Sunday 25 November 2012

Lenovo C200 1832 All-in-One Desktop PC

Lenovo C200 1832 All-in-One Desktop PC is featured with Intel dual-core processor D510. It has 1GB DDR2 SDRAM and 250GB SATA hard disk drive. It supports Genuine Windows 7 operating system. It is equipped with 18.5-inch 16:9 widescreen LCD with 1366 x 768 resolution. It has Five USB 2.0 ports.



  • Approximate Price `18,794*



Product Details
Lenovo C200 1832 All-in-One Desktop PC
Lenovo C200 1832 All-in-One Desktop PC is featured with Intel dual-core processor D510. It has 1GB DDR2 SDRAM and 250GB SATA hard disk drive. It supports Genuine Windows 7 operating system. It is equipped with 18.5-inch 16:9 widescreen LCD with 1366 x 768 resolution. It has Five USB 2.0 ports.

Friday 23 November 2012

HTC DROID DNA

HTC put everything it is capable of into the latest surprise for the year, its DROID DNA behemoth announced as a Verizon exclusive. The phone's main selling point is its large 5" edge-to-edge screen with Full HD resolution, the first of its kind with 440ppi pixel density, which is a sight to behold. Every major hardware and software improvement the company has come up with lately are also thrown in there, like Beats Audio and dedicated speaker amplifiers, wide-angle front camera, the ImageChip ISP and latest Sense 4+, plus HTC has wrapped it all up in a very slim and elegant for this screen size chassis.

HP LaserJet Pro 400 Printer M401dn Review

HP has brought a couple of new printers to its existing LaserJet lineup and this new portfolio aims at providing customers with features that have been lacking in the previous models. There are three variants in their monochrome laser category and they include the M401d (duplex), the M401n (network) and the M401dn (duplex and network). We’ve got the M401dn in the labs and this variant is intended for SMBs and enterprise solutions. Let’s have a look what it’s all about. 



Design and Build Quality 
The M401dn has a boxy appearance to it and with dimensions of 14.35 x 14.49 x 10.67 inches in a closed position, the printer has a slightly large footprint. It’s got a nice matte black finish to it, which will fit pretty well with your office’s interiors. The front has a nice brushed look with two loading trays and the power button. A USB port is housed towards the left that lets you instantly connect your pen drives (not hard drives) to print documents and images on the go. The left consists of a heat vent while the power slot and the printer and Ethernet ports are located at the back. The top consists of a 3.5-inch touch panel.


This printer has a weight of 10.6 kgs and its best kept in a sturdy, well ventilated dust free area as you’re not going to be moving it too much. It’s got a built to last feel with sturdy flaps that snap on with a reassuring click. It’s an office printer that doesn’t disappoint in the looks department. 

Features
This mono laser printer is powered by an 800 MHz processor. We’re starting off with this because this printer comes with a unique feature – it supports business apps. These apps are small modules and snippets that allow you to print unique tasks at pre-scheduled times. So, for example, you want the printer to download a certain set of stock quotes or news or even comics at specific time intervals, you simply connect it via the network and assign the tasks from your computer, the printer will do the rest. It also has HP’s ePrint capabilities – you can print from anywhere with a Web connection by sending an email to your printer's email address. Once you connect, the HP ePrint centre site allows you to manage your printer. You can also select a host of free consumer and business applications. The ePrintcentre detects the printer you have connected and recommends apps to you accordingly. 

The USB walk up allows you to print PDFs and other documents and images via the printer's USB port. You can connect pen drives upto 16GB with FAT32 support; portable hard drives are not supported. You can also preview an image file before you print it on the screen - important if you have a large amount of data on your pen drive.

With HP’s Smart Install, if you plug in the printer to a windows machine via USB the drivers get automatically installed as they’re in the printer itself. If it’s connected via the network, you need to type in the IP address - it gives you a website and you can simply click on the link and download the network drivers. The printer also has an Instant On feature that lets you print documents with little to no waiting time. The 3.5-inch touch screen gives you the essential information to set up HP’s web services, toggle a set of features and view diagnostic and error information. It’s a resistive one, but gets the work done. 


Monday 19 November 2012

HP Pavilion Dm4 3010TX


The Pavilion dm4 has a lot going for it in the looks and ergonomics department. While the lid and the palmrest have a metal finish, its bezel is made of glossy cheap plastic. Even though this is pretty much a full sized laptop, its weight is quite low – just 1.97 kg. Not bad at all.
The HP Pavilion dm4 houses a Sandy bridge processor, a generation older than the latest Ivy. In the PC Mark Vantage test, the Pavilion dm4 scored 6991 while the Sony Vaio E-series (Sandy Bridge) scored a slightly higher 7,039. The dm4 fights back in PC Mark 7 with a score of24,66, while the Sony clocked 2219.The is that despite sporting an older processor, the dm4 is by no means sluggish, giving latest laptops in its price range.

