Gateway NV59C09u

Time and again, Gateway’s NV series has made our shortlist of top budget notebooks, but with a few vgp-bps8a. We’ve always enjoyed its balance of performance and battery life and, with the exception of its lone mouse button, have praised its design. The revamped NV59C09u ($799), a 15.6-inch laptop, has a slimmer, lighter build that includes a social networking hotkey and dashboard, along with a Blu-ray player, something most sub-$800 laptops don’t offer. This time around, though, the NV’s performance was less impressive in comparison to other notebooks in the same price range.vgp-bps8

Design

After churning out umpteen NV notebooks with updated specs but the same design, vgp-bpl8 has re-thought this line of laptops. Following a trend set by HP and Dell, Gateway ditched its super glossy lid and instead went with a subtly patterned one whose finish has a bit too much kick to be called matte, but is still subdued enough that it’s not reflective. The result is an attractive, more understated surface that masks fingerprints. The lid and palm rest’s silver color and fine pattern of wavy lines should also prove gender-neutral. vgp-bps9,vgp-bps9/s,vgp-bps9/b,vgp-bps9a/b



Gone, too, are the touch-sensitive multimedia controls above the keyboard. Instead, there’s a thin chrome strip above the keys that houses Dell battery for Wi-Fi and battery status, as well as a discreet power button. The multimedia keys are now baked into the top row of the keyboard, as they are on Macs. In addition to multimedia keys, there’s a dedicated button for launching Social Network Service—Gateway’s own dashboard for vgp-bps13, Flickr, and YouTube (more on that later).



The chiclet-style vgp-bps13a/b—basically, Acer’s FineTip design—is new to the NV series, too, although Gateway still fits in a full number pad, something many other 15-inch systems lack. As a result, though, the touchpad is placed left of center, so that it falls in the center of the keyboard, but not the palm rest itself. The NV59C09u feels surprisingly compact at 15 x 10 x 1.3 inches and 5.4 pounds; it weighs the same as the Editors’ Choice–winning notebookand is lighter than the minimalist 5.6-poundToshiba Notebook Battery and older 5.6-pound Sony battery

Keyboard and Touchpad

Despite having an island-style layout and a full number pad, the PA3399U-1BAS Battery is still spacious enough that the Enter, Backspace, and right Shift keys are all full-sized (the left Shift key is another story). Although the keys weren’t terribly bouncy, we were still able to type at a fast clip, notching an all-time high score of 100 words per minute on the Ten Thumbs Typing Test.



The large, gesture-enabled touchpad responded smoothly to pinching and zooming,PA3399U-2BAS Battery as well as to one-fingered scrolling. With a smooth, low-friction surface and an easy-to-press touch button to match, this redesigned NV is an improvement over its predecessors. 

Ambient Heat

Even after playing a Hulu clip at full screen for 15 minutes, the PA3534U-1BRS Battery stayed cool, measuring 90 degrees Fahrenheit on the touchpad and 92 degrees at the center of the keyboard and on its bottom side. True, the average notebook this size also measures 90 degrees around the touchpad, but it also reaches temperatures of 93 degrees on the keyboard and 98 degrees on the bottom, the side that gets the least ventilation.PA3435U-1BRS Battery

Display and Sound

When we watched the first Iron Man movie on Blu-ray, the picture looked bright and sharp on the 15.6-inch screen, as PA3450U-1BRS Battery did a lower-resolution SNL Digital Short on Hulu. Still, the benefits of having a Blu-ray drive are mostly lost on a 1366 x 768 display. A higher resolution would have been nice, although we suppose that’s a reasonable trade-off to make in a sub-$800 machine.



The speaker strip, barely noticeable above the keyboard, PA3479U-1BRS Batteryproduced slightly metallic bass notes when we played “Telephone” by Lady Gaga and “Paint it Black” by the Rolling Stones.

Ports and Webcam

The PA3451U-1BRS Battery includes every port most users could need, including three USB 2.0 ports; HDMI and VGA output for high-def and standard-def monitors and TVs, respectively; an Ethernet jack; and headphone and mic ports. Rounding out the list is a 5-in-1 memory card reader. The Blu-ray player takes up most of the right side, save for two of the USB ports; the rest of the ports are on the left side (the memory card slot is tucked into the front edge).



