NVIDIA Tegra 3 The latest generation of advanced processor

NVIDIA has officially released quad-core era of mobile computing, NVIDIA Tegra 3processors deliver. The latest products bring high performance for tablets and smartphones. The performance is equivalent to your current PC. In a paper published by NVIDIA, they provide an in-depth details about their variable symmetric multiprocessing (vSMP). Simply put, vSMP implemented in Kal-El is not only optimize the CPU multi-threading and multi-tasking for maximum performance and power efficiency at a moments notice, but offloads background tasks and less CPU intensive activities, such as background synchronization / updates, music playback, video playback to the core of the fifth, which runs at 500 MHz is much slower, and therefore consume less power.

Smooth Creations, Havoc gets overclocked

Here is a perfect buy to enter this weekend. Recently announced ATI Radeon HD 58xx first DirectX 11 video card series makes its way to extreme Smooth Creations' gaming desktops. But the overclocked Radeon HD 5870 1GB XOC Havoc they have announced today is just going to eleven. At their official website Radeon HD 5870 1GB XOC Havoc is already available as one of the components for their custom desktops, so we couldn't resist and configured a very best of what Smooth Creations offers. See what we have accomplished.


A LANShark Extreme pictured above shouldn't be shown to kids under 7 to not creep them out with its bare rugged awesome. But then they are not likely to come anywhere near it because its price bites even more than the insane styling does. Anyway, we'll keep impressions to ourselves here so that we could tell all about overclocked Radeon HD 5870 1GB XOC Havoc. Versus a standard HD 5870 it scores 950 MHz core clock speed and 1.4 GHz memory speed, which of course is a DDR5 unit. All the rest of basic specs, I'm sure you know them, has been added an automatic GPU adjustment for undemanding applications and custom developed firmaware.

You don't want a Radeon HD 5870 1GB XOC Havoc in a lazy-spec PC, right? Neither do we, so this is what we've picked at Smooth Cretions':

* ASUS Rampage Gene x58 motherboard

* Intel Core i7 975 3.33Ghz

* ATI Radeon HD 5870 1GB

* 12GB DDR3 1333MHz

* 160GB Intel X25 SSD
* CPU / GPU Danger Den Water Cooling Kit

* Vista Ultimate 64 w/Windows 7 upgrade coupon

* Colorshifting Purpleen Purple-Blue-Green paint

* Smooth Creations 3 Year Extended Warranty



All from above plus painted Logitech keyboard and 1000W power plant sums up to 5,698.00 USD, and you have to bring your own mouse.

IFA news: Samsung OLED laptop in Q3 '10

About a year ago, we had a fortune to become witness of the first OLED panel going into mass production. Back then it was a hi-tech exhibition, and, well, the story has repeated, almost. Today at the first day of IFA Berlin Samsung’s Head of Worldwide Sales and Marketing, who is Kyu Uhm of course, has given us a deem view of what will be a show stopper in a year – a (first) OLED notebook.

I am not going to speak all about his speech at IFA. Instead, let’s just have a walk through what an OLED display on a notebook can offer and take. One glance back though: Kyu Uhm has mentioned an expected growth of netbook market.


In short, what he effectively said was: "We are making an OLED netbook". How good is that? If we think of power consumption, then it makes even more sense than putting an OLED display in a standard-sized laptop. What are main juice lovers in a PC? – screen, hard drive and processor. Same thing with size and weight. Organic diodes are really thin and light. Besides being overly magnificent to behold. So the future of personal computing, which is coming from Samsung in late Q3 of 2010, is a netbook with an OLED panel, SSD and low voltage processor. I like that. If only they give it out for netbook money, which I’m afraid they won’t.

You might have though the picture above is familiar to you. Yes, it is not new and not true. It’s a last year concept.

Toshiba Portege A605 Review

The Toshiba Portege A605 is a 12.1" ultra-portable notebook designed for business travelers who want something small and lightweight, but don’t want to make any compromises when it comes to features. The A600 series notebooks offer an on-board optical drive so users can enjoy movies or install applications on the road, eSATA to expand storage, and a power saving Intel Centrino 2 platform to squeeze out as much battery life as possible. In this review we find out how well the A605 stands up to the rigors of day-to-day use, and if it is worth purchasing this notebook over a netbook or other ultra-portable notebooks.

Toshiba Portege A605-P210 Specifications:

* Processor: 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SU9400 (800MHz FSB, 3MB Cache)
* Graphics: Intel X4500 Integrated Graphics
* Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium with SP 1 (32-bit)
* Screen: 12.1" diagonal WXGA LED-Backlit Display (1280x800)
* Memory: 3GB PC6400 DDR2 (1GB onboard, 2GB in slot, 5GB Max)
* Storage: 320GB Hitachi SATA HDD (5400rpm)
* Optical Drive: LabelFlash SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
* Intel 5100AGN WLAN with Bluetooth 2.1 w/ EDR
* Power: 6-cell Li-Ion 5800mAh battery, 45W AC adapter
* Dimensions: 11.3" x 8.8" x 1.2"
* Weight: 3lbs 1.8oz (3lbs 11.9oz travel weight)
* Warranty: 1-year
* Price as configured: $1,399.99

Build and Design
The Portege looks very classy for a business notebook, with glossy piano black keyboard bezel and screen cover along with a matte silver base. The port and button layout appears to be very well thought out with effort put into things as simple as the power and activity indicators. The silver keyboard contrasts the black finish, with a nice matte finish with black lettering that is easy to read.

Build quality is hit or miss depending on what part of the notebook you are looking at. The quality of the finish is excellent, with a thick layer of glossy black paint that appears to be scratch resistant. On the flip side, the plastic used to construct the notebook suffers from abnormal amounts of flex--a side effect of its lightweight construction. The palm rest and lower half of the case flex inward when you grip the notebook to carry it around, and even resting your palms on the palm rest makes them bend in slightly. The screen cover shows similar flex and when gripped firmly makes the display show signs of color distortion around the edges and center. The screen itself also has some issues in how it is mounted, showing a pressure spot in the bottom corner that "flashes" when the screen jiggles on your lap or desk surface.

Conclusion
The Toshiba Portege A605 offers good looks and a small form factor, but compromises build quality to achieve its very low weight. The palm rest, keyboard, and screen all exhibit a good amount of flex, which doesn’t bode well for thoughts of durability. Looking past the flexible chassis, the notebook does offer a built-in optical drive, and still keeps the overall weight to just above 3lbs. For a business traveler who only cares about that, this notebook falls right in the weight range of most netbooks. With the current list price of $1,399 it is priced against the Lenovo ThinkPad X200 or about double the price of an HP Pavilion dv2. Overall I think the Portege A605 offers a lot potential for a customer interested in a good looking business notebook, but it has a few areas that could see some improvement.

Pros:

* Weighs in at 3lbs, even with built-in optical drive
* Good battery life
* Cool operation
* Very small power adapter

Cons:

* Slow charging rate while the notebook is powered on and charging at the same time
* Flexible chassis

T-Mobile started selling Sidekick LX 2009

Another release for today. Now it is T-Mobile’s Sidekick LX 2009. The handset hasn’t brought any big news with it as it has recently come out. Major part of Sidekick’s of specs was known even a couple of months ago but some of those are still argued as more and more people are getting in touch with the phone. Along with it LX 2009 is constantly being compared with its predecessor and the results the newest model scores show the very same basic bias against browsing, messaging and social networking.

T-Mobile’s plan to make Sidekick LX 2009 a Internet-appointed gadget worked well especially with introduction of 3G. 3G Internet is intended to be used for social network apps from Twitter, MySpace and Facebook to Photobucket. That of course is somewhat teenagerish, but the previous Sidekick was and is still popular among youngsters. So should the LX 2009 be. However every now and then we hear about how it is more mature, more grownup. Concept is the same nonetheless – navigation keys at the sides and a nice and easy to use QWERTY under the hood. Display’s response time for changing layout is immediate and the display itself is just gorgeous. Mind you it is a 3.2 inch WVGA and camera shots 3.2 Mpix pictures and records video. One the issues appears to be the battery life – five and a halve hours of talk time and eight hours of standby combined in everyday routine result in two day of intense use at best. These are first impressions though.

