Dell Inspiron 1525

The old days of bulky, overweight Dell notebooks may be coming to a close in 2008. Today Dell announced their latest addition to the Inspiron family of notebooks, the 15.4-inch Inspiron 1525. We are happy to have a pre-production unit to review, and this sleek successor to the Inspiron 1520 might just surprise you.

Our pre-production Inspiron 1525 is equipped with the following specs:

• 15.4-inch WXGA (1280 x 800) CCFL TrueLife (glossy) screen
• 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T7250 processor
• 2GB DDR2-667 SDRAM (up to 4GB DDR2 SDRAM available)
• 120GB 5400 RPM SATA HDD
• 8x Dual-layer DVD±RW drive
• Video: Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
• Wireless: Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g Mini Card
• Mobile Broadband: Dell Wireless integrated mobile broadband mini-cards Sprint and Verizon serice
• Colors: Multiple colors and finishes available
• Media Card: 8-in-1 flash memory reader
• Input and Output Ports: 4 USB 2.0, HDMI, VGA, IEEE 1394a, RJ11, RJ45, 2 headphone, 1 microphone, 1 ExpressCard 54mm slot, 3 mini-card slots, consumer IR, S-Video
• No webcam (optional Integrated 2.0 megapixel webcam available)
• Windows Vista Home Premium
• Dimensions: 1.00" - 1.48" (height) x 14.05" (width) x 10.08" (depth)
• Weight: 5.9lbs with 6-cell battery
• Base configuration price: $499
• Price as tested: $1,024 ($874 after instant savings)

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Build and Design

Dell received some much needed attention in 2007 with the introduction of the sleek, high performance XPS M1330 and XPS M1530 notebooks. Although these more expensive notebooks in the Dell lineup were praised for their looks and low weight, the Dell Inspiron 1520 was criticized for being yet another bulky and unattractive laptop. Dell listened closely to this criticism when they designed the new Inspiron 1525. The Inspiron 1525 is in fact 25% smaller, 30% slimmer and almost half a pound lighter than the Inspiron 1520.

In addition to the eight color options available on other Inspiron notebooks, the 1525 offers four new patterns. These designs are inlaid molds so there's no risk of the design coming off.

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Although I wasn't a huge fan of the glossy inlaid "Commotion Pattern" design on our pre-production Inspiron 1525, I must say it looks flawless. I was highly critical of the paint application on the Inspiron 1420, 1520, and 1720 because the paint has questionable durability. The new glossy lid designs might be a magnet for fingerprints, but it certainly looks more durable than the old Inspiron paint jobs.

Screen

Display options for the Inspiron 1525 include a matte finish 15.4" Widescreen XGA (1280 x 800), a 15.4" Widescreen XGA (1280 x 800) with TruleLife (glossy finish), or a 15.4" "high resolution" (1440 x 900) glossy widescreen display. On the surface the lack of higher resolutions is a serious flaw in the design of the 1525. In truth, the overwhelming majority of "average" notebook users will think the WXGA resolution looks stunning.

The screen on our pre-production unit looks flawless from straight on and the horizontal viewing angles are great. Upper vertical viewing angles are good, but colors did begin to invert at lower viewing angles when the screen is tilted back.

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Keyboard, Touchpad and Media Controls

The keyboard on the Inspiron 1525 is fairly similar to the 1520. The keyboard is firm with virtually no flex and the keys have excellent travel and cushion.

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The touchpad surface utilizes the new design that is integrated with the palm rest surface. The only separation between the palm rests and the touchpad is the indented area above the touchpad buttons. The touchpad buttons have excellent travel and cushion, though I did feel like they made a bit too much of a "clicking" sound when pressed. The good news with the touchpad is that it's responsive, has dedicated scroll areas and the textured feel is good.

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A series of touch-sensitive media buttons with blue LED backlights are located above the keyboard similar to the buttons on the XPS notebooks. One nice feature about the media buttons is that the blue LEDs only stay lit for a fraction of a second after being pressed, so they won't distract you by staying lit all the time. Another "interesting" feature of the media buttons is that the blue LEDs "pulse" back and forth for a few seconds during Windows startup not unlike KITT from the old Knight Rider TV series or a cylon from Battlestar Galactica.

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Ports and Features

The port selection of the 1525 is resonably good for a notebook of this size. Here's a quick rundown of what you get:

Front profile view: LED status lights, dual headphone out, microphone in, and memory card reader. (view large image)

Left side: Kensington lock slot, DC power jack, two USB ports, Ethernet, modem, HDMI out, and FireWire. (view large image)

Right side: ExpressCard slot, WiFi on/off/WiFi catcher, optical drive, S-Video out, and two USB ports. (view large image)

Back profile view: no ports here.(view large image)

The built-in HDMI is a very nice thing to have for those that want digital video output, S-Video and VGA are also there for the more old-fashioned approach to video output. The fact that the 1525 supports HDMI with integrated graphics is impressive ... though we didn't have the opportunity the test the limits of the HDMI output from the integrated X3100 graphics.

With the addition of FireWire, four USB ports, a media card reader, two headphone jacks, microphone jack, ExpressCard slot and Ethernet port you're well equipped ports wise.

I was pleasantly surprised to find four USB ports on the 1525. I was a bit let down by the fact the similarly sized XPS M1530 only includes three USB ports. The fact that the 1525 packs four USB ports into a reasonably thin and light 15.4" notebook is worth praise.

Speakers

The speaker quality was "acceptable" for a notebook without a built-in subwoofer. The speakers for the 1525 are located at the top of the keyboard area above the media buttons.

There's not much to write home about the speakers, they get loud enough with minimal distortion, but the sound is slightly tinny as is the case with nearly all laptop speakers. Just imagine listening to music from small speakers mounted inside a tin can and you'll have an idea about the built-in sound quality. On the brighter side, both audio out ports delivered crystal clear audio to my earbuds during the test period.

