Toshiba Libretto W100… Is it a Tablet? A Netbook? A Laptop? Even We Aren’t Sure!
matthew | 6:18 pm | August 30, 2010 | Laptop Reviews
Okay!
So good news first… Toshiba’s latest offering is actually giving Apple iPad a run for its money.
The new Libretto W100 is all sparkles and shine and very very amusing to say the least.
What so great about it?
Well for starters it looks like a slightly meatier net book. But it is still considerably smaller then a laptop. The real shocker is inside, i.e. when you open it up you see 2 screens. This dual screen wonder is a modern laptop (read clamshell tablet) with two multi touch 7-inch screens.
The Toshiba Libretto has been unveiled just in time for the company’s 25 year anniversary celebrations. It has already been put on sale in Japan and has met immense success. And soon you just might have one arriving at your address as it is launched in the UK this summer. The Libretto is going to be sold in limited numbers at its going to be very pricey.
For £1,250 all you get is Pentium U5400 processor, Windows 7 Home Premium Edition, a memory card reader, 2 GB of DDR3 memory and a 62 GB Solid State Drive. A Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1+ EDR and an in built webcam are also included. The black metallic shell finish is absolutely to die for.
For Toshiba this is more of an experiment, hence the limited numbers of production. But it seems like this gamble is paying off for Toshiba as Libretto is all set to be runaway hit. For a concept PC, Toshiba Libretto W100 has a very nice finish and looks very much like a finished product ready to be released. It isn’t all that impressive under the hood for the steep price of £1,250, but the dual 7 inch multi touch displays are really impressive. They boast a resolution of 1024×600 pixels and either can be converted into a virtual keyboard thanks to the haptic response mechanism built into the screens. The Toshiba Libretto is also very portable. It weighs nearly 2 pounds and is a mere 4.8 by 7.9 inches when closed. It’s cute and it’s small!
We were thinking about its uses and have come up with some pretty good ones. For one it is perfect for reading EBooks. It opens up like a book and pages can be displayed side by side just like a book. It’s also great for playing games. Just keep your stats or character lists displayed on one screen while your play on the other. Along with the option of virtual keyboards, you also get a soft track pad to help you type, click or navigate through your premium edition Windows.
Remember when Asus cried fowl at iPads release as it netbook market domination was challenged? Well we think if Toshiba keeps up wit the production of the Libretto W100, Apple and its iPad might just be given a run for their money. It’s already sold out in Japan and Amazon.com is reporting similar results. UK markets are still waiting on it though. Be sure to check out the Toshiba UK website to know which resellers will be selling the Libretto in your area.
Toshiba Libretto W100 isn’t cheap. In fact it’s twice the cost of the older versions of iPads. But what you get for that price is dual screens, two batteries and of course a dual core processor. You also get to e a part of the history by owning a Toshiba Limited Edition piece.
Dell Inspiron M101z: Redefining Love at First Sight
matthew | 8:34 pm | August 20, 2010 | Laptop Reviews, Netbooks
Remember the cliché “Love at first sight”? Well, if you haven’t been in love yet, prepare to fall head over heels with the new, ultra-fine Dell Inspiron M101z.
Not convinced? Check out these aspects to change your mind:
The Overall Appearance
The Dell Inspiron M101z laptop comes in a range of colours that can reflect your personality wherever you go. You can choose to radiate your confidence with Obsidian Black, reveal your playful nature with Tomato Red, flaunt your energetic nature with Peacock Blue, or show your wildly creative side with the Lotus Pink cover.
Once you get over your infatuation with the outer cover, you have to take a look at the keyboard and touchpad designs. The new chiclet-style keyboard, rounded, black matte keys, and the smooth silver pad mark the beginning of a change in the creation of Dell laptops. Lift your eyes up and you will see the 11.6 inch screen. Dell has added a little improvement that allows you to prop the screen up a bit. Plus, the vertical viewing angles are a great addition that will allow you to share your Dell Inspiron M101z’s screen with a friend.
