Acer Aspire AS1410 Review

Acer has lauched the new Acer Aspire AS1410 notebook in the US market. The new Acer Aspire AS1410 laptop is now on sale in the US at price of  $449.99. Weighing just over 3 pounds and measures 1.2 inches slim, the Acer Aspire AS1410 packs 11.6-inch LED-backlight widescreen display with 1366 x 768-pixel resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio and 200-nit high brightness, 1.2 GHz Intel Celeron SU2300 processor, a 250GB of SATA hard drive, 2GB of RAM, Intel GMA 4500MHD and the latest Microsft Windows 7 64-bit operating system which designed for faster and more reliable performance.

 

The Acer Aspire AS1410 also has a Multi-Gesture Touchpad, an integrated Acer Crystal Eye webcam, 802.11a/b/g/n Wireless LAN, Gigabit LAN, Stereo speakers with Dolby Sound Room audio enhancement, 5-in-1 memory card reader, three USB 2.0 ports, HDMI port and a 6-cell Acer Aspire AS1410 battery that provides up to 6 hours of continuous use.

 

From the outside, the Acer Aspire AS1410 looks the same as the Acer Aspire Timeline 1810T; in fact, at 11.2 x 8.0 x 1.2 inches and weighing 3.2 pounds, it’s the same size and weight. Our review unit had a glossy, Ruby Red lid with Acer’s metal logo impressed in the lower corner; the lid picks up fingerprints fairly easily. The same color extends to the deck, which is offset by the matte black keyboard and glossy black bezel.

 

Unlike the Acer Aspire One 751h netbook, the 1410’s six-cell battery does not bulge out the back. Instead, it bumps out of the bottom, tilting the 1410 at a slight downward angle towards the user.

 

Specifications:

• Processor speed: 1.2GHz
• Processor: Celeron
• Amt of RAM: 2048 MB
• Hard drive: 320 GB
• Optical drive: 160
• Graphics hardware: Intel GMA X4500
• Diagonal screen size: 11.6 inch
• Operating system: Win 7 Home Premium
• Weight w/battery: 1.35 kg
• Wireless LAN: 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n

With the rising popularity of social networking, consumers are more connected than ever to the online world,” said Ray Sawall, senior manager of product marketing for Acer America. “When it comes to selecting a notebook, they’re increasingly concerned with size, weight and style. The AS1410 Series is small enough to be carried in a backpack or even a large purse but with enough power for spreadsheets and presentations. Aggressively priced, the Aspire AS1410 battery is an affordable mobile solution for checking Twitter updates, viewing YouTube videos and handling productivity applications on a plane, at school or a coffee house. Those in the market for a netbook should consider this notebook as an option, due to the step up in processing power.”

 

Just one-inch-thin and 3.08 pounds, these systems are sleek and light, but with a full-size keyboard. The full-sized keyboard is comfortable and easy to type on, particularly for taking advantage of productivity applications. The compact size combined with a traditional keyboard comprises a convenient platform for frequent travelers and students. With the needs of mobile users in mind, the AS1410 Series is designed to suit an individual’s own personal flair with three elegant color options - Diamond Black, Sapphire Blue and Ruby Red.

 

Performance was about what I expected. When officially benchmarked, the Core Solo SU3500 is about 20 percent faster than an Atom N270 at 1.6GHz, but ‘real world’ it felt about the same. Knowing the difference in real world experience between Vista and Windows 7, I can only imagine that with 7 the AS1410 would be noticeably snappier than its Atom brethren.

 

For media this is certainly a nice little machine, but once again, without a good GPU, some HD Flash content does see stutter and minor delays. Using the rgbFilter Montage! video as a test, the YouTube HD version played back with smooth audio but at about 10-12fps (better than Atom, but not great), whereas the original 720p MP4 had no problems whatsoever. I’m going to chalk part of this up to the Vista OS, as Windows 7 just seems to handle heavy lifting better when coupled with a low-end CPU. As for HD output over HDMI, it looked great on the studio’s 50″ Panasonic plasma TV. The 4500 GPU is certainly much better than the typical Intel GMA 450/500 found in netbooks for video playback, but when it comes to gaming, is still no Nvidia ION.

 

Size 11.6-inch laptop also has a 250GB hard drive capacity and is supported by the connection device such as Wi-Fi. This laptop has been marketed in Makassar by price range Rp6-7 million.

 

Wich makes it look like an enticing bargain. This a point echoed by Liliputing, who felt that there isn’t “another machine that offers as much as the Aspire AS1410 at this price point.” They managed to get around 5 hours out of the battery under normal web use.

 

Netbooked also thought it offered great value for money and “wholeheartedly recommended it.” The large keyboard was easy to type on and the touchpad was well-sized too. The dual-core processor enabled HD YouTube playback out of the box. However, they only managed around 4 hours of battery life in their tests.

 

It seems this laptop is ideal for those who are crazy about collecting merchandise from Olympic organizers.

 

I tend not to use Windows, except when that architecture's support for DRM comes into play (as with Netflix) or I'm locked into using a Windows-only application. I've found very little to argue about with the little Acer's performance under Windows 7, with everything being reasonably responsive and suitable for daily use. Given the integrated graphics, I haven't tried gaming with anything more demanding than Plants vs. Zombies. Flash video from You Tube has played acceptably, although the tinny and underpowered speakers mean that you'll want your audio through headphones.

 

If performance under Win 7 is good, the little subnote excels at running Linux. My first flavor was Mandriva 2009.1 with Gnome not the lightest distro available. Performance nonetheless was outstanding, with 30-40 second boot times and little or no noticeable lag opening most programs. Ubuntu 9.04, 9.10 and 10.04 all worked seamlessly as well, with Lucid booting particularly quickly. My current distro is Lubuntu, which flies, booting typically in around 15-20 secs. I've had no hardware compatibility issues, except between Lucid's implementation of ALSA and the integrated sound, and even that had initially worked.

 

Given the AS1410’s price, we were happy to see any useful third-party software. Acer includes its own eRecovery backup-and-restore utility, as well as Microsoft Works SE 9.0 (with a trial for Office 2007 Home & Student preloaded) and EgisTec’s My WinLocker utility. (The latter includes a file shredder and a “safe” for hiding files from view via password protection.) We were also pleasantly surprised to see that Acer backs the AS1410 with a two-year warranty.

 

With the Aspire AS1410, Acer has raised the bar on low-cost ultraportables. It delivers a decent feature set and respectable speed overall for a $400 laptop. For another $150, you’ll see some faster performance in the Gateway EC1430u, but the difference is relatively minor. The Acer AS1410 battery — and low-priced ultraportables like it—just might blast netbooks out of the running for good.

HP ProBook 5310m Laptop Review

We've looked at quite a few CULV laptops of late, including our CULV roundup. HP's ProBook 5310m is CULV with a twist: it doesn't have to be a CULV laptop, as regular CPUs are also available with significantly more performance on tap. Worth particular note is that the ProBook 5310m is a business laptop rather than a consumer model, which means there's a matte LCD option for a change. (And there was much rejoicing….) HP launched the 5310m late last year, so it's lost some of its shiny newness, but the ProBook still gets a lot of areas right.

 

The ProBook 5310m comes with an aluminum cover and palm rest, though the LCD bezel remains glossy. This is a very thin and light laptop—less than an inch thick and weighing in at 3.8 pounds. We really like the spacing on the keys, and the keyboard has been comfortable for use in limited testing. The default battery is a bit thinner than a AAA battery and the standard configuration ships with a 4-cell 41Wh HP ProBook 5310m battery good for up to ~6.5 hours of mobility (testing still pending). An optional $20 upgrade gets you a 6-cell battery, which should boost battery life quite a bit. Most of the other features are the same as other CULV laptops, but the 5310m does ship with a DisplayPort output instead of the common VGA/HDMI output.

HP ProBook 5310m is definitely proven to be a powerful and extremely portable laptop that comes with a screen as wide as 13 inches. And in terms of battery, you are guaranteed to have the longest life of batteries to use. Although for one thing, you will need to upgrade on some of the HP ProBook 5310m's features to get the optimum efficiency you want.