Performance and Benchmarks

One thing to notice is that the dedicated graphics card option available on the Inspiron 1520 is missing from the Inspiron 1525. The reasoning behind this is that Dell is pushing the XPS M1530 as the 15.4" notebook for those demanding higher-end graphics performance. The Inspiron 1525 is meant for a more mainstream buyer looking for good multimedia and productivity features from a notebook, and not cutting edge 3D performance.

Regardless, I would have liked for Dell to offer at least an entry-level nVidia 8400 GS 128MB dedicated graphics card option on the 1525. Sure, it might compete with a base configuration XPS M1530, but consumers like to have choices.

That being said, the Inspiron 1525 performed quite well during testing and this machine will meet or exceed the performance needs of most average (non-gaming) users.

wPrime is a program that forces the processor to do recursive mathematical calculations, the advantage of this program is that it is multi-threaded and can use both processor cores at once, thereby giving more accurate benchmarking measurements than Super Pi.

Notebook / CPU	wPrime 32M time
Dell Inspiron 1525 (Core 2 Duo T7250 @ 2.0GHz)	43.569s
Dell XPS M1530 (Core 2 Duo T7500 @ 2.2GHz)	37.485s
Portable One SXS37 (Core 2 Duo T7250 @ 2.0GHz)	41.908s
Sony VAIO NR (Core 2 Duo T5250 @ 1.5GHz)	58.233s
Toshiba Tecra A9 (Core 2 Duo T7500 @ 2.2GHz)	38.343s
Toshiba Tecra M9 (Core 2 Duo T7500 @ 2.2GHz)	37.299s
HP Compaq 6910p (Core 2 Duo T7300 @ 2GHz)	40.965s
Sony VAIO TZ (Core 2 Duo U7600 @ 1.20GHz)	76.240s
Zepto 6024W (Core 2 Duo T7300 @ 2GHz)	42.385s
Lenovo T61 (Core 2 Duo T7500 @ 2.2GHz)	37.705s
Alienware M5750 (Core 2 Duo T7600 @ 2.33GHz)	38.327s
Hewlett Packard DV6000z (Turion X2 TL-60 @ 2.0GHz)	38.720s
Samsung Q70 (Core 2 Duo T7300 @ 2.0GHz)	42.218s
Acer Travelmate 8204WLMi (Core Duo T2500 @ 2.0GHz)	42.947s
Samsung X60plus (Core 2 Duo T7200 @ 2.0GHz)	44.922s
Zepto Znote 6224W (Core 2 Duo T7300 @ 2.0GHz)	45.788s
Samsung Q35 (Core 2 Duo T5600 @ 1.83GHz)	46.274s
Samsung R20 (Core Duo T2250 @ 1.73GHz)	47.563s

 

3DMark06 comparison results for graphics performance:

Notebook	3DMark06 Score
Dell Inspiron 1525 (2.0GHz Intel T7250, Intel X3100)	545 3DMarks
Sony VAIO NR (1.5GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5250, Intel X3100)	504 3DMarks
Dell XPS M1530 (2.20GHz Intel T7500, Nvidia 8600M GT 256MB)	4,332 3DMarks
Dell Inspiron 1520 (2.0GHz Intel T7300, NVIDIA 8600M GT)	2,905 3DMarks
Dell XPS M1330 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, NVIDIA GeForce Go 8400M GS 128MB)	1,408 3DMarks
Samsung Q70 (2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T7300 and nVidia 8400M G GPU)	1,069 3DMarks
Asus F3sv-A1 (Core 2 Duo T7300 2.0GHz, Nvidia 8600M GS 256MB)	2,344 3DMarks
Alienware Area 51 m5550 (2.33GHz Core 2 Duo, nVidia GeForce Go 7600 256MB	2,183 3DMarks
Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Xi 1526 (1.66GHz Core Duo, nVidia 7600Go 256 MB)	2,144 3DMarks
Samsung X60plus (2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T7200, ATI X1700 256MB)	1,831 3DMarks
Asus A6J (1.83GHz Core Duo, ATI X1600 128MB)	1,819 3DMarks
HP dv6000t (2.16 GHz Intel T7400, NVIDA GeForce Go 7400)	827 3DMarks

PCMark05 measures overall notebook performance:

Notebook	PCMark05 Score
Dell Inspiron 1525 (2.0GHz Intel T7250, Intel X3100)	4,149 PCMarks
Dell XPS M1530 (2.20GHz Intel T7500, Nvidia 8600M GT 256MB)	5,412 PCMarks
Dell Inspiron 1520 (2.0GHz Intel T7300, NVIDIA 8600M GT)	4,616 PCMarks
Dell XPS M1330 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, NVIDIA GeForce Go 8400M GS)	4,591 PCMarks
Lenovo ThinkPad X61 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, Intel X3100)	4,153 PCMarks
Lenovo 3000 V200 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, Intel X3100)	3,987 PCMarks
Lenovo T60 Widescreen (2.0GHz Intel T7200, ATI X1400 128MB)	4,189 PCMarks
HP dv6000t (2.16GHz Intel T7400, NVIDA GeForce Go 7400)	4,234 PCMarks
Fujitsu N6410 (1.66GHz Core Duo, ATI X1400)	3,487 PCMarks
Alienware M7700 (AMD Athlon FX-60, Nvidia Go 7800GTX)	5,597 PCMarks
Sony VAIO SZ-110B in Speed Mode (Using Nvidia GeForce Go 7400)	3,637 PCMarks
Asus V6J (1.86GHz Core Duo T2400, Nvidia Go 7400)	3,646 PCMarks

HDTune results:

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Heat and Noise

The Inspiron 1525 does a reasonable job keeping heat under control. The system fan and heatsinks in the 1525 do a great job managing heat when the system is under load ... as we discovered when we ran multiple benchmarks back to back. Below are images with temperature readings listed in degrees Fahrenheit:

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Unfortunately, noise was something of an issue with the fan on the 1525. The fan moved a significant amount of hot air but the noise was reasonably higher than what we hear on most current notebooks. When the fan is on low it isn't noticeable over background noise most of the time. However, when the fan was at the highest setting we did record the volume of the noise breaking the 60dB mark from about two inches away from the fan exhaust. Again, this was a pre-production review unit, so your mileage (or decibels) may vary.

