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.
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.
The near future of high-tech industry (your excursion to CES 2010)
Alexandra | 7:39 pm | January 26, 2010 | New Laptops
The last Consumer Electronics Show (CES) has become the main source of information about new technologies and products from the world’s largest product designer and manufacturers. The show was held in Las Vegas, and this place wasn’t chosen by chance. The U.S. market is traditionally considered as one of the most important for many large companies that design and produce electronics.
Judging by the general show trends, 2010 will be the year of Android smartphones, Tablet PCs, and rapid development of three-dimensional television. And like a year ago, at CES 2009, manufacturers introduced a lot of notebooks and netbooks in a classic form factor. Developers still believe that this market is very promising. For example, MSI management expects 50% growth of notebook shipments in 2010.
Lenovo attracted visitors by the unusual Ideapad U1 laptop. This device, which is actually a hybrid of tablet and netbook, has a 11.6″ display that can be disconnected from the keyboard and work independently as a Tablet PC. Ideapad U1 is expected in shops this summer at a price of about $ 1000.
You could see new netbooks based on Intel Pine Trail hardware platform from all major manufacturers at CES 2010. Most of those devices had similar characteristics and were running Windows 7. The Samsung N127 netbook based on OS Moblin can be mentioned as an exception.
One more piece of news from Intel. The company launched AppUpCenter, a new online store of applications for compact portable computers. All users of netbooks with OS Windows can join this service.
Among the huge number of laptops that were presented at CES 2010 there are some unusual ones. Samsung demonstrated a prototype laptop with a 14″ transparent OLED-display. It’s difficult to imagine who may need such a computer, but this invention of South Korean engineers may find application in other industries. Also Dell showed a workable concept of Studio with a 16″ OLED-display, which response time is 0,004 ms. And Asus amazed visitors by its new NX90 Bang & Olufsen edition laptop.
So CES 2010 gave us a general idea of what devices we should expect this year. Evidently experts expect the increase in sales of portable computers (both netbooks and notebooks). Marketing specialists pin hopes on tablet PCs, but demand for them will depend not only on technical specifications, but also on pricing policies.
FrEee Pc
Boris | 2:26 am | July 29, 2008 | Laptop News
Researchers claim that Asus Eee PC has been the greatest hit in the mobile devices sector this year. Yet the 8.9-inch laptop is one step away from true mobility – there is no go-anywhere Internet access. In other words, you are still in a Wi-Fi hotspot which doesn’t appear to meet the needs of today’s Eee user. Well, you can always try a 3G dongle with your laptop but nowadays there is a rather high competition in gadgets and gizmos for the few USB ports. Asustek has announced that Asus Eee PC 3G will be released in September this year. The lightweight netbook will feature integrated 3G module that lets its owners get fast wireless Internet everywhere they go. Unlike some feverishly pitched 3G handsets, the hardware is not likely to be locked to only one provider and the laptop battery will not be sealed – you will be able to carry it around even with an extended capacity pack. 
I would also like it to have some new striking twist on the design, making the laptop stand out from the rest of the ultraportable crowd of laptop midgets. But even as it is now, Asus Eee PC with built-in internet connection will guarantee your morning cappa break will never be the same again.
Laptop Batteries
New Mobiles
Free Conference Call Services
Custom logo design
The Beauty vs The Beast
maksim | 4:18 am | December 21, 2007 | New Laptops
Two extremes of the same territory, two laptops that could not be further away apart- today we compare Asus Eee PC and Getac A790- the Snow White and the Terminator of the laptop world.
Difference starts with the price. Asus Eee Pc is famously the cheapest laptop in the world, with the price of 200 dollars. Getac costs 30 times more, just below 6000 dollars.
Small and light, Eee Pc has a processor to match, Intel Celeron-M 900MHz. Getac, in spite of its seemingly awkward shapes, has an impressive Intel Core Duo 1.66GHz.
Elegantly small 4gb harddrive of Eee Pc is not prepared to waste its space on something as unglamorous and time-wasting as movies or games. Getac, a road warrior, has shock-resistant 80gb, and options for more if needed.
For wireless connectivity, Eee Pc has WiFi, simple and effective, job done. Getac is a jungle kid and WiFi can never be enough- it also has Bluetooth, GPS, and a GSM/GPRS support.
Never meant to leave civilization for too long , Asus has a reasonable battery life lasting over two hours. Getac, a companion of night shifts and field trips, has a maximum possible battery life of around eight hours.
Graceful Eee Pc has a webcam on its list of additional features, and that is all it needs. Getac wants much more. Fingerprint scanner, optional touchscreen and sunlight readable display, dustproof keyboard, fully waterproof case with sealed ports and connectors, vibration resistance and extra strong magnesium alloy case.
Sources: Asus Eee Pc and Getac A790