Test Dell Inspiron 14 (1464) Laptop

When you need to strike the balance between a desktop-replacement notebook and a laptop for frequent travel you will probably end up shopping for a 14-inch notebook. The Dell Inspiron 14 is one of the most popular laptops in this class and comes packed with the latest Intel processors and a nice range of options at an affordable price. Is this the best 14-inch consumer laptop? Keep reading to find out.

Dell Inspiron 14 (1464) Specifications:

• Processor: Intel Core i3 330M (2.13GHz, 1066MHz, 3MB)
• OS: Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
• Memory: 4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz
• Storage: 500GB 5400rpm HDD
• Graphics: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD
• Display: 14.0” HD (1366x768) LED Display and webcam
• Optical Drive: 8x CD/DVD burner (DVD/-RW/R) with Dual-Layer
• Wireless: Intel Wireless 5100n
• Battery: 6-cell Lithium Ion battery (48 WHr)
• Dimensions: 13.39 x 9.55 x 1.27 inches (WxDxH)
• Weight: 4.8 lbs
• Retail Price as configured: $799.99 (currently available for less than $740 in retail stores)
  

Build and Design
The design of the Inspiron 14 hasn't changed much in the last year since Dell released the Inspiron 14, Inspiron 14z and Studio 14z laptops. As mentioned in the specifications above, our review unit comes with the newer Intel Core i3 330M dual core processor. We're calling this laptop the "Inspiron 14" in our review, but it's worth mentioning that Dell markets this system as the "Inspiron 14" as well as the "Inspiron 1464." You can also find this system selling on the Dell website under the older configuration name "Inspiron 1440" with older Intel processors. Of course, there's also the Inspiron 14z (also called the Inspiron 1470) that uses the Intel CULV processors for extended battery life. Are you confused yet? We sure are.

Moving beyond the superfluous model names for essentially the same laptop, the Inspiron 14 looks like an average budget notebook with a 14-inch display. The plastic construction, average screen resolution, and lack of a backlit keyboard certainly don't give this laptop the same premium look and feel as the Dell Studio 14z. You might think that the palmrests and area surrounding the keyboard are made of metal at first glance, but upon closer examination you'll find that it's just plastic with a fancy metallic finish.

The Inspiron 14 feels reasonably durable despite the fact that the notebook chassis is constructed from relatively thin plastics. The touchpad and palmrests suffer from flexible plastics as does the keyboard itself. The working surface of the laptop essentially bends under heavy pressure, so durability wasn't the main focus for the designers. The screen lid also suffers from thin plastics and if you press on the lid with your fingers while the laptop is on you will create screen distortions.

When closed the Inspiron 14 looks relatively thin compared to budget laptops from several years ago, but the weight of the 6-cell battery makes this system a bit too heavy to qualify for the "thin and light" category today. The "Promise Pink" screen lid gives the Inspiron a nice candy-covered look, but Dell charges a $40 premium for the privilege of selecting pink instead of black. On a more positive note, Dell donates $5 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure for every pink Inspiron 14 that they sell. Sure, $40 is a little excessive for just sticking a chuck of colored plastic on a notebook, but it's nice to know that your purchase is helping a good cause.

The bottom of the notebook features the battery and single access plate for the RAM and wireless card. Removing the hard drive requires more in depth disassembly. There isn't much to talk about here other than to briefly mention the location of the two speakers on the bottom of the front edge (more on that later). The bottom of the Inspiron 14 likewise suffers from the same flexible plastics mentioned previously in the review. You won't notice it if you aren't squeezing the laptop, but if you're running to a class or a business meeting with the laptop in your hands you might feel it "bending" under the pressure from your fingers.

In short, the Dell Inspiron 14 looks cool and is probably durable enough for desktop replacement work, but the heavy use of thin plastics certainly doesn't help the laptop feel as durable as it could be.

Screen and Speakers
The 14-inch high-definition (1366 x 768) panel on the Dell Inspiron 14 isn't quite as nice as the vibrant 1600 x 900 screen used on our review unit of the Studio 14z. The colors on this screen are generally good but contrast wasn't as impressive. The LED backlighting in our review unit is pretty even and offers a range of brightness settings. Honestly, since all 11-inch notebooks/netbooks come with 1366 x 768 resolution displays we feel it's time to make 1600 x 900 the "minimum" resolution of 14-inch notebooks. Horizontal viewing angles are extremely good, so you won't have any trouble sharing a movie with the person sitting next to you on a plane. Vertical viewing angles are average or below average with colors quickly washing out when viewed from above and colors begining to distort and invert as you move the screen back.