Battery Life

The 6-cell 56WHr Li-Ion battery provides excellent battery life for the 1525. With Vista's power management running in "high performance" mode, screen brightness set to maximum and wireless on, the 6-cell battery delivered 2 hours and 53 minutes of battery life. We're certain that the 6-cell could deliver three and a half hours of life with the notebook set to "balanced" or "power saver" mode and the screen brightness turned down.

There is also an available 9-cell 85WHr Li-Ion battery for those users needing extended battery life. One thing to mention is that with the 9-cell battery in you get an overall larger dimension for the notebook as the 9-cell battery sticks out of the back of the notebook.

Conclusion

Overall, the Dell Inspiron 1525 is an excellent budget notebook with good looks and solid performance. This isn't a gaming machine, but the 1525 can handle everyday computing tasks with ease ... and looks good while doing them.

In short, the Inspiron 1525 is exactly the notebook that the Inspiron 1520 should have been in the first place. Even though the 1525 is arriving a little late to the party we suspect it's going to be a very welcomed guest in many homes.

Pros

• Much thinner and lighter than the Inspiron 1520
• Reasonable battery life
• Nice keyboard, touchpad and media buttons
• Solid performance and features

Cons

• Glossy LCD lid is a magnet for fingerprints
• No dedicated graphics option
• Limited display options

Source: notebookreview.com

BenQ Joybook 8100

SPECIFICATIONS:
1.5GHz Pentium M; 512MB PC2700 RAM; 60GB hard disk; QSI SDW-041 DVD writer; 64MB ATi Mobility Radeon 9600 graphics; 15.4in 1,280 x 800 TFT; V.90 modem; 10/100 Ethernet; 802.11b WLAN; 4 x USB 2; 2 x four-pin FireWire; VGA; parallel; S-Video out; Optical S/PDFIF out; Type II PC Card slot; Windows XP Professional; 1yr C&R plus 1yr RTB warranty. Dimensions: 354 x 260 x 34mm (WDH). Weight: 3kg. Part number: 98.K1801.UO3.



BenQ is keen to emphasise the idea of entertainment with its notebook series, as the name Joybook implies. Not content with a widescreen TFT to showcase DVD movies, it also includes an infrared remote control for controlling playback and the QMedia Center - BenQ's alternative to Microsoft's Media Center.

The infrared remote lets you switch between the various modes - such as Movies, Pictures and Music - while sitting away from the notebook, and it even stores away snugly into the single Type II PC Card slot.

The Joybook is speedy when it comes to games, thanks to ATi's Mobility Radeon 9600 graphics, which pushed it to 9,361 in 3DMark2001 SE. It's quick for general use too, with a 1.5GHz Pentium M and 512MB of RAM inside. Its overall score of 1.57 in our 2D benchmarks is a fair reflection of its ability.

We like the TFT as well, with impressive viewing angles and a good enough response time to cope with games and movies. It's also brightly lit. The main area on which the screen could be criticised is the 1,280 x 800 resolution,

which isn't quite enough to view two windows side by side.

If the main use of your notebook is word processing, you probably won't fall in love with the Joybook's keyboard. It may be solid, but the keys don't have a very convincing feel when pressed down, while the Enter key is only single height. Still, all the other buttons are easy to hit, and the touchpad sensibly mimics the widescreen aspect of the screen.

BenQ hasn't made portability a priority: the 3kg weight and 34mm height make life on the road that much more unwieldy. Battery life is reasonable, though, lasting three hours, 53 minutes under light use. This gives a certain amount of leeway when it comes to using wireless on the move, and as with all Centrino notebooks 802.11b is integrated.

Other wireless technology comes in the form of infrared rather than Bluetooth, but we can't really fault the Joybook when it comes to expansion: there's a grand total of four USB 2 ports located at its rear, along with a parallel port, S-Video out, VGA out, modem and 10/100 Ethernet, plus an Optical S/PDIF output. BenQ rounds things off with two four-pin FireWire ports and a single Type II PC Card slot.

We were pleased to see a DVD writer here too. It's capable of writing DVD+R and DVD+RW discs at 4x: expect to wait around three minutes to burn 1GB of data. A 60GB hard disk means that you shouldn't run out of space in a hurry.

The trouble for BenQ is that this Joybook doesn't offer any outstanding features that are worth the asking price - especially when Dell is offering the 510m for £898 (exc VAT) once you take delivery into consideration.



By Tim Danton
www.pcpro.co.uk

Sony Vaio UX380N

We reviewed the first Sony Vaio UX series machine almost a year ago, the UX180P. Much has remained unchanged since that model and the UX280P that followed it just a few months later. The UX380N is the Windows Vista version of the UX, with a slightly faster Intel Core Solo CPU (1.3 vs. 1.2 GHz) and a gig of RAM (same as the UX280P).


This handheld computer is larger than the OQO model 2 but still small enough to fit in a quite large pocket, average sized purse or briefcase. More powerful than UMPCs, with a faster CPU and higher resolution display, the UX380N is nonetheless smaller. Though not a speed demon by normal notebook standards, the UX is the most powerful handheld computer on the market as of this writing (the OQO model 2 has a 1.5GHz CPU, but it's a VIA C7M which is significantly slower than the UX processor).

The UX380N measures just 6 x 3.74 x 1.27 - 1.5 inches and weighs 1.2 pounds and has a built-in thumb keyboard (slide up the display panel to reveal it). Unfortunately, the keyboard still has very little travel and tactile feedback, and you'll need long fingers to reach the middle keys easily. Like the older US models, the UX380N still has an AT&T (Cingular) EDGE wireless module with a popsicle antenna that swivels up from the back. We'd hoped by now that the UX would have moved up to a 3G HSDPA AT&T module, or shifted to Sprint's EVDO network, as we've seen on some Vaio TX models. Though AT&T's EDGE network is excellent in terms of coverage area and strength, its 2.5G speeds feel very "last year".

