Browsing Category: "reviews"
The Lenovo IdeaPad S12 netbook has been on the market for a while. I first reviewed this laptop in the summer of 2009. But Lenovo recently sent me an updated model with NVIDIA ION graphics to review. As promised, the NVIDIA graphics give the laptop an extra boost for watching HD video or playing games with 3D graphics.
But as with other ION based systems I’ve tested, I found that the computer was actually slower at some everyday tasks than a notebook with an Intel Atom processor and integrated graphics. I blame this on the fact that the ION graphics processor only kicks into high gear for certain tasks, which means that for many activities you’re left relying on the relatively slow CPU.
To see how the IdeaPad S12 with NVIDIA ION graphics compares to other notebooks in its class, read on.
The demo unit I reviewed has a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU, ION graphics, 2GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive, 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, a 6 cell, 52Whr battery, and Windows 7 Home Premium. Lenovo sells this configuration for $599.
The Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3 is Lenovo’s third netbook in the IdeaPad line. But you could probably have guessed that from the name. Here’s what you might not know: It’s the best looking 10 inch netbook Lenovo has released to date, and it’s the first with a new Intel Atom N450 Pine Trail processor.
The netbook is thin and light, and comes with a choice of a black or red cover featuring a textured, fingerprint-resistant cover. But in order to keep the laptop as small as possible while providing a nearly full sized keyboard, Lenovo chose to build left and right buttons into the touchpad, making it difficult to use.
The demo unit Lenovo sent me to review features a 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display, Windows 7 Starter Edition, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, 6 cell battery, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, and Bluetooth 2.1.
The Archos 5 Internet Tablet is the first Google Android powered tablet from Archos, a company best known for making MP3 players and portable media players. And at it’s core, the Archos 5 Internet tablet is a pretty good media player. It offers all the features you would expect including excellent audio and video playback capabilities and access to online media and files stored on your home network. It even has a built in FM radio tuner.
But what makes the Archos 5 Internet Tablet special is the underlying operating system which allows you to run thousands of Android applications. Out of the box, the tablet has a few Android apps installed including the Android web browser and the eBuddy instant message client. A few hundred more are available from the AppsLib app store. But with a little tweaking you can install the full Android Market, granting you access to many of the 16,000+ applications available for Google Android smartphones.
All this without the need to sign up for a contract with a mobile broadband provider. The lack of a service plan alone would make the Archos 5 one of the cheapest devices to run Google Android, since most Android Smartphones will end up costing you thousands of dollars over a 2 year contract. But with prices ranging between $250 and $500, this Android powered WiFi slate is truly one of the most affordable internet tablets around.
The folks at Archos were kind enough to lend me an internet tablet to review. The demo unit I received has 32GB of storage, an 800MHz ARM Cortex-A8 CPU, 256MB of RAM, 802/11b/g/n WiFi, a USB port, and runs Android 1.6 plus some custom Archos software. You can read the complete review at mobiputing.
At first glance, the Asus Eee PC 1201N looks virtually identical to several other 12 inch laptops from Asus including the UL20A and 1201HA thin and light laptops. But while the Asus Eee PC 1201N may have the same chassis as other Asus notebooks, it still breaks the mold in a few important respects.
This is the first notebook from Asus to offer NVIDIA ION graphics instead of the integrated Intel GMA 950 graphics that typically come bundled with first generation Intel Atom processors. Second, this is one of the only laptops on the market with a dual core Atom 330 processor. The CPU was initially designed for low-powered mini-desktop computers called nettops. But the Atom 330 is still a relatively low power CPU. And in the Eee PC 1201N it offers just a little bit of a performance boost, which helps this notebook to outperform other 11 and 12 inch notebooks with NVIDIA ION graphics and single core processors.
On the other hand, the Atom 330 is a bit more power-hungry than a single core Atom chip, and the Eee PC 1201N doesn’t get the same kind of battery life I’ve come to expect from Atom powered notebooks.
The demo unit Asus sent me to review features a 12.1 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display, a 1.6GHz Intel Atom 330 dual core CPU, NVIDIA ION graphics, 2GB of RAM, 250GB hard drive, and Windows 7 Home Premium. It has 802.11b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth and a 0.3MP webcam.
The Lenovo IdeaPad U150 features an 11.6 inch screen and an Intel CULV processor. It’s available in a variety of configurations with up to 4GB of RAM, 320GB hard drive, and a 1.3GHz Core 2 Duo SU7300 CPU, and a choice of a 3 or 6 cell battery.
There are a lot of things to like about the IdeaPad U150. It has an distinctive textured lid, an attractive two-tone keyboard, and a combo eSATA/USB port, which is something you won’t find on a lot of ultraportable laptops. But there are a few down sides as well. While the laptop gets decent battery life, it doesn’t last as long as I’ve come to expect of a laptop with an Intel CULV processor. And while the keyboard is attractive, I found it mildly uncomfortable to use.
