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HP Envy 15 – first notebook with USB 3.0 ?

June 24th, 2010

HP-Envy-15

HP is ahead of all notebook manufacturers and presents a real novelty, the first portable USB 3.0 market.  The 15-inch HP Envy 15 updated at CES 2010 is known to come with optional USB 3.0.

What is clear is that  to  these HP Envy 15 with USB 3.0  you will will have to empty your pocket. The configuration includes a quad-core processor Intel Core i7 and a new ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5830 supports DirectX 11. Also in a few weeks the HP EliteBook 8540p model will be arriving and we  will also see updated 8540w in a different setting than normal.

USB 3.0 -During recent times we have seen  so many products that and is difficult to keep a count, but being the first portable USB 3.0 HP Envy 15 deserves kudos.

Notebook Reviews

HP Pavilion dv4t Review

December 26th, 2008

HP Pavilion dv4t Review

At $599 you havce a chance to get an entertainment notebook with multimedia features. With built in wireless LAN, Blue-ray media drive and a built in TV tuner, this notebook is perfect for anyone who wants to untilize it for entertainment in addition to the computing tasks. Let us take a look at some broad specification of this notebook


Specifications

# Intel Core 2 Duo T5800 processor (2.0GHz6MB L2) – You may upgrade till
# 14.1 WXGA LED-Backlit LCD (1280×800)
# Nvidia GeForce 9200M-GS w/ 256MB DDR2 dedicated video card
# 4GB DDR2-800 RAM
# 320GB 5400RPM hard drive
# Blu-ray ROM with SuperMulti DVDRW # WiFi, Ethernet, Modem, and Bluetooth Connectivity
# Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit
# 55Wh High Capacity 6-cell Li-ion battery
# Size: 13.15″ (W) x 9.45″ (D) x 1.34″ (H)
# Weight: 5lbs 5.2oz with battery

Just from the specification, this notebook looks great. The Core 2 Duo at 2.0 GHz is good enough for most of the tasks. Let us take a look at some of the components of this notebook.

Processor and performance

The entry level pavilion dv4t has a Intel Core 2 Duo T5800 processor running at 2.0 GHz. If are a gaming enthusiast or a software programmer who needs to compile a lot of code, you mayt like to upgrade it to T9600 at 2.8 GHz. This will cost you extra money. My suggestion is – if you want to use it just for email, word and its multimedeia capability, you do not need to upgrade. I do suggest that you get 4 GB of RAM. This significantly enhances performance.

Battery Life

Under normal surfing conditions, this notebook will last 2 hours and 30 minutes using normal 6 Cells Li Ion battry in power saving mode. If battery life is a concern you may like to have 12 cell battery in place of the 6 cell battery. You also have the option of using high capacity 6-cell battery in place of regular 6-cell battery which will increase the battery life by about 15%.


Screen

The 14.1-inch display looks good. You must note that it comes in two category – one with LED option and other with stanbdard option. LED is newer technology that offers brighter display. It however costs about $100 extra if you go with the LED option. I had a chance to look at both the option. The LED one does give a brighter display. However, given a chance I will not to go with the LED option now. I believe that the cost of the LED lighting is reducing and I expect them to cost the same as the current backlight technology in 1 to 2 year to come.

Speakers

The notebook has Altec Lansing brand speaker. If you like to listen songs, it has a decent quality sound. It does include two headphones ports on the front side. Headphone or an external speaker and amplifier system will provide a better sound experirnce.

Ports

The most important part of the ports is the HDMI port. With it can giveo high definition video on a TV.

On the fron t it has Two headphone ports and microphone port.

On the right side it has Optical drive, two USB ports and the power jack.

On the left side it has monitor port, docking station connector, Ethernet, HDMI, eSATA/USB combo port, SD/MS/MMC/XD card reader slot, ExpressCard 54 slot.

There is nothing on the back. This has been standard practice since the last 2 year or so in th HP notebooks.

Size and Weight

The dv4t on the with its high-capacity 6-cell battery in has a weight about 5.75 lbs. Adding the power cord and the adapter makes the weight close to 6.5 lb. In my view this is a pretty good for this kind of laptop. Most of the 14.1″ notebooks have weight in the same range, although some are lighter.

Pros

* Very good price for entry level 2.0 GHz processor
* Lightweight design
* Good design and port positioning
* Provides HDMI port and eSATA port
* Fairly priced

Cons

* Battery life could be better
* LED option needs more bucks
* Higher end proceesor options make it expensive

Final Thought

In Overall, this laptop is definitely a good choice for the price it offers, especially the entry level options. However, if you want extreme processing power and long battery life you may like to consider other options.