In terms of features, the UX could easily pass for a well-equiped ultra-light notebook. It has WiFi 802.11a/b/g, Bluetooth 2.0 +EDR, integrated Intel 950 graphics, a gig of RAM and a 40 gig hard drive. The $500 more expensive UX390N has a 32 gig solid state hard drive and the keyboard face plate is dark blue-black, but it's otherwise identical to the UX380N. The UX380N sells for approximately $1,799 to $1,899. Both the UX380N and the UX390N ship with Windows Vista Business edition.

In the Box

As with all UX series models, Sony includes a nice selection of accessories; a good thing given the price and the usual cost of Sony add-ons. The UX380N comes with a Lithium Ion battery, one small telescoping metal stylus, two replacement mouse navigator covers, wrist strap, padded nylon carry case with belt clip, a short dongle adapter which has Ethernet, VGA and A/V-out ports, a docking station (with power port, A/V out, three USB 2.0 ports, an unpowered FireWire 400 port, VGA and wired 10/100 Ethernet port) and a small plastic desk stand that slides onto the back of the UX and acts as a desk holder for those times you don't want to hold it and don't have the docking station with you. As with all Vaio notebooks, restore CDs/DVDs are not included, you must burn them yourself using Sony's included utility and an external CD or DVD burner or buy them from Sony for $20, or rely on the hidden restore partition whenever you need to re-install apps or restore the entire drive. Since the UX has no optical drive, that restore partition is a handy thing. We used a Sony 510UL dual layer DVD burner over FireWire with no problems to make backups and install software.



Display and Stylus

The display is simply gorgeous; Sony's XBrite with pen support is a lovely thing. The digitizer is accurate, and you'll want to use the stylus for small on-screen elements (because a finger seems huge compared to that tiny close box) and to place your cursor when entering text. Text is indeed quite small but surprisingly readable. That doesn't mean you won't get eye strain, because you will: at 1024 x 600 resolution on a 4.5" display text is clear but tiny. That's the tradeoff between the Vaio and the OQO or FlipStart which have lower resolution displays with larger fonts but you'll find yourself scrolling side to side frequently and some dialogs or even the Windows Start Menu contents won't fit on screen.

The UX also supports 800 x 600 resolution but that doesn't help much with readability since it letterboxes the sides by default to compensate for the 4:3 resolution 800 x 600 setting on the wide screen LCD. Should you have trouble with tired eyes, your best bet is to increase the font dpi in Windows, though that might increase the need for scrolling. The touch screen is extremely accurate and a pleasure to use. Window Vista Business has Tablet features built-in so you can enable handwriting recognition which works very well on the UX. Windows Journal is included with Vista, and that tablet-friendly application is a great way to take handwritten notes that you can turn into text later.

Design and Ergonomics

(Note: the design is identical to the UX180P, and so this section uses some of the same descriptive information from our 180P review). Even after 9 months on the market, the device is still pure eye candy. It's sleek, innovative and incredibly small. It turns heads. The curvy-back with ergonomic grips make it feel really good in hand though it's thick— the thinnest part at the middle measures 1.27" and the hand-grips areas are 1.5".



The left grip incorporates the battery pack. That's the EDGE antenna, raised.
The back and left side have plenty of air vents, and doesn't get uncomfortably hot in hand. It does have a quiet cooling fan which you'll hear from time to time.

The controls are intuitive and easy to use. Par for the course with Sony, you don't get printed guide that tells you what everything is, but you do get a PDF manual. Use this device for 5 minutes and you've figured out what all the buttons do, and you're enjoying how they lay in just the right places to reach easily and how they improve on the device's overall usability.



What do those controls do? On the left you'll see a larger button up top with a smaller button directly below. These are the left and right click buttons, as on a mouse or trackpad. The textured square control on the top right is your mouse control, similar to the IBM eraser stick (two spare textured covers come with the unit). It's pleasant to use, accurate and responsive. Since the device has a touch screen which responds to the stylus and your finger, the mouse button is a secondary control.

Just below the mouse button you'll find zoom buttons which enlarge the on-screen image but don't actually change resolution on the fly (it's a quick-use visual aide only). The power slider is on the side, and it has a hold position so it doesn't accidentally power up in your briefcase or purse. Conversely, you can lock it on so you don't accidentally power it off when watching a movie or listening to MP3s. That said, it's pretty hard to accidentally move the power slider when using the UX. A useful scroll button lives below the right/left click buttons. Hold it down while using the mouse to scroll a page rather than move the cursor. And below that you'll find Sony's launcher button which launches (and dismisses) their Application launcher (more on that later). If you press and hold the launcher button, you'll activate Sony's touch command which allows you to do things using on-screen gestures with the stylus. Alternatively you can turn off gesture commands and use the Windows standard right click feature in its place, You may customize the buttons as you see fit, should you prefer them to do other things.

The power jack, docking port, 3.5mm stereo out and mic in jacks are on the bottom, and the Memory Stick Pro Duo slot is on the top. The UX380P's single USB 2.0 port is on the left side (3more ports are on the docking station), and the camera button (launches the camera app and takes shots) is on the top right side. Given its placement and the device's handheld nature, it feels like a traditional shutter button. Both front and back cameras work in Skype which is handy if you want to show your video-conferencing buddy something that you're looking at.



Bottom edge.