Under the Hood
Within the chic exterior is a lean, mean, computing machine. The Dell Inspiron M101z offers you these wonderful specifications:
- A choice between the AMD Athlon II Neo Single Core Pocessor and the AMD Athlon II Neo Single Dual Processor
- A choice between 2GB and 4GB RAM (definitely a treat if you enjoy playing games in your free time)
- 1080p
- Surround sound speakers
- A choice between a 250GB or a 320GB hard drive
- An array of wireless services starting from Wi-Fi and all the way to the latest version of Bluetooth 3.0.
- A 6-cell 56WHr Li-Ion battery that is expected to last for 6 hours and 36 minutes
The Ugly Side of Dell Inspiron M101z
As beautiful as everything seems, the Dell Inspiron M101z has a few niggling problems. Starting from the screen, the horizontal angles aren’t as good as the vertical ones mentioned earlier, thus you may notice some colour distortion if you take a step away from your Dell laptop. Another annoying aspect is the life of the battery. Despite the aforementioned six-hour durability, tests have recorded that the battery lasts for 3 hours and 35 minutes if you’re playing graphical content (e.g. a movie), and about 4 hours if you’re just running simple applications.
Aside from that, you may have some problem replacing internal components such as your hard drive. Thus, if your Dell Inspiron M101z is busted, it will sadly end up becoming a decorative piece on your desk.
The Bottom Line
The Dell Inspiron M101z still needs a few tweaks to become an excellent laptop. However, that does not mean that it is one of the best mini laptops around. Plus, for the price you’re going to pay for this laptop, you’re going to get a lot of value for every pound you spend.
The Legion of Gaming Masters- Top Three Gaming Laptops of 2010
matthew | 11:02 pm | August 15, 2010 | Laptop Reviews
No one can judge the performance of a laptop better than a gamer can.
Those unbelievably close to reality graphics, a gameplay that requires super human reflexes, and controls that can take full control of player’s imagination – with all that and so much more, modern 3D games have now changed the meaning of ‘virtual reality’.
Despite so many gaming platforms available, the idea of having a portable machine, which can also serve your other computing needs has always fancied a responsible gamer. Yet, as much as these games have the power to take you to the extremes, they also demand the same extreme power from your machine. Generally, most work and home use laptops soon surrender to these power drainers, and each and every weakness begins to show up.
Fortunately, most manufacturers were smart enough to realize their shortcoming, and we now see a line up of laptops designed and built specifically to meet gaming requirements. Some do live up to the expectations, but some are merely using the title to bluff the clueless gamers. So, no more falling for that trap fellow gamers, here is a list of the best that awaits you in stores this year.
Alienware M17x
Doesn’t it sound like the best weapon to take on the whole league of outer-space invaders? So it is! And the best part is- it even looks like one.
It is to-date the most fastest portable gaming laptop. Typically, you can get a Core 2 duo CPU in fair prices, nothing compare to the priceless gaming experience you are going to get. Yet, if you are willing to pay more, you can get a Core i5 or I7. And before you go hands on with your laptop, you might consider a little customization with colours and laser etching.
MacBook pro 15 inch
If we restrict this list to the laptops launched in 2010 only, the whole list would have been filled with Alienware, so, we decided to choose a runner-up from yester years. Don’t panic, these machines were quite ahead of their times and still are among the best you can get in a little less price than that of the winner.
No matter whose side you choose in the PC vs. Mac debate, you can’t deny MACs superior gaming ability. So don’t get fooled by the size of this little notebook here. This 15 inch machine unleashes a longer and better gaming experience with its unbeatable battery life. Now you know what a genie in a bottle can do.
iBUYPOWER Battalion 101 CZ-10 touch
If you wish to go hands-on with your ultimate gaming laptop, The iBUYPOWER Battalion 101 CZ-10 touch can help you with that- literally. It is the first ever multi-touch gaming laptop. Sounds like there really are some people who really care about the gamers. CZ-10 is one seriously cool machine, which was again designed specifically to meet a hard core gamer’s requirement and it did live up to the expectations. Despite its 15 inch size, it comes equipped with a DVD SuperMulti burner.