Once again, the stereo speakers on the Inspiron 14 class of notebooks failed to impress me. The stereo speakers produce average sound quality and are located beneath the front edge of the notebook palmrests firing downward at your lap. I usually call this type of audio "crotch speakers" because the speakers aren't pointed up toward the user. If you're using the Inspiron 14 on a desk then the audio from the speakers "bounces" off the hard desk surface and it sounds okay, but if you're using this PC as a "laptop" then the sound is going to be muffled.

Bottom line, the speakers aren't horrible ... but the location isn't helping matters. You'll probably want to use a good set of headphones with this notebook, and the headphone jack produces clear, distortion-free sound.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The keyboard on our review unit has full-sized keys with acceptable key spacing and an excellent depth to the key throw. Each key has a textured black finish and a relatively flat surface. The keyboard isn't as firm as it could be, so if you type with a lot of force you might have to worry about keyboard flexing or lightly bouncing while you type. My only minor aggravation is that the keyboard isn't available with optional backlighting ... making it harder to type in a dark classroom or dorm room. I felt a little cheated since the Dell Alienware M11x comes with a LED-backlit keyboard and sells for the same price as this Inspiron 14.

Still, as long as you type with gentle fingers and don't work in dark rooms then you should find the keyboard on the Inspiron 14 to be perfectly fine.

The multi-touch, gesture-based touchpad is pretty average for a 14-inch notebook and the dual touchpad buttons have deep feedback with quiet clicks. The touchpad itself is an ALPS model that uses Dell proprietary touchpad drivers. The touchpad was reasonably responsive with good sensitivity and very little lag. Touchpad accuracy was a bit off at times, but that may be correctable by tweaking the drivers. My biggest problem with the touchpad is the flexible plastics. There is a gap of about 1/8 inch or more beneath the touchpad surface, and if you use the "tap to click" feature then you will feel the touchpad "bounce" when you press down on the touchpad to tap. Again, if you use a gentle tap then this probably won't bother you. We just don't like to see flexible plastics on a laptop in this price range.

Ports and Features
The port selection on the Inspiron 14 is pretty average for a budget 14-inch notebook with one or two exceptions. Dell included three USB 2.0 ports, VGA and HDMI video out ports, Ethernet, and a multi-format memory card reader. Unlike the Studio 14z, which sacrifices an optical drive for the sake of portability, the Inspiron 14z includes a standard 8x CD/DVD burner with dual-layer support. The Inspiron 14 lacks an ExpressCard slot, FireWire, and eSATA, so if those ports are important to you then you'll need to look elsewhere.

Front: Status light and no ports.

Rear: Screen hinges and battery

Left: Kensington Lock slot, power jack, heat vent, VGA, Ethernet, HDMI, and USB 2.0.

Right: Audio jacks, two USB 2.0 ports, memory card reader, and optical drive.

Performance
The performance of the Inspiron 14 with an Intel Core i3 330M (2.13GHz, 1066MHz, 3MB) processor and Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD integrated graphics is good enough for typical daily activities (browsing the web, watching streaming video, typing documents in Microsoft Office, or making simple edits to your digital photos or videos) but this laptop isn't designed for extreme multimedia performance.

As previously mentioned, the Inspiron 14 comes in a variety of configurations, but the 1464 features Intel's Core i3 processors. Although the dual-core 2.13GHz processor in our review unit provides plenty of performance for daily tasks it also throttles down in order to extend battery life when you aren't actively using the laptop. This gives the Inspiron 14 the advantage of better battery life if you occassionaly walk away from your computer or close the lid to let it go into sleep or hybernate mode. Of course, if you plan to use the laptop non-stop on an international flight then the powerful Core i3 processor might devour your battery sooner than you expect (more on that later in the review).

For the retail price of $799 as configured the Inspiron 14 performs quite well compared to the more expensive 13-inch Apple MacBook Pro. More importantly, the new Inspiron 1464 crushes the older Inspiron 14z and HP Pavilion dm3t with ultra-low-voltage processors.

wPrime processor comparison results (lower scores mean better performance):

PCMark05 measures overall system performance (higher scores mean better performance):

3DMark06 measures video and gaming performance (higher scores mean better performance):

CrystalDiskMark storage drive performance results:

Battery
The 6-cell 48WHr battery does a pretty good job overall. With the screen brightness set to 70%, wireless active, and the Windows 7 power profile set to "Balanced" the Inspiron 14 stayed on for 3 hours and 34 minutes. For use in the classroom or on your lap in front of the TV this amount of battery life was fine, but it isn't quite as impressive as the "4 hours of battery life" Dell claims in the marketing material. That said, it's worth mentioning that the default "balanced" power profile under Windows 7 will automatically dim the screen after a short period of inactivity ... which will extend the battery life even more compared to keeping the screen set to 70% brightness.