The Sony UX380P's thumb keyboard is certainly much better than nothing, but we won't claim it's an ergonomic delight. The backlit keyboard has almost no travel and very little tactile feedback. Despite this, I found it fairly easy to type correctly but you don't have the feeling you're getting it right with no feedback. Since the UX is wider than a BlackBerry or Sidekick those with short thumbs or smaller hands may struggle to reach the middle keys. The blue backlighting turns on when you hit a key and remains on for a few seconds after the last key press. It's bright and easy to see in the dark, though the backlight is fainter toward the edges. Despite its small size, the keyboard has a dedicated number row, Control, Alt and Windows Start Menu keys as well as up/down left and right keys (with embedded page up/page down, home and end functions when you press the Fn key). Everything is in its normal place— no swapped period and comma keys, no strangely located tab key. Good. The only thing missing is a right shift key, which is annoying. Soon you'll discover that Sticky Keys (part of the Windows accessibility features) is your best friend. With Sticky Keys on, you don't need to simultaneously hold down the shift (or Alt or Control) keys and a letter key. Press the shift key, then press the letter you desire (very handy for initial caps in a sentence). The Sony has a caps lock key.



Horsepower and Performance

We found the UX180P to be very usable with Windows XP, and the UX280P even more so thanks to the memory bump from 512 megs to 1 gig. The UX3xx series got a modest CPU speed increase from the 1.2GHz Core Solo the the 1.33GHz Intel Core Solo U1500. The SSD (solid state drive) in the UX390N offers a small speed boost in some operations and the Windows Experience score for the SSD hard drive is 5.2 vs. 3.7 on the convention hard disk in the UX380. But Vista Business feels a bit slow on the UX3xx series, albeit faster than the OQO model 2. Our fresh UX380N took 1.5 minutes to boot into Vista (to the point where Windows Sidebar loaded and the machine was actually ready for real use), with the UX390N being faster to boot (though it's slower to resume from hibernation than the UX380N). Waking from sleep takes about 20 seconds on the UX380N, not an instant-on PDA but bearable given the computer's full-blown Vista power. Once Vista completely loads, MS Office 2007 runs fine, as do IE, Firefox and other Net and productivity applications. They aren't blazing fast, but they're certainly usable. Photoshop is a bit sluggish, Dreamweaver runs with reasonable speed and some less demanding games run passably though not admirably. Keep in mind this is a palmtop computer and not a 17" desktop replacement though.

The UX use Intel's 945 chipset (the same chipset used on standard Intel-architecture notebooks), has a gig of DDR2 RAM soldered to its tiny motherboard (the machine can handle 2 gigs max but Sony doesn't offer a UX with this option), and either the 32 gig solid state flash memory drive (on the UX390N) or a 1.8" 40 gig ATA100 conventional hard disk (UX380N). Graphics are handled by Intel's integrated 950GM which uses 224 megs of shared (system) memory (Windows reports 251 megs). Though the UX only manages a 2.0 score for 3D graphics, it gets 3.1 for Aero graphics and so Aero does run just fine. If you plug in an external monitor at 1024 x 768 Aero will continue to run, but up the resolution to 1600 x 1200 or higher and it turns off.

Gaming on the UX isn't the challenge we expected. Newer games that aren't hugely demanding in the 3D department actually did better because they support the computer's native resolution which means the stylus works. We tested the Sims 2 and it ran fine, though not blazingly fast and most visual effects were turned down; Quake 2 and Age of Empires II (though you must use 800 x 600 resolution and forego the stylus).

The UX380N managed a Windows Experience Score of:

Processor: 2.9
Memory: 4.3
Graphics (for Aero): 3.1
3D Graphics: 2.0
Hard Disk: 3.7

We downloaded the latest Intel driver from Intel's web site and the 3D graphics score jumped up to 2.6! Oddly doing the same for our Vaio TX with the same Intel graphics chipset decreased speed, but in the UX's case it's definitely worthwhile.

PC Mark 05 results were as follows:

pcmarks: 1361
CPU: 1712
memory: 1740
graphics: 421
HDD: 2074

We ran the PC Mark tests with an external monitor connected, since the graphics test require 1024 x 768 resolution. While these numbers aren't up to today's fast dual core machines, they're surprisingly good for a handtop and comparable to 2 to 3 pound ultralight notebooks (other than the integrated graphics, which are a bit lower than average).

The 40 gig disk drive has about 15 gigs free as shipped with Windows Vista and bundled full and trial versions of software. That's enough to store required apps, but not enough room for those with extensive iTunes video libraries to go wild. You can store movies and data on Memory Stick Duo cards, and we used a 4 gig SanDisk Ultra II Memory Stick Pro Duo with our UX. This card is fast enough for ReadyBoost, though we didn't get a worthwhile performance gain using it (and resuming from hibernation was slower).

Software

We used to love software bundles, but these days you get a lot of bloatware. The tiny UX even gets its share of added software and trialware you'll probably want to remove to conserve precious disk space (we gained 5 gigs by removing Norton, MS Works, a variety of software trials and SQL Server 2005 which is used by the Vaio Media Server-- which most won't use on a palmtop computer). That said, if you don't own MS Office and don't intend on buying it, the full version of MS Works 8.5 might come in handy. There's also a 60 day trial of Microsoft Office 2007 Small Business Edition, WinDVD (DVD playback software), Microsoft Streets and Trips 2006, Sony's Sonic Stage and Image Converter, a basic edition of QuickBooks, Cingular Connection Manager and more.

Networking

The well connected UX has WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0 +EDR, the AT&T wide area wireless connection and wired 10/100 Ethernet (which requires either the dongle adapter or the dock). It has an integrated Sony Ericsson GSM radio which supports GPRS and EDGE (WAN), The unit has the Intel Pro/Wireless Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG chipset for WiFi 802.11a/b/g, which is a part of Intel's mobile package. It's reliable, comes with good management software and good security support. We found the UX380N had better WiFi range than the UX180P, though the hardware is the same (the software seems to provide more power to the radio when in low signal areas). . Bluetooth behaves well (if such a thing can ever be said) and the Sony uses Toshiba's Bluetooth stack. You can use it with Bluetooth stereo headphones, GPS, mobile phones and PDAs among other things.