 

What is more, the HP ProBook 5310m presents itself as a laptop that is very grand-looking. Although the lid may look so plain with its emblem in silver, it still delivers a regal look for a laptop. It weighs so light making it very portable and ideal to businessmen who frequently travel. And another thing, the keyboard is spill-proof and very comfortable to type in. You cannot feel any texture to it; making the fingers controlled when typing and not sliding easily.

 

Specifications:

• Intel Core 2 Duo P9300 Processor (2.26GHz, 6MB L2 cache, 1066MHz FSB)
• Microsoft Genuine Windows 7 Professional (32-bit)
• 13.3-inch LED-backlit anti-glare HD display (1366 x 768)
• Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
• 2GB DDR3 1333MHz RAM
• 320GB 7200RPM HDD
• WiFi (802.11a/b/g/draft-n), Ethernet, Modem, and Bluetooth Connectivity
• 4-Cell 41WHr Battery (14.8V)
• Limited 1-year standard parts and labor warranty
• Dimensions: 12.9 x 8.7 x 0.93 inches
• Weight: 3.81lbs

The ProBook 5310m isn’t the lightest ultraportable on the market, but it bests or comes close to its higher-priced competitors. At 12.9 x 8.7 x 0.9 inches and 3.8 pounds, the 5310m is significantly lighter and thinner than the HP ProBook 4310s (4.4 pounds, 1.1 inches thick) and the Dell Latitude E4300 (3.8 pounds, 1.3 inches). It’s also the same thickness (but about 0.4 pounds heavier) than the Lenovo ThinkPad X301, which costs more than $1,800. Twelve-inch systems such as the Toshiba Portégé R600 (2.4 pounds, 0.8 inches thick) and Lenovo ThinkPad X200s (3.2 pounds, 1.4 inches) are lighter, but the R600 costs well over $2,000, and the X200s is much thicker.

 

The ProBook 5310m looks much sexier than its $699 starting price would indicate. The black anodized aluminum lid and deck, sleek island keys, and durable magnesium rubberized bottom make the 5310m sexy enough for the club room while staying conservative enough for the boardroom. Though it has a similar shape and keyboard layout to the HP ProBook 4310s, the 5310m’s piano black color, thin lines, and subtle status lights give it a much more sophisticated look than its sibling, which lacks the aluminum and magnesium materials.

 

You don't have to sacrifice performance either to get to the desired thickness. The 5310m runs on a standard voltage processor. It's not a netbook CPU or an Ultra Low Voltage processor, both of which sacrifice plenty of performance in favor of battery life. The 2.26-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SP9300 processor is a terrific pick because it emphasizes both speed and energy efficiency. Though 2GB of memory seems meager in these modern times, the 5310m still achieved impressive performance scores. Its video encoding and Cinbench R10 scores easily beat out the Lenovo X301, HP ProBook 4310s, and Getac 9213. It runs on Intel's integrated graphics, though, so don't expect to rack up those 3D gaming frame rates on your free time.

 

A 41WH (4-cell) battery and a standard voltage processor usually spell trouble for battery life, but not so for the 5310m. In MobileMark 2007 tests, its score of 5 hours 18 minutes places it in the same league as the Lenovo X301 (5:24) and Getac 9213 (4:50)—both of which have bigger batteries. Imagine what the 5310m can do with an extended battery. By early next year, an 8-cell ProBook 5310m battery option will available and potentially take battery life well beyond its 5-hour mark.

 

The screen looks great and crisp at its 1366-by-768-pixel resolution. Sample video footage running off the 320GB, 7200-rpm hard drive came across smooth and stutter-free. A shuttle-launch sequence popped on the screen, with fiery plumes rising against the morning sky. Still pictures looked equally sharp, exhibiting deep blues and rich greens. And the display offers the added bonus of being backlit, so it's viewable indoors and out without the screen's glossy sheen being too jarring. In fact, the shine of the plastic interior frame surrounding the panel was more distracting.

 

The audio, unsurprisingly, veers toward tinny. Keep a pair of headphones handy. I can't complain a lot, I suppose, since the 5310m is a business-first portable. That much seems obvious when you consider the bundled proprietary software, which includes Skype, Roxio Creator Business, HP Webcam, HP QuickLook, and HP QuickWeb. QuickLook ties Outlook (2003 and 2007) to the quick-launching Linux shell OS; so, unlike with the Dell Latitude Z600, which can also quick-launch an OS, on this machine the modifications you make inside the OS are visible in QuickLook 3. (Very handy, but it's actually a further refinement of what has been surfacing in higher-end HP business models for some time now.) The QuickWeb software makes it equally easy to hop online, view Flash, run Java--basically, what you'd expect from running a regular Web browser inside Windows. The only difference here: It's secure. No unwanted junk installs on the computer, and if you want to download anything, just pop in an external drive.

 

The mouse buttons have a satisfying amount of give. What we're not crazy about, though, is their size, which feels - to us, at least - a little too thin to hit. More often than not, we found ourselves tapping just below the buttons, expecting them to be placed somewhere they weren't. But that is a highly subjective, very personal experience.

 

The screen looks great and crisp at its 1366-by-768-pixel resolution. Sample video footage running off the 320GB, 7200-rpm hard drive came across smooth and stutter-free. A shuttle-launch sequence popped on the screen, with fiery plumes rising against the morning sky. Still pictures looked equally sharp, exhibiting deep blues and rich greens. And the display offers the added bonus of being backlit, so it's viewable indoors and out without the screen's glossy sheen being too jarring. In fact, the shine of the plastic interior frame surrounding the panel was more distracting.

 

The 32-bit version of Windows 7 Professional is preinstalled, along with McAfee security software; WinZip, Skype, and Roxio Creator utilities; and the trial version of Microsoft Office 2007. More interesting are HP QuickLook 3 and QuickWeb, programs launched by dedicated buttons to the right of the keyboard that work when Windows is shut down: These use a mini-Linux environment to start in under 20 seconds, without booting Windows, for speedy access to contact and calendar information and a Web browser.

 

QuickLook 3 pulls up your Microsoft Outlook 2003 or 2007 information, letting you look up a contact, add an appointment, or type an e-mail that's sent the next time you log into Outlook and the network. QuickWeb works with a hardwired or WiFi Internet connection to summon a full-featured browser, including history, bookmarks, and a write-protected mode for guest access or surfing suspicious sites. It even includes a screen brightness control and a battery power gauge to avert unexpected rundowns.

 

In addition to the 32-bit Windows 7 Professional operating system and QuickLook and QuickWeb utilities, the HP ProBook 5310m laptop battery comes preloaded with a fairly minimal software mix: Roxio Creator Business 10.3, WinZip, Skype, and the ubiquitous trial version of Microsoft Office 2007. You also get the handy HP System Diagnostics tool and HP ProtectTools suite, which includes utilities for permanently deleting files or wiping the hard drive and protecting your passwords. Also included in the package is standard-length warranty coverage: a one-year plan with 24/7 toll-free tech support.

 

All told, the HP ProBook 5310m is all you could ask for in an under-$1,000 ultraportable. The QuickWeb and QuickLook features are ideal if you often steal a few minutes here and there to check e-mail and the Web, and the compact body and good battery life make it an ideal travel companion.

Review: Toshiba Portege R700

From the moment you pull the Toshiba Portege R700 from its accompanying leather suitcase, you can tell it’s going to be a class act. There’s none of the plastic smudge of a cheap Fisher-Price netbook, and all of the class and business prowess of a Lenovo ThinkPad, and portability to match the MacBook Air and Acer Aspire Timeline X series.

Although you’ll be pleased with the aesthetic finish of the Toshiba Portege R700 (subtle plastic that appears to have a brushed metal finish), what you’ll come to appreciate most over time is its extreme portability. While at 25.7mm thick at its deepest point, the Portege R700 isn’t going to fit inside a manilla envelope any time soon, it feels stunningly light for a 13.3-inch laptop – and considering the full power innards, that’s impressive.

Despite its tiny form factor, the review sample we saw featured a high-powered Intel Core i7 processor and 4096MB of DDR3 memory. Core i3 and i5 models are also planned for the Toshiba Portégé R700's release and even at this pre-production stage this is one of the most powerful ultraportables we’ve seen.