Sony Vaio VPCW Netbook – The Green Within
matthew | 7:07 pm | August 7, 2010 | Green Laptops, Netbooks
Call it the Captain Planet or Green Lantern, Sony Vaio VPCW11S1E/w netbook is here to save the earth either way.
Launched in 2009, Sony Vaio W series was bound to make an impact, but was received with mixed reviews possibly because of a slightly heavier price tag. As the tech world tradition, a newer version was expected to be launched by the start of 2010. As a matter of fact, all we expected of this edition was a little change in the performance and specification. But what was unleashed, surprised many of us – A 10 inch sugar white netbook, with an angelic translucent green glow. No wonder Sony has finally come up with something to pay a few more quids for.
Although most of the latest laptops and computers do comply with Energy Star 5.0 specifications, the green lovers never seemed to be satisfied. No matter how energy efficient they claimed to be, there was always much to be desired. Eco friendliness of Sony doesn’t only rely on the conventional mercury free LED backlight and PVC free casing. This little iridescent angel has a chassis, 20% of which is composed of recyclable material from CDs and DVDs waste.
This is not where the green revival of Vaio VPCW11S1E ends. The innovative carrying case of this green machine is made up of 100% recycled PET bottles. Another eco-friendly step by Sony is that there is no printed copy of the manual. Strange as it may sound, but you’ll have to turn your system on in order to read the digital manual. Anything for going green!
In terms of performance and processing, there isn’t much of a change in Eco edition. The only change perhaps is the Atom N450 processor instead of N270. The 10.1 inch 1366 x 768 pixel display is good enough to view a whole web page at a time. 1 GB Ram and 259 GB hard drive sounds good enough for a computer of this size. Other features including WI-FI, Bluetooth connectivity, multi format card reader and a battery with 7 hours run time are all decent enough for this generation’s netbook.
Although, Sony Vaio‘s performance is up to the mark, the price might still be a little higher than other equally equipped machines in the market. But with all the green advantages you get with this one – is to date incomparable. Now, if computers are called machines with smart brains, this edition of Sony Vaio W is definitely a one with a clear conscience as well.
Smart Parts offers WEEE recycling for your old laptop parts
oleg | 6:52 pm | July 31, 2010 | Green Laptops, Smart Parts
Along with the pleasure of having your own laptop comes the responsibility to dispose it in a proper, environmentally friendly way. The time when your AC adapter stops working or your laptop battery reaches the end of its life is inevitable and you are faced with the necessity to purchase a new one. That’s why Smart Parts is out there to offer you whether an original item or a generic replacement charger, depending on how much money you are willing to spend. However, what should you do with the old part after receiving the replacement? Should you just toss it out or there is a better alternative? With the stories about global warming and how landfills are filling up faster than the authorities can handle, “going green” sounds like a much better choice. If you own a notebook computer, you should know about the ways in which the old parts can be recycled before you head toward that rubbish bin.
Just before you decide to dispose your laptop spares, consider this list of products with hazardous materials inside:
1. LCD Screen
The screen is one of the most dangerous laptop parts to end up in a landfill. It often has such toxic materials as mercury, cadmium and chromium, all of which are hazardous to the environment. Flame-retardant materials used in the plastic also contain bromide, which in high dosages can cause neurological damage.
2. Power adapters
A recent study by Greenpeace reported that polyvinyl chloride (PVC) was found in 44 percent of all plastic cabling of the AC and car adapters. When incinerated, these release dioxins, which are known to increase the likelihood of cancer. Phthalates, which the EPA has found can cause damage to the liver and testes from long-term exposure, were also found in the cables examined by Greenpeace.
3. Laptop keyboard
A laptop keyboard is typically made of plastic with a little circuit board in it. While these aren’t worth a whole lot to recyclers, they are definitely something that you want to keep out of landfills as they’re nothing but big hunks of plastic and steel.
4. Laptop battery
Many older laptops used rechargeable nickel-cadmium (NiCa) batteries, which contain hazardous cadmium. Newer laptops, fortunately, are relying on newer types of batteries (lithium ion), which are not as hazardous, but nevertheless should be recycled properly.
