The Micro Traveler 900BT is a very small wireless mouse. So small, in fact, that Genius could only fit one ‘l’ into the word ‘traveller’. OK, that might not be strictly true, but this mouse is extremely small – just 74mm long.

While that means that it is very easy to carry around with you if you don’t want to have to rely on your laptop’s trackpad, it does make using it for long periods of time quite uncomfortable. This is not a mouse for day-to-day use, but we found for brief sessions it worked well.

Because it uses Bluetooth, it meant not only was it wireless, there was no USB dongle needed – one less thing to carry about – but you’ll need to make sure your laptop or netbook has Bluetooth connectivity before you buy this.

Even with the battery in, it’s very light, although it does feel quite fragile – we’re not sure that it could withstand that many knocks and bumps.

It’s got a good amount of DPI (1200) for its laser, which makes it feel quick and responsive when in use.

We wouldn’t recommend this as a primary input device – because the size really does make using it for too long quite uncomfortable – but as a back up mouse this is a compact and convenient choice.

Related Links

  • TechRadar’s reviews guarantee
  • Read mice and trackball reviews
Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Review: MSI FX720 Review

So the British summer is having another shocker, and let’s face it, autumn will likely be just as grim. On that merry note, it’s well worth saving up some cash for a new entertainment machine to keep you occupied during those long, dark evenings, so you don’t have to resort to conversations with family members.

We’ve seen some excellent and unique multimedia laptops recently, from the sleek and powerful Dell XPS 15z, to the Acer Aspire Ethos 8951G, with its detachable remote control touchpad. The MSI FX720 certainly has a lot of competition, but it comes with a less eye-watering price tag than many of its peers.

This laptop might be half the cost of its competitors, but it also lacks the slick and attractive design that most multimedia laptops boast. While the XPS 15z sports a beautiful brushed metal finish, the FX720 makes do with a black plastic frame. It isn’t exactly ugly, but it doesn’t give us those ‘must have’ vibes.

The body doesn’t feel too solid either. It won’t break or fall apart in your hands, but some areas, such as the palmrests, do flex under pressure.

With a weight of 3kg it can be carried around when needed, although we wouldn’t drag it out on the daily commute. It’s best used as a home machine that can be shifted between rooms.

Build quality might not be as strong as we’d like, but the FX720 has a firm keyboard that is comfortable to work on for long periods.

Keys are well laid out and a great size, including the arrow keys which are often squashed. The only casualty is the Return key, which is cropped to fit a single row.

The isolation-style layout means each key is separated from its neighbours by a strip of plastic. Touch typing is more accurate, as you’re less likely to hit the wrong key.

You also have a separate numeric keypad, in case you take a break from movies and games to work on your accounts.

Just above the keyboard is a row of shortcut buttons. These allow you to power down the display, start Windows Media Player, eject the DVD drive and change the power settings. You also have a user-defined shortcut key, for loading your favourite application.

MSI fx770

Although size might not matter, it’s hard to enjoy the latest blockbusters on a tiny laptop screen. Thankfully the MSI FX720 comes with a 17.3-inch widescreen display, so you won’t be squinting to make out the action.

Images are impressively sharp, whether you’re browsing your photos or watching a film. Although the 1600 x 900 resolution means you don’t get full 1080p visuals, we’d struggle to tell the difference when kicking back with an HD movie.

However, as with many recent media laptops, the base FX720 model doesn’t come fitted with a Blu-ray drive. You either have to make do with DVDs, or download your HD content from an online provider. Alternatively, you can stump up more cash for the Blu-ray option.

While the screen isn’t the brightest we’ve seen, it’s still vibrant enough to bring photos and films to life. Viewing angles are reasonable, but the glossy Super-TFT coating is highly reflective, so you should stay away from windows.

The in-built speakers are also surprisingly good, with enough volume to fill a small room. Whether we were watching a film or blasting out music, the sound quality was consistently strong, with no distortion. Of course, if you want to enjoy some serious bass, you should invest in an external pair of speakers.

While many multimedia laptops feature at least 620GB of storage, the FX720 settles for a 500GB hard drive. This fills up surprisingly quickly if you download a lot of HD movies and install loads of games, but external drives are cheap these days so it’s not a crucial factor.

Other features are rather slim. Four USB ports can be used to hook up peripherals, with two of them supporting USB 3.0 technology. VGA and HDMI connections allow you to attach monitors and televisions, if the screen isn’t satisfactory.

As expected, you have 802.11n Wi-Fi for connecting to wireless networks, and gigabit Ethernet if you need to hook up to a wired LAN.

MSI fx770

The MSI FX720 uses an Intel Core i5 2410M processor, which is one of the latest Sandy Bridge models. Backed up by 4GB of memory, you get strong mid-range performance. We ran a number of resource-sapping software suites and noticed little slowdown, even when we tried doing several things at once.

One of nVidia’s older GeForce GT 520M graphics cards still holds up well, with HD movies streaming perfectly. Media editing software also runs smoothly, so you can mess around with your home photos and video as much as you like.

When it comes to gaming, the FX720 isn’t quite as strong as we’d hoped. Older titles such as Half Life 2 run perfectly, but more recent, action-heavy games tend to stutter on the highest detail levels. If you want a gaming machine that’ll last you more than a few months, we’d recommend looking elsewhere.

We were also a little disappointed by the overall performance compared to some other machines we’