The built-in EDGE radio supports both EDGE and the slower GPRS standard. It's strictly for data and there's no software for making voice calls. There's a SIM card slot under a tiny hump on the left side, affixed with a single tiny phillips head screw (the door must be closed securely or the Vaio will complain that the SIM door is open). So yes, you could pop your phone's SIM in there, but by the time you take out your phone's battery, remove the SIM, unscrew the door on the Vaio and pop the SIM in there you could've already checked your email with your BlackBerry or Treo. Life is easier if you can leave the SIM in there, should you plan on frequent EDGE network use. Or use your 3G Bluetooth phone as a wireless modem for better speeds (assuming the phone has Bluetooth 2.0, older versions can be a bottleneck-- the Samsung BlackJack would be a good choice). The UX is sold locked to Cingular, but we're told you can still call Sony support to get an unlock code should you wish to use another carrier's SIM card in the Vaio. Cingular's connection manager software is pre-installed and is easy to use (though it's an older version than that currently available on Cingular's web site). The UX has very good reception on Cingular's network and we got around 140k. Do raise the antenna, it gets you two bars more reception. The UX380N comes with a 30 day Cingular trial.



Battery Life

The UX ships with a 2600 mAh battery that slides onto the back comprising the right grip. An extended battery approximately doubles runtimes and makes for a humpy grip that's actually easier to grip than the standard battery. The UX will not lie flat on its back with the extended battery, though it will still fit in the docking station. The standard battery lasted us 2.5 to 3 hours on a charge using the Vaio Optimized power setting with WiFi and Bluetooth on. Lowering the display brightness has a surprisingly small impact on battery life, unlike most notebooks.

The UX comes with a very compact charger, that's about the same size as the PSP's and doesn't add much weight or bulk to a travel bag.

Security

Given the full power of Vista and the UX380N's incredibly small size, it could be far too easy to leave sensitive data behind in a cab or at a cafe. Thankfully the UX series has biometric fingerprint reader and Protector Suite QL for Windows. You can use this to log into Windows, enter application login and passwords and web logins: instead of typing in your password, swipe your finger and you're in. The software reads fingerprints quickly and well and you can enroll several fingers (they need not be from the same person). Security is managed at the hardware level by a TouchChip Fingerprint Coprocessor.

Conclusion

We loved the original Sony Vaio UX180P for its daring step into the world of full-featured handheld computing. The UX380N is still compelling and amazing, but the so-so keyboard, slow EDGE connection and sluggish Vista performance hold it back from another Editor's Choice award. That said, if you need Vista in your (roomy) pocket, nothing beats the UX.

Pro: Beautiful design with excellent build quality and very good ergonomics. The UX has everything you'd expect from a normal notebook, including a standard Intel chipset, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0 +EDR, a Memory Stick Pro Duo slot, and a USB 2.0 port-- quite amazing and powerful. We like that the dock and travel dongle are included, along with a padded soft case. The front and rear facing cameras are perfect for Skype and vertical market use.

Con: Keyboard lacks travel and good tactile feedback. EDGE connection is dated now that many notebooks come with embedded EVDO or HSDPA. Vista runs fine, but the machine can just barely keep up.

Price: $1,899 for UX380N, $2,399 for UX390N

New Casio EX-Z150

New Casio EX-Z150 offers 28mm wide-angle and 4x zoom
Casio announces its latest member of the EXILIM Zoom digital camera series, the 8.1 Megapixel EX-Z150. The new model has the features and functions that you'll find in most modern compact cameras, all packed in the slimmest camera in the world with a built-in wide-angle 28 mm (35 mm film equivalent) 4x optical zoom lens, in a body measuring 96.7 mm x 57.3 mm and only 20.1 mm thin. On the back of the camera you will find a large 3.0 inch, high resolution LCD monitor with 230,400 (960 x 240) dots...
       
PRESS SUMMARY
New Casio EX-Z150 offers 28mm wide-angle and 4x zoom - digital camera and photography newsCasio Introduces the World's Slimmest Digital Camera With a Wide-angle 4X Optical Zoom

Casio Computer Co., Ltd., announced today the release of the newest model in its EXILIM® digital camera series - the stylish, slim EXILIM Zoom EX-Z150, which features a wide-angle zoom lens, a CCD-shift anti-shake function, a very large LCD monitor and an 8.1 effective megapixel resolution.
* As at July 14, 2008, for a digital camera with a wide-angle 28 mm equivalent 4X optical zoom lens. Based on Casio survey.

The EXILIM Zoom EX-Z150 has the features and functions needed to meet the demanding requirements of today's digital camera users, all in the slimmest camera in the world with a built-in wide-angle 28 mm (35 mm film equivalent) 4X optical zoom lens, at just 20.1 mm thick (18.9 mm at the thinnest section).

To complement the slim, stylish look, the new EXILIM offers all the premium functionality you would expect in a much bigger digital camera, including a CCD-shift anti-shake function and face detection technology. It also features a large 3.0 inch LCD monitor, a first for the EXILIM series, making it even easier to compose shots and adding to the fun of viewing the images taken.

The EXILIM Zoom EX-Z150 is available not only in silver and black, but also in colorful red, pink, and green.

Main Features of the EXILIM Zoom EX-Z150
 
• 8.1 effective megapixel model for high resolution photography

• Slim, compact size: 96.7 wide x 57.3 high x 20.1 mm thick (18.9 mm at the thinnest section)
 
• 28 mm-equivalent wide-angle 4x optical zoom lens enables users to conveniently photograph scenes such as tall buildings or get shots of big groups of people in a small room, while still allowing zoom photography to capture distant subjects
 
• CCD-shift anti-shake function for beautiful image quality, free from effects of camera-shake
 
• Face detection technology that senses people's faces
 
• Large 3.0 inch, high resolution LCD monitor with 230,400 dots

www.mysundanese.blogspot.com

Logitech MX518

As the successor of the MX510, USB gamer mouse will sport quick-shift controls above and beneath of the scroll wheel, allowing switching between 400, 800 and 1600-dpi without installing the driver. Reminiscent of the MX510's contoured shape, the new 'Gaming-Grade' mouse has a clear, smooth coat over a space-age metallic sliver finish with various shades to give an impression of a crater surface.