AMD launches ATI Radeon HD 4770

The AMD officially announced it newest video card ATI Radeon HD 4770. It is the first video card that is made using 40 nanometers technical process. ATI Radeon HD 4770 is the third-generation video card and it supports DirectX 10.1. Also it is powered by GDDR5 video memory. As it is known, GDDR5 is twice faster than GDDR3.

ATI Radeon HD 4770 is discreet video card and it supports ATI CrossFire technology which allows establishing one more same video card on a system. Also it supports an anisotropic filtration, smoothing and also AMD Unified Video Decoder (UVD 2.0).

The UVD 2.0 provides decoding HD video without creating addition loading on the main system processor. It can decode video which was written by VC-1, H.264, MPEG-2 codecs. Also it decodes video from Blu-ray dual stream (HD+SD). AMD Radeon HD 4770 deduces the image in 2560x1600 pixel resolution on the monitor with dual-link interface.

And this is not all the advantages. AMD Radeon HD 4770 supports HDMI, DisplayPort, OpenGL 3.0, Picture-In-Picture (PiP), 7.1 channel sound (including AC-3, AAC and DTS). Also the video card supports Accelerated Video Transcoding (AVT). The AVT technology provides converting video in standard or HD quality to different formats for its further using. Also Radeon HD 4770 supports xvYCC technology which make the image on the screen by more realistic

Samsung N310 3G Mini netbook

Samsung Korea debuts with the N310 premium netbook in Korea. It is the winner of the international design award. The N310 looks like a curved-design finish like a pebble, without LCD display frame.

Let’s look inside. The N310 3G Mini netbook has a 10.1-inch LCD screen and is powered by an Intel Atom processor. Also it includes a 160GB hard drive and 1GB of RAM. Connection to the world is provided by Wi-Fi, HSDPA and WiBRO.

You will never run out of connectivity options. Also the N310 comes with 1.3 Megapixel camera, three USB ports and 3 in 1 memory card reader. The netbook is a little bit heavy - 1.23 kg. Also N310 can work up to 5 hours on the battery.

The N310 3G Mini netbook can be bought in Turkey Blue and Red Orange in Korea markets. The price of the netbook is near 620 USD.

Solo Netbook Mini Instant-Messenger Bag

The Solo Netbook Mini Instant-Messenger bag is designed to carry up to an 11-inch netbook and meets TSA checkpoint-friendly requirements. Is this downsized messenger finally the bag your netbook has been waiting for? Read on for our full review.

We’ve seen our fair share of netbook sleeves, but the Solo Netbook Mini messenger bag counts as the first full-featured netbook bag we’ve reviewed in-house. It certainly offers more storage than a sleeve, and with an airport security checkpoint-friendly design, there’s a lot to like here. Still, we have a couple of reservations about recommending the mini messenger bag.

Specifications:

* Netbook Compatibility: 11.0 in.
* Laptop Pocket Size: 11 x 6.5 x 2 in.
* Dimensions: 11 x 7 x 4.75 in.
* Construction: Twistec Poly
* Weight: 2.3 lbs / 5.8 kgs

Build and Design
The Solo netbook messenger bag is made of black, water-resistant polyester accented in green. A plastic buckle keeps the front flap closed, and a couple of metal clasps hook to the shoulder strap. Open the flap and you’ll find two “Digital Asset” pockets designed to securely stow PDAs and other slim devices.

Being a checkpoint-friendly bag, it has a designated netbook-only compartment to give TSA security officials a clear x-ray view of the computer. The other compartment offers a couple of padded pockets and more storage space.

A Velcro strap along the bottom of the bag releases the dual compartments, allowing them to unfold for TSA inspection. If all goes well, you’ll just unfold the bag, send it through the x-ray scanner, and pick it up on the other side without ever removing the netbook. Of course, TSA has the upper hand here and can always ask you to remove the computer from your bag.

In Use
The Solo netbook bag feels sturdy and the build quality is solid. The Lenovo IdeaPad S10 fits perfectly in the netbook compartment, bulky battery and all. The shoulder strap hooks to the bag with sturdy metal clasps. The adjustable strap is comfortable on the shoulder with a sliding, cushioned shoulder rest. The carry handle is also well-padded and would work well for day-to-day use.

Despite the comfortable strap and carrying handle, the mini messenger bag handles like a lunch box. It's square and bulky even when it's empty. Loaded with the S10, power adapter, and a few devices in the "Digital Asset" pockets, there’s little room for anything else. Likewise, the outer zipper pockets will be best suited to hold very slim devices when the bag is full since they're pretty tight to begin with.

The messenger bag provides enough room for a netbook, power adapter, a couple of slim devices, and not much else. It's best suited to carry only minimum netbook essentials. Unless you travel very lightly, this won't replace your carry-on bag.

We didn’t have a chance to test this messenger in airport security, but my experience with checkpoint-friendly bags has been positive. It seems that as TSA officials see more checkpoint-friendly bags, the more widely accepted they are becoming.

Conclusion
The Solo netbook messenger bag is exactly what it appears to be – a very small bag for a small computer. Despite a boxy design, it’s a well-constructed little case. While it provides all the space your netbook will need, it can’t offer much more than that. If you don’t mind the lunchboxy design, and if all you need is a home-away-from-home for your netbook, then this might be the bag for you.

Pros:

* Quality materials, sturdy design
* Airport security checkpoint friendly
* Comfortable shoulder strap

Cons:

* Bulky, boxy design
* Limited storage space

Pricing and Availability
The Solo Netbook Mini Instant-Messenger Bag is available starting at $39.99 through.

Digital Frame with Wi-Fi from Buffalo

If you need a digital frame to view your favorite photos or play videos, you may consider the digital photo frame with Wi-Fi from Buffalo. The gadget named PF-50WG does not differ greatly from iGala Wireless Digital Photo Frame.

PF-50WG is the latest digital frame of Buffalo. It has an 8-inch LCD display at 800 x 600 resolution; it supports Wi-Fi 802.11b/g and is compatible with DLNA. Unlike iGala Wireless Digital Photo Frame that has 1GB internal memory, PF-50WG features 85MB internal memory and, moreover, you can expand it using a card reader supporting SD / SDHC / Memory Stick / CF / x D memory cards. Due to Wi-Fi connectivity, Microsoft Live and FrameIt support you will be able to display your photos or other information on the screen of the frame.

Besides image displaying, the frame allows to play MP3 and AAC music files. PF-50WG supports the JPEG and BMP formats and can be used to play some MJpeg and 3GPP videos.

Statue of Liberty – an USB Flash Drive

The greatest national symbol of America - Statue of Liberty - acquires new form of use. Now it is an USB flash drive. The idea of this original drive came to the Super Talent Company that tried to make it similar to the statue as much as possible. The USB Flash Drive presents the goddess in her lengthy dress staying on the base. You will see the USB connector if you pull off the statue from its base.

It is reported that the flash drive will come in three sizes: 2, 4, and 8 GB. This is the only information concerning the drive. There are no details on the size or the price.

It will be a great present for the patriots of the USA and not only for them: I think it will be an excellent souvenir for tourists.

Samsung NC20 Review

The Samsung NC20 is a 12.1" netbook and larger brother to the 10" NC10. The NC20 offers a larger nearly-full-size keyboard, large 6-cell battery, WXGA resolution display, and the VIA Nano platform. Since the last VIA-based netbook in our office was the Everex CloudBook with less than stellar performance, the biggest thought on our minds is if the VIA Nano can compete against the trusted Intel Atom platform. In this review we see how well it compares against its netbook brethren, and if it changes our thoughts about VIA processors in notebooks.