The dm4’s AMD Radeon 7470M graphics with a 3D Mark6 score of 5,643 clearly points to mid-range performance. This was verified by the 3D Mark 11 Entry mode test itself – HP scored 1135 while the Vaio scored 1881. Good, not great.
In our stressful battery benchmark test, this HP laptop’s battery lasted 190 minutes on single charge. In standard real world usage, this should be able to last around 4.5 hours without any issues at all.
Despite being on Sandy Bridge, the overall performance of the laptop is actually quite good. But the real cherry on the cake is its very good battery life, considering it isn’t an ultrabook. The light¬weight build is a bonus. Consider this if you aren’t craving only the latest hardware.

Dell XPS 14


Till now, the Dell XPS 13 ultrabook had, by far, been the perfect all rounder – with excellent looks, a very premium finish and impressive performance scores. However, the new kid on the block, the XPS 14, is looking to take over that mantle. Can it do that? From what we have seen, it surely does!
Build & Design
We were more than impressed (and considerably surprised, admittedly) with the Dell XPS 13 (read our review). The efforts Dell put in on making that ultrabook are more than acknowledged and appreciated. Even more surprising was the fact that the desired effect was achieved with possibly the most humble and minimalist ultrabook. Quite expected then, that the next generation from the same line of ultrabooks, would follow the same path.
The XPS 14, right out of the box, looks like one solid slab of aluminum, with a very matter to fact look. That however, doesn’t take away the fact that a lot of exotic materials have been slapped on to this ultrabook, to give it the real high-end feel. Gone is the carbon fibre that was quite predominant on the chassis of the XPS 13, and has been replaced with the triple team of aluminum, magnesium and silicon. The XPS 14’s lid has the grey aluminum finish, with the Dell logo in the middle. Open it up, and a black matte finish greets you around the keypad, and the keypad itself. The material used here is the magnesium, given a soft touch finish. Popularly known as the “rubberized” feel, we would prefer something like this any given day on our laptops over a glossy or even the remotely shiny enamel finish.
A similar finish extends to the touchpad as well, which has integrated right and left click keys. There are absolutely no quick access keys spread around the XPS 14 to ruin the looks.
On the base, the carbon fibre from the XPS 13 has given way to silicon. This is a heat absorbing material, and there is a pretty thick layer of it. Essentially, if you are using the XPS 14 on your lap for long periods, the chances of it becoming uncomfortable have been reduced to a large extent. On the near and the far sides are two channels of vents that really blow out the warm air. You should be very careful to not block any of these.
The left side of the XPS 14 has a couple of USB ports, HDMI out and the Ethernet port. The right side has just the 3.5mm jack. With the dimensions of the laptop, particularly the thickness, exactly the same at the front and at the back, this does give the resemblance similar to a MacBook Pro.
A strip of silver runs around the entire machine, as a wraparound. Quite a nice add-on, and contrasts well with the black magnesium that is predominant once you have opened the lid of the XPS 14.
We really did not find any shortcomings in terms of the design, the build and the way the machine was put together. It resembles a MacBook Pro, but that is where any similarity stops. The XPS 14 has a very premium finish, and the materials used do lend it that extra classy touch. Absolutely no rough edges, so much so that we could not find any flex on any part of the chassis, including the lid! Now that does say something about the efforts that have been put into making this look and feel worthy of the price tag it commands.
Features & Specifications
As expected, the Dell XPS 14 has the latest Intel Ivy Bridge processors. The model we received is powered by a Core i5-3317U, the same as we saw on the HP Envy 4, the Samsung Series 5and the Sony Vaio T. The review unit is essentially the mid-range model with 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive that has a box price of Rs. 85,299.
Beyond the excellent build and design, the XPS 14 continues to impress. The 14-inch display has a resolution of 1600 x 900 pixels. This is more than the 1366 x 768 pixel resolution that most ultrabooks in this price range tend to offer. The results are rather impressive – the display is a lot crisper than what most ultrabook displays offer. There is a lot of goodness in terms of the specs here as well – the Gorilla Glass with the edge-to-edge deployment doing away the need for a plastic bezel. This is brighter than the HP Envy 4-1002TX and the Samsung Series 5, but just like the XPS 13, handles colours very well. The sharpness, added to the excellent colour handling, makes this the perfect companion for watching a movie on the move. The only negative we can find with this display is that it is slightly reflective, and slightly more than the HP Envy and even the predecessor. You will have to turn up the brightness to compensate for the reflections from the environment, but that does not wash out the colours!
As with most keyboards, it is more of a personal matter of preference and comfort. The keyboard on the XPS 14 is the type that will feel a tad flat in the beginning. The key size is slightly wider than the usual, but once you get used to the layout, this keyboard does offer a very precise feel. The travel is adequate, and the keys have a nice sounding thud. The backlighting is quite good, with the keys as well as rows illuminated in a white cool colour. The touchpad also has the soft feel, with the integrated right and left click keys. In terms of response, it is quite consistent and assured, and even slightly moist fingers don’t make it jump around.
The area around the keyboard is completely uncluttered, thanks to no quick access keys cluttering up the look. The power key also blends in very well with the black coloured finish.
Our review unit has a 500GB hard drive, with 32GB flash storage dedicated for caching tasks. This has become a regular feature in most of the newer ultrabooks, and the real world usage performance boost is immense. However, this is something we had mentioned in the review of the HP Envy 4 as well – Neither HP nor Dell offer a nifty little software like Samsung, that lets you manually enable or disable the flash storage, and manually clean it up if you want to.
Performance
With the same processor as the HP Envy 4 and the Samsung Series 5, we did not expect the performance to be very different. While the Dell and the HP get 4GB of RAM as standard, Samsung offers 6GB with the Series 5. As far as benchmarks were concerned, all three machines did pretty similar scores, thanks to the relatively similar hardware.
In the PC Mark 07 test, the XPS 14 scores 3159 while the Envy 4 isn’t far behind with 3150 clocked. The Samsung Series 5 did score a bit less with 2371, but that shouldn’t take away anything from the fact that the performance is still rather good. Samsung gets its own back in the PC Mark Vantage test with a score of 7465, which is higher than the 7383 the XPS 14 scored. The HP Envy 4, incidentally, had a whopping score of 9966 in the same test.
In terms of real life usability, all three machines offer a relatively similar experience – quick startup, zippy application response, no slowdowns while multi-tasking and a generally smooth Windows experience. The critical bit is the additional flash storage for the caching tasks, and while Samsung has 24GB of that, HP and Dell offer 32GB each. This is over and above the conventional HDD that will be the primary storage device.
Gaming is where the HP Envy takes the advantage, thanks to the more powerful AMD Radeon HD7670M (2GB) graphics solution. While the Nvidia GeForce GT630M (1GB) on the XPS does stand up to the 7670M on the Envy for quite a while, it does lose out in the frame rate stakes. In the Unigene benchmark test, the GT630M scores 17.8 while the Radeon HD 7670M on the Envy scores an impressive 25.9 FPS. The performance is verified by the CineBench OpenGL test – 30.26 for the XPS 14 and 33.78 for the HP Envy 4.
In our full stress load battery tests, the XPS 14’s battery lasted 210 minutes on a single charge – that is 3 hours and 30 minutes. Translate that into a traditional daily usage routine at work or at home checking mails and browsing the web with the brightness slightly less than 50%, we got a backup very similar to the HP Envy 4 – around 7 hours easily.