Heat and Noise
The cooling system does a reasonably impressive job keeping the external temperatures down. After extended periods of use the keyboard and touchpad areas get warm, but temperatures remain well below 100 degrees Fahrenheit at all times. The temperature readings below were taken after stressing the system with performance benchmarks and web browsing for 60 minutes.

Noise levels are fairly quiet when running on battery as the fan produces a constant weak "hum" as hot air is pushed out. The fan gets louder when the laptop is stressed running benchmarks and plugged into the AC adapter, but the fan should only be noticeable by others in a very quiet room.

Conclusion
The Dell Inspiron 14 is an affordable 14-inch notebook that delivers good performance and acceptable battery life at the expense of durability. If your child or your family is looking for a convenient laptop for general use then the Inspiron 14 can handle daily multitasking with ease. That said, if you're willing to put up with a smaller screen I'd have a hard time recommending the Inspiron 14 compared to the Alienware M11x at the same price.

The fact that the Inspiron 14 includes an optical drive and a Core i3 processor helps make this laptop an attractive purchase. However, the abundance of flexible plastics and lack of special features like backlit keyboard or more advanced ports make the Inspiron 14 far more average than exceptional.

Pros:

• Good performance
• Optional charitable donation
• Attractive price

Cons:

• Average battery life
• Cheap "fake metal" plastics
  
• No backlit keyboard

From : http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=5651&review=dell+inspiron+14

Nokia E72 top performance Nokia device

Spec of nokia GENERAL 2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network HSDPA 900 / 1900 / 2100HSDPA 850 / 1900 / 2100 - American version
Announced 2009, June
Status Available. Released 2009, October
SIZE Dimensions 114 x 58 x 10 mm, 65 cc
Weight 128 gDISPLAY Type TFT, 16M colors
Size 320 x 240 pixels, 2.36 inches
- Full QWERTY keyboard
- Five-way scroll key
- Accelerometer sensor for auto rotate and tap-for-time
- Optical trackpad
SOUND Alert types Vibration; Downloadable polyphonic, monophonic, MP3 ringtones
Speakerphone Yes
- 3.5 mm audio jack
MEMORY Phonebook Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall
Call records Detailed, max 30 days
Internal 250 MB storage, 128 MB RAM
Card slot microSD, up to 16GB, hotswap, buy memory
DATA GPRS Class 32, 100 kbps
EDGE Class 32, 296 kbps
3G HSDPA, 10.2 Mbps; HSUPA 2 Mbps
WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, Nokia VoIP 3.0
Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP
Infrared port No
USB Yes, v2.0 microUSB
CAMERA Primary 5 MP, 2592 x 1944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
Video Yes, VGA@15fps
Secondary VGA videocall camera
FEATURES OS Symbian OS 9.3, Series 60 v3.2 UI
CPU ARM 11 600 MHz processor
Messaging SMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging
Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML
Radio Stereo FM radio with RDS; Visual radio
Games Downloadable
Colors White, Zodium Black, Metal Grey, Topaz Brown, Amethyst Purple, White Edition
GPS Yes, with A-GPS support; Nokia Maps 3.0
Java Yes, MIDP 2.0
- Digital compass
- WMV/RV/MP4/3GP video player
- MP3/WMA/WAV/RA/AAC/M4A music player
- Document editor (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF)
- Flash Lite v3.0
- Push to talk
- Voice command/dial
- Organizer
- Printing
BATTERY Standard battery, Li-Po 1500 mAh (BP-4L)
Stand-by Up to 480 h (2G) / 576 h (3G)
Talk time Up to 12 h 30 min (2G) / 6 h (3G)
MISC SAR US 1.39 W/kg (head) 0.88 W/kg (body)
SAR EU 1.31 W/kg (head)

HP Buys Palm for $1.2 Billion

After months of speculation, smartphone maker Palm has assuredly begin a buyer. HP has said it will buy Palm for about $1.2 billion.

HP Buys Palm for $1.2 Billion

The move will accord HP a ballast in the fast-growing smartphone business, at a time back HP battling Dell has its own smartphone accessible on AT&T.

Palm’s administrator and CEO, Jon Rubinstein, a above Apple executive, will abide with the company, says HP.

Over the aftermost two years, Palm has approved to reinvent itself by introducing a new smartphone operating arrangement alleged webOS and new phones such as the Palm Pre and the Pixi. The phones accept been well-received, with absolute reviews, abnormally for the latest versions, the Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus .

But Palm has been balked by abridgement of a big business budget, decidedly back compared to its rivals such as Apple, Motorola and HTC. Palm has been steadily accident money and bazaar share. And accretion rumors accept been aggressive with companies such as HTC and Lenovo reportedly absorbed in Palm.