The 1.3-megapixel webcam has a maximum resolution of 1280 x 1024. While our photos showed good colors and brightness,PA3478U-1BRS Battery could only make out a fair amount of detail, even at the highest resolution. Our video, meanwhile, showed motion blur even at VGA resolution, while the laptop’s microphone produced echoing sound, too. In general, the Gateway Video laptop Camera software is too minimalist; there aren’t even thumbnails of photos and videos you’ve just shot.

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Apple MacBook (2010) Review

Even though Apple only introduced the vgp-bps8 last Fall, we weren’t surprised that the company’s consumer vgp-bps8a saw a refresh shortly after the MacBook Pro line saw its upgrades. Like the Pros, the MacBook’s updates are mostly limited to internal specs, with the same excellent outer design and $999 price remaining the same. Also true to the last generation, this new MacBook’s specs are very similar to the vgp-bpl8, which costs $200 more. Apple draws the line between consumer and professional at aluminum vs. plastic, plus the number and type of ports on offer. Considering its excellent battery life, design, operating system and customer support, the MacBook remains a strong buy. But for the lower price you’ll sacrifice some features.

Design

If you were to take a 13-inch MacBook Pro and replace the metal exterior with plastic, you’d pretty much have the MacBook. Its gleaming white glossy plastic interior and exterior—including the keyboard—continues the clean aesthetic of previous Macs, and hides fingerprints well, too. Like the MacBook Pros, this thin and light system also features a sturdy unibody construction. The result is a design that feels like it will stand the test of time. vgp-bps9,vgp-bps9/s,vgp-bps9/b,vgp-bps9a/b



While the aluminum-clad MacBook Pros with their black keyboards are definitely sleek, the all-white MacBook seems somewhat friendlier. The bottom panel, held in place by 8 screws, is coated in a soft light gray rubber, which keeps it from slipping around on a desk, and feels comfortable on your lap.



At 13.0 x 9.1 x 1.1 inches and weighing 4.8 pounds, the MacBook slightly larger and heavier than the 13-inch MacBook Pro (12.8 x 8.9 x 1.0 inches, 4.4 pounds), but isn’t too great a difference that we couldn’t carry it comfortably in our messenger bag. vgp-bps13, vgp-bps13a/b

Heat

After playing a Hulu video at full screen for 15 minutes, Toshiba Notebook Battery we measured the temperature of the MacBook in several places:Sony battery the touchpad only got as hot as 81 degrees Fahrenheit, the space between the G and H key reached 92 degrees, and the underside of the notebook reached just 94 degrees. The hottest area of the notebook was nearest the hinge on the bottom, which measured a whopping 120 degrees. This was noticeable when on our lap and much hotter than the previous generation, which only reached 97 degrees during the same test.

Keyboard and Touchpad

Unlike the MacBook Pros, the MacBook’s keyboard is not backlit; some concessions have to be made for the price. However, PA3399U-1BAS Battery seems to be the only concession. Not only is the island-style keyboard well-spaced, but the keys themselves were comfortable to the touch, and were snappy in response.



Apple has also brought the same touchpad as on its other notebooks: it doubles PA3399U-2BAS Battery the touchpad and the touch button. At 4.0 x 3.0 inches, not only is this trackpad the largest we’ve ever tested, but is very low friction, too. Like the 13-inch MacBook Pro, Apple’s honed the design: we were able to effortlessly press down on the button without thinking about the fact that there’s no dedicated touch button (nevermind two).



The multitouch gestures work smoothly, too. By pushing four fingers toward the top of the touchpad, we were able to fling windows up toward the top of the screen, exposing a clean PA3435U-1BRS Battery. When we used two fingers to zoom in and out of pages in Safari 4, the onscreen response was very quick. More importantly, it wasn’t jerky and finicky, like the touchpad/button combo on the PA3451U-1BRS Battery. We were able to rest our left thumb on the pad and still move the cursor around without the notebook misinterpreting our movements.