Friday 9 November 2012

V3 Traverse review: great graphics performance for budget-minded gamers


The V3 Traverse is a custom-built compact gaming rig that’s housed in the same eggshell-white chassis as the AVADirect Mini Gaming PC. In fact, the V3 Traverse and the Mini Gaming PC are rather similar, spec-wise, though the V3 Traverse sports a less powerful processor, higher end graphics card and some different port options due to using a different motherboard.


Our review model, which costs $2509 as configured, features a third-generation Ivy Bridge Intel Core i5-3570K processor, 8GB of RAM, and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 690 graphics card, which uses two GTX 680 GPUs in a single card. The Traverse has two hard drives: a 1TB Hitachi HDD for basic storage, and a 128GB Corsair Force SSD for quick boot-up. The Traverse has built-in Wi-Fi 802.11n and runs a 64-bit version of Windows 7 Home Premium.

Performance

The V3 Traverse manages an excellent overall performance score of 193 (out of 100) on PCWorld’s WorldBench 7 benchmark tests. This means that the Traverse is almost twice as fast (93 percent faster) than our testing model, which shouldn’t be too much of a surprise – our testing model sports a second-generation Intel Core i5-2500K processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 1TB traditional platter hard drive. Our testing model has no SSD, which means certain processes (namely startup and storage) are slower than systems that do sport SSDs, even if they’re small SSDs.
Compared to the last three performance desktop PCs we tested, which include the Falcon Northwest Tiki and the V3 Convoy, the V3 Traverse comes out ahead. The average WB7 score of the last three systems tested was 189, which is just slightly lower than the Traverse’s score.
The Traverse’s performance on individual tests varies. Though this system has a higher WB7 score than any of the last three desktops we’ve tested, it doesn’t always trump other systems in individual tests. For example, the Traverse performs well in our web performance test, with a frame rate of 22.1 frames per second, but it lags behind the other three systems, which have an average frame rate of 24.7 fps. The Traverse isn’t great at office productivity, either – in the PCMark 7 office productivity test, the Traverse scored 6050, which is less (but not much) than the average score of 6186 of the last three performance desktops tested.
One area in which the Traverse does shine is start-up time. The system starts up in just 20 seconds, which is probably the fastest start-up time of any performance desktop that I’ve seen. By comparison, the V3 Convoy takes 36.5 seconds to start up, while the Maingear Shift Super Stock – currently our top-rated performance desktop PC – takes over two full minutes. Start-up time isn’t critical on a desktop PC, but being ready to go in 20 seconds is always nice.
Graphics performance on the Traverse is up to par with other gaming systems. In our Crysis 2 graphics tests, the Traverse managed frame rates of between 70.6 (maximum quality settings, 2560 by 1600 pixel resolution) and 98.1 (low quality settings, 1024 by 768 pixel resolution) frames per second. By comparison the average frame rates of the last three desktops tested were between 35.9 and 97.3 fps.
At maximum quality graphics settings, the Traverse performs pretty well; the dual GPU GTX 690 is probably a big factor in our gaming results. A lot of systems take a hit at the highest settings and/or highest resolutions, but the Traverse still manages to pop out 70 fps. It’s not quite as consistent as the Origin Genesis X79, though, which manages 92.6 fps at the highest setting/highest resolution, down just a little from its frame rate of 97.3 at the lowest setting/lowest resolution. Then again, the Genesis casts almost twice as much, and is massive.