Now that HP has bagged Palm, it could beggarly a new administration for the latter. Access to HP’s administration approach and coffers could advice about-face the course for Palm.

That’s abnormally accurate for the action approach — computers and smartphones for business users — area both Palm and HP accept historically been strong. This ability ensure Palm a advantageous approaching as the accumulated sidearm of choice, alike if it fails to accretion cogent customer traction.

“HP’s longstanding ability of innovation, calibration and all-around operating assets accomplish it the absolute accomplice to rapidly advance the advance of webOS,” said Jon Rubinstein, administrator and arch controlling administrator of Palm in a statement.

HP and Palm are accepted to abutting the transaction in the third quarter.

The new Nokia 6700 slide (6700s)

The Nokia 6700 accelerate doesn’t accept to do abundant to get recognised, advancing as it does in six beauteous colours. It’s not abbreviate on appearance either and with amusing networking and 3G at its heart, this is one actual affiliated device. The aluminium anatomy and 2.2-inch awning annular off absolutely a appetizing package.

Aluminium, pink, petrol-blue, red, adhesive and amethyst are the colour choices on action for the Nokia 6700 slide, anniversary added arresting than the last. Pictures are able-bodied catered for with a bristles megapixel camera, Carl Zeiss optics, bifold LED beam and a committed camera button.

HSDPA and HSUPA will accumulate users able-bodied affiliated whilst 29 hours of audio playback will be music to headphone fans’ aerial (the 6700 additionally boasts over 12 canicule standby and four hours talktime). On lath FM radio and music amateur will advice to accumulate the beats alive. Based on S60, the 6700 accelerate additionally makes it accessible to allotment pics and accomplish the best of amusing networks whilst alteration and uploading shots is a breeze.

Expected to acreage in the aboriginal division of 2010, the 6700 is estimated to retail for €160 afore taxes and subsidies.

XPERIA X10 get HD video recording and Android 2.1 in Q4

The Sony Ericsson blog aloof appear that the XPERIA X10, XPERIA X10 mini and XPERIA X10 mini pro will be upgraded to Android OS 2.1 by the end of this year. What's more, the X10 will get HD video recording aloof as on the Vivaz. Sweeeet!

All of that is absolutely acceptable account for all XPERIA X10 alternation owners. It makes you admiration why didn't they go beeline for Android 2.2 (a.k.a. Froyo) but alike accessory upgrades are welcome.

Fortunately, the aboriginal XPERIA X10 will be accepted with a added above amend over its mini siblings. The X10 will get HD video recording akin that of the Symbian-powered Vivaz. Wireless home connectivity via DLNA and bigger Timescape/Mediascape duo are additionally on the way.

Sony Ericsson admits that the Q4 updates are a bit backward compared to their rivals, but we are accustomed a affiance for continued firmware abutment for all OS-powered accessories in the future.

Adding HD video recording via firmware advancement is absolutely hasty but a agnate software amend was accounted afresh about the HTC Desire as well.

Use OVI Navigation on your Nokia. For free. Forever

Mobile navigation for everyone
Ovi Maps takes you where you want to be and shows you what you want see, with navigable maps for over 70 countries worldwide. All this with only one click. And it's all free.
* Free Drive navigation
* Free Walk navigation
* Free maps and map updates
* Free Events guides
* Free Lonely Planet guides
* Free Michelin guides

Test Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 15

The Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 15 is the biggest notebook in the Edge family that also includes 13 and 14-inch models. The Edge series is known for its stylish looks that set it apart from other models in the ThinkPad series as well as its chiclet style keyboard. In this review, we see if the ThinkPad Edge 15 holds up as well in our testing as the two previous models.

Readers who pay a close attention to detail will notice that the ThinkPad Edge 15 has a lot in common with both the Edge 13 and Edge 14. Some parts of this review are reused for areas with identical components.

Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 15 Specifications:

• Windows 7 Professional 32-bit
• Intel Core i3-330M processor (2.13GHz, 3MB cache)
• 15.6-inch 1366 x 768 WXGA glossy display
• Intel GMA HD integrated graphics
• 2GB DDR3 RAM (2GB x 1)
• 250GB Fujitsu 5400RPM hard drive
• Intel 1000BGN Wi-Fi, Realtek Gigabit LAN
• Built-in web camera
• 6-cell 10.8v 5.2Ah 57Wh battery
• Dimensions: (LxWxH) 14.96 x 9.72 x 1.33 - 1.56"
• Weight: 5.56 pounds
• MSRP: $869 ($649, street)

Build and Design
The Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 15 is a lower-cost consumer and small-business oriented laptop. Unlike the SL-series ThinkPad the Edge models don't share the common look and feel of other ThinkPad models. The all-black exterior has been replaced with a silver-trimmed border with multiple glossy and matte screen cover options. Our Edge 15 review unit included the glossy Heatwave red screen cover. I think an overlooked design touch would have been changing the ThinkPad logo from silver to black on this model to better contrast against the red background. Lenovo matched the letter background to the lid cover, but it has the same effect as over saturating a picture and losing distinction between the silver logo and red background.

