyboard is full size and the keys Sony VGP-BPS13 are springy, we found ourselves making more typing errors than we normally do. Something about the spacing is slightly off.

MSI made some placement and size choices that we're used to seeing on netbooks, but not full-size laptops. The right Shift key is a little undersized and shifted to the left to accommodate the arrows. Plus, there's an extra backslash key between the Alt key on the left and the space bar. This made executing keyboard shortcuts harder because the Alt key Sony VGP-BPS2B Battery isn't where our fingers expect it, plus it's smaller than

normal. There's plenty of room on the deck, even with the full number pad on the right, as MSI left at least Lenovo/IBM Thinkpad R51E Battery an inch of deck around the keyboard, so we're not sure why the layout has these little issues.

The touchpad is pretty big--3.2 x 1.9 inches--but it could be even larger if the designers good battery had used more of the available space. The slightly rough touch surface and mouse button has a thick chrome outline that flows down into a chevron shape.

Under the single mouse button are status indicators for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Battery, Sleep, and the hard drive are appreciated. Plus, our fingers kept naturally gravitating to the bottom edge of the notebook where the mouse buttons usually sit. On this battery system they're higher, which took some getting used to.