Archive for October, 2009

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Laptop reviews: HP Mini 311 (Nvidia Ion), Clevo M980NU, MSI Wind U210 and others

Tuesday, October 13th, 2009

Análisis de portátiles de la semana:

Other interesting links:

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HP coupon code for laptops (from October 8th 2009)

Thursday, October 8th, 2009

NEW Coupon:

$550 off web coupon for the purchase of customized HP HDX 18t Notebook PC at the HP Home & Home Office Store using coupon code NBT548571. Offer limited to the first 2100 coupons redeemed. 1 redemption per person or address. Not valid with other promotions. Restrictions apply. Not combinable with instant rebates. For complete conditions, see “Coupon Information” in the “Customer Service” section at www.hpshopping.com.

Use this coupon

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Are Nvidia Ion-based netbooks REALLY able to play 1080p videos flawlessly?

Thursday, October 8th, 2009

So it seems according to the review of the HP Mini 311 published at PC Magazine:

It handled all of my 720p and 1080i (24 fps) clips with great color accuracy, good picture detail, and they didn’t suffer from any lag. When playing 1080p (24fps) movie clips in H264 and WMV formats, however, there was noticeable lag. Let’s just say it wasn’t a smooth experience.

According to the author of the review, several players were tested, including the popular VLC and Media Player Classic Home Cinema.

On the other hand, Laptop Magazine reports flawless playback of 1080p files, but they did only test one single file. Maybe they were lucky? Maybe the Intel Atom/GeForce combo lacks the muscle to play high-bitrate 1080p videos?

I think we need a few more reviews and reports to be published to have a conclusion. It could be a problem with that system alone, or a more general issue.


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New Sony Vaio X, CW and L officially announced

Thursday, October 8th, 2009

So we have prices and specifications for these interesting computers:

The ultralight, ultrathin Sony Vaio X is not as expensive as it was expected (we expected up to 2000 USD). There are 2 configurations:

  • Common features include 11.1″ screen, 1.6 lb (0.7 kg) fiber carbon chassis, Intel Atom Z550 processor at 2.0 GHz and Intel GMA 500 graphics, integrated WWAN, GPS and 2 batteries: a slim one, providing around 3 h of battery life, and an extended one that’s much bigger and lasts for up to 14 h.
  • The 1299 USD model sports a 64 GB SSD, while the 1499 USD model sports a 128 GB one.
  • More info: Sony Vaio X
  • Pictures: Engadget

The Sony Vaio CW seems a replacement to the 14-inch Vaio CS. I was not very fond of the CS because it was heavy for a 14-inch laptop (5.7 lb, 2.6 kg), but the CW is lighter (5.3 lb, 2.4 kg) and has better optional graphics cards:

  • The 799 USD model sports an Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 and a Nvidia GeForce G 210M.
  • The 849 USD model sports the same processor but a Nvidia GeForce GT 230M. It is not a powerful card, but good for gaming most games at Medium or even High details (depending on the game)
  • The 919 USD model adds a Blu-ray player/DVD burner combo.
  • More info: Sony Vaio CW
  • Pictures: Engadget

Finally, the Sony Vaio L is a 24″ all-in-one desktop computer with multitouch-enabled touchscreen.

  • The basic model (1299 USD) sports an Intel Pentium Dual Core E5400 and a Nvidia GeForce G 210M.
  • If you want more graphics performance, you have to pay 1799 USD for the model equipped with a Nvidia GeForce GT 240M, but it has a quad-core processor too (Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400S).
  • More info: Sony Vaio L
  • Pictures: Engadget

Nothing about European models at the moment.

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HP coupon code for laptops (from October 5th 2009)

Monday, October 5th, 2009

NEW Coupon:

Save up to $500 in instant savings using $250 coupon code NBWX43492 + Instant Rebate ($100 – $250 depending on model selected) for the purchase of a customized HP Pavilion Laptop PC configured at $1,299 or greater at the HP Home & Home Office Store. Offer excludes HP Minis. Offer limited to the first 1800 coupons redeemed. 1 redemption per person or address. Not valid with other promotions, Friends & Family, or HP Academy. Restrictions apply. Combinable with instant rebates. For complete conditions, see “Coupon Information” in the “Customer Service” section at www.hpshopping.com.

Use this coupon!

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HP launches laptops based on the AMD Tigris platform (with 45 nm processors, codenamed Caspian)

Monday, October 5th, 2009

Namely the HP Pavilion dv6-2000 series. They feature the new 45 nm AMD processors (Athlon II, Turion II and Turion II Ultra) and DDR3 memory. Starting price is 450 GBP. They come with Windows 7, so they are probably going to be available after October 22th.

Let’s wait for some performance and battery benchmarks to be published!

Source: HP UK.

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Nvidia Ion-based netbook Compaq Mini 311c, available in the UK

Monday, October 5th, 2009

And priced from 329 GBP. That is more expensive than the typical netbook, but this small laptop features a 11.6″ screen and is based on the Nvidia Ion platform, so it uses a GeForce 9400M G graphics card instead of the Intel GMA 950.

Source: HP UK.

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Laptop reviews: Acer Ferrari One, HP Envy 13, Toshiba Satellite T135 and others

Sunday, October 4th, 2009

Laptop reviews of the week:

Other interesting links:

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Dell Latitude Z600 with wireless dock and charger, HP Envy 13 reviewed, Alienware M17x gets Mobility 4870, ATI Radeon HD 5850 reviewed

Friday, October 2nd, 2009

Many interesting news while I was away… Here you have a few of the most interesting:

Dell launches the Latitude Z600

I’ts a very slim 16″ business laptop (4.5 lb) with some innovative features:

  • Wireless docking station: you can use an external monitor, keyboard and mouse without actually plugging them or a conventional docking station to the laptop, the laptop is connected to the docking station wirelessly. It is a costly upgrade (349 USD), but very convenient and innovative.
  • Wireless charging: you don’t have to plug the laptop to a power outlet to charge it, you just have to put it on the charging base. It is expensive also (349 USD).
  • 2 internal SSDs: so you can choose 2 256 GB SSDs inside, for a total of 512 GB of ultrafast (and very expensive) storage.
  • Latitude ON: a more advanced version of older instant-on Linux-based minimal operating systems such as Splashtop, focused on business applications.
  • On the negative side, RAM modules are soldered to the motherboard (so you are bound to 4 GB DDR3, but that is enough for most business users), and the videos show some keyboard flex (but the Engadget folks found it excellent).
  • More information: Dell USA, Dell UK, Direct2Dell, Engadget

HP Envy 13 reviewed

The first reviews are appearing. It seems an awesome laptop, but with weak spots such as an awfull touchpad. Read them at:

Alienware M17x gets ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4870 GDDR5 option

Both single and CrossFireX. In some countries the pricing is very good (cheaper than the GTX 280M but providing similar or even higher performance). Also the card can shown as a 4850 instead of 4870 but seems to be a typo. In case you are interested on this configuration, wait a bit so possible typos are fixed and some benchmarks appear.

More information: Dell USA, Dell UK, Notebook Review forums

ATI Radeon HD 5850 reviewed

It is not a laptop card and I am not going to upgrade soon (I purchased a 4670 Ultimate recently), but according to the reviews it has an excellent price/performance ratio and idle power consumption, so maybe in the future… I hate not being able to play Crysis on High :) Read the reviews:

Some places to buy the ATI Radeon HD 5850:

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