Samsung NC20 Specifications:

* 1.30GHz VIA Nano ULV U2250 (800MHz FSB, 1MB L2 Cache)
* 1GB DDR2 SDRAM (2GB Max)
* Windows XP Pro w/ SP3 (Ships with Windows XP Home)
* 12.1" WXGA LED-Backlit Widescreen Glossy Display (1280x800)
* 160GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
* VIA Chrome9 HC3 Integrated Graphics
* 802.11b/g and Bluetooth
* 3-in-1 card reader
* 6-Cell Li-ion battery
* Dimensions: (LxWxH) 11.5 x 8.5 x 1.2
* Weight: 3lbs 5.8oz (4lbs 3.4oz travel weight)
* Price as configured: $549

Build and Design
The design of the Samsung NC20 is very clean with a consistent color scheme inside and outside the netbook with a thin border of chrome around the edges. The pearlescent white on our review sample has the same almost-dirty appearance that the original ASUS Eee PC 701 had. I think a pure white looks better or even better would be going all black. The black configuration of the NC20 looks stunning from the samples I have seen and if I were buying one that would be my only choice.

Build quality is above average with durable feeling plastic throughout the body. Flex is minimal on the lower half of the notebook, usually an added perk of having such a thin frame packed with components. Flex under the keyboard structure is non-existent which adds a level of quality that you notice while typing. The screen lid has some minor flex that when squeezed shows some distortion on the panel.

User upgrades to the NC20 are limited to swapping out the RAM or hard drives. Samsung has a single panel on the bottom of the it that gives quick access to the hard drive bay and single memory slot. No “warranty void if removed” stickers were over the cover or screws.

Display
The 12.1” WXGA display on the Samsung NC20 is above average compared to most notebooks. The LED-backlighting is very even across the screen with barely any backlight bleed around the edges. Image quality is excellent thanks to the glossy surface, with vibrant colors and nice contrast levels. Vertical viewing angles are average with a narrow viewing sweet spot where colors are not washing out or inverted. Horizontal viewing angles are better, staying true at steeper angles. Screen backlight brightness was good for viewing in a bright office setting, but you would be pushing the limits trying to use the NC20 outdoors on a sunny day.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The Samsung NC20 has an almost-full-size keyboard that is comfortable to type on and very easy to transition to from larger notebooks. Compared to other netbooks the keyboard is very good, but notebooks still have an edge on it. Business notebooks in the 12-inch form factor have been able to incorporate completely full-size keyboards, but they are generally higher priced. Individual key action is smooth with no sound emitted when clicked. The ability to type covertly in a quiet classroom or office meeting could easily be added as another feature.

The NC20 offers a Synaptics touchpad that is nicely sized for a netbook. Measuring in at 2.75" x 1.63" it is larger than the touchpad on my Lenovo ThinkPad. The surface texture is a fine matte finish that is smooth to slide your finger across even if your hands are moist. Sensitivity is excellent once adjusted, since the default driver settings put the "PalmCheck" adjustment at max, which made movement very twitchy. The touchpad buttons are controlled through a bridged button that connected the left and right side. Feedback from it is shallow with a mild click noise when pressed.

Ports and Features
Port selection is average compared to most netbooks on the market, offering three USB ports, VGA, LAN, audio jacks, and a 3-in-1 multi-card reader. With the increased real estate of the 12.1” frame I think Samsung could have easily fit an additional USB port on without any problems.

Samsung includes an imitation-suede netbook sleeve with the NC20. It works very well to keep the netbook smudge and scratch-free during transportation, but does little to pad it from impacts. I like the suede appearance of it more than the neoprene slip cases, which have that Spandex-vibe.

Performance
Compared to the last VIA-equipped netbook in our office the VIA Nano was a huge improvement. System performance of the NC20 was in-line with the Intel Atom platform, above in some areas and below in others. Day-to-day use the system handled tasks like web browsing or typing documents with ease. Entertainment use was limited to older games or less tasking modern games with the integrated graphics. Standard definition videos played smoothly without any hint of lag, but when you try to play HD movies the limits of the processor were noticed. Standard 720p x264 content played at 15-17FPS on scenes with little motion, but slowed down to 5-10FPS under panning or action. With enough tweaking HD content might be playable at full frame rates, but you would have to ask yourself if it would be worth it. In our synthetic benchmarks the VIA Nano platform scored lower in wPrime and PCMark05, but slightly higher under 3DMark06. Still nowhere near as fast as a full-size notebook with integrated graphics though.

Speakers
Audio performance was limited by the small size of the drivers located on the bottom of the NC20. Bass and midrange were completely lacking and peak volume levels were under similarly sized notebooks. For viewing YouTube clips or watching streaming TV shows this might not be a problem, but I would still highly recommend a nice pair of headphones.

Battery
Battery life was good compared to most notebooks, but when compared to the latest netbooks like the ASUS Eee PC 1000HE, it was hindered by the larger screen. The Samsung NC20 with the processor set to adaptive, screen brightness set to about 70%, and wireless active managed 5 hours and 55 minutes before it went into standby at 4% remaining. A larger battery would definitely improve the runtime, but then you would have to deal with an extended battery sticking out the bottom of the notebook to allow the screen to still pivot.

Heat and Noise
Thermal performance is normal compared to other small netbooks, where the body tends to warm up over time, and develop some hot spots under heavy use. Under light activity temperatures around the palmrest and bottom of the notebook were within reasonable levels and very lap friendly. The left side of the palmrest was higher than the rest, which might be explained by a wireless card located in that region. Fan noise was minimal when browsing the web, but when you tasked the processor it would ramp up to whisper levels.

Conclusion
The 12.1" Samsung NC20 is a netbook that is just on the fringe of being the same size as regular notebooks. It offers a large keyboard, higher resolution screen than most netbooks, and long battery life that you would expect from a ULV platform. With a retail price of $549 it is set to compete against the Dell Mini 12 and HP Pavilion dv2. Overall we were pleased with the performance from the VIA Nano platform, which was a massive step up from the lackluster performance of the older C7 we saw in the Everex CloudBook. My only complaint with our review sample was it not being the much better looking black model, but that can be easily fixed by buying that version instead.

Pros:

* Nice display
* Keyboard is excellent for a netbook
* Modest battery life
* Great performance from a VIA platform

Cons:

* Poor speaker performance

HP announced redesigned Pavilion dv3t notebook

HP announced a mild redesign of the Pavilion dv3t notebook. Now it is HP’s lightest Intel home notebook. It is 4.9 pounds and has 13.3-inch screen.

The Pavilion dv3t can use up to a 2.66 GHz Core 2 Duo. Also it has options for 8GB of RAM and dedicated GeForce 105M G video. Operation time has suffered. Now the notebook will run up to 4.25 hours (with wireless off) on the stock battery and up to 7 hours on an extended 9-cell pack, both thanks in part to an LED-backlit display.

An entry version of Pavilion dv3t starts at 799 USD. It comes with 2GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB of RAM and 250 GB hard drive. Also it has a DVD burner and Intel’s GMA 4500MHD for video. There are few features which come with all model. For example, HDMI output is present and provides getting video to an HDTV. Other features are 802.11n Wi-Fi, 500GB hard drive and Blu-ray. Also backlit keyboard and a higher-contrast LCD are included for gourmets.

Getac V100 Rugged Tablet Review

When it comes to making rugged notebooks and tablets, Getac is one of the most respected names in the business. As impressive as the fully rugged Getac V100 tablet might be at first glance, there's one thing that makes this tablet really special ... a screen rated at 1,200 nits brightness! By comparison, a good notebook screen might only be rated as a 250 nit screen. We're talking about a rugged tablet that can not only be used in the middle of the desert, but that has a screen you can still read when the desert sun is beating down from above. Read on to see how well the Getac V100 holds up against our testing.