During preliminary testing, we found the Toshiba Portégé R700 extremely fast to use, running standard office applications and more demanding programs with ease. The use of an integrated Intel GMA HD graphics card means even basic multimedia tasks such as photo or video editing are also possible.

Specifications:

• Processor: 2.67GHz Intel Core i7 M620
• Memory: 4GB RAM
• Storage: 128GB SSD
• Optical Drive: DVD±RW
• Screen: 13.3 inches (1,366x768 native resolution)
• Graphics: Integrated Intel HD
• Weight: 3.01 pounds
• Dimensions (HWD): 1.01x12.44x8.94 inches
• Operating System: Windows 7 Professional (32-bit)

Visually the R700 is quite a departure from previous models. Out is the slightly outdated-looking silver plastic; in is an extremely smart, black brushed metal finish to the lid and body. This instantly gives the R700 a credibility more befitting its target market, while enhancing the already slim (16.8mm to 25.7mm) and light (1.46kg) chassis. Reinforcing this about turn is the use of an isolation keyboard, the black keys of which merge seamlessly with their surroundings.

Dig a little deeper, however, and the DNA of the R500 and R600 is plain to see. Still present is the impossibly thin and somewhat flexible lid, while the arrangement of the fingerprint reader between the two touchpad buttons and the chromed hinges have been lifted straight from its predecessors. In other words, this isn't a wholly new machine, merely another evolution upon a theme.

The port design of the R700 is also said to be improved over the R600 in that all of the major ports use harnesses now. The power and USB ports, which are the most used ports on a notebook, all use leads to connect to the motherboard, which means that there of damaging the board if you plug a peripheral in too forcefully. The power port even has three dabs of glue holding it in place, which let it withstand more force without getting unstuck.

The optical drive, hard drive and dock connections, which were traditionally connected and held to the motherboard via solder alone, now overlap the circuit board and are screwed together so that the solder doesn't have to take survive any tugs from these connections. All these little behind the scenes tricks should come together to hopefully make the Toshiba Portege R700 battery immune to breakage. Even the wireless antennas have undergone a transformation and are now 'chip-mounted'. Their wires still snake around the screen though.

Toshiba claims the third-gen SSD offerings for the Portégé R700 offer between five and 10 per cent better performance over second-generation drives. Toshiba also says that from July all of its SSD offerings in all product ranges will shift to third-generation drives, so the Portégé R700 won't be the only platform to benefit from the new SSDs. Only the two high-end models of the Portégé R700 will include an SSD; the other three models in the range will have conventional hard drives.

Graphics performance will be handled by the integrated Intel QM57 chipset, which will be powerful enough to drive the 1366x768-resolution screen, as well as Full HD resolution via the HDMI port in the side of the chassis. You also get two USB 2.0 Sleep-and-Charge ports, VGA, a combination eSATA/USB 2.0 port, headphone and microphone ports, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1, an SD card slot and, depending on the model you choose, you'll get an ExpressCard slot and a built-in 7mm thick DVD burner.

In a break from tradition, Toshiba has broken away from their traditional aluminium finish for the Portégé. The new R700 has a brushed matte black finish that looks elegant. Although we didn’t put the R700 through a tough roadtest, it was obvious that the finish wouldn’t scratch easily and could take being carried in a backpack without having to worry about superficial damage.

The ins and outs are well covered. The R700 has a pair or USB 2.0 ports. Conveniently, one is placed on either side of the unit so so that one side of the device doesn’t get too cluttered if multiple devices are connected. Toshiba’s USB drivers allow for USB ports to be used for device charging when the computer is in either “sleep” or “stand-by” modes. Each time a USB device is inserted, a dialog pops up so you can choose whether or not enable this mode. That way, the 5800mAh Portege R700 battery isn’t totally discharged inadvertently while traveling.

The Portégé R700 has a starting weight of just three pounds, and measures just one inch thick, and sports a new Airflow Cooling Technology co-developed by Toshiba and Intel that uses directed air streams to cool heat-generating components so the systems can use ful-powered Intel Core processors; the R700s also feature magnesium alloy casing with a honeycomb rib design incorporated into the palm rests and base to increase rigidity without adding weight.

The Portégé R700s will be available with Intel Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 processors and Windows 7 Professional (XP downgrades available). The units sport an HD 1,366 by 768-pixel LED-backlit display, 4 MB of RAM, an ExpressCard slot, an eSATA/USB combo port, as well as an integrated DVD±RW drive and webcam; folks can also dock with a port replicator for connecting up more desktop peripherals. The R700 will ship with a six-cell battery that should give up to 8.5 hours of use; although an optional 9-cell Toshiba PA3832U-1BRS battery can kick that all the way up to 12.5 hours.

The R700 is staggeringly quick too. Our test sample used a 2.4GHz Core i5-520M with a healthy 4GB of DDR3 memory for company, and it sliced through all the apps we threw at it without any hint of a delay.

Don’t be fooled into thinking this is a silent laptop, however. In our tests, the fan was audible despite its relatively low spin rate, and when we pushed the Core i5 sample in our test machine the fan audibly revved up. That said, this was a pre-production unit so we’ll wait to see how the final machines cope with hard graft.

More pleasing is the fact that Toshiba has managed to squeeze a DVD rewriter into such a small laptop, for read/write access to CDs and DVDs.

Connectivity is also top-notch, courtesy of 802.11n Wi-Fi, Gigabit Ethernet. There's also a 3G module for wireless broadband access.

You can also deactivate the touchpad with a button right beneath the space bar. Zooming in and out with multitouch gestures (when we intended to) worked better than on other notebooks we've tested recently.

The two plastic touchpad buttons are a bit smaller than we'd like, and that's because Toshiba put the fingerprint sensor in between them. This made right-clicking somewhat of a challenge without looking--at least at first.

Toshiba's Portégé R700 is a well-made 13.3in. ultraportable whose only significant issue is a rather flexible lid section. Some users may find the keyboard too spongy for their liking, and you'll have to move up the range if you want an integrated optical drive. Battery life is good, though, and that could be enough to tip the scales in the R700's favour.

Dell Latitude E6400 Review

The E6400 features a 14.1 inch TFT panel that offers a WXGA monitor resolution of 1440 x 900 pixels. It boasts of an embedded 0.3 MP internet camera and is loaded with a NVDIA Quadro NVS 160M graphic video vendor. Equipped with a 5-in-1 card reader, it comes with an inbuilt 8x optical DVD writer. Possessing a system memory of 2 GB that can be enlarged up to 8 GB, its hard disk is capable of saving data up to 250 GB. Powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo P8700 processor with a speed of 1066 MHz, the laptop functions on the Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic operating system.

 

Dell has gone to extraordinary lengths to ruggedise this laptop. Its exclusive Ballistic Armor Protection system is the first line of defence. It utilises a chassis metal called PR-481 which ensures that the laptop can be dropped from a height of three feet, while the screen is open and operating, and it will still continue to work.

 

The laptop also boasts an Ingress Protection rating of 65 - the same as the Getac B300. This gives complete protection against dust and also low pressure jets of water (from all directions), making it suitable for working in both the desert and heavy rain.

 

Think of the Latitude as Dell’s answer to Lenovo’s ThinkPad series. At first glance the Latitude E6400 looks very large, solid and also very boxy. It seems like Dell hewed this out of a solid hunk of plastic and metal. No, the black matt finish is fine with us, but it’s just that the box-like design brings to mind the oft used analogy “built like a tank”.

 

The lid sports a black, brushed aluminum finish that is quite eye catching but in a more laid back sort of manner and you’ll hardly notice yourself giving it another look over.