Pros: Speed holes; 1600 dpi; responsive; comfortable grip; can switch sensitivity on-the-fly; doesn't require drivers; glides easily.
Cons: Drivers for WinXP only; only one button set for all applications; for right-handed gamers only.
Verdict: Affordable yet powerful, the MX518 can seriously improve FPS gaming. Not for n00bs.

At first the Logitech MX518 just seems like a silver Logitech MX510 with several dents on the top, but upon toying with the sensitivity settings a true gamer will appreciate the twitch turns at ludicrous speed followed immediately by precision sniping without breaking a sweat.

Package Content
- Logitech MX518 Mouse
- SetPoint 2.3 installation CD
- USB to PS/2 adapter

MX518 - Proven Mouse Meets Swiss Cheese
Optical illusions are fascinating. What are really just a few dots of ink can effectively fool the mind's depth perception and color recognition, enough to make you look twice and try to feel what's actually there. The MX518 takes advantage of this art with its new faceplate. A dark metallic silver color appears to absorb light in different areas, giving off the appearance of very deep dents in the mouse itself. The Swiss-cheese-like 'holes' are very similar to the NASA photos of moon craters, or perhaps more like someone putting speed holes in a new car with a pickaxe. Whatever it looks like, it will definitely pull attention on store shelves with the see-through box it's packaged in.

Button placement remains the same as the previous models with two buttons positioned just above the thumb to prevent accidental clicks, while remaining in reach for fast access. What were once scrolling buttons have been replaced by sensitivity increase buttons, and right under them is the same inconveniently placed application switch button, which unfortunately didn't stay in between the thumb buttons as was introduced with Logitech MX1000 laser mouse. While not really used often, it requires taking your index finger off the trigger. All in all the design was well thought-out as the mouse remained comfortable during an entire 12-hour LanManiac LAN party session.

The Heart of It All
Upon launching the SetPoint Driver configuration pane (read: no more buggy MouseWare drivers), we were faced with the button configuration tab. Unlike previous mice, the thumb buttons and middle click were assigned to "generic" by default, thus able to be used for things like Button 4 in Quake while reverting to the forward/back/scroll within the Windows environment. On another tab are the movement options such as pointer speed, acceleration, scrolling speed, pointer trails, and "smart move" to automatically move your pointer to the OK button in dialog boxes.


The third tab in SetPoint is exclusive to the Logitech MX518, and that would be the game settings. In here you can select what games the drivers will recognize such as those that render with OpenGL and Direct3D, as well as add your own games to the list, including non-rendered 2D games like Tetris. Once a recognized game is started, the mouse can behave differently with options for keeping advanced button assignments such as double-click and keystrokes, as well as whether the mouse should use the Windows' or SetPoint's speed and acceleration settings. One thing that we would have liked to see (and have liked to see since the MX series first came out at that) is the ability to change button assignments completely for certain applications. Some games such as Call of Duty don't recognize more than three mouse buttons, thus requiring mapping of the extra buttons to keys such as delete, which then has to be changed back manually after exiting the game. Quite inconvenient.


The most touted feature of the MX518 by far however is the ability to change DPI sensitivity on-the-fly. Out of the box without drivers, the mouse already sports 3 resolutions of 400 dpi, 800dpi, and an insane 1600 dpi. This is good news for Mac and Linux gamers who like to get insane with a rocket launcher, then slow the pace for some railgun action. On Windows XP this gets even better with the SetPoint drivers. Within the advanced game settings, five custom dpi resolutions can be created in increments of 50 from 400 to 1600 dpi. Being able to make your own settings is very handy for easing the jumps in between resolutions like jumping to 1200 dpi before taking it all the way to 1600. There's also an option for audio notification when switching resolutions, although Logitech needs to be more clear that you must go into the Windows Sound events to assign a sound since none is set by default.


L0git3ch MX518 - 0wnage
In order to properly test the Logitech MX518, we used the three most common mousing environments - the bare imitation oak finish of a computer desk, a generic CompUSA mousepad, and a professional gaming mousepad, namely the fUnc sUrface 1030. The mouse glided well over each surface with its slick feet, with less friction than a brand new Logitech MX510. Over the fUnc surface, it literally felt like a puck on an air hockey table.

About the only thing that could interfere with the gliding other than spilt Bawls is the mouse cord, so some sort of cable management like a Mouse Bungee or cable clip can be extremely useful. As for tracking, both of the mousepads were generally on target - when using the CompUSA pad, twitching the mouse would land within the enemy's hitbox, while the fUnc surface was dead on the center of the hitbox landing several headshots. The desk didn't do as well, often missing the target slightly.

We tested the mouse in a variety of shooter games, including Battlefield 1942: Desert Combat, Call of Duty: United Offensive, Quake III Arena, and Unreal Tournament 2004. In Desert Combat, we generally left the mouse at 800 dpi since aiming isn't as much of an issue as being able to quickly turn around and fire at whoever is shooting you. While in the M-109 Howitzer, cranking up the resolution to 1600 did wonders in quickly turning the main cannon, something that takes ages otherwise.

Call of Duty was on cue with every twitch to check corridors and blast people with the MP40, and switching to 400 dpi for sniping with the Springfield. The thumb button made for a good melee attack after running out of bullets. In the gore-fests of UT2004 and Quake III we cranked up the DPI all the way to 1600 and went crazy with the flak cannon / shotgun, then dropped it to 600 dpi for sniping. Being able to switch sensitivity in these games is a godsend since there's less time to line up a shot accurately with as powerful scope as the games have, especially with Quake since there's only one level of zoom.

Throughout each game played no deaths could be attributed to lag, the MX518 keeping up to every twitch and click thanks to the corded design and powerful 5.8 megapixel/second image processing with a 16-bit data format that reports 125 times per second. And no, this isn't our minds playing tricks on us as the MX518 was more responsive than the Logitech MX510 while set at 800 dpi. Finally, we didn't have to worry about not moving the mouse when sniping from a nest, as there's no sleep mode to wake from that could take crucial milliseconds away in the event of an ambush.