Another change is an LED-illuminated ThinkPad logo with the dot above the "i" glowing red when the notebook is turned on. This replaces all other activity indication lights, which might be problematic if you expect to see hard disk activity or visual indications of the wireless interface being active. Inside the Edge, there is a consumer-focused design with a flat palmrest and bezel set around a Chiclet-style keyboard. While the Edge series includes a touchpad and pointing stick interface, it doesn't have the same contoured ergonomic sections around those items that you might find on other ThinkPads.

The Edge 15's build quality seems to be a step down from the 13 and 14-inch versions. While the Edge series in general feels under built when compared to higher ThinkPad models, the Edge 15 fares much worse. The right side of the palmrest has a moderate amount of flex under strong pressure. The structural support needed for the span across the optical drive bay is inadequate, which shows when you grip the notebook by that area. Pressing the keyboard there - even with a light press - causes the keyboard tray to flex inward. This is unacceptable on any notebook, but on a ThinkPad model, it seems even worse. The smaller Edge 13 and 14 maintained their rigidity since the open spans were smaller than they are on the 15-inch model.

The ThinkPad Edge 15 has easy access to internal components through two access panels on the bottom of the notebook. One panel houses the SIM-card and WWAN PCIe slot while the other is to access the system memory, CPU and hard drive. Most ThinkPad models include a SIM-card slot and extra mini-PCIe slot even if the systems aren't configured with it from the factory. Like the Edge 14, the Edge 15 doesn't have those parts soldered to the board. The larger panel gives you full access to the processor, heatsink and fan, memory slots and hard drive bay. Our review unit was configured with 2 GB of memory using a single memory slot, which allowed one slot to remain open for cheaper future upgrades.

Screen and Speakers
The Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 15 has a matte-finish 15-inch WXGA panel. Compared to other 15-inch panels on the market, this one rates below average with very poor contrast. Black levels were closer to light grey, which caused a domino effect, muting most vivid colors like red, orange, green or blue. We also noticed a "screen door effect" where individual pixels appeared visible at normal viewing distances. At full screen brightness, the center of the screen measured 225 nit with corners measuring between 160-180 nit. Viewing angles were average with colors starting to invert or wash out after 15 degrees when tilted forward or back.

The Edge 15 has thin speakers incorporated into the screen bezel beneath the LCD. Compared to most speaker drivers, they are fairly small and don't produce the best audio. Compared to consumer notebooks, they would rate below average, but against other business notebooks - which Lenovo is positioning it against - they are average. Sound quality would be fine for video conferencing using the built-in webcam or listening to streaming music or video throughout the workday. The notebook also features HDMI out, which is beneficial for connecting the system to a home theater to watch movies or listen to music.

Keyboard and Touchpad
When I first saw the leaked images of the new ThinkPad keyboard, I have to admit I was unimpressed. The keyboard is among the few remaining original parts of ThinkPad notebooks. The layout has been updated over the years, but the keyboard could always be identified as "ThinkPad." With the new design, Lenovo took a hint from other new keyboard designs hitting the market and blended a combination of form and function.

The keyboard takes a Chiclet/island-style that's common on notebooks ranging from the latest netbooks to the newest Apple MacBook, and merges it with a traditional ThinkPad design. What makes the keyboard unique is that it's the first Chiclet keyboard I have found that's very comfortable and easy to type on. Most Chiclet-style keyboards have flat top keys, different spacing and a shallower throw than a normal keyboard. The ThinkPad Edge 15 doesn't have these problems, creating an ideal hybrid keyboard that I can easily say is among the best implementations I have used to date. The keys have a shallow concave shape that cups your fingers and quickly centers them. For touch-typing the keyboard layout is excellent and is easily adaptable.

Typing pressure and feedback is similar to a typical ThinkPad keyboard, so similar in fact that if you type with your eyes closed, you might not even realize the key shape changed. Throw distance seems to be identical to my T60 with the same type of click sound made when fully pressed. Removing the keytops reveal the familiar scissor-action found in traditional ThinkPad keyboards. My best guess would be Lenovo kept the original frame and action assembly, only updating the keytops and adding an internal bezel structure. The keyboard on the Edge 13 and Edge 14 has excellent support with little flex, but on the Edge 15, has considerable flex even under light to moderate pressure. It had the most flex on the right side of the keyboard above the optical drive.