Getac V100 Rugged Tablet Specifications:

* Processor: 1.2GHz (ULV) Intel Core 2 Duo Processor U7600
* Memory: 1GB DDR2 (expandable to 2GB)
* Storage: 120GB hard disk drive, removable, shock-mounted
* Display: 10.4-inch XGA (1024 x 768) TFT Touchscreen LCD with digitizer and 1,200 nits brightness
* Graphics: Intel 945GMS, 128MB shared memory
* Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC
* Expansion Slots: PCMCIA Type II x 2 or Type III x 1
* Memory Card Reader: SD card reader
* Smart Card Reader: Optional smart card reader (occupies one PCMCIA type-II slot)
* Communication: 10/100/1000 base-T ethernet, 56K ITU V.92 modem, Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 a/b/g, Bluetooth (v2.0+EDR class 2), Optional GPS (either GPS or webcam), Optional EV-DO/GSM/GPRS/EDGE/UMTS/WCDMA/HSDPA
* Security: TPM 1.2, Kensington lock
* Battery: 11.1v 7800mAh
* Weight: 4.9 lbs. (2.2 kg) including battery
* Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.7 x 1.9 inches (285 x 222 x 49 mm)
* Evironmental Spec:
o Operating temp: 0°C to 55°C / 32°F to 131°F
o (Optional low temperature: -20°C / -4°F)
o Storage temp: -40°C to 70°C / -40°F to 158°F
o Humidity: 5% to 95% RH, non-condensing
* MSRP: $3,550

Build and Design
The design of the Getac V100, like virtually all fully rugged notebooks is extremely boxy. There's nothing "consumer friendly" about this design. The V100 means business, and the magnesium alloy construction and rubber bumpers covering the edges are enough to strike fear in the hearts (or processors) of average notebooks. The V100 is almost twice as thick as a standard 12” notebook or tablet and a price tag to match it's rugged build.

At first glance it might look like the V100 is missing all its ports, but when you take a closer look you see that every external port has its own waterproof cap or door. This keeps dirt and moisture out when not in use, and also protects the fragile connectors in the event something might hit that area of the notebook when the tablet is dropped. The only potential negative to having all the ports covered in this way is that you have to move the port covers out of the way every time you need to plug something into the tablet.

The bottom of the V100--where you might expect to see easily replaceable components like a battery-you find access panels held in place with large screws and more weather-sealed doors. The docking station connector is hidden behind a sliding door and even the battery and hard drive are protected by rugged metal doors with hinges on the side of the tablet.

When we describe the Getac V100 as "fully rugged" we don't expect average consumers to understand that this convertible notebook is built with MIL-STD 810F and IP54 compliance. What should be easy to grasp is the fact that the V100 features a full magnesium alloy chassis, sealed ports and connectors, a shock-protected removable hard drive, a is overall vibration and drop-shock resistant.

The durability of the screen on the V100 is quite impressive. Not only are the back of the screen and screen bezel impact resistant, but the screen itself can withstand a direct impact from a fist (or the edge of a table as you drop the tablet) without any damage.

One minor problem with the design of the V100 is the integrated carrying handle. The handle seems to be more of a last-minute addition to the V100 rather than a fully integrated handle like what we see on the Getac B300 rugged notebook. The loose nylon strap and metal retention clips just hang off the front edge of the notebook. To make matters worse the metal clips started to wear some of the matte black paint off of the tablet next to where the clips connected to the chassis. Despite the fact that a fully rugged notebook needs to have a handle we would rather have a sturdy handle built into the design of the tablet (at the expense of size and weight).

Display
The screen on our review unit of the Getac V100 Rugged Convertible Notebook is a 10.4” touchscreen with 1024 x 768 resolution that is bright enough to be easily read outside under bright sunlight. Getac also offers the V100 with a 12.4" widescreen display. Colors are bright, but have a washed out look due to the combination of the touchscreen surface and an amazingly strong backlight. As listed in the specs, the V100 includes a screen with a backlight rated at 1,200 nits brightness. To put that in perspective, many of the giant displays in New York's Time Square are rated at 1,500 nits. Unfortunately, one negative side effect of having the 1,200 nit screen option is that the minimum screen brightness is still quite high. Even if you turn the screen brightness down to the lowest setting it is still brighter than many standard notebook screens at nearly maximum brightness.

Performance and Benchmarks
The V100 has an Intel U7600 Core 2 Duo Merom processor, running at 1.2GHz. This might sound unusually slow compared to the latest notebooks and tablets on the market, but the V100 uses a sealed chassis that is passively cooled. Any excess heat is dissipated through the metal chassis and not through a vent.

The V100 might not shatter any benchmark records, but it's still more than powerful enough to handle regular work in Microsoft Office, do some light Photoshop editing, or browse the web and respond to emails in the middle of a combat zone. Bottom line, you don't buy a V100 for the fastest performance ... you buy it because it can keep working in just about any environment.

We also decided to benchmark the video and graphics performance of the V100 with 3DMark06 just for the sake of running a complete suite of tests. The V100 produced a 3DMark06 score of only 107 ... an extremely low score, but that is to be expected from all tablets in this class.

Wireless
Wireless performance on this rugged notebook was average, losing a connection to wireless access points at roughly the same distance as other notebooks. That said, it's hard to complain considering the range of connectivity options that the V100 offers; everything from a modem to GPS and EV-DO/GSM/GPRS/EDGE/UMTS/WCDMA/HSDPA broadband.

Heat and Noise
Since the V100 is a passive cooled notebook the only noise you can hear is the faint seeking of the hard drive inside or the system chimes coming from the built-in speaker.

Heat is minimal at worst, even without active cooling. Like most passively cooled rugged notebooks, the entire chassis structure acts as a gigantic heatsink, evenly spreading the heat around inside. Even after stressful benchmarks the tablet's external temperatures stayed between 87 and 93 degrees Fahrenheit.

Battery
Battery performance was less than impressive, but it's safe to say that the lower-than-expected battery life is due to the insanely bright display. Again, having a screen rated at 1,200 nits is like looking into a spotlight ... a spotlight powered by the tablet's battery. With the screen set to the minimum brightness setting (still brighter than a 250-nit screen at maximum brightness) the V100 ran for just a little more than 4 hours. When you cranked the screen up to maximum for use outside, battery life was less than 2 hours with the 7800mAh battery in our review unit. In the interest of full disclosure, it's worth mentioning that we were never able to get the battery in our review unit to register a full charge (the maximum charge ended up being somewhere between 90 percent and 96 percent), so actual user results may vary. Still, spare batteries are probably a good idea for those who need longer battery life.

Conclusion
As a ruggedized convertible notebook, the Getac V100 is an exceptionally strong choice. Granted, you can find tablets with better processor and graphics performance for less money, but none of those cheaper tablets can withstand the daily abuse the the V100 will take in stride. Toss this tablet at a brick wall and the only thing that might be damaged is the brick wall.

At the end of the day, if you need a rugged tablet with a screen that's so bright you can see it from outer space then the Getac V100 is probably the perfect choice for you. The pen, screen rotation, and handle present some minor headaches, but this is still a very impressive tablet if you've got that budget to support a fully rugged convertible notebook.

Pros:

* Cool and silent
* Rugged and waterproof design
* Sunlight readable LCD ... extremely sunlight readable

Cons:

* No pen silo or retention clip
* Screen orientation can only be set in three of four directions
* The 1,200-nit screen option means the minimum screen brightness is still very bright
* Poor carrying handle design
* Expensive

HP Pavilion dv3510nr Review

The Pavilion dv3510nr is an attractive 13.3" multimedia notebook from HP, offered in both Intel and AMD configurations. In this review we take a look at the Intel version of this notebook, packed with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, NVIDIA 9300M GS dedicated graphics, 4GB of DDR2 memory, and a 320GB hard drive. Retailing for $999, HP has it priced to compete with the Dell XPS M1330 and other mobile notebooks in the $1,000 price range. Is the high price worth it? Take a look at our review to find out.