Design & Interior

Like the AVADirect Mini Gaming PC, the V3 Traverse is housed in an arctic white BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX tower. This tower is fairly small, at just 15 inches tall, and is suspended by springy, rubbery handles made of BitFenix’s special “FyberFlex Composite.” There are two handles on the top of the machine, and two handles on the bottom. The handles are flimsy at best – the top handles don’t seem like they’ll support the weight of the (fully loaded) machine for very long, while the bottom handles have a rounded construction that causes the tower to wobble whenever you touch it. I suppose the handles are good for shock absorption, if you plan on moving your system often, but that’s about it.
The V3 Traverse’s chassis is good-looking, if you like the way an egg looks. The rounded handles and the white shell make it look like a very large egg. The mini-tower features flat white sides (the right side has some convenience ports and power/reset buttons, while the left side has a rectangular pattern of dots for ventilation), a white top with a removable black mesh panel, and a white front panel with a black border. The front houses the Traverse’s BD-RW drive, though the drive door is clad in plastic, not brushed aluminum like it is on AVADirect’s system.
Getting inside the Traverse’s chassis is easy: both sides come off (and are attached with two thumbscrews at the back), and a large black mesh panel on the top also comes off. The left side opens up to the graphics card, but there are two easily-accessible 5.25-inch drive bays, only one of which is full. The right side is a little trickier, since the there are two USB 3.0 ports on the right panel. However, inside the right panel are three little SSD-sized drive bays attached to the wall, only one of which is full.
The Traverse is built with a Zotac Z77 motheboard, and has a decent port selection. The convenience ports, which are located on the right side of the machine, are the same: two USB 3.0 ports, a microphone jack, and a headphone jack. On the back are two more USB 3.0 ports (four total), four USB 2.0 ports, one PS/2 combination port for mouse and keyboard, two Gigabit Ethernet ports, two HDMI outputs, one mini DisplayPort, one SPDIF out, and support for 7.1 surround sound. The AVADirect Mini Gaming PC doesn’t support 7.1 surround sound, but it (sort of) makes up for this with two extra USB 3.0 ports (six total). On the Traverse’s graphics card, you’ll find three DVI outputs and one mini DisplayPort.

The Bottom Line

At just over $2500, the V3 Traverse is sort of budget-friendly – if you’re a gamer looking for a powerful machine, that is. This little egg-inspired gaming PC (don’t worry – if you don’t like the egg look you can always customize your chassis in black) is an excellent overall performer. It’s also got a nice port selection, including a PS/2 combo port for people who still use non-USB mouse or keyboard, support for 7.1 surround sound, and dual Gigabit Ethernet jacks.
The Traverse’s mini-tower chassis is easy to open and has a decent amount of space – for a mini-tower. It’s certainly not a computer for a serious upgrader, but if you’re just looking to add an extra SSD or two, it’s definitely worth a look as an upgradeable machine.

Thursday 8 November 2012

Lenovo H330: Budget Machine Outperforms Its Category

Our review model, which is priced at $799, sports an Intel Core i5-2500 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and an AMD Radeon HD 6450 graphics card. It also has a 1TB hard drive, which is very roomy for a budget machine, and it runs a 64-bit version of Windows 7 Home Premium. It has no built-in Wi-Fi or Bluetooth (it's a budget tower, after all), but it did ship with a Blu-ray disc player--unusual in a machine that's otherwise very budget-like.