 

Specifications:

• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 (2.40GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 3MB cache)
• Screen: 14-inch 1440 x 900 WXGA+ LED Backlit (matte finish)
• Memory: 1GB DDR2-800 PC-6400 RAM (Nanya, 5-6-6-18)
• Storage: 160GB 5400rpm HDD (Samsung HM160HI)
• Optical Drive: 9.5mm thick SATA PLDS (Philips Liteon) 8A2SDVD+/-RW
• Wireless: Intel 5100 802.11a/b/g/n
• Graphics: Intel X4500HD
• UK Backlit keyboard
• ExpressCard slot
• Creative 0.3MP web camera and microphone
• Battery: 56Wh 6-cell
• Standard E series 90W PSU and optional slim 65W Auto/Air/AC adapter
• Dimensions: 335 x 244 x 33mm (including feet about 2mm long) or 13.2" x 9.6" x 1.3"
• Advertised weight: The Quick Reference Guide states "2.15 kg (4.75 lb) with UMA graphics, 6-cell battery, solid-state drive"
• Actual weight: 2.31kg / 5.1 lbs (with UMA graphics, 6-cell battery, HDD)
• Travel weight: 2.87kg / 6.33lbs (with standard 90W PSU); 2.68kg / 5.91lbs (with slim 65W PSU)
• Windows Vista Business with XP Pro downgrade

The system’s perimeter contains numerous ports and outlets for hooking up gear: four USB 2.0, eSATA, VGA, Display Port, RJ-11(optional), RJ-45, 1394, Audio, Power, One Type II PCMCIA or ExpressCard/54, 5-in-1 memory card reader, headphone and microphone jacks.

 

Out of these ports, the uppermost USB port located on the left side of the unit is the most intriguing. Taking a cue from Toshiba’s Sleep and Charge technology, Dell’s USB PowerShare lets users charge their gadgets through this special port (which is designated by a lightning bolt symbol next to the traditional USB symbol), even when the computer is turned off.

 

The keyboard makes for an excellent typing experience; the firm, yet springy keys virtually jumped up to meet our fingers after we pressed them. There's a large and very usable Shift key on the right, below which sits offset cursor keys, while the Insert, Delete, Home, End, Page Up and Page Down keys are all grouped in a grid in the top right.

 

The left side of the laptop has a VGA out port, one usb port and an eSata port for those who want to use a high speed external hard drive. Two more USB ports can be found on the right side of the laptop. The front of this computer houses an SD Card reader and the back has the power jack and a gigabit ethernet port.

 

Without a doubt, the Dell Latitude E6400 battery has not been built for the casual users, those looking for some Instant messaging and Internet browsing at home, accompanied by the occasional games (although we've done that as well during the tests). No, it's been designed from the "toes" up to serve as a high-end work partner for busy businessmen, providing both a very solid and sturdy design, an enhanced level of data security (both software and physical), plus a rather "industrial" and "rugged" look, which, however, won't make too many heads turn (unless you're one true hardcore notebook fan).

 

Besides the features mentioned above, the E6400 also offers a host of interesting connectivity options, a built-in contactless SmartCard reader, WWAN networking, as well as one really special, removable optical unit.

 

The 14.1in screen is kitted out with an LED-backlit 1,440 x 900 panel which, in our eyes, should be the de-facto native resolution for all 14.1in and 15.4in laptops. There's plenty of desktop space to take advantage of, and the supreme brightness and fine image quality is only marred by colour reproduction which errs on the side of dullness.

 

It's a minor complaint, but one that's more than made up for with useful features such as the automatic brightness sensor nestling to the left of the Chrome-effect Dell logo.

 

Under the hood of our Dell Latitude E6400 was a 2.26-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 processor and 2GB of RAM, which made for a smooth computing experience. The Latitude E6400 notched 3,025 on our PCMark Vantage test (which measures the application performance of PCs running Vista). That’s almost 500 points higher than the thin-and-light average, but about 400 points less than the Lenovo ThinkPad SL400, which has the same processor but discrete Nvidia graphics as opposed to the E6400’s integrated Intel graphics.

 

We were able to work within Google Docs, chat with colleagues in Meebo, listen to MP3s, and run a virus scan without seeing a performance hit. We’ve come to expect slow boot times from Vista-based systems, but the Latitude E6400 battery wasn’t bad: It took 53 seconds to gain control of the OS after hitting the power button. Many other notebooks take a minute or longer.

 

The Dell E6400 offers identical options as in the Precision M2400. Besides 3 USB 2.0 connections, there is a digital display port and an analog monitor port, Firewire and an eSATA port for connecting an external hard disk. The arrangement of the single ports can be described, as in is the Dell E6400, as very user friendly, the single connections being on the side edges in the back area, and therefore hardly impairs the left and right working area beside the notebook even when fully occupied.

 

Also included in the Dell E6400 battery is the built in SmartCard Reader, which replaces the PC Card slot. Accordingly, for various extensions merely the offered ExpressCard shaft is left over, in the E6400.

 

There’s no doubt the E6400 is an unmitigated success. Where 15.4in laptops turn any bag into an albatross hung round the average business worker’s neck, the E6400 strikes a great compromise between weight, ergonomics and durability.

 

The daunting price is bound to take the wind out of the sails of those with smaller budgets, but with a three-year, next business day warranty attached to such a fine product, the price looks more attractive.

Review: Dell Vostro 3700 Laptop PC

Dell's Vostro 3700 is a 17.3in business notebook that's aimed at small business users who are looking for a large, affordable desktop replacement. It packs plenty of performance into its sturdy chassis for everyday office and online communications tasks, as well as running more demanding applications such as video editing, video encoding, and even gaming.

Haul all 3kg of the Vostro 3700 onto the desk, and you're faced with a smart, businesslike notebook of daunting proportions. And, while its size might not appeal to some, there's no question that this redesign is the most successful the Vostro range has yet seen.

Reminiscent of the pricier Latitude range, the Vostro still has a clear identity of its own; clean lines and soft, rounded edges form a double act with acres of brushed aluminium framed by matte-black and glossy accents. It's only once you get up close and personal that the Vostro gives any clues as to its budget beginnings.

With the plethora of netbooks on the market today sporting 9, 10 and 11” screens, is easy to forget notebooks weren’t always so small. Meet the Dell Vostro 3700, a huge 17.3” desktop replacement powered by Intel’s new Core i3, i5 and i7 range of processors. The 3700 is part of Dell’s Vostro refresh which includes the 3300 (13”), 3400 (14”) and the 3500 (15”).

Out of the box there is no getting around the fact this is a very large laptop. While it is not overly thick, it makes its presence known with that big screen. It feels heavier than it’s advertised 2.7kg weight would suggest too.

Dell Vostro 3700 Laptop Specification:

• Windows 7 Professional
• 17.3″ High Definition+ Wide LED Anti-Glare Display
• Intel Core i7 Processor
• Intel HM57 Chipset
• Nvidia Geforce GT330M, 1GB Graphics
• Up to 6GB DDR3 1066MHz RAM
• up to 500GB (7200 rpm) Hard Disk
• DVD Writer
• WLAN 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi
• Dell Wireless 365 Bluetooth 2.1
• Integrated Stereo speakers
• Integrated 2.0 MP camera with digital array microphones
• 4 USB, 1 HDMI, 34 mm ExpressCard, IEEE 1394 connector
• 6-cell Lithium Ion battery
• Weight: 2.70 Kg
• Desktop Level Performance
• Intel Quad Core i7 Processor
• Dedicated 1 GB Nvidia Graphics Card
• 17.3″ Widescreen Display
• 8-in-1 Memory Card Reader

Of course, the payoff for all that bulk is the gorgeous 17.3-inch high-def screen. With a resolution of 1,600x800 pixels, the Vostro 3700 allows you to have two application windows open side-by-side -- to keep an eye on your email Inbox while you work on a proposal, for example. We found text to be exceedingly crisp and legible, and the LED backlight helps colors in images really pop.

The LCD panel also boasts a very wide viewing angle, making the Dell Vostro 3700 battery suitable as a presentation platform. For a small group, the 17.3-inch screen should be all you need. For presenting to a larger audience, use the machine's VGA or HDMI connectors to connect a projector or TV. The Vostro 3700's built-in stereo speakers are fine for business audio for a small group, but if you need to pump out room-filling sound plan on adding a set of portable speakers, especially if music playback figures into the equation.