Our review unit of the HP Pavilion dv3510nr was purchased at a Best Buy retail store and features the following specifications:

* 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor P7350 (1066MHz FSB, 3MB Cache)
* 4GB DDR2 SDRAM (2GB x 2GB)
* Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit with Service Pack 1
* 13.3" WXGA High-Definition HP LED BrightView Widescreen Display (1280x800)
* 320GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
* NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS with 512MB VRAM
* Intel 5100 802.11a/b/g/n wireless and Bluetooth
* 5-in-1 card reader
* Lightscribe SuperMulti 8x DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
* Backlit Keyboard
* 6-Cell 55Wh Li-ion battery
* Dimensions: (LxWxH) 12.6 x 8.9 x 1.2-1.4"
* Weight: 4.8lbs
* Price as configured: $999

Build and Design
The Pavilion dv3510nr shares the same classic look and feel as the rest of the HP Pavilion lineup, with smooth edges and its shapely contoured chassis. The color scheme uses the HP Imprint finish, a durable glossy finish that is resistant to scratches and other blemishes. The Imprint Finish on the dv3 offers an attractive bronze or ash gold color that is shared with the outer cover, palmrest, and keyboard for a consistent look and feel.

While the design looks great, this laptop is not without its flaws. The build quality of our dv3510nr review unit was not as good as other HP Pavilion notebooks we've reviewed ... in large part due to a squeaky chassis and uneven keyboard. The keyboard tray was bowed upwards on the left side of the notebook with the top layer of keys separating from the backlight. The two layers were supposed to be held together with adhesive but the glue failed. Each time you pressed in that section of the keyboard the layers would squish together and put off a sound similar to a pair of stickers being pulled apart. We were not impressed to say the least. Internally the cause of the bowed keyboard section traced back to rubber padding used to hold the wireless antenna in place, but these rubber pieces were slightly thicker than the space allowed. This pushed up on the keyboard, stressing the layers until the adhesive failed. Other parts of the chassis felt weak and the plastics would squeak while you carried the notebook around.

Display
The 13.3" LED backlit display was average when compared with other notebooks equipped with TN panels. Colors were bright and vibrant inside the viewing "sweet spot" and contrast was excellent with the glossy finish. The screen was bright enough to stand out in an office setting, but would be difficult to view outdoors unless it was overcast or later in the afternoon. Viewing angles were limited to a narrow viewing sweet spot, quickly distorting as you moved out to steeper horizontal or vertical angles.

Keyboard and Touchpad
Outside of the issues described in the build quality section the keyboard on the dv3 was actually pretty nice. The keys felt solid and weighted, with barely any wiggle if you moved your fingers across the surface. Individual key presses gave off a mild click, not loud, but a step above stealth typing. The keyboard had good support with little flex, a benefit of the thicker design needed for the backlit keys. The backlight adequately illuminated the keys and was bright enough to type in a poorly lit room, but not blind you in the process. The backlight was triggered on or off by pressing FN+spacebar, with no varying levels in-between.

The dv3510nr uses an ALPS touchpad which worked adequately during our testing. Lag was minimal with a quick response time, but sensitivity could be improved. Part of the sensitivity problem relates to the glossy touchpad surface which requires a firm touch, but if you press too hard your finger doesn’t slide well across the surface. The touchpad buttons were large and gave moderate feedback with a shallow throw.

Ports and Features
Port selection on the dv3510nr was above average for a notebook of this size, offering three USB ports total, an eSATA/USB combo port, VGA, HDMI, modem, LAN, audio jacks, and IR for the multimedia remote. It was nice to see a combo port included on the notebook, as some manufactures waste space by using a standard eSATA port. It's also worth mentioning that HP decided to remove the dedicated port used for the HP xb4 docking station, so you'll have to use a less-capable generic USB docking station if you want to use the dv3510nr with desktop accessories.

The complete list of ports includes:

* 5-in-1 integrated Digital Media Reader for Secure Digital cards, MultiMedia cards, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, or xD Picture cards
* 3 USB 2.0 ports (including one USB/eSATA combo port)
* 1 VGA
* 1 HDMI
* 1 RJ-11 (modem)
* 1 RJ -45 (LAN)
* 2 headphone-out
* 1 microphone-in
* 1 Consumer IR (For remote)

Performance
System performance was excellent for a 13.3" notebook, handling multimedia tasks with ease thanks to the NVIDIA 9300M GS dedicated graphics. Gaming could be handled with some tweaking to lessen the burden of the gaming engine on the fairly low-end graphics chipset. The dv3 was quite at home decoding HD content, outputting 720p and 1080p signals through the HDMI port with digital audio. Daily tasks like typing a document or browsing the web were no problem for the 2.0GHz Intel P7350 Core 2 Duo processor, showing no lag switching between programs. A 7200rpm drive would have been a good upgrade, but most people probably wouldn’t notice the difference unless they were running disk-intensive applications.

Speakers and Audio
The HP dv3510nr includes Altec Lansing speakers, but beyond branding we didn’t notice any considerable difference compared to other notebooks of this size. Peak volume levels were fine for a small or medium size room. Sound quality was average, with low and midrange frequencies lacking. Overall they are fine for day-to-day use, but if you want to really enjoy a movie use headphones or a stereo connected through HDMI.

Battery
Our configuration includes a standard 6-cell battery, though a 9-cell battery is optional. With the screen brightness set to 70%, wireless active, and Windows Vista set to the "Balanced" power profile the dv3510nr managed 3 hours and 9 minutes of battery life.

Heat and Noise
Thermal performance was very good, with the notebook able to keep its cool after being powered on for extended periods of time. In our tests the left side palmrest warmed up more than the right side by about 10 degrees, which might be explained by the wireless card located on that side. The bottom had a peak of 94 degrees Fahrenheit, putting it into the warm category but not too hot.

Fan noise is minimal under normal activity, where the processor isn't under any significant load. As the system warms up if you are encoding video, ripping music, or gaming the fan noise gets louder up but is still within reasonable levels. In a lecture hall the only person who might notice is someone sitting next to you.

Conclusion
The HP Pavilion dv3510nr could be an impressive notebook given its features which include an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, NVIDIA 9300M GS graphics, and backlit keyboard inside a 13.3” chassis. What we got was a notebook that had some quality control issues, with a bowed, separating keyboard and a squeaky, flexible chassis. For almost $1,000 we expect a higher level of quality for a notebook. If the cost of the dv3510nr was between $500 and $600 some of the problems could be overlooked. On that note, HP currently offers the AMD-equipped dv3z for $679.99 if you are looking for an alternative to the Intel configuration.

Bottom line, the HP Pavilion dv3510nr excells in terms of design and features, but falls short when it comes to build quality. If you enjoy the overall looks of this model, I would recommend checking out the dv2 or dv4 which share a similar design but offer superior fit and finish.

Pros:

* Good performance and dedicated graphics for a 13.3” notebook
* Backlit keyboard
* Nice design and color scheme

Cons:

* Poor fit and finish
* Bowed keyboard

Trend Micro AntiVirus+AntiSpyware Review

Trend Micro's bread-and-butter security package provides protection from both viruses and spyware. AntiVirus+AntiSpyware is designed for home users and comes with a 100% money-back guarantee. Trend Micro says their software is quick to install and easy to use; read on for our take.

PRODUCT OVERVIEW
Trend Micro AntiVirus+AntiSpyware provides no-frills protection for the home user. The software is advertised to block unwanted changes to your computer and prevent computers from becoming infected with viruses. AntiVirus+AntiSpyware provides real-time protection by scanning files that are transferred, downloaded, or attached to email. The software updates itself automatically.

Trend Micro’s installation starts with double-clicking the installer file from the company’s website. After accepting the license agreement, users must enter the serial number provided to them; directions are provided to locate it.

The next prompt allows users to choose from a regular or custom install; we chose the former, since that is what most will opt for. After clicking next, the software is installed; this took about five minutes on our test PC.

Next is activation, which requires navigation through several prompts.

Users must create an account with Trend Micro in order to activate their software. Trend Micro is the only anti-virus software package I tested that requires users to do this.