The Edge 15 offers a generously-sized Synaptics touchpad, having nearly three times the surface area compared to my T60. If you regularly use smaller touchpads, you might have a bit of a learning curve before it becomes second nature. During the first couple of days, I would frequently touch the bottom of the touchpad surface instead of clicking the left or right buttons, which would move the cursor off target. It was annoying until I adapted to its size. Overall, the touchpad was pleasant to use, with a fast response time and no discernable lag. Sensitivity was excellent and no adjustment was needed out of the box. This particular touchpad has some multitouch capabilities, including pinch-to-zoom and pivot-rotation. After extended use, I didn't have any problems with the touchpad texture; its smooth matte finish was easy to glide across with dry or slightly damp fingers. The touchpad buttons seem to have a slightly shallower clicking motion compared to other ThinkPads, but still provided good feedback.

Ports and Features
Compared to the Edge 13, the Edge 15 has additional ports and a spring-loaded SDHC-card reader. The Edge 15 gains eSATA through a combo port that includes three USB ports and one eSATA/USB connection. The larger Edge models also offer an ExpressCard/34 slot for future expansion and an optical drive, making use of their larger chassis.
One aspect of the clean design I disliked on the Edge 15 is its lack of both hard drive indicator and wireless activity lights. Compared to other notebooks, this setup prevents you from seeing if wireless cards are currently powered on, which is handy if you have multiple wireless devices like Bluetooth and WWAN or if some activity is really tasking your hard drive.

Front: SDHC-card reader

Rear: One USB

Left: VGA, eSATA/USB combo port, LAN, HDMI, headphone/mic combo port

Right: Two USB ports, optical drive, AC-power, Kensington Lock slot

Performance and Benchmarks
The Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 15 is packed with some of the latest Intel hardware, including a 2.13GHz Core i3-330 processor and GMA HD integrated graphics. Even with a simple configuration with 2 GB of system memory and a 250GB 5400RPM hard drive, we found the system to be more than powerful enough for most tasks, excluding gaming. Office productivity applications like Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook loaded quickly and worked with very little lag. Entertainment-related applications worked very well, with the Core i3 processor and GMA HD graphics having no trouble handling HD video playback. Using the latest Flash 10.1 RC4 plug-in, the Edge 15 had no problem playing assorted 720P videos on YouTube, although 1080P Flash videos with a lot of movement caused some stutter. Local video playback was no problem either using the latest CCCP codec pack and Divx.com h264 decoding package. Playing 1080P trailers downloaded off Apple's website showed roughly 20% CPU activity with plenty of overhead leftover for other background activities.

wPrime processor comparison results (lower scores mean better performance):

PCMark05 measures overall system performance (higher scores mean better performance):

3DMark06 measures overall graphics performance for gaming (higher scores mean better performance):



We also recorded a PCMark Vantage score of 3919.

CrystalDiskMark storage drive performance test:

Heat and Noise
The ThinkPad Edge 15 maintained fairly good thermal performance throughout the duration of our review, including the time during benchmarks, with low keyboard and palmrest temperatures. Lap temperatures under heavy use increased to a level warm enough to be noticed, but still stayed below 100F. Fan noise was low under normal use. The fan was near-silent or off when the processor had no load and just above a whisper level under a continuous load. At full speed, we measured noise between 39 and 40dB at 12 inches with a background noise level of 33dB.

Battery Life
The Edge 15 includes a 6-cell battery in all current configurations. In our battery test with the screen brightness reduced to 70%, wireless active and Windows 7 on a balanced profile, we recorded a time of 4 hours and 10 minutes of battery life. The CULV-based Edge 13 managed 7 hours while the Core-i3-based Edge 14 stayed on for 4 hours and 33 minutes. With a similar configuration, the Edge 15 only cost 23 minutes of life compared to the Edge 14.

Conclusion
The Edge series has brought a lot of changes to the ThinkPad name. Most prominently, the glossy painted lid and Chiclet keyboard. With the smaller Edge 13 and Edge 14, build quality wasn't a huge problem; we only had a few minor concerns like screen protection and hinge quality. The Edge 15, with its larger size, seemed to hit the breaking point where the lack of an internal framework created considerable chassis flex around the palmrest and keyboard areas. The Edge 13 had panels that felt as hard as rock with absolutely no keyboard flex, which obviously didn't carry over as the size was increased past a certain point. In the end, our only recommendation would be to steer toward the smaller Edge 13 or 14 if you like the design or look at higher ThinkPad models if you need a 15-inch screen.

Pros:

• Good performance
• Comfortable keyboard and touchpad
• Quiet cooling system

Cons:

• Keyboard and palmrest flex
• Build quality not up to ThinkPad standards

From : http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=5656

Nokia 2010 New handphone List

For those of you really admirers or the hobby of collecting HP or a branded mobile phones, especially Nokia, cheer for nokia 2010 in the display screen will appear with the latest and certainly more modern and sophisticated.