In PCWorld's WorldBench 6 benchmark tests, the H330 scored an impressive 158, which will put it at the top of our budget desktop category. Our previous leader, the Micro Express MicroFlex 23B, scored 141. That machine, of course, has a Core i3-2120 processor and half the RAM, not to mention a price tag that's $200 lower than the H330's. (The H330 is also a step or two up from its earlier sibling, the H320, which immediately follows the MicroFlex 23B on our chart.)
Graphics performance, however, was less than impressive. In our Unreal Tournament 3 tests, the H330 managed a rate of just 18.5 frames per second (high quality settings, 1920-by-1200-pixel resolution). Bumping the screen resolution down to 1680 by 1050 pixels helped a little (22.5 frames per second), but it's not until we go all the way down to 1024 by 768 pixels that we get a playable 46.4 fps. This isn't a gaming powerhouse, but this machine will still be able to perform basic multimedia tasks and stream video with few issues.
The Lenovo H330 is housed in a small, slim tower that can either stand upright or lie horizontally on its side. The tower is simple but attractive, with a shiny black finish on the front casing and orange accents. A few ports are located on the front of the machine--two for USB--plus headphone and microphone jacks, a couple of card reader slots that will accept multiple formats, and of course the tray-loading Blu-ray disc player. The remaining ports are on the back: two PS/2 ports for a mouse and keyboard; four USB ports; gigabit ethernet; and HDMI, VGA, line-in, and line-out.
As you might imagine, you don't get a lot of room inside for tinkering. And opening the chassis isn't exactly easy--not only will you need to break out a screwdriver, but taking off the side also removes half of the bottom of the machine (if you're not expecting this, you may end up knocking it over). Every extra nook is taken, but one PCIe slot (x1) is open.
The H330 ships with a keyboard and a mouse, both of which feature orange accents, similar to the tower. Both are wired, but the keyboard is PS/2 while the mouse is USB.
The keyboard features flat, regular-style keys. It's fairly comfortable to type on, but it doesn't give a lot of feedback, and the keys are a little too soft. On the plus side, this means that the keyboard is extremely quiet; on the minus side, it means that you may end up making a lot of typos. The keyboard also includes an orange LVT button that lets users access Lenovo Vantage Technology (LVT), Lenovo’s custom suite of utilities and recovery tools.
The USB-wired mouse is typical: lightweight and optical, with two buttons and a scroll wheel. The scroll wheel is orange. There's nothing extraordinarily awesome or awful about this peripheral--it's just your run-of-the-mill optical mouse.
Lenovo's H330 may be a budget machine, but it does have a few tricks up its sleeve--mainly, impressive performance and a Blu-ray player. While I'm not sure you really need a Blu-ray player on a system that offers just decent--at best--graphics quality, this desktop is good choice for people who are looking for superior general (nongaming) performance in a lower-cost desktop, plan only moderate multimedia usage, and want a case with a small footprint.

Wednesday 7 November 2012

ICN-B150 Pad Printer

The new ICN-B150 pad printer is the big brother to the B100 tabletop model. Like its brother, the B150 is a compact tabletop pad printer; the only difference is this is an industrial grade single-color pad printer for large images. The 150mm patented VersaCup ink cup assembly prints images of up to 140mm in size! The powerful compression capability of 779lbs allows for easy handling of large, hard print pads, which enables printing of highest quality images on tagless garments, drink ware, injection molded housing, bezels and other products up to 5.5" inches in height.


Replicator maker talks up 3D printing tech


he gospel about 3D printing is being taken to the streets of New York.
MakerBot Industries, best known for its small 3D printers, has opened a shop in Manhattan through which it will aim to sell the joys of home fabrication to the general public.
The store opening comes as MakerBot releases the second incarnation of its Replicator 3D printer.
The Replicator 2.0 works to much finer resolutions than earlier versions and can fabricate much bigger objects.


Supply side
MakerBot said the store, the first of its kind, would act as a showcase for 3D printing and stage demonstrations and workshops for those who were curious about the technology.
3D printing involves building up objects layer by layer out of plastic that is melted and fed via a carefully controlled nozzle to form a shape. The printers were initially used in engineering and design firms to produce and refine prototypes.
Now many home hackers, makers and artists use 3D printers to turn out their own customised creations. Examples include model soldiers, cases for home electronic projects, and furniture for dolls' houses.
Bre Pettis said the Replicator 2.0 was aimed at the "prosumer" - either a design professional or a hardcore hobbyist. The device costs $2,199 (£1,360) and builds objects up in layers only 100 microns thick. In previous versions, each layer was about 270 microns thick.
Mat Fordy, founder and boss of coolcomponents.co.uk that sells 3D printers and other home hacking gear, said the technology was proving popular.
"We've really seen the affordable 3D printer market in the UK explode over the last couple of years," he told the BBC. "Many types of people use them, not just professionals, but people who have an idea that they need to touch and hold."
He said the new MakerBot was a great looking piece of kit but supply problems had made it hard to get hold of.
"They never seem to have enough to go around, and that puts a lot of people off," he said. "Other excellent printers are in ready supply, and many people just give up waiting and get one of those instead."