Installation and activation are now complete. The process takes about ten minutes to perform, which is slightly longer than other suites I tested due to the lengthier activation process.

PROGRAM INTERFACE
Trend Micro AntiVirus+AntiSpyware has a simple interface; there are relatively few options that can be changed, which is a positive from the average user’s point of view. Information is displayed very clearly without any unnecessary statistics. A navigation bar on the left displays categories and the selected category is displayed in the larger right pane. I did not care for the “Upgrade to Pro” button in the navigation bar – I already purchased a product so seeing an ad for another is like getting a new computer loaded with unwanted software. It is a minor detail only, however.

It was easy to see the software wanted my attention when I opened it for the first time; the “Not yet updated” information message at the top was quite obvious. Clicking on “Update Now” brought up the manual update window and started the process:

Trend Micro updates itself automatically and without user interaction; I performed this process to see how it was done.

After the update, the “Not yet updated” message was replaced with “Protected”:

In the Controls category, users can change protection settings and manage exceptions. Custom scans can be set up and scheduled and files in quarantine can be viewed here.

The Settings category displays additional settings; this is where non-protection related preferences can be set, such as those pertaining to updates and security warnings.

One setting worth noting is the "Trend Micro Data Network"; this is Trend Micro’s version of what other anti-virus providers have – a worldwide network of computers running the software. Trend Micro does submit information to a central network, but none of it is personally identifiable and is used for protection purposes.

Trend Micro’s interface has only one display mode; there are no basic and advanced versions as with other anti-virus products. The software designers did a good job of including all the necessary information and settings yet keep the interface clean and simple.

IN USE AND EFFECTIVENESS
Trend Micro AntiVirus+AntiSpyware remained in the background and did not interfere with Internet browsing or email. Updates are performed silently and in the background.

I tested the effectiveness of AntiVirus+AntiSpyware by using several virus files from Eicar.org, an IT security website. The four files provided for download, which have different extensions including .com, .zip, and .txt, contain viruses. Please see the test description for extensive information on the tests. Good antivirus software should detect the files as threats.

I downloaded the files to a location and then scanned them; Trend Micro AntiVirus+AntiSpyware successfully detected all four as malicious and promptly quarantined them with no further action required by the user.

Information on the threats is found in the Quarantine section of the program, under the Controls category.

While Trend Micro detected and dealt with the threats, I would have liked to have seen the software take a more aggressive stance on protection. Other anti-virus solutions we tested detected the files immediately and denied us from even downloading them.

PERFORMANCE IMPACT
We evaluate the performance impact and system resource usage of using antivirus software in three ways:

1. Overall system performance measured before and after installation using PCMark05, a system benchmark suite
2. Memory footprint
3. Time it took to perform a full system scan

Our test system is an Acer Aspire 5735-4744; it has the following specifications:

* Intel Pentium Dual-Core T3200 (2.0GHz/1MB L2/667MHz FSB)
* 2GB DDR2-667 RAM
* 160GB 5400RPM Fujitsu hard drive
* Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit, stock install with all updates and Search disabled
* Atheros 802.11 Draft-N wireless

Overall System Performance Impact measured with PCMark05
Prior to installing Trend Micro AntiVirus+AntiSpyware, the notebook had the following performance:

After installing the software, I ran the benchmark again:

The performance decrease is relatively small, only 6.25 percent. This is slightly more than other anti-virus solutions we tested, but the difference is not significant. A performance decrease of 6.25 percent would be unnoticeable during daily use; our test PC felt just as snappy with Trend Micro as without.

Memory Footprint

The Task Manager reports Trend Micro using only 2MB of memory; I was unable to determine exactly how much memory it used. However, our system memory usage did not change much at all so it is safe to conclude that Trend Micro is light on memory, which is a good thing.

Time it took to perform a full system scan

A full scan of our test system’s hard drive containing 37GB of data took 29 minutes. This is significantly longer than Kaspersky at 15 minutes 40 seconds, but faster than McAfee, which took over 30 minutes.

CONCLUSION
Trend Micro AntiVirus+AntiSpyware provides satisfactory protection for the home user. It successfully detected viruses in our testing and promptly quarantined them. I do wish the protection offered was more pro-active; some anti-virus solutions we tested detected the test virus files before they were even downloaded; Trend Micro did not. On a positive note, I liked how the software was non-intrusive and remained in the background; updates are automatic and silent. The program’s interface is simple yet attractive and easy to navigate. System performance impact was negligible and did not noticeably slow our test PC down. Overall, we find no reason to fault the software since it performs as advertised, and give it our recommendation.

Pros:

* Successfully detected and dealt with threats
* Simple interface
* Non-intrustive, remains in the background
* Automatic updates
* Minimal system performance impact

Cons:

* Not as pro-active as other anti-virus solutions
* Virus scans take longer than competing anti-virus solutions

Kensington Netbook Accessories Review

Last week, Kensington announced a line of Netbook Essentials. Featuring a netbook-sized mouse, neoprene sleeve, and security lock, the smaller accessories are designed to save space and travel lightly, just like your netbook. We road-tested three of these new peripherals to see how they perform.

Security Lock for Netbooks
The security lock is designed to travel with your netbook and, should the need arise, secure your computer to a desk or table. Most netbooks and notebooks feature a small notch somewhere along the hinge designed for a Kensington lock. Just wind the cord around a table leg, snap the lock into place, and scramble the numeric code. I had no trouble using the lock with the IdeaPad S10. The directions are easy to follow, and the lock feels fairly secure. Having a security device like this on hand isn’t a bad idea, especially with something as small as a netbook.

Wireless Mouse for Netbooks
The wireless transceiver is small enough to remain plugged into a USB port at all times, which cuts down the hassle factor of plugging and unplugging one more piece of hardware. The mouse itself is a bit larger than the Targus mouse, but still smaller than your standard desktop mouse. With slight curves on each side, it’s comfortable to grasp between the thumb and ring finger and should be equally comfortable for both right-handed and left-handed users.

The Kensington mouse works fine on most surfaces. It operated perfectly on the surface of my desk, but I ran into trouble using it at home on a wooden kitchen table with a light grain. My optical Microsoft Arc Mouse, using a class 1 laser, had no trouble on this surface, and neither did the mini Targus mouse. The Kensington mouse was unusable on the same surface. This might be excusable for a desktop mouse, but this one is designed to go anywhere a netbook can go. It’s a shame, too, because the mouse has a great ergonomic design.

Reversible 10-inch Netbook Sleeve
The netbook sleeve is constructed with stretchy, reversible neoprene. It’s a simple, clean look and a nice layer of scratch-protection for a little computer. The sleeve package specifies that it will hold up to a 10.0 inch netbook. Though the IdeaPad S10 that we used to test the accessories is, in fact, 10.2 inches, we thought we’d give it a go anyway. Apparently, that 0.2 inch makes a huge difference – we could barely wrestle the S10 into the sleeve. Though the S10 was possibly too big to begin with, we feel that this sleeve would struggle to accommodate the likes of any 10-inch netbook with a large battery on the back, so beware. This may be the perfect fit for a skimpy 8-inch Sony VAIO P, or older 8.9-inch and 7-inch netbooks, but it won’t do for anything substantially larger.

Conclusion
Each of the Kensington netbook accessories we tested meets high standards in terms of design. They’re well-built and attractively styled, but unfortunately, they didn’t perform to those high standards for us. The neoprene sleeve will be too small for many netbooks, and the mouse doesn’t function on all surfaces. The accessories are being sold individually through online retailers, so I would recommend picking and choosing carefully.

Pros:

* Mouse is ergonomic, easy to use on completely flat surface
* Security lock fastens easily, compact for travel
* Sleeve fits smaller netbooks

Cons:

* Mouse can’t be used on grainy wood surfaces
* Sleeve won’t fit larger netbooks

Pricing and availability
The Kensington Netbook Essentials are available for order through Amazon.com and Kensington’s website. MSRP for the wireless netbook mouse is $24.99; the security lock is $24.99; the netbook sleeve is $14.99.