Time for an Upgrade?
If you play FPS games every now and then, but aren't known for staying up into the late nights on nothing but cold pizza and caffeine, or bellowing taunts through the microphone, the Logitech MX518 isn't for you, and you would probably just be better off with any regular 800 dpi mouse. For the more avid gamer however, it blends a perfect combination of a comfortable design and performance that can seriously improve your game play in first person shooters. At $50, the MX518 is an affordable weapon for your arsenal, and is highly recommended.

LG Electronics 50PC5D 50" Plasma TV

(Widescreen, 1366x768, HDTV - MPN: 50PC5D)
Price Range: $1,169.88 - $1,299.99 from 5 Sellers
Rebates & Special Offers: $20.00 Bonus available
Description: LG 50PC5D 50" High Definition Plasma TV, it has LG's XD Engine which takes the low resolution of analog signals to near HD levels by improving brightness, contrast, detail and color as well as reducing signal noise. This total solution resu.... Read More
Description: LG 50PC5D 50" High Definition Plasma TV, it has LG's XD Engine which takes the low resolution of analog signals to near HD levels by improving brightness, contrast, detail and color as well as reducing signal noise. This total solution results in cinema-like high resolution images. It has six distinct processes for producing good pictures. It minimizes color contour noise for natural color transitions. It has Clear filter professional for improved brightness and contrast, reduced reflection and truer color reproduction.



***

It has been close to a year since LG's Time Machine TV series first debuted. Interestingly, there aren't many competing products of similar caliber out in the Asia markets. What sets these panels apart from the crowd is the onboard video-recording capability. On the whole, it functions pretty much like a standalone DVR with the exception of one major caveat. Without the provision of a DVD burner, all the recordings are permanently locked within its modest 80GB hard drive. This has thankfully been addressed in its latest incarnations. Almost, that is.

Pros

Besides the customary video recording and time-shift functions, the new models are now upgraded with USB archival and multimedia playback. Dubbed USB Backup, it allows recordings to be transferred onto external hard drives (40GB and above), providing users an avenue for archiving important footages. The port also doubles as an input for playing back various multimedia files. It's compatible with portable thumbdrives and memory card readers, covering just about all major audio-visual formats ranging from MP3 to JPEG and DivX.

LG has not forgotten to beef up the visual performance, too. Like the rest of its 2007 models, the 42LB5RT is using a Super-In Plane Switching LCD panel renowned for its extended viewing angle and strong color reproduction. And for a converged device, its paper specifications are pretty impressive and even better than the recently launched LC7-series. For the record, that's 10,000:1 for dynamic contrast and 500cd/m2 for brightness. Summing it all up, we have a fast 5ms response time which guarantees ghosting-free pictures and a wide 178-degree viewing angle.

We can go on and on reciting its long list of credentials but let's narrow this down to some of those that really matter. As with its predecessor, LG is pairing its proprietary XD Engine video processor with a videophile-grade Faroudja DCDi chip. This performs, among others, deinterlacing duties and has a reputation for suppressing jaggies onscreen. To go with the latest HD players, 1080p signal handling is supported via HDMI and component-video sockets. We are not just talking about the standard 50 and 60Hz flavors, but also the film-centric 24Hz mode.

Cons

So far so good, but here's the catch. Though you can copy your recordings onto an external hard drive, these cannot be accessed by a computer. This eliminates any chance of sharing the videos with your family. Not as if there is a possibility to burn the clips onto inexpensive DVD recordables through the former. It's a real pity since it's this close to being a full-fledged DVR and better. Hopefully, LG will consider enabling this capability in gen three.

Other little nitpicks we would like to highlight include a fixed pedestal stand and its rather standard connectivity options. A swivel equivalent would definitely make impromptu adjustment easier, while three HDMIs will be a hard-to-resist icing for those with a collection of compatible A/V boxes. That's provided its price is not inflated for this nice-to-have extra, of course.

Bottomline

LG would have stuck bull's eye if it could have taken just one step further in its USB Backup implementation. Putting that aside, this is quite a competent TV that should stack up well against its regular peers. The S$4,299 (US$2,828.96) pricing may be a bit on the high side if you consider a separate 42-incher and 80GB DVR combination. That said, it's just a couple of hundred dollars more for considerable savings on shelf space.

***

Review
Strengths: Picture Quality Black level Menus/Setup
Weaknesses: Not 1080p Channel Scan (see below) Absolutely nothing else
Summary: Just purchased this TV today to replace a generic 40" LCD. Obviously an upgrade, but this TV is much more than I expected for the price. Plasmas above 50" are still generally quite a bit cheaper than LCDs, but the picture on this model blew away both LCDs and Plasmas from many competitors costing far more. I have not even yet calibrated and it is already an amazing picture right out of the box. HD-DVDs also look amazing via HDMI, but I haven't had much time to play around with it yet. Looking forward to watching a movie with the lights way down to truly appreciate the deep dark blacks and vibrant colors.

The screen itself looks like it might suffer from heavy fingerprints if you have children and tends to reflect a fair amount of ambient light. This last issue could be a problem in a very well-lit room or near a large window.

The menus are easy to navigate and intuitive, placing all necessary controls within easy reach. The remote may be slightly larger than necessary, but is easy to use and has great range. The built in speakers sound pretty good for on-board speakers. They are rated at 2 X 10W but sound better than most and not so tinny. They are also very thin and not at all obtrusive at along the bottom edge.

The only problem I have experienced thus far is that the auto channel scan would not detect all available channels on standard cable. I was able to manually add all channels, but it was quite a waste of time. I shouldn't have to rescan any time soon, so it's not that big of a con, but still worth noting.

Overall an excellent choice if you don't need 1080. No major complaints after one day of ownership, I will update in the future after using the product for awhile. I would recommend this to just about anyone looking for a great TV for a great value.