If you're the type that feels desktop PCs are so 1990s, Dell has a powerful new notebook that may make you forget about minitower PCs for good. The Dell Vostro 3700 likely has a larger, higher-resolution screen than you used in the '90s, and undoubtedly a more powerful processor. And at a starting price of just $629, we're sure it's a whole lot less expensive than any desktop you bought back then.

The Vostro 3700 is the big-screen desktop-replacement model in the Vostro 3000 Series Dell introduced this spring. With its 16.2 by 10.7-inch footprint and 6-pound weight, you won't want to lug the 3700 with you on airplanes. But buy a laptop bag that can accommodate a large widescreen notebook PC, and the machine is certainly up for the occasional trip to a client site or to shuttle between home and office.

The 6 cells lithium ion Vostro 3700 battery can withstand all the applications in this Dell Vostro 3700 without any worries of the working hours.

Small businesses in particular are Dell's target group for the Vostro family. Those searching for a reasonably priced business machine with the latest hardware can choose between the Vostro 3500 in 15.6" we recently tested and the Vostro 3700 in 17.3" format. In its as tested configuration, the 17 incher in question houses a Core i7 720QM Quad-Core-Processor, an independent Nvidia GeForce 330M graphics card, four GB RAM and a fast 500 GB harddrive.

Typical of Dell, the Vostro 3700 can to some extent be thoroughly configured. The available options will be dealt with in more detail below. Sections such as performance, emissions and battery life which focus specifically on the hardware are not necessarily applicable to differently configured models.

Due to the impact of the batteries, the withstanding hours of the laptops has increased. Apart from the USBs, integrated speakers, wireless data transfer options, it has the DVD writer as the secondary memory accessing part.

PROS
Excellent performance; Nvidia GPU; dedicated support hotline; lots of features for the price

CONS
No Blu-ray or embedded WWAN options; weak speakers; bland design.

For $1699, the Vostro 3700 is a great alternative to a desktop PC as it will give you almost the same performance and speed, but in a form factor that you can transport to and from work. It has plenty of built-in connectivity and it's comfortable to use; it performed well in our tests, and we especially love its 7200rpm hard drive. Our one quibble is we’d like the Dell 3700 battery to be pre-installed with the 64-bit version of Windows (With Dell’s custom build system, you should be able to select this feature during the ordering process). A backlit keyboard would be another welcome addition for times when you have to type for long periods at night.

HP EliteBook 8530w Laptop Review

The HP EliteBook 8530w is the latest 15.4″ workstation featuring the latest Intel processors and Nvidia Quadro FX 770M wrapped inside an impressively durable shell. The Elitebook 8530w and 8530p (non-workstation version) replace the 8510w and 8510p, respectively. Is it time for an upgrade at your office? Take a look and see what we have to say about this powerful workhorse!

The 8530w starts out at $1,499 but more powerful configurations top out at $3,549.

Our pre-production EliteBook 8530w came with the Intel T9400 processor, clocking in at 2.53GHz, and jammed packed with 6MB of cache. For graphics, HP included an Nvidia Quadro 770M series video card with 512MB of GDDR3 memory. A fast 160GB 7200 RPM hard drive was also included, which helped applications load without much lag. This workstation consistently exceeded our expectations, thanks in large part to the workstation-class GPU. Serious users will find this machine packs plenty of power for even the most demanding tasks, and "normal" users who are only concerned with working in Microsoft Office and encoding the occassional video for work will have more power than they know what to do with it.

In a day and age when more and more notebooks are offering hybrid graphics (a combination of both integrated and dedicated graphics that allow you to reduce power consumption when you don't need extreme graphics performance) we would have liked to see a hybrid graphics solution inside the Elitebook 8530w. As it stands, this isn't a deal killer because most people interested in this notebook are concerned about performance ... not getting every possible minute of battery life.

CEOs and businessmen often go to meetings and they often lug around their trustworthy partner: the laptop. Due to this, laptops are subject to constant wear and tear by being transported frequently. Thus, Hewlett-Packard stresses the importance of durability.

While the HP Elitebook 8530w battery has all the major features of most business laptops, it also is capable of being transported without any worry of abuse. Hewlett-Packard designed its proprietary technology in the HP Elitebook 8530w, which is called the “Duracase.” To guarantee durability, the Elitebook 8530w is made with a magnesium alloy that is stronger than conventional plastic by 18 times.

Specifications:

• Intel Core 2 Duo T9400 Processor (2.53GHz, 6MB L2 cache, 1066MHz FSB)
• Microsoft Genuine Windows Vista Business
• 15.4-inch WUXGA+ anti-glare (1920 x 1200)
• 160GB 7200RPM Toshiba 2.5" HDD
• 512MB NVIDIA Quadro FX 770M Workstation GPU
• 4GB DDR2 800MHz RAM (2 x 2GB Configuration)
• Blu-Ray and DVD+/-RW Optical Drive
• WiFi, Ethernet, Modem, and Bluetooth Connectivity
• 8-Cell 73WHr Battery
• 3-Year on-site Warranty
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 14.0" x 10.4"
• Weight: 6.5lbs without power adapter, 8lbs with power adapter

During normal use (browsing the web or working on a text document) the EliteBook 8530w battery remained nice and quiet. However, after watching some streaming video online and after stressing the graphics the cooling fan inside the laptop gets quite loud. When doing tasks that stress the processor and graphics card, the laptop's fan works hard to keep this laptop cool. This is something of a mixed blessing in that while noisy, it helps to lower the internal temperatures and helps extend the life of your notebook components.

Finally, we recorded the following external temperatures using an IR thermometer after running two consecutive PCMark05 benchmarks. This should serve as an indicator of how hot the notebook will get after about 30 minutes of serious use. All temperatures are listed in degrees Fahrenheit. While the 8530w isn't the coldest notebook we've reviewed, it does stay amazing cool considering the powerful processor and graphics.

The 8530w comes equipped with a 15.4" anti-glare widescreen with the highest resolution possible for a screen of this size. At 1920 x 1200 pixels, this high-definition display is capable of displaying the finest details in workstation applications like Maya, CAD, 3dsMax, and more. Or course, you can also enjoy this extra resolution for 1080p movies when you use the BluRay optical drive.

When viewing the screen from straight ahead, colors are rich and the contrast is excellent. High-definition movies (compliments of the BluRay drive) are absolutely stunning. Horizontal viewing angles are almost as impressive, and the vertical viewing angle from above is likewise impressive. The only time the screen starts to disappoint is when you view it from below ... but the overwhelming majority of users will never view the screen in this way.

Pros:
The HP Elitebook 8530w is a powerful and durable workstation in the guise of a laptop. It is full-featured and its tough shell means all your important files and information are kept from harm’s way. It even has a suite of security tools available to provide business-level protection. Another plus is the host of powerful video card options allowing for a great gaming and high definition media experience.

Cons:
This laptop boasts to have stability, durability, and excellent features. A laptop of this stature could only come with a pricey tag. This model is also quite heavy (agbout 2.86 kg) for a mobile PC. Some users noted that the internal speaker leaves much to be desired and the touchpad area is small.

The HP EliteBook 8530w is one of the most impressive workstation-class 15.4″ notebooks we’ve seen. Whether you’re a small business owner looking for a durable notebook with plenty of performance or a large business looking to outfit a large staff of creative professionals with mobile workstations, the HP 8530w battery makes a smart choice. However, there’s no such thing as a perfect notebook and our pre-production unit of the 8530w was not without its flaws.

While there are a few things we can criticize about the 8530w, it’s hard to be too critical of a pre-production unit because there is always a “possibility” that a minor issue (such as touchpad buttons or cooling fan volume) could be resolved with the final versions that ship to customers. Still, based on the review unit we have on hand we feel our relatively minor criticism is warranted.

Bottom line, there are many reasons why professionals need to buy the HP EliteBook 8530w and very few reasons not to.

Dell Vostro 3400 Review

The Dell Vostro 3400 is a 14-inch business laptop with an Intel Core i3-350M processor and stylish, all-metal exterior. It offers mainstream laptop performance in an attractive shell, making a strong case for an office or SMB laptop.