One of our main goals as a laptop accessories seller and manufacturer is to respond to the challenges raised by climate change, environmental sustainability, and corporate responsibility. We have set up very easy to read information which is accessible from their main website. Starting from July this year Smart Parts has made arrangements for processing waste electronic equipment such as laptop batteries, AC and car adapters, LCD screens and laptop keyboards under the terms of the WEEE Regulations.
You can rest assured that while sending your old electronic appliances to us it will be recycled in accordance with the WEEE Directive. We will make sure that it will be processed in the UK by our carefully selected partners ensuring all hazardous materials are removed and dealt with according to current legislation. It may not seem like doing the right thing with one battery would make a difference. However, you must keep the big picture in mind. If each of our customers, both business and retail, would send their old components back to us, we as a company will be able to recycle thousands of the old units monthly while the only thing you should pay is the postage expenses. This is a great amount considering the ten to fifteen minutes it may take a person to dispose of the batteries in this way. You can even return your waste batteries to us in person or find your local recycling facility at www.recyclenow.com. Now most superstores and shops have collection bins for used batteries while some town halls, libraries and schools may also set up collection points.
You can send your old laptop parts to us to the address below:
WEEE Take-Back Scheme
Smart Parts
72 Farm Lane
London
SW6 1QA
Thank you.
Dell Inspiron 1545 – perfect choice for home use
Tyler | 4:05 pm | July 28, 2010 | Laptop Reviews
Have you been thinking about purchasing a new laptop? Whether you are intent on buying one or have just been casually looking at the latest offerings, one laptop that you have likely noticed is the Dell Inspiron 1545. I’ve received several emails from our readers asking about this laptop, so I decided to write a post with my thoughts on it.
The Dell Inspiron 1545 is a great laptop for the price. It is a great choice for the average person who enjoys listening to music, playing games, or just cruising the web. It comes with Windows 7 Home Premium, the latest Microsoft operating system with plenty of great features that you will find convenient and useful. With a DVD+/RW burner you will be able to make movies to play on your television at home. It can create DVDs quickly and efficiently, so you won’t have to spend a long time waiting for it to complete. The 15.6” display screen with amazing resolution will make everything look brighter and more crisp. You will also get a 1.3 mega pixel web cam, so friends and family will be able to stay in touch, no matter how far apart you are.
When you buy the Dell Inspiron 1545, you will also get plenty of hard drive space to store data, including videos, pictures, music and more. The fast processor makes it one of the most powerful and sophisticated pieces of portable technology. Anyone who enjoys or needs to work on a computer, whether for personal or business reasons, will want to consider getting this one. It is available in many different stores as well as online. If you plan on shopping on the web, then you will want to know it is currently on sale from Amazon.co.uk for as low as £314.99.
While the 1545 lacks the extra features of higher priced offerings from other laptop manufacturers, at £314.99, it’s a great deal. If you want a laptop that’s going to get the job done, you can buy this one without worrying about depleting your bank account.
Dell laptops fall victim to the “capacitor plague”
Alexandra | 8:14 pm | July 17, 2010 | Laptop News
Were you aware that many of Dell laptops currently on the market contain some serious defects? Dell sold millions of notebooks between 2003 and 2005 that had faulty components according to documents unsealed in a case being heard in the federal court in North Carolina. The New York Times reported about the problems and allegations that Dell faced last week:
Documents recently unsealed in a three-year-old lawsuit against Dell show that the company’s employees were actually aware that the computers were likely to break. Still, the employees tried to play down the problem to customers and allowed customers to rely on trouble-prone machines, putting their businesses at risk. Even the firm defending Dell in the lawsuit was affected when Dell balked at fixing 1,000 suspect computers, according to e-mail messages revealed in the dispute.