Kyocera EOS with full body flexible OLED display

Kyocera developers who resident in San Diego and Bangalore have gratefully shared their groundwork that incorporates mobile phone technologies of tomorrow. At the first glance the Kyocera EOS concept phone doesn’t seem to have more than seven or ten percents of parts our eyes got used to. If EOS was an end product, it wouldn’t need to be plugged for a recharge, would feature very innovative ergonomics and tactile sensations of human’s skin. All that though is achieved by technologies that are already used today but have never before been united in a mobile phone.

Kyocera EOS can be highly qualified by a number of different measures. The user experience, as mentioned above, doesn’t include charging the phone - thanks to kinetic charger. All the shake and vibration EOS goes through the day enable nano-scale piezoelectric generators. Free electricity as a result.

Then there is a huge OLED display. I don’t have to explain all of its advantages, right? One though provides EOS with its main feature - flexibility. OLED displays can be twisted and folded. So is EOS. When it receives a call, you can answer it without unfolding the phone, but you can unfold it to check out all the menus. That must be a pleasure I reckon. Partly because semi-rigid polymers are skin-like, but mostly because of the sheer ingenuity of the thing.

Kyocera plans to use the developed technologies wisely and present them apart on different devices. Sure they say they will take EOS out of concept stage one day, but not any time soon.

Inexpensive Microsoft's SideWinder X3 Mouse

The Microsoft’s family of gaming mouse has accepted one more product. It is SideWinder X3 Mouse. SideWinder X3 is remarkable for good technical characteristics and rather low price - 39, 95 USD. For comparison, price of Side Winder X8 Mouse at the moment of its debut was 99, 95 USD.

Good news for left-handed gamers. The new mouse is right for those, who prefer to direct the gun with left hand.

SideWinder X3 Mouse is equipped with scroll and eight useful buttons. The functionality of five buttons can be programmed easily. The maximal resolution of laser is 2000 pixel on inch. Also user is allowed to choose between high, average and low sensitivity during the game.

The SideWinder X3 Mouse will appear in USA markets in May.

Pioneer's latest Blu-ray burner was released

Pioneer announced the release of its latest Blu-ray, DVD and CD writer on Tuesday. It is BDR-2203. The burner is SATA-attached and can write to dual-layer Blu-ray discs at up to 8x speeds. For example, single-layer 25 GB Blu-ray disc will be burned in just 15 minutes. Also DVD recordable discs can be written at up to 16x speeds. CD-Rs can be recorded at 32x speeds. The maximum speed of rewritable CDs rated at 24x.

Pioneers burner comes with CyberLink PowerDirector, PowerDVD and Power2Go. This software allows Windows users to edit videos recorded on their HD camcorders. Also it allows inserting photos, songs and other home videos. The price of BDR-2203 is near 250 USD.

HP Pavilion dv2 Review

The newest 12-inch notebook from HP is no ordinary ultra-portable laptop. Featuring the new AMD Athlon Neo processor, the HP Pavilion dv2 promises to bridge the gap between low-performance netbooks and higher-priced ultra-portable notebooks. This thin and light laptop can handle 1080p Blu-ray movies or even get you to the next level of your favorite video game. But at a price of $750, will consumers buy this instead of a $300 netbook?

Our HP Pavilion dv2 (dv2-1030us) features the following specifications:

* 1.6GHz AMD Athlon Neo Processor MV-40
* 4GB PC2-6400 DDR2 SDRAM 666MHz (1 Dimm)
* Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit with Service Pack 1
* 12.1" WXGA High-Definition HP LED BrightView Widescreen Display (1280x800)
* 320GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
* ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3410 Graphics (512MB)
* 802.11a/b/g/n wireless and Bluetooth
* 5-in-1 card reader
* External Lightscribe SuperMulti 8x DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
* 6-Cell Li-ion battery
* Dimensions: 11.50 in (L) x 9.45 in (D) x 0.93 in (min H) / 1.29 in (max. H)
* Weight: 3.95 lbs (with 6-cell battery)
* Price as configured: $749

Build and Design
The design of the Pavilion dv2 is brand new for HP and features the AMD "Yukon" platform designed specifically for ultrathin laptops. The body of the dv2 is smooth with rounded edges, making it extremely comfortable in your hand while carrying it around. The design is compact, but the overall footprint is almost as wide as a 13-inch notebook because of the bezel around the keyboard and screen. The screen also sports a latchless design, making it easy to open the notebook with one hand. Although the lid lacks any latch to keep it held shut, the hinges feel nice and strong, keeping the lid secure. Pressing firmly onto the back of the screen cover will produce some ripples on the screen ... but you must apply significant pressure to cause this.

What might look like a giant beefy hinge for the 12-inch display is actually a standard 6-cell battery with a small hinge on either side of this thin and light laptop. The plastic covered, alloy-reinforced lid features a glossy black finish that looks subtle and stylish and doesn't scream "LOOK AT ME!" the way that the HP Imprint Finish does on most HP Pavilion notebooks.

The magnesium-aluminum alloy chassis is quite rigid and suffers from no flex or creaks even when twisted between my hands. Granted, this is due to the fact that the dv2 is less than one inch thick ... meaning there isn't much empty space inside the notebook for anything to bend under pressure. Bottom line, this notebook can survive the use and abuse from students who will toss it into a backpack every day for several years in a row.

In terms of upgradeability, the dv2 is much easier to upgrade than most netbooks and even some notebooks currently on the market. One panel provides access to the single RAM slot and a place for a Gobi WWAN card (available on custom configurations starting in June). Another panel gives you access to the Wi-Fi/Bluetooth card, and a final panel contains the hard drive. Although the dv2 provides easy access for upgrades, you won't be able to add more RAM to this notebook since it comes maxed out with a 4GB RAM module.

Keyboard and Touchpad
Most low-priced, full-size notebooks currently on the market feature poorly built keyboards that show significant flex/bounce when typing pressure is applied. This isn't the case with the dv2 thanks in large part to the ultrathin chassis design. There simply isn't space inside the notebook for the keyboard to flex or bounce.

Each key press has the perfect amount of resistance with soft, quiet clicks. The keys are accurate and responsive and I enjoyed typing on this keyboard. The overall size of the keyboard looks virtually identical to what we've seen on other 12-inch notebooks from HP ... and that's a good thing. This keyboard is much nicer than what is featured on most netbooks. The keys are easy to read and are a good size ... except for the top row of Function keys which are a little too small and not particularly easy to press without hitting another key by mistake.

The touchpad is an ALPS model and feels very responsive with little lag. The entire touchpad surface is made of a high gloss plastic, and can sometimes be hard to use depending on how dry or oily your fingertip happens to be. The surface needs to collect some of your finger's natural oils to allow for easy movement on the touchpad. While the reflective touchpad surface looks cool HP probably would have been better off using the same type of textured touchpad surface used on the HP Pavilion tx2500 and TouchSmart tx2. The touchpad buttons are in a great location and are easy to control with your thumb. The buttons provide mild feedback with a shallow movement that gives an audible click when pressed.

Display
The 12.1" WXGA glossy widescreen display features LED backlighting and is bright and vibrant with excellent colors for viewing images or movies. Contrast seems a little better than what we've seen on the larger 14-inch screens on the HP Pavilion dv4, but blacks aren't quite as deep as we would like to see. The 1280 x 800 resolution is significantly more than what you get on the average netbook screen and is the perfect match for a 12-inch screen.

Viewing angles are average with limited vertical viewing angles that give you a sweet spot of +/- 15 degrees. Horizontal viewing angles are much better with colors staying true even out to very wide angles. Brightness levels are more than adequate for viewing in a bright office setting. Sunlight readability is limited, but as long as the sun isn't shining directly at the glossy screen the dv2 is perfectly usable outside on a table at a coffee shop.