 

Headphone and microphone jacks are conveniently located on the system's front edge, next to an on/off switch for the wireless radios. At the left are VGA and HDMI ports, two USB 2.0 ports, and the eSATA/USB port; along the right side are Gigabit Ethernet and another USB port, ExpressCard and SD/MMC/MS flash-card slots, and the tray-loading DVD±RW burner. That's about all the connectivity you could ask for, unless you ask for DisplayPort and USB 3.0.

 

Dell Vostro 3400 Laptop Specification:

• Windows 7 Home Basic
• 14.0” inch High Definition (1366 x 768) Wide LED Anti-Glare Display
• Intel Core i3 330M Processor (2.13GHz, 3MB L3 Cache)
• Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator HD
• 2GB DDR3-1066MHz SDRAM
• 250GB Hard Disk
• 8X DVD Writer
• Wireless Network Card 802.11 b/g/n
• Dell Wireless 365 Bluetooth Module
• Webcam with Microphones
• 8-in-1 card reader
• 34 mm ExpressCard
• HDMI connector
• 6-cell Lithium Ion Battery
• 65W Power Adapter
• Weight: 2.16Kg

With a 14.0″ High Definition Wide LED Anti-Glare display, an Intel® CoreTM i3 or i5 Dual Core processor and up to 6GB offered of DDR3 memory Vostro 3400 can suit all the needs of a small business entrepreneur. Besides the great technical specifications it comes with a sophisticated aluminum case, available in three colors (silver, red and bronze), which can make any notebook owner proud of his device.

 

Dell Vostro 3400 comes with an integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD but it can be changed with a Nvidia® GeforceTM 310M. Regarding the storage there two options available: a standard 500GB harddisk drive or a hardware-encrypted 250GB drive. Dell also equipped this model with an 8X DVD+/-RW with double-layer DVD+/-R.

 

Dell Vostro 3400 is famous for its aesthetics amongst other features such as hardware, design etc. The exterior has a silver color with grey matte look and black matte wrist rest and chassis. Above the keyboard are the media player buttons which are touch-sensitive and it is just an add-on which does not make it a multimedia laptop. Just like other Dell laptops it sports a rugged shell in addition to its elite looks and elegant appearance. The whole body is made up of plastic except for its edges and lid which have aluminum surface. When closed Dell Vostro 3400 battery gets a modern look due to plastic screen lid and a Dell logo in the middle of the lid. It is available in two different colors, Lucerne Red and Aberdeen Silver. The usage of plastic in its bezel black screen and screen lid is thinner than the rest of the laptop. However it has a sleek design and its metal finish gives it a solid look and feel.

 

There is a battery, single plate to access RAM, wireless card and hard drive at the bottom of the notebook. You have to just remove two screws to access all internal upgrades. You can have a good grip of the laptop while running due to its textured bottom. Accidental drop of the laptop on its side do not damage because its sides are molded with metal. Dell Vostro 3400 is a 14 inch laptop with 1366 x 768 pixel resolution and weighs 2.16 kg. This laptop is covered with weak plastic which makes the lid to bend even with minimal pressure and it increases the risk of the screen getting damaged when stored inside a bag.

 

The Dell Vostro 3400 has a decent hardware configuration for an entry-level business laptop. It’s equipped with an Intel Core i3-350M 2.26-GHz processor, 2GB DDR3 RAM, 250GB (7200rpm) hard drive, and onboard Intel GMA HD graphics. Dell allows you to customize and upgrade the laptop’s RAM, hard drive capacity, and opt for discrete Nvidia GeForce 300M series graphics, should you feel the need. But the Vostro 3400’s base configuration should suffice if you’re looking for a regular office or business laptop.

 

The strong, powerful, and smar-looking Vostro 3400 battery features a majestic 14.0 inch high definition anti-glare screen with an unassailable resolution of 1366 X 768 pixels. With an integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD, the gaming and computing is an exciting experience. Flaunting of connectivity options that include Dell Wireless 365 bluetooth 2.1, wireless LAN: 802.11b/g/n, 3 USB 2.0 ports, and 8-in-1 card reader; the top end note book ensures the external memory of 250 gb. Weighing just about 2.16 kg, the Dell Vostro 3400 possesses multimedia features such as 8 X DVD writer, 2 integrated stereo speakers (4 ohm 2W x 2), and an Integrated 2.0 MP camera with digital microphones. Security being a menace these days, the Dell Vostro 3400 remedies such a peril with its characteristic DataSafe Online and Dell Backup and Recovery Manager. The ultra sleek and slim laptop is operated powerfully by Intel Core i3 330M Processor (2.13GHz, 3MB L3 Cache) and functions on Windows 7 Home Basic.

 

The Vostro 3400 has an in-built tray-loading 8x DVD writer drive. In terms of connectivity options, the Dell Vostro 3400 business laptop offers four USB ports, VGA, Gigabit Ethernet, multicard reader, ExpressCard slot, headphone and microphone jacks around its chassis. The laptop also supports high-speed eSATA and HDMI connectivity ports; can’t say that with a lot of business laptops. Wireless connectivity standards like Wi-Fi 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.1 are also featured on the Dell Vostro 3400. The laptop also comes with a 3G-ready SIM card slot for WWAN support. If anything, the Dell Vostro lacks a fingerprint reader – disappointing omission – but that’s about it.

 

The port selection on the Dell 3400 battery is quite exceptional for a budget 14-inch notebook. Dell included three USB 2.0 ports (four if you count the combo USB/eSATA port), VGA and HDMI video out ports, Ethernet, a multi-format memory card reader, and even an ExpressCard slot for expansion. In short, I'm pretty impressed since most budget business laptops don't provide a combo USB/eSATA port for high-speed external storage or an ExpressCard slot for broadband wireless cards or future upgrades. About the only ports that are missing are FireWire and USB 3.0 ... and a modem jack for those few people still using dial-up.

Dell Studio XPS 1647 Review

Our house was burglarized in early January, and we lost a whole bunch of portable electronics stuff. Our old fully loaded Studio XPS 1647 too was a victim of this theft.

After that I was looking for a good laptop to replace it …. and finally ordered a Dell Studio XPS 1647. It took over a month and a half for Dell to ship the laptop and I finally received it last week. Its a pretty good laptop. However, Dell officially supports only one HDD on it. I wanted to use a SSD (solid state drive) as my primary drive for the OS, and then have a second HDD as secondary drive for bulk data storage. So, I bought a 60GB SSD drive and used it as the primary drive. SSD makes a HUGE difference in the performance. No more waits. The entire windows 7 installation was complete in less than 15 mins… Its a major improvement in performance.

SPECIFICATIONS
- Intel® Core™ i5-430M Processor (3M Cache, 2.26 GHz)
- 15.6' edge to edge Screen
- 4GB DDR3 RAM
- 320GB Hard Disk Drive
- Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
- ATI Mobility RADEON(R) HD 4670 with 1GB Video Memory
- Slot Load 8X DVD +/-RW Drive
- Integrated 1.3 Mega Pixel Webcam
- Bluetooth
- 6 Cell Battery
- Available in Black Color

Since our review, Dell has refreshed the XPS 1647 with the latest tech, including a speedy Core i7 processor and an ATI Radeon Mobility HD 5730 graphics card.

Dell currently provides instant savings of $224 on the 1647 model of the Studio XPS. Once you plug in a couple coupons from online store, the total price comes to $1,159.99 with free shipping, which is more than reasonable for such a powerful multimedia notebook. However, be aware that this deal expires today, so you’d better be quick to jump on this price.

You know what is the sad about this? – I got Home Premium version of Windows 7 and I’m not completely sure if this is something that is enough for software developer.

Copying everything from was as much as easy as copying from logical disk D to disk E. I plugged Ethernet crossover cable into both of them and ensured that they have different IP addresses and that’s it! High speed computer-to-computer network is ready.

A system this large is only ever designed as a desktop replacement. We've hit more than our fair share of systems like this with ordinary battery life, and the Dell Studio XPS 1647 battery is no exception, coming exactly a minute short of two hours battery life in our full-screen, full brightness video test. Clearly with tweaking you might get a little more than that out of its six-cell battery, but you're still not going anywhere particularly far with this unit.