The unit Lenovo sent me to review features a 1.3GHz Core 2 Duo SU7300 dual core CPU, GMA 4500MHD graphics, a4GB of DDR3 RAM, a 320GB hard drive, and a 6 cell battery. It features 802.11b/g/n WiFi and runs Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit and has an 11.6 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display. This model is available from Lenovo for a starting price of $749, but there’s also a $649 model with a slower processor, less RAM and storage.
The Dell Inspiron Mini 10 with an Atom N450 processor is just the latest Dell laptop to bear the Mini 10 name. It follows the Dell Mini 10 and Mini 10v, which had Atom Z520 and N270 processors, respectively.
Performance-wise, the new Dell Inspiron Mini 10 is a lot like the recently retired Mini 10v. But thanks to the new energy-sipping CPU, it gets significantly better battery life. And Dell has given the 10 inch mini-laptop a major design overhaul as well.
That includes a battery that no longer sticks out of the bottom of the laptop, and a new keyboard layout. Unfortunately one thing that hasn’t received a major update is the touchpad, which features difficult-to-use integrated click areas instead of dedicated left and right buttons.
The unit featured in this review has a 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display, a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N450 processor, 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth, an HSPA modem, 1GB of RAM, and a 250GB hard drive. It runs Windows 7 Starter Edition.
Asus has been pumping out netbooks for longer than anyone. And in a lot of ways, the Asus Eee PC 1005PE is just an incremental update over previous models. The laptop still has a 10 inch screen, chiclet-style keyboard and Intel Atom processor. But as the first Eee PC with an Atom N450 Pine Trail CPU, the Eee PC 1005PE represents the biggest change in the Eee PC line since the jump from 7 inch screens to 9 and 10 inch models in 2008.
Fortunately, Asus got a lot of things right in the latest update. The laptop is thin and light, and while it gets stellar battery life, the battery doesn’t jut too far out from the bottom of the laptop. The keyboard is very easy to use, and the textured touchpad supports multitouch gestures.
As for the new processor, it’s a mixed bag. It doesn’t offer much of a performance boost, and the PC actually feels like it might be slower at some tasks than one with an Atom N270 or N280 processor. But Intel’s goal wasn’t so much to boost performance with the new CPU, but to improve power consumption. And the Asus Eee PC 1005PE gets the kind of battery life that will let you use your laptop on a cross-country trip from New York to LA… twice.
The demo unit Asus sent me to review came equipped with a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 processor, GMA 3150 graphics, 1GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth, and Windows 7 Starter Edition. It has a 6 cell, 5800mAh, 63Whr battery. You can pick one up for under $370 from Amazon
The Dell Inspiron 11z is a thin and light laptop with an 11.6 inch display. It’s a bit larger than Dell’s Inspiron Mini netbook line, and it comes with an Intel CULV processor, which provides more power than the Atom chips found in Dell’s netbooks. But the Inspiron 11z is still portable, cheap, and a little slow compared with many of the company’s larger laptops.
The laptop comes with a variety of configuration options. Dell sent me a review unit with a 1.3GHz dual core Intel Pentium SU4100 processor, Windows 7 Home Premium, a 250GB hard drive, 2GB of RAM, and a 6 cell battery. This configuration sells for $544 (or actually, $584, since this model has a $40 jade green lid), but the base model is available for just $379.
Of course, to get the lower price, you’ll have to settle for a 3 cell battery, single core processor, smaller hard drive, and Windows Vista.
The ASRock ION 330 nettop is a small desktop PC that’s not much wider than a typical optical disc drive. It’s a bit chunkier than some nettops from MSI, Asus, and other companies, but unlike many of those models, the ION 330 actually makes room for a DVD burner as well as a 1.6GHz Intel Atom 330 dual core CPU, and NVIDIA ION graphics.
ASRock sells the ION 330 nettop as a barebones unit, which means that it comes with everything but the operating system. The model NVIDIA sent me to review came loaded with Windows 7 RC, but I’m not going to spend too much time dwelling on the software in this review.
The model I tested also had 2GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, Ethernet and HDMI ports, but no WiFi. Other versions of this nettop may be available with media center remote controls, WiFi, Blu-Ray drives, and other options.
The HP Mini 311 was the first notebook with NVIDIA ION graphics to hit the United States. While this 11.6 inch notebook has a little competition today, it’s still the cheapest NVIDIA ION powered ultraportable, with a starting price of just $399.99. And that could make the HP Mini 311 an attractive computer for anyone looking for a machine with better-than-netbook graphics at a netbook-like price.
But while the NVIDIA graphics certainly give the computer a boost when it comes to HD video playback, 3D graphics performance, and any other activities that can take advantage of GPU acceleration features, the HP Mini 311 has the same 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU that graces nearly every netbook released in the last 18 months.
And that means that for every day activities such as web surfing, the HP Mini 311 is no better than an average netbook, albeit one with a high resolution display. And in some ways, it might actually not even be as good.
NVIDIA sent me a demo unit to review. The model tested for this review features an 11.6 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display, NVIDIA ION graphics, a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU, 2GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive, and Windows 7 Home Premium. It has a 6 cell, 55Whr battery and weighs 3.5 pounds.
The HP Mini 311 is available from HP.com for $399.99 and up. At the time of this review, the unit I’m configuring goes for about $510.