Nokia own party promised that next year will further promote Symbian S60 touch-screen features and maximize the multi-touch function. mobile operating system will also reduce navigation-navigation that would need to minimize the movement of sodium absorption ratio when you try to play music or just to access e-mail through your phone.

The next plan is to reduce the more than 350 notifications that are not needed and only disturb it. In addition to graphic terms, Nokia will upgrade it from the usual 15fps to 60fps.

For the web browser will also have improved performance and also display a more simple and easy to use by the user.

It turned out not only that, along with plans to update the S60 Symbian operating system, but also the Nokia Maemo operating system will launch in mid-6th 2010.

Review HP Pavilion dm3t Laptop

The Pavilion dm3 is a CULV thin and light notebook series from HP that includes both the AMD-based dm3z and Intel-based dm3t. This notebook packs a 13.3-inch screen, optional integrated WWAN, an optional matching external optical drive, and a wide range of processor options. In this review, we take a look at the Pavilion dm3t powered by an Intel SU7300 CULV processor, and includes 3GB of DDR3 memory and Intel X4500 integrated graphics.

Our HP Pavilion dm3t Specifications:

• Intel Core 2 Duo CULV SU7300 (1.3GHz, 800MHz, 3MB)
• Windows 7 Premium (64-bit)
• 3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz
• 320GB 5400rpm Seagate 5400.6 HDD
• Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X4500HD
• 13.3-inch LED-backlit WXGA Display
• External 8x CD/DVD burner (DVD/-RW/R) with Dual-Layer
• Atheros AR5009 802.11a/g/n Wi-Fi , Bluetooth
• 6-cell Lithium-ion battery (57 WHr)
• Dimensions: 12.83 x 9.06 x 0.96 inches
• Weight: 4.17 pounds
• Price as configured: $939 (With 7200RPM drive instead of 5400RPM)

Build and Design
The HP Pavilion dm3t offers an attractive and durable brushed metal finish on its screen cover that resists smudges and scratches. The perimeter-trim is chromed plastic to accent the gunmetal-gray brushed finish that extends inside the notebook for the palmrest and keyboard surround. The screen trim is a glossy black, which blends in with the LCD when the screen is off. The bottom of the notebook is painted with a matte-black finish.

Build quality is above average with the brushed metal finish helping to give some strength to the top of the notebook. The screen only has some flex under moderate pressure and the cover protects the LCD from most impacts. The quality of the materials used is above average on most areas of the notebook; although the chromed plastic might be at risk to chipping over time if you are not careful with transporting it. The one area that stood out to us as needing improvement is the touchpad finish, which out of the box had some mild scuffing. HP uses a polished-matte finish that doesn't seem to hold up to mild abrasion as nicely as their older painted glossy touchpads. The bottom cover was a big surprise, since unlike other consumer notebooks that only use plastic bottom covers, HP goes all out with a durable alloy body that adds a nice look and feel when holding the notebook.

Users looking to upgrade their dm3-series notebook will find it easy to access user-serviceable components. The bottom has three compartments, one of which is the battery. The two that contain serviceable parts are clearly labeled with symbols showing what parts are underneath. One bay houses the hard drive and WWAN-slot while the other has the system memory and Wi-Fi card. Our model, which didn't include WWAN, still came with the slot soldered in place. No antennas were visible, but at least an upgrade would be possible down the road.

Screen and Speakers
The screen on the dm3-series is a 13.3-inch LED-backlit panel with above average color and contrast. Colors from the screen are bright and vibrant with a cooler or blue hue. Screen brightness is more the adequate for brightly lit rooms with a peak brightness measured at 212nit. We found screen brightness set at 70% was perfect for viewing indoors. Outdoor viewing with the glossy panel would only be possible in a shaded area away from sun glare. Viewing angles were average with colors starting to invert or wash out when the screen is tilted 15-20 degrees forward or back. Horizontal viewing angles were better with the screen staying visible to about 60-degrees off center where it started to dim noticeably.

The speakers on the dm3-series are lap-firing, located near the front edge of the palmrest. Sound quality is above average for a notebook this size with clear upper-midrange and high notes. Low frequency audio is still lacking, but it is hard to get this from even larger notebooks unless you have a dedicated subwoofer.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The keyboard is an island-style variant that is very similar to the look and feel of most Apple MacBooks. The keys are painted with a semi-gloss black paint and feel very solid to the fingertips. The lettering is very bright and visible even in dark lighting. Key movement is precise with little wobble with side to side movement. Individual key presses are smooth and require very little pressure to fully trigger. If you like the look and feel of the Chiclet-style keyboards, you will be impressed with the Pavilion dm3t.