If you'll pardon the pun, the core difference between this Studio XPS system and our previous contender was the shift upwards from a Core 2 Duo to Core i5 processor, with the performance enhancements that it should bring. We certainly weren't disappointed in this regard, with a 3DMark06 score of 6630 and PCMark05 score of 7157. While the design suggests it's built for business, this is clearly a system that you could throw almost any task at and expect it to handle matters with aplomb.

The 8 cell lithium ion Studio XPS 1647 battery comes from Asus. It's built-in between the huge fans on the back and has a capacity of 78 Wh. The adapter is made for a maximum of 120 watts, so you can work out for yourself that the system consumes more than 78 watts under full load and therefore won't last for even an hour without electricity.

More exact rates will first be possible with our prototype that we'll hopefully get our hands on soon.

This Dell Studio XPS 1647 laptop has been outfitted with the Intel Core i5 Processor. This processor features a four-way processing thread. Basically, this type of processing delegates how much power needs to be sent to each application. By doing so the processor is able to dedicate ample power to high-performance applications while lessening the power to non-demanding programs. This results in a computer that remains highly functional and maintains high performance even when running numerous applications at one time.

The hard drive for this Dell Studio XPS 1647 laptop features a total storage capacity of 640GB, which is the ideal size for those who have an ever-growing media library or those who much store a multitude of files due to editing software. I really enjoy the size of this hard drive, and I feel for the price of this computer you're getting a great deal on storage capacity.

A new operating system on your Dell Studio 1647 laptop! Don’t worry we have all the required drivers here to get you going. By now You would have noticed that most of the devices are not working properly and require you to update their drivers. For your Video device which will probably not work until you install the correct Dell 1647 battery, here are all the Video drivers related to Dell Studio 1647  driver for different operating system.

So simply find your relevant driver and proceed onto the link and download your required file.

We've not hit many systems that have upgraded to Core i5 that we haven't liked, and the upgraded Dell Studio XPS 1647 joins that group nicely. Don't expect to lug it around all day and have the battery last, but besides that quibble this is a nicely balanced, mostly business-centric system.

Review Of Dell Vostro 3300 Laptop

Business laptops don't need to be gorgeous to succeed, they just need to work, and work well. But while some companies may be willing to pay the premium for high-end workstations, smaller companies need a more affordable option. Dell's Vostro range provides just that, and its Vostro 3300 is a compact 13.3in business laptop with a healthy dose of processing power.

 

If you're expecting a no-frills budget build then the Vostro 3300 will come as a pleasant surprise. The two-tone silver and black exterior is unusually smart and attractive for a business model, and despite a modest 1.94kg weight, feels reasonably stout.

 

This notebook is targeted towards both Inspiron (mainstream)and Latitude (buisness oriented) notebooks. But then all Dell Vostro notebooks are made like this. The Dell Vostro 3300 is a 13 inch notebook from Dell and you get to choose from Core i5, or i3 processors. This computer is not as slick as Dell Vostro 13 but it is still a good inexpensive alternative to the step up Dell Adamo. This laptop too has a outer body made of metal and it sports the same sexy looks. The price of this device starts from $599 and for this cost, you get two gigs of RAM, 250 GB hard disk for storing data, and Core i3 chip. All this is quite affordable and light weight too. Our only gripe is that the battery life is pretty small and this makes it less than ideal for travelers.

 

Dell Vostro 3300 battery has a two megapixel Webcam above the screen and the image quality is better than what you normally get. The sensitivity of light and recording is also better. There is a small LED light next to the Webcam which glows when you put the camera in the video mode. The manufacturer also throws in some cartoon effects for fun.

 

Dell Vostro 3300 Notebook Technical Specification|

• Windows 7
• 13.3? inch High Definition LED Anti-Glare Display
• Option for Intel Dual Core i3 and i5 Processors
• Mobile Intel HM57 Express Chipset
• Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD
• Up to 6GB DDR3 RAM
• up to 500GB Hard Disk
• 8X DVD+/-RW with double-layer
• Wireless LAN| 802.11b/g/n
• Bluetooth v2.1
• 5-in-1 card reader
• Integrated speaker
• 2.0 MP camera with microphones
• 4-cell Lithium Ion battery
• Weight| 1.81 Kg

 

Dell Vostro 3300 is a 13.3-inch laptop equipped with a 2.26GHz Intel Core i3-350M processor, 2GB Single Channel DDR3 RAM, and 250GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive. It sports a 13.3-inch High Definition LED Display (1920 x 1080) with Anti-Glare, Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator HD, 8X DVD+/-RW with double-layer DVD+/-R, Bluetooth 2.1, Keyboard with Gesture Touchpad, Wireless Network Card 802.11 b/g/n, Integrated 2.0MP Webcam, and 4-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery. The laptop runs on Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit operating system. Needless to say, such a configuration is good enough for our daily use, people are very happy with it.

 

As a 13.3″ laptop, the Vostro 3300 battery is great for business use, especially for businessmen who travel a lot. The Vostro 3300 blends sophisticated design with first-class productivity in an ultra-thin 13.3-inch laptop made just for small business. It’s very convenient to take it anywhere with you, so you won’t miss a thing. And it can handle your daily tasks very quickly.

 

Dell Vostro 3300 has a single speaker and it is put on left side below the notebook. The sound is clear and loud but we won’t recommend playing movies since the speaker is located on the sides. We haven’t seen a notebook with stellar sound quality anyways and if you are going to watch movies on this laptop, you are better off with a separate headphone set.

 

Dell Vostro 3300 may not have a big port collection but it has eSATA. However, it doesnt have HDMI out which is getting quite popular in such laptops. Fortunately the Bluetooth is still there.

 

Similar in design to the Dell Vostro V13, the V3300 is a slim, sleek, and stylish notebook, but is 0.4 inches thicker than the V13 to accommodate an optical drive. With the 4-cell battery, the system measures just 12.8 x 9.0 x 1.1 inches and weighs only 4.2 pounds. The 8-cell battery (a $99 option) lifts the rear of the V3300 by about 1 inch—making it more comfortable to type on while in your lap—and increases the weight to 4.8 pounds. Needless to say, the 4-cell makes it easier to slide the V3300 into a small messenger bag or briefcase.

 

The V3300’s brushed aluminum lid—which comes in Aberdeen Silver, Lucerne Red, or Brisbane Bronze—eschews fingerprints, and the metal wraps around the sides, but not the bottom of the machine. A band of matte plastic on the front lip makes opening the notebook with very little force easy, and it revealed the black matte plastic deck.

 

The Vostro 3300 from Dell comes with a dual-core Intel Core i3 2.26GHz CPU with 2GB of RAM, a 250GB 7200RPM SATA hard drive, a removable 8x DVD-RW disc drive, and integrated 802.11b/g/n networking. The port selection includes three USB 2.0 ports (one is a USB/eSATA combo), a 5-in-1 memory card reader, and a Gigabit Ethernet port. There is also an integrated 2.0 megapixel video camera for Web chatting. The 3300 comes pre-loaded with Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium.

 

With regards to graphics, this model has the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD, which is somewhat limited at best. Don't expect to play any hardcore 3D games on this machine, but it does just fine with standard tasks and non-3D games. Performance with the Vostro 3300 battery was very good, probably above average in our opinion when compared to similar notebooks. There were no slow downs when opening multiple programs, watching DVD movies and playing casual, lightweight games.

 

Again, the built-in keyboard offers the typical Vostro layout. All keys have a comfortable size, whereas the top row providing the function keys is apparently a bit smaller. However, this should not disturb in daily use.

 

The impression of our first typing is positive. We liked the comfortable feel and the good pressure point. Typing somewhat more forcefully, the keyboard slightly gives and possibly clatters.

 

A keyboard with light is said to be available as option. Especially in dim environments this is an advantage.

 

In general the touchpad appears to be the same as used by the bigger colleagues. It offers multi-touch support, a comfortable surface, and a haptically clear border to the palm rests. The touchpad works precisely in our first test.