According to this data, Dell supplied faulty PCs to many of its clients including companies like Wal-Mart and Wells Fargo, institutions like the Mayo Clinic and Texas University as well as many small businesses. In 2005, Dell announced that it was taking a $300m charge to cover the cost of fixing and/or replacing the faulty machines. However, to make things even worse, they replaced faulty PCs with other faulty ones, according to the NYT further findings.
Dell felt victim, quite without realising it, of one of the most fascinating pieces of industrial espionage of recent years: the theft of a formula for making the electrolyte to go into capacitors from a Japanese company, which was smuggled to China, and then onto Taiwan, but somewhere on the way things got messed up.
In 2001, an unknown scientist left Rubycon Corporation Japan to go and work for the Luminous Town Electric in China. Both companies were producing electrolytic capacitors, which are usually used in power circuits. Capacitors are found on computer motherboards, playing a crucial role in the flow of current across the hardware. At the LTE Company, the scientist made a copy of the electrolyte – the chemical that goes inside the capacitors.
Later that year, according to the NYT story, the scientist’s staff defected to Taiwan, taking with them a copy of the electrolyte formula so they could set up their own company. Taiwan supplies 30 per cent of the world’s electrolytic capacitors and most of the big PC manufacturers like Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Apple get their machines assembled in Taiwan. But the defectors miscopied the formula. The end product would leak hydrogen gas, before bursting the metal body of the capacitor in up to 97 percent of the time over a three-year period. The electrolyte would then leak its brownish filling and could cause a fire.
Passive Component Industry Magazine (passive components are things like capacitors and resistors) wrote about this in September 2002, though it didn’t know then quite how bad things would get. As Dell’s experience showed, it could get very bad indeed.
A scientist steals a secret formula for an electrical product from his Japanese employer and takes it to China. Then it is stolen again and turns up in Taiwan. But something goes wrong – and thousands, perhaps millions, of computers and electrical goods in the West begin to burn out or explode. It sounds like the plot of a thriller, but it’s reality. Thousands of computers have failed and nobody is sure how many more products might go wrong because their capacitors – essential components to control the power supply – were made with faulty materials.
Perhaps more than any other company, Dell fought to lower the price of computers. And that’s certainly true: for years, Dell led because it could undercut rivals, and kept pushing the price down. However, nobody knows what Dell will do to survive the multibillion lawsuit and how they are planning to gain the users’ trust back.
Acer wants to become #1 in the laptop market
Alexandra | 4:40 pm | July 12, 2010 | Laptop News
The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing Acer chairman Wang Jeng-Tang, about this very ambitious goal which, as they think, the company will be able to achieve by the end of 2010. Moreover, he said, it will be done despite the recent economic turmoil in Europe as well as the growth of labour costs in China.
Acer currently holds 13% of the global PC market, following Hewlett-Packard, which owns a 19.3% share, according to the source. Even though Acer yields to the market leader in this respect, it takes the lead in volume production of laptops. According to the Gartner Company, in the first quarter of this year the supply volume of Acer laptops was 9.49 mln while the Hewlett-Packard produced only 9.47 mln. In the third quarter Acer is expecting the growth of 10—15% in comparison with the second quarter.
Chairman Wang expressed hope that very soon Acer won’t have any feasible competition on the PC market. Positive vibes are also being felt on the desktop front, where Acer aims to shift 10 million units this year, while a decent $15 million is being invested into “developing a a smartphone platform based on Google ’s Android. Of course Acer’s “thrifty” strategy is not exactly tailored for tough economic times but it can be seen as the company response to HP’s ebullient $1.2 billion acquisition of Palm, but one thing’s for sure: PC vendors are hungry for some of that sweet smartphone pie.
Toshiba launches laptop “Trade-In” scheme
oleg | 2:32 pm | July 5, 2010 | Laptop News
If you are thinking to get rid of your old Pavilion dv6000 you might be interested in the following news. Toshiba has announced the launch of a new “Trade-In” programme describing it as “an initiative designed to help consumers offset the cost of buying a new laptop whilst ensuring that their old laptop is disposed of in an environmentally sustainable way”.