The touchpad is a glossy ALPS model with some support for multitouch gestures. The touchpad on average is responsive with very little lag. On a rare occasion the touchpad did become entirely unresponsive and required a reboot before it started to work again. It is unclear if this was a driver conflict or a problem with the touchpad itself. The touchpad buttons are easy to press with the side of your thumb and give off a small click when pressed. They have shallow feedback and require moderate pressure to activate.

Ports and Features
Port selection on the Pavilion dm3t was great with HP making use of nearly all usable space around the perimeter of the notebook. The system featured four USB 2.0 ports, HDMI and VGA-out, LAN, audio jacks and a Kensington Lock slot. Other features included a SDHC-card slot and wireless-on/off switch. One unique item on the dm3-series that caused a bit of confusion when it was first taken out of the box was the power button's location. It is located on the right side next to the wireless-on/off button as a small slider-switch.

Front: Power and disk-activity lights

Rear: Nothing

http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=5847031233357613617
Left: AC-Power, charge indicator light, LAN, VGA-out, HDMI-out, two USB 2.0 ports, SDHC-card reader, audio jacks.

Right: Power on/off switch, wireless on/off switch, two USB ports, Kensington Lock slot

Performance and Benchmarks
System performance was very good for a CULV-based system with its Intel SU7300 processor and Intel X4500 integrated graphics. Users considering this notebook can also configure it with a NVIDIA G105M dedicated graphics option. For normal system activities such as surfing the Web, listening to music, watching movies or using office productivity software, the system performed very well. At times, it seemed the slower 5400rpm drive may have been holding the system back slightly, but we only experienced those slowdowns during the initial installation of software. HD movie playback was fine with 720P content for both local video and online flash video, though 1080P content was hit or miss depending on the encoded bitrate. If you intend to watch a lot of HD movies on this system, it is highly recommended that you opt for the more powerful SP9300 processor, which includes NVIDIA G105M dedicated graphics. This will allow hardware video-decoding by the GPU and offload it from the processor.

wPrime processor comparison results (lower scores mean better performance):

PCMark05 measures overall system performance (higher scores mean better performance):

3DMark06 measures overall graphics performance for gaming (higher scores mean better performance):

CrystalDiskMark storage drive performance test:

We experienced a strange problem multiple times coming out of standby or hibernation where the screen would appear as if it had video card corruption. Rebooting the system resolved it each time. The common link among these incidents was the machine going into hibernation for the night. Since the system performed fine after a reboot, there is a good chance it was just a driver problem with the system.

Heat and Noise
Thermal performance of the Pavilion dm3t was exceptional even while under a heavy processor load. The metal chassis helped spread out the heat from most areas reducing hotspots and overall just gradually warming up the entire chassis. The hottest measured spot was only 97 degrees Fahrenheit, which was during the middle of our second 3DMark06 benchmark.

Fan noise was minimal on the dm3t even under the constant stress of benchmarking. Under a full load, the fan ran continuously but you could only hear that it was going if you were in a completely silent room and your head was close to the keyboard. Under normal use, the fan stayed off or operated at very slow speeds. If you are worried about loud cooling fans, the HP Pavilion dm3t is an excellent option.

Battery Life
Battery life on the HP Pavilion dm3t was pretty good for a CULV-based notebook with a 6-cell battery. In our tests with screen brightness reduced to 70%, wireless active and Windows set to a balanced profile, the dm3t stayed on for 6 hours and 30 minutes before automatically going into hibernation. At the time of this review, the only battery option for the dm3-series is a 57Wh 6-cell battery.

Conclusion
The HP Pavilion dm3t is a well built thin and light notebook offering a durable metal chassis and plenty of configuration options. Sold in both Intel and AMD variants the Pavilion dm3-series has models ranging from $529.99 for a base dm3z to $974.99 for a dm3t with dedicated graphics. While cosmetics are praised, we experienced some glitches that could have been related to driver conflicts with the touchpad and graphics when the system was brought out of hibernation. Aside from those problems, the system performed very well, even keeping its cool during our stress tests. Thermal performance was excellent with minimal effort from the internal cooling fan. Overall, if you are in the market for a new CULV-based notebook, the HP Pavilion dm3-series is worth checking out.

Pros:

• Great build quality
• Very good thermal performance
• Excellent keyboard

Cons:

• Touchpad design could have been better
• Some possible driver-related glitches

Individual Ratings: *
Software & Support
Upgrade Capabilities
Usability
Design
Performance
Features
Price/Value Rating
* Ratings averaged to produce final score

From : http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=5639&review=hp+pavilion+dm3t