Just as with the new MacBook Pros and the iPhone and iPad, Apple added inertial scrolling to the MacBook’s touchpad. It makes getting around long webpages and Google Reader feed lists much easier, but users who find it annoying can disable it in the system settings.PA3534U-1BRS Battery

Display and Audio

The 13.3-inch LED-backlit glossy display on the MacBook has a resolution of 1280 x 800, and images were bright and crisp. However, PA3450U-1BRS Battery this system doesn’t have the same 60 percent greater color gamut as the MacBook Pro line, so photo editors will want to think twice. Viewing angles were excellent from side to side, and unlike the previous generation MacBook, vertical viewing angles are just as good. We did note pixilation and blocky colors when watching both standard and high definition video streamed from Hulu and YouTube. Video played from the hard drive or DVD was smoother,PA3465U-1BRS Battery but pixels were still noticeable.



While the speakers on the MacBook were loud, PA3475U-1BRS Battery producing enough sound to fill a room, they were lacking in bass. Higher sounds, such as the drums and guitar riffs in Guns n Roses’ “November Rain” tended to be somewhat harsh.

Ports and Webcam

The one area where we’d like to see Apple splurge a bit more is with its port and slot selection. The MacBook has two USB, a mini DisplayPort, Ethernet, and a headphone jack on the left side; on the right is the slot for the SuperDrive DVD burner. Considering their ubiquity (you can find them on $300 netbooks), we’d like to see an SD Card slot, as well as at least one more USB port. The PA3478U-1BRS Battery, for example, has all of the above, as well as FireWire and HDMI.



When conversing with a friend over Google PA3479U-1BRS Battery, she said that our image was clear, and the embedded mic picked up our sound well, but the camera on the MacBook had a hard time adjusting to lower-light conditions.

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Review Viliv S10 Blade

In the growing sea of  inspiron 6400 battery, the $797 Viliv S10 Blade stands out for both positive and negative reasons. While its design and touchscreen will tempt users with a sleek form factor and keyboard, good looks only get the S10 Blade so far. Its long battery life still can’t make up for a number of problems—sluggish performance, hot temperatures, and a high latitude d630 batterytag—that make it all but unusable as a tablet.



After seeing demos of the Viliv S10 Blade, both at the inspiron 1525 battery Developer’s Forum and at 2010 International CES, we were impressed with the notebook’s slim form factor, bright high-res screen, and promise of long battery life. The system had so much potential, in fact, that we honored it with a XPS M1730 Battery. Unfortunately, the combination of a slow 1.6-GHz Atom Z530 CPU, a glacial PATA SSD, and inadequate cooling on our review unit make it difficult to recommend.

Design

Though we’re not fans of the S10’s glossy fingerprint-prone lid, we do appreciate the gray matte deck, keyboard, and bezel surrounding the 10.1 inch display. Rounded corners and tapered edges also contribute to the Blade’s slim look. A Latitude D830 Battery is discreetly stowed in the chassis on the left near the front of the unit, and an antenna for better 3G reception extends out of the lower right corner of the display.



The screen’s swivel hinge feels sturdy enough to withstand repeated flipping between tablet and netbook modes of  pa3399u-2brs . When the lid is closed—either with the screen face up or down—we noticed that the display noticeably wiggled back and forth, making us less confident about the design’s longevity.



The 10.2 x 7.3 x 1-inch S10 Blade lives up to Viliv’s promise of a slim, sleek netbook. The system felt good in our hands, and while at 2.8 pounds it weighs as much as most other netbooks, our arms didn’t tire too quickly while holding pa3534u-1brs.

Heat

While using the S10 in tablet mode, we noticed that the bottom of the device became extremely hot. After playing a Hulu video of  pa3435u-1brs at full screen for 15 minutes, we measured temperatures at the center of the underside at 106 degrees Fahrenheit, and a dangerous 138 degrees on the left side near the back. The touchpad only reached 87 degrees, and the space between the G and H keys measured an acceptable 95 degrees. However, for a device that’s meant to be held, the heat emanating from the bottom is problematic. Viliv intends to mitigate this problem in the final production run, but without a fan we suspect users will still find the heat uncomfortable.

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