When purchasing a new Toshiba Windows 7 laptop, consumers are offered cashback in return for their old laptop depending on its condition and technical specifications. Before you buy a new computer you can use Toshiba’s Trade-In website to get the price of your current notebook calculated. For example, for an old Dell Inspiron 1501 in good condition the quote is £58 while if selecting higher specification laptop such as HP Compaq 6720s or Acer Aspire 5920, Toshiba is offering up to £150.
After visiting the website for valuation go ahead with the trade-in, you will see the laptop collected by Toshiba’s partner Tier 1 Asset Management who will pay out – assuming all is good with the device – within 10 days.
The Toshiba Trade-In programme is live now over at www.toshiba.co.uk/tradein
Laptop as canvas for creative urge
Alexandra | 12:56 am | June 29, 2010 | Laptop Mods
Your laptop is not only a perfect working tool, it should also reflect your personality and style. This is what manufacturers keep telling us, don’t they? However, what kind of individuality are we talking about, when thousands of other people all over the world have exactly the same gadget? A young artist from Russia has decided to make something completely new out of her 15-inch Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo Pro V350 laptop. This was the origin of her new hand painted laptop series.
“I always wanted to do everything in my own way, like no one else can. I am painting something all the time, for example windows in the house, plates, walls. And when I bought my first laptop, I wanted to make it unique as well. In the beginning I was a bit scared because I didn’t want to make it any damage, though I’ve had ‘painted’ my Nokias with nail polish on several occasions. I’ve decided to use my old set of stained glass paints because if something would have gone wrong they could be removed without a trace.
Then the question turned up: what to draw? I wanted something that would reflect my personality – elegant and stylish but at the same time feminine. And because I love animals I’ve decided to paint my laptop with pussy cats. And afterwards I’ve been repainting my laptop every now and then: with the pictures of girls, stars, plants, flowers etc. Laptops tend to wear off quite quickly and soon after my first laptop painting attempt I’ve decided to get myself a new one. For my second laptop I’ve chosen ThinkPad SL400. Its glossy lid where all touches become visible hadn’t put me out – “I’ll colour it anyway” – I thought. So my new laptop has soon acquired itself a crocodile skin and looked stunningly!
But the chosen design was the way too masculine and aggressive. And the laptop itself was too manly and big as well, so I had to do something completely different to adjust it to my personal taste. Some time later the crocodile skin was removed accurately to give way for the new décor. It looked a bit like an ornamental iron grid. This painting job was done in about two hours, practically over lunchtime.
When I started looking for a new laptop, lighter and smaller the new Lenovo ThinkPad X100e had just been released. In spite of a number of negative moments (such as overheating and battery life) it turned out to be the most suitable option. Although many people were trying to persuade me to take a classical ThinkPad x200, I bought myself the red ThinkPad x100e. And even before I held it in my hands I already had an idea of how to colour it. And now this idea comes true:
These hieroglyphs do make sense by the way- I wished my laptop to be happy, reliable and beloved. Later I added a colour accents with the dark red paint. The chosen drawing suited the x100e very well:
The great thing about the stained glass paints is that they can be easily removed. At the same time they stay long enough – about half a year even if you carry your laptop with you all the time. Now I have no wish to redo it again but desire to create is burning up more and more. That’s why I switched to my friends’ laptops. I have coloured two Lenovo Idea Pad S9’s since:
| Acer appeared in the 3D style: | Glamourous Sony Vaio for a pretty girl: |
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And a 15-inch Asus:
And this one was my first commercial job — the picture of the Eiffel Tower is based on the movie “From Paris with love”. The owner of the laptop liked the drawing: he has the same theme with a leaning Eiffel Tower on his mobile phone. It’s all thanks to the owner who was not afraid to give me his gadgets and who was very satisfied with the result in the end! All of a sudden my hobby became profitable. Now I have a catalogue of standard drawings available to order but I can also design something very unusual.”
Source: Habrahabr
Your laptop is not only a perfect working tool. It should also reflect your personality and style. This is what manufacturers keep telling us, don’t they? However, what kind of individuality are we talking about, when thousands of other people all over the world have exactly the same gadget?