An Attractive Notebook That Expresses Your Unique Personality

With its distinctive wrap design, accent color, and matching accessories, the VAIO E Series 14A notebook PC is a perfect reflection of your unique personality. The model is available in five different colors and also features an eye-catching accent color on its sides*, keyboard, and touchpad. A matching mouse and keyboard skin are also included, creating an overall effect that is colorful and stylish-just like you at your best

Cross Sensor
Clear 14 (35.6 Cms) LCD Screen
VAIO E Series notebooks feature a 14 (35.6 cms) wide display. Even when the screen is viewed from an angle, the picture retains its sharpness and clarity. Have even more fun watching movies and viewing photographic images.
Clear 14(35.6 cms) LCD screen
 
Long Battery Life*
The long battery life of the E14A Series is perfectly suited to help you meet the demands of your busy lifestyle. Whether at home or on campus, you’re bound to appreciate this enhanced capability. Now you can finally go the distance with a notebook that has as much stamina as you do. Stay on pace for longer and enjoy the freedom of your extra mobility.
* Estimated battery life (under JEITA Battery Run Time Measurement Method ver.1.0,measurement method (a)). Actual battery life may vary with different operating conditions and settings.
Clear 14(35.6 cms) LCD screen
 
Superb Sound Quality
Revel in this model’s superb sound quality. Sony technologies - “xLOUD” and “Clear Phase”- combine to produce superior sound that will increase your listening pleasure. “Clear Phase” reproduces a cleaner, more natural sound, while “xLOUD” boosts the speaker volume.

Dolby Home Theater® v4, which allows more specialized settings for movies, music, and games. Whatever your audio requirements, you'll love the sound produced by this notebook.
* Specifications differ by model.
Clear PhasexLOUD
 
USB* Charging Of Other Devices At Any Time
The USB charging feature allows you to rapidly recharge other devices from your notebook. Simply connect the device you want to recharge to the USB charging port. You can charge a device even when the notebook is turned off or is in Sleep mode and not connected to the AC mains. This feature is particularly useful if your smartphone or portable audio player suddenly runs out of battery power and you do not have easy access to a mains power outlet.
*USB cable not included.
xLOUD
 
Ultra-Fast USB 3.0 Connectivity
The notebook comes equipped with two USB 3.0 ports on its side. Both ports allow you to connect the PC to a USB device, such as an external hard disk or a printer. More than 10 times faster than USB 2.0, USB 3.0 allows extremely high-speed data transfer between the notebook and your USB 3.0 device. An enormous range of USB 3.0 devices is now becoming available, which will allow you to increase the versatility of your VAIO Series notebook.
* Specifications differ by model.

8 Cool New Laptops


If you haven't spent time reading through PCMag's laptop page, you don't know what you're missing. There has been a crop of fast, fascinating, and feature-packed portable PCs in categories ranging from slim and portable ultrabooks to gaming behemoths—cool new laptops like the eight listed here by way of example.
Ultrabooks may be thin, but the category is growing wider. Better processors have made ultrabooks into viable tools for business and multimedia, and the newest material of choice—carbon fiber—is cutting weight drastically. The ultrabook surge is far from over, so keep your eyes on the category for an ever-wider selection of thin and light options.
On the other end of the size spectrum, desktop replacements and gaming laptops are offering more and more features, at a range of prices. The selection here spans several levels of affordability (from $749 to $2,599) but the number of advancements and features mean that the buyer is the winner at nearly any price. Intel's third-generation Ivy Bridge processors offer superb performance and energy efficiency across the board, while extras like 1080p HD displays and high-end designs ensure that even in the upper reaches you'll still get your money's worth.

As for forward-looking features, every laptop here has USB 3.0 for speedy external storage and docking connectivity. Most have Intel Wireless Display (WiDi) for beaming screen and sound to an HDTV set equipped with a Belkin or Netgear adapter. And speaking of displays, no discussion of cool new laptops could fail to mention Apple's Retina Display, a laptop display with a staggering 2,880-by-1,800 resolution panel. It costs a pretty penny, but it will definitely catch your eye.
As always, our How to Buy a Laptop advice applies. It's a good idea to try to check out a notebook's screen and keyboard at a retailer before you buy, particularly for ultrabooks whose slim design may mean shallower keyboard travel than you're used to. Our reviews will tell you whether a system has the ports you need and how it did on our industry-standard benchmark tests so you can make your best buying decision.
The only trouble with highlighting cool new laptops is that today's laptops are cooler than ever. Check out these samples to get started, then stay on top of the market in the pages of PCMag.