The ports are very nicely placed. The HDMI connector will come handy, if you want to enjoy multimedia. The notebook deserves a look if you plan to buy one.

Notebook Reviews ,

HP Touchsmart tx2z Review

December 26th, 2008

HP Touchsmart tx2z Review

With the introduction of HP Touchsmart tx2z at $1299 we see a new era of multi-touch tablet PCs aimed at common consumers. The multitouch touch screen works based upon the capacitive touch screen. The capacitive touchscreen enables multiples touches to be senses simultaneously. This allows many exotic fearues, for example picture rotation with touch of two fingers.

In looks HP Tx2z is similar to Pavilion tx2500 tablet.

Display and Touchscreen

The HP tx2z has 12 inch screen with 1280×800 resolution. As far as the display is concerned it looks pretty similar to the tx2500. However, what keeps it a class above is the touch screen. You can simply point and touch to the Windows button and the internet explorer and your internet gets started.


You can use the touch screen to do some editing of pictures including picture rotation, zoom etc. You will have to play with it to get used to it. It certainly enhances productivity and it is a cool feature. We do expect that integration of the capacitive touchscreen will become a more common feature in future tablet PCs and even in the small notebooks.

Pen

You can use the stylus to write quick notes on the touch screen. As soon as you hit the screen with the pen it recognises the Pen and stops the finger sensing. This prevents the simultaneous detection of the pen and the palm touch. The pen can be used for small graphics works too, Let us take a look at some broad specification of this notebook

Specifications

* AMD Turion X2 Dual-Core Mobile Processor RM-72 (2.1GHz)
* 3GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
* 250GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
* Windows Vista Home Premium
* 12.1 inch display * Capacitive Touch screen and Pen

Fro the specification, this notebook looks great. The Core 2 Duo at 2.8 GHz is good enough for almost any task. The Blue-ray ROM is good for multimedia enthisiasts

Processor and performance

The tx2z has AMD X2 Dual core Mobile Processor RM-72 at 2.1 GHZ. The tablet boots up fast and it has pretty good performace for almost all the daily work.

Battery Life

We are investigating the battery life and will report later. Preliminarily thge battery life does not look at great as we would have expected.

Pros

* 12″ bright display
* Capacitive touch scree
* Nice processor

Cons

*Possibly poor battery life
* Slightly expensive for entry level

The review was originally posted at HP tx2z Review . It is being republished with permission.

Notebook Reviews ,

Fujitsu LifeBook A1110 Notebook – A review

December 21st, 2008

Fujitsu LifeBook A1110 Notebook

Fujitsu Lifebook A1110 notebook is intended for people who want who want a reliable notebook at affordable price. Let us take a look at some broad specification of this notebook


Specifications

* Price Direct from Fujitsu: $799.00 *

Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium

* Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T5800, 2GHz

* RAM: 3 GB * Weight: 6.3 lb

* Screen Size: 15.4 inches

* Screen Size Type: widescreen

* Hard Disk: 250 GB * Networking Options: 802.11n

* Optical Drive: Dual-Layer DVD+/-RW


Processor

The Fujitsu Lifebook A1110 has a the Intel Core 2 Duo 2 GHz processor T5800 at 2 GHz. At this speed, it is good enough for most of the normal works. If you are a programmer who need to compile a lot of software code, you would like to see processor with better performance, otherwise it is good for most normal uses.

Memory

The base Fujitsu Lifebook A1110 comes with 3 GBytes of memory. That is a fairly decent amount of memory for almost any work.

Battery Life

Under normal surfing conditions, this notebook will last 1 hours and 40 minutes. If battery life is your concern this notebook does not perform well.

Screen

Fujitsu Lifebook A1110 has 15.4 inch display that looks great for viewing movie at 1280 x 800 native resolution. The display has a glossu coating. On the top of it is an inbuilt camera which is a great addition.


Audio and Speakers

The Fujitsu Lifebook A1110 notebook speakers at the top of the keyboards. The speakers are decent but lack life. They could be louder. You will have to use an external amplifier and speaker system if you want louder audio.

Ports

Lenovo Fujitsu Lifebook has three USB ports all at the right side. It also has headphone and microphone jacks, a VGA output, an ExpressCard slot, and an SD Card slot on the right side.

There is no FireWire, HDMI, or SATA port on this laptop.

The review originally Appeared in Janatanews at Fujitsu LifeBook A1110 . It has been published here with its permission.

Notebook Reviews ,