 

As I stated at the beginning, the configuration I got for the Vostro 3300 is a budget one as I do not need amazing performance or much power to do my everyday work. I got the slowest Core i3 processor available and the integrated Intel graphics. You can get up to a Core i5 2.4GHz processor, Nvidia 310m graphics and 6GB of RAM in the Vostro 3300 if you’re looking for more horse power.

 

Frankly speaking, the Core i3 processor and integrated graphics will be enough for many mobile small business users or students that are just looking to use productivity applications such as Microsoft Office and using the web to get work done. If you’re into gaming, multimedia production and design or tons of multi-tasking then you can certainly benefit from a more powerful configuration. Using the Core i3 and just 2GB of RAM I was satisfied with the performance of the Vostro 3300 for everyday tasks. In addition, HD Video playback using online sites such as Hulu.com or YouTube.com was smooth and flawless thanks to the processing power. While the Core i3 isn’t close to being the most powerful new Intel processor, I think it offers plenty enough power for mainstream users.

 

The port selection is good, with three USB 2.0 ports - two on the right and one on the left. One of the right-side ports is a combo USB/eSATA port. The Dell Vostro 3300 lacks FireWire capability, but that's increasingly less important. A 5-in-1 flash memory card reader is built into the front, next to the audio input and output jacks.

 

Network connectivity was trouble-free in our network environment, which is built around a Netgear WNDR 3700 wireless router. The Dell 3300 battery also comes equipped with a now-familiar gigabit ethernet port. Our test unit lacked wireless broadband capability, but Dell does offer a wireless 3G card as an option.

 

In terms of features, the 3300's only misstep is omitting an HDMI port—you'll have to be satisfied with a VGA port. Meanwhile, most other business laptops, such as the the Lenovo Edge 15 and HP 5310m, have HDMI ports, which can stream both video and audio to a boardroom HDTV. The 3300 has 3 USB ports, one of which doubles as an eSATA connection, for external hard drives. Not that you need it, since this configuration comes with a speedy (7,200 rpm) 500GB hard drive. It also has an internal dual-layer DVD burner—a feature that you won't find on the HP 5310m.

 

The Vostro 3300's performance also seemed good subjectively. We opened the latest version of Google's Chrome browser with 31 active tabs (including a number of flash-heavy sites) and ran Windows Live Writer at the same time. Typing still seemed responsive, and browsing performance was snappy. Documentation is sparse, limited to online help that's not particularly robust.

 

Overall, the Vostro 3300 hits a solid combination of features in a sleek, compact package. Dell has managed to make an ultrathin small-business laptop that's just a little sexy, but also just boring enough not to attract too much attention.

HP EliteBook 8540p Laptop Computer Reviews

The HP EliteBook 8540p is a makeweight between the HP EliteBook 6540p and the HP EliteBook 8540w with respect to performance and build quality. We put it through its paces, and were pleasantly surprised by what HP managed to achieve.

With the HP EliteBook 8540p, you can enjoy advanced graphics and performance with a 15.6" diagonal HD display, integrated numeric keypad in a portable notebook that combines premier design with rugged construction for maximum durability.


Specifications:

• Intel Core i5-520M (2.4GHz, 6MB L2 cache)
• Microsoft Genuine Windows 7 Professional (32-bit)
• 15.6-inch LED-backlit HD+ anti-glare (1600 x 900)
• NVIDIA NVS 5100m graphics with 1GB GDDR3
• 2GB DDR3 1333MHz RAM (16GB Max)
• 320GB 7200RPM HDD
• Intel Ultimate-N 6300 AGN WiFi, 1Gb Ethernet, Modem, and Bluetooth Connectivity
• 8-Cell 73WHr Battery (14.4V)
• Dimensions: 14.7” x 9.90” x 1.28”
• Weight: 6lbs 7.9oz
• Price as configured: $1,299 with 3-year onsite warranty

Both models feature a 15.6-inch display screen and can either run an Intel Core i7 or i5 processor.

The main differences remain on the graphic card and memory RAM – while the 8540p has a NVIDIA 5100 with 512m of GDDR3 and 16GB of RAM, the EliteBook 8540w has a NVIDIA Quadro FX with 512MB of VDDR3 and 8GB of DDR3 RAM memory.

The 8540p is better equipped for travel, starting at 4.7 pounds and rated to last up to 24 hours on a charge (when eqipped with HP’s Ultra Capacity Battery. This machine will be powered by Intel’s Core i5 processor or Core i7 CPU and can be outfitted with Intel integrated graphics or Nvidia’s discrete NVS 3100 GPU (512MB video RAM). The HP EliteBook 8540p battery has similar processor options, but you get beefier Nvidia NVS 5100m graphics with 1GB of dedicated video memory.

To keep you connected with co-workers, both Elitebooks come with a 90-day free trail of HP SkyRoom videoconferncing software. During a quick demo we were impressed with the video and audio quality, and can envision this being an important tool for collaboration. HP also includes its Quick Look 3 software, which offers read and write capability of contacts, calendar, e-mail, and tasks–without having to boot Windows. Businesses looking to keep a close eye on energy costs will appreciate HP’s Power Assistant utility, which measures and logs energy usage.

HP offers the Elitebook 8540p battery with two different 15.6“ non-glare LED dispays. One display has a WXGA resolution (1366x768, 100dpi) and the other has a HD display, a full resolution of 1600x900 pixels and 117 dpi (this version is available in the test model). The balance between the resolution and the screen size will deliver the optimal performance by showing the icons and on-screen letters properly.

PCmark Vantage:
Overall: 5862
Memories Suite: 3739
TV and Movies: 3770
Gaming: 4630
Music: 5967
Communications: 4331
Productivity: 4954
HDD: 4109

3DMark Vantage
Overall: 2611
GPU: 2141
CPU: 7601

Windows Experience Index:
Overall: 5.5
Processor: 6.7
Memory: 5.5
Graphics: 6.4
Gaming: 6.4
Hard drive: 5.9

While the HP 6540b panels were made by CMO and LG, the version installed in the Elitebook is from AU Optronics. The contrast, illumination and brightness lie one level higher than the display of CMO and LG, giving an overall impression of high quality.

The Nvidia NVS 5100M graphics is a relatively weak solution aimed at business computers. It’s enough to handle demanding desktop work and even HD video (thanks to Nvidia’s PureVideoHD processor), but it’s not for gamers. It’s a good fit for the 8540p, but it doesn’t offer the workstation-class power that you would find on the 8540w. Lenovo uses this option on their ThinkPad W510 as well, so it’s industry vetted. It’s CUDA compatible and seems to be EnergyStar compliant. Nvidia has a bit on information on it here.

Performance was, on the whole, very good. The 8540p, even at this modest build, can function as a desktop replacement and mobile workhouse, though some upgrades could certainly help–obviously more than 2GB of RAM would make sense. For people that need maximum performance the 8540w would be the way to go (or the 8700 series for a 17-inch laptop) as the “w” models mean more power and higher-end graphics, but the “p” will be more than enough for most people. The Core i5 processor is a great addition to the computer and it tends to fly without killing the 8540p battery.

The HP laptop battery offers a wide range of ports, including a few we have not seen on any other notebooks in for review. The 8540p offers two USB 3.0 ports which are perfect for connecting high-speed storage devices without needing a second cable to connect to an eSATA or FireWire port. In addition to the USB 3.0 ports the notebook also offers three traditional USB ports, FireWire 400, eSATA, DisplayPort, VGA-out, and audio connections. This machine easily packs more ports into the design than we have seen on any other notebook in its category. Expansion and security features include a smart-card reader, an ExpressCard/54 slot, and a SDHC-card slot.

System performance was excellent with its dual-core Intel Core i5 mobile processor and NVIDIA NVS 5100m dedicated graphics with 1GB of DDR3 memory. Users looking for even more power can upgrade to the 1.66GHz Core i7-720QM processor depending on how much mobile processing power they need. In our tests we found the dual-core2.4GHz i5-520M processor to be more than enough for the average daily tasks of browsing the web, decoding multiple 1080P videos at the same time, or just playing some of the latest video games. Our configuration included a 7200RPM hard drive to keep program access times and load times to a minimum. For even greater performance and durability two SSD options are offered with capacities including 160GB and 256GB.