Monday 5 November 2012

Latest mobile phones 2012: hottest handsets reviewed


In the ever-changing mobile market, it can be hard to keep pace with the latest mobile phones. That's why we've put together this hub for our latest mobile phone reviews: to give you the ideal jumping-on point for choosing the best handset for you out of the most current models around.
We cover a plethora of brands, including Apple, HTC, Nokia, Palm and Blackberry, and operating systems, such as Android, iOS and Windows Phone 7, so you should find something that piques your interest here.
In short, if you're seeking a new mobile phone, this is a great place to start.
HTC Wildfire S
new mobile phones
The first Wildfire from HTC spread almost like its moniker, so popular did its blend of HTC Sense, durable form factor and affordable pricing prove. Now that it's burnt out, however, it needs a successor to carry the torch. Rising from the ashes is the Wildfire S.
The handset carries on the legacy well enough, with an impressively solid chassis, great social features and responsive touchscreen. The market's changed since the first Wildfire blazed its trail into history, though. With dual-core 'superphones' to contend with, it's hard to consider a 600Mhz processor hot stuff.
And while HTC's Sense interface proves as compelling as ever, the lack of grunt means missing out on Flash support for iPlayer and the like.
All that wouldn't matter if the Wildfire S only required liberating a token sum from your account, but you'll need a fair few sheets burning a hole in your pocket (around £220 SIM-free, or £15 a month) to lay claim to this little fella.
In the highly competitive market of 2011, that makes the Wildfire S a tricky proposition. Beginners will be well-served by the Wildfire S's rounded package, but you can certainly get a lot more for not much extra cash.
Samsung Galaxy S2
new mobile phones
It's rare that a direct sequel to something awesome – be it film, game or hardware – is anything other than a disappointment when it comes to a new phone.
Rarer still is when the second instalment surpasses the original. We can think of just a scant handful of cases off the top of our heads: The Empire Strikes Back, Terminator 2 and Left 4 Dead 2.
Well, add the Galaxy S2 to that list, because this phone is awesome.
Thin, light and with an amazingly clear 4.3-inch Super AMOLED plus screen behind its toughened Gorilla Glass front panel, this is one handset you won't be pocketing in shame when your mates pass by.
In fact, we suspect you'll be evangelising about it to anyone who'll listen. That's because the dual-core processor within its tiny shell isn't just a marketing bullet point, but rather powers an experience that we're nothing short of effervescent about. For instance, web browsing is blisteringly fast and the Galaxy S2's Flash support is second to none.
We're thrilled to say that the plus points are just too numerous to do justice of here. Check out the full review to find out why this is one of the best smartphones we're likely to see in 2011.
HTC ChaCha
new mobile phones
If you're aged 14-21 and are after a fun mobile rather than a black slab of raw processing power, we reckon you'll find it hard not to like (or +1, if you prefer) the new 'Facebook phone'.
As the nickname suggests, Mark Zuckerberg's blue-hued brand of social media is at the heart of the experience – HTC even going as far as to give the site its own dedicated button beneath the ChaCha's decent QWERTY keyboard.
Break through the wall of modified HTC Sense and you'll note that Android Gingerbread is powering the experience, which should be welcome for the tech-savvy target audience. Less warmly received will be the Flash integration, which is a bit iffy to say the least.
With a funny shape and small screen to boot, you're really going to have to want the ChaCha's style of social oh la la to buy into this. Still, if you do, then this is something to post home about.
HTC Sensation XE
new mobile phones
This phone is so brand spanking new that it was announced just a day before we first held it in our palms. It adheres to the sensational HTC Sensation's template, but with the addition of ear-pleasing Beats Audio processing and a few spec upgrades.
You needn't be an audiophile to enjoy the new profile, but you will need a set of Beats Audio headphones.
Thankfully, a pair come with the device. In our tests so far, we've noticed a real difference, with the tinny edge of HTC's sound enhancer diminished, the crispness of sounds augmented and the only potential grounds for minor quibbles being the ear canal-shaking levels of bass.
The good news continues elsewhere, with a 1730mAh battery that should have more staying power than the original Sensation, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor to keep the experience smooth and an eye-pleasing design.
Treat your senses and check out the full review when it lands.
Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc
new mobile phones
Could Sony Ericsson finally be about to deliver on the promise of, well, every smartphone it's ever made that wasn't quite good enough? Maybe it was stupid to hope, but we did anyway with this new mobile phone.
An attractive design with a curved back that's just 8.7mm thick in the middle? Check. Impressive new Exmor camera technology? Check. Good spec list, including HDMI output? Check. Superb video player? Check.
The hardware is extremely impressive, both in terms of looks and performance. Forget the fashionable dual-core phones – when done right, a single-core 1GHz processor can do it all, although busy, dynamic websites will cause the phone to chug a little.
As it is, we're prepared to overlook the Xperia Arc's few minor flaws (small buttons, odd text entry) thanks to its stunning good looks, superb screen and very decent photo performance. You can't help but love it once you've held its magically thin body and gazed adoringly into its dazzling Reality Display.
HTC Desire S
new mobile phones
Though the HTC Desire's technology is now being surpassed, it's aged beautifully thanks to some timely price drops. However, all things must come to an end (or at least be supplanted by something new). The HTC Desire S has arrived to take over from its predecessor in the Android race.
In many ways, it's quite similar. We'll still be looking at a 3.7-inch 480 x 800 screen, Android overlaid with HTC's Sense UI and a 1GHz processor. However, HTC hasn't totally rested on its laurels with its new mobile phones.
The design and build of the handset is excellent, save for a slight Wi-Fi cutting-out issue. The camera is good quality, producing serviceable still and HD video that would be quite good if it weren't for a small stuttering issue.
Call quality was excellent, with voices coming through crisp and clear, and it's a shame how little we get to say that about handsets these days.
The browsing experience was generally strong, with the speed that web pages load still impressing us, and Flash is taking yet more steps forward in its 10.2 guise. It was still finicky at times, but when it did work, it was fairly smooth, which is more than we could say for many Flash 10.1 single-core phones.
However, the reason the Desire has kept up with everything that's come after is because it was so far ahead in the first place. The Desire S isn't. It's a great phone, and one we would wholeheartedly recommend in a vacuum.
The HTC Desire led the revolution, but the Desire S could be just another member of the rabble.
BlackBerry Bold 9900
BlackBerry bold 9900
While RIM has a great reputation for push email and corporate handsets, it's not known for being an innovator. For this reason, the Blackberry Bold 9900 is an intriguing proposition, packing some higher-end tech into a rather attractive shell.
The capacitive (and high resolution) touchscreen screen is a particular marvel, but the inclusion of a near-field communications chip and the brand new OS 7 show that the Bold 9900 was made to break new ground for RIM.
The result is impressive, but only if you're happy to operate within the boundaries of BlackBerry's traditional strengths. Those looking for an outstanding web browsing or media experience will still find themselves disappointed. Still, head over to the review to find out more about what our review dubbed the best BlackBerry to date.