Ports and Features
The HP Pavilion dv2 comes equipped with most of the ports you need, including three USB ports and a media card reader. While three USB ports might not sound like a lot, that's the same number of ports found on most 13-inch and 14-inch notebooks. The other thing to keep in mind is that the dv2 is between 0.93 and 1.29 inches thick. Some ultrathin notebooks like the Apple MacBook Air only have a single USB port. The really impressive thing to mention here is the addition of a HDMI port for connecting video and audio to an external monitor or HDTV.

We would have liked to see at least one USB/eSATA combo port and possibly even a docking station connector on this notebook, but given the ultrathin form factor and $750 price point we can forgive these omissions. One thing worth mentioning is that the HP website claims the dv2-1030us configuration of the dv2 doesn't include Bluetooth. However, our review unit does indeed include Bluetooth and several new dv2 owners in our discussion forums also report that the dv2-1030us inlcudes Bluetooth. That said, here's a quick tour of the sides:

Performance
HP offers the Pavilion dv2 with the new AMD Athlon Neo 64-bit processor. This single-core processor is bassically a scaled-down version of AMD's current 65nm notebook processors with a lower TDP (15 watts) which means this notebook shouldn't get as hot on your lap and should last a little longer on battery power. While the power consumption of the new Athlon Neo isn't as low as the Intel Atom, it's clear from our synthetic benchmarks that the 1.6GHz AMD Athon Neo is faster than the 1.6GHz Intel Atom. Likewise, the processor inside the dv2 can encode video or run Photoshop filters in a fraction of the time it takes the Intel Atom processor to perform the same task.

The only time the Athlon Neo processor seemed noticeably slower than a low-voltage Intel Core 2 Duo processor was when we attempted to launch multiple applications at the same time. Multitasking in this way generally created a delay of a few seconds, but the delay was never severe enough to cause problems.

Not only does the dv2 run 64-bit Windows Vista with ease, but it's packed with a full 4GB of system RAM in a single DIMM module. That's four times the amount of RAM you get in a netbook! The 320GB Western Digital Scorpio Blue hard drive also gives you plenty of storage for a full entertainment library. As great as all that sounds, the big news with this laptop is the availability of discrete graphics thanks to the new ATI Radeon HD 3410 graphics and 512MB of dedicated memory.

While it's true that a few netbooks (such as the ASUS N10) offer discrete graphics, the reality is that the Intel Atom platform lacks the muscle to truly take advantage of discrete graphics when playing games ... at least based on the netbooks we've reviewed so far. Our own lab tests confirm that Atom-based netbooks with dedicated graphics cards only perform marginally better than Atom-based netbooks with integrated graphics when playing games. This is yet another reason that the dv2 should be labeled as a notebook rather than a netbook. For the first time ever consumers have a low-cost ultra-portable that offers flawless 1080p video playback and can even play many 3D video games at reasonable frame rates!

The dv2 was able to play Bioshock at 1280 x 800 resolution at 12-30 frames per second with detail settings at medium and at 24-40fps with detail settings at low. Likewise, the dv2 can handle Unreal Tournament III at 1280 x 800 and keep frame rates in the low to mid 30s. A newer title like Left 4 Dead only managaes around 10fps, but that's still pretty impressive. Notebooks equipped with Intel integrated graphics just can't handle games like that.

The dv2 is at least several hundred dollars less expensive than other thin and light 12-inch notebooks that offer similar or superior processor performance and lower quality graphics, so it's hard to find serious fault with the dv2 in the performance department.

External Optical Drive
Another important feature to consider with the dv2 is the external Lightscribe SuperMulti drive. Power and data are handled over a single USB connection so you only have to sacrifice a single USB port on the dv2 when the drive is connected. In the coming months HP will also make an identical Blu-ray drive available to consumers as well. The Blu-ray drive (which was included with our review unit) allows you to take full advantage of the the dv2's ability to handle 1080p content over the HDMI port.

Keep in mind that the pre-configured dv2-1030us version of the dv2 only ships with a standard LightScribe SuperMulti DVD drive. The Blu-ray drive will not be available until May or June when the dv2 shows up on the custom order page on the HP website. The cost of the Blu-ray drive is not known at the time of this writing.

Regardless of whether you're playing a DVD or a Blu-ray disc, the most important thing is that it works ... without complications. The HP MediaSmart software that comes pre-installed on the dv2 instantly recognizes when we insert a DVD or Blu-ray movie into the drive and begins playing with a single click. This type of ease of use makes the Pavilion dv2 an excellent choice for college students who need a mobile entertainment center.

Speakers and Audio
The speakers on the dv2 are pretty impressive for a thin and light 12-inch notebook. The two Altec Lansing stereo speakers located on the front edge of the netbook produce fantastic volume levels with minimal distortion and acceptable range. However, it's worth complaining about the less-than-ideal placement.

Since the speakers are located on the front edge of the notebook the sound isn't being directed up and toward the user when the dv2 is used as a laptop. In fact, our staff usually refers to laptop speakers with this type of placement as "crotch speakers" because the speakers are directing sound to your lap rather than your ears. Given the compact design of the dv2 there weren't many other places for the speakers to go unless HP made them smaller, but we'd like to see a different speaker location on next year's model. Nevertheless, the speakers sounds great if you're using the dv2 on a desk.

The headphone jack on the dv2 works well with the two different brands of earphones I used during the test. No static or other noise was noticed through the jack besides imperfections in the audio source itself. The other benefit to having an HDMI port on the dv2 is that you can connect this video/audio port to an HDTV and home entertainment system speakers as well.

Heat and Noise
Nothing spoils a great notebook like heat. A "laptop" needs to keep external temperatures under control so it can be used on a lap. Unfortunately, notebooks equipped with AMD processors typically run just a little hotter than notebooks with Intel processors. Thankfully the new AMD Athlon Neo processor keeps heat under wraps.

The hottest spot on this netbook was the area around the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth card ... meaning AMD deserves some credit for the lower thermal output of the the new Yukon platform. The external temperature readings below (listed in degrees Fahrenheit) were recorded while browsing the Web and running two HDTune tests in a row after approximately 30 minutes of use:

In terms of noise, our review unit of the dv2 remained quiet during the testing period ... even during the synthetic benchmark tests. When the system was stressed during our review the internal cooling fan kicked into high gear, but the fan noise was barely noticeable.

Battery
Under normal use, backlight at 50 percent and using wireless for web browsing and Vista set to "Power Saver" mode, the 6-cell battery managed to deliver four hours and 12 minutes of battery life. This is pretty good for a $750 ultra-portable notebook, but the ASUS Eee PC 1000HE netbook was able to deliver almost nine and a half hours of battery life with similar settings. If you switch to the "High Performance" mode in Windows Vista and boost the screen brightness to maximum then the battery life of the HP Pavilion dv2 drops to a modest two hours and 24 minutes.

Conclusion
I started this review with an important question, "at a price of $750, will consumers buy this instead of a $300 netbook?" The answer is, yes ... or at least I hope so.

The HP Pavilion dv2 satisfies an important need that low-cost netbooks never could. When netbooks originally hit the market at the end of 2007 every notebook industry analyst was certain that netbook sales would cannibalize the notebook market. Why would consumers buy a regular laptop if they can buy a $300 netbook? What ended up happening is that 95% of consumers who purchased a netbook purchased a netbook in addition to a notebook. Netbooks are great for travel but just don't have the performance and features needed to replace a regular laptop for most consumers.

The HP Pavilion dv2 is thin and light enough that it can replace a netbook, and it has enough performance to replace a full-size notebook. The only people who might need more performance are extreme gamers and people who need extreme processor speed and multiple cores for multitasking work like encoding two or more video formats simultaneously.

If you want to connect your laptop to your HDTV and watch 1080p video, the dv2 can handle it. If you want to edit high-resolution images in Photoshop while you're on vacation, the dv2 can handle it. If you want to play new video games and don't need extreme detail and frame rates, the dv2 can handle that too.