HTC Sensation
Nokia c2-01
The HTC Sensation is meant to be the new alpha smartphone from the Taiwanese firm, and it certainly lives up to expectations.
With a 1.2GHz dual core processor from Qualcomm and a whopping 4.3-inch high-res qHD screen, this is the phone with best specs yet from HTC, plus it's the first smartphone with the new HTC Watch movie download service.
Is it better than the Samsung Galaxy S2? We think it's just a shade behind thanks to a slightly larger chassis and less advanced screen technology, but that's going to be a debate that rumbles on and on.
HTC Incredible S
HTC incredible s
Incredible by name and only slightly less so by nature, this phone is HTC's entry into the underpopulated 4-inch touchscreen arena. In fact, it's among the first UK handsets to fill that niche, but more are on the horizon.
It's blessed with HTC's slick Sense UI and a high-quality screen, but is this latest mobile phone's foibles enough to warrant waiting for its incoming competitors, or the HTC Desire S?
Samsung Galaxy Ace
Samsung galaxy ace
With a middle-of-the-range spec, 800MHz processor and iPhone-aping looks, it may be hard to see why it's worth buying into the new Galaxy Ace. However, its Android 2.2 (Froyo) OS makes a considerable difference and is, in fact, this phone's ace (yes! We said it) in the hole.
It won't cost you the Earth either, so look deeper and you may find just what you were looking for.
BlackBerry Torch 9810
BlackBerry torch 9810
This update of the Torch 9800, the first touchscreen-equipped BlackBerry, is mighty similar to its predecessor at first glance. But fire up the 3.2-inch touchscreen and you'll start to notice the difference, with a VGA 640 x 480 resolution making the whole experience far crisper.
The processor is fast, the battery life is good, and contacts and messaging are fantastic, but we do have a few gripes. This, folks, is an incremental upgrade and one that struggles to find its niche in BlackBerry's pantheon.
There are RIM handsets that are more focused on the demographics that this phone lightly touches, and those who already own a Torch 9800 may well be still locked into a contract, so there'll be little chance to upgrade.
It's by no means a bad handset, though, so it's well worth a look alongside phones such as the Bold 9900 or Curve as a point of comparison.
LG Optimus 3D
LG optimus 3d
It's big, it's weighty and it's pretty darn expensive, but that pair of characters tacked on the end of the LG Optimus 3D's name might justify all that and more for you. For this, ladies and gents, is a technological milestone: the first 'glasses-free' 3D phone.
The good news is that the effect works brilliantly and that all-important screen is complemented by some great Android customisations on the software side.
Web performance is stellar too.The bad news is that even for a dual-core, the Optimus 3D can feel sluggish, the battery life is poor and – oddly for a phone sold on the back of cutting-edge tech – it's 'only' running Android 2.2.
If you're undecided about joining the 3D revolution, then head on over to the review to find out more.
Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini
Sony ericsson xperia mini
Mini by name and by nature, this is a refresh of the concept behind Sony Ericsson's X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro, the pint-sized and ultraportable handsets launched in mid-2010.
It packs a new 1GHz processor, and a bigger 3-inch screen with the Bravia Engine Reality Display tech used in the Xperia Arc (read: you get a 320x480 resolution touchscreen that's a bit brighter at times).
The user interface has received an overhaul too, so on paper the new Xperia Mini looks like a big leap forward for the tiny form factor.
And so it proves to be, offering a very usable – dare we say, pretty – interface that makes the small screen totally workable. Social media integration is great too.
The story's not perfect, though, with less-than-brilliant video codec support and a weak camera offering. The titchy screen won't suit gamers either, but those after a great little phone that won't keep their hands full with glitches and faffing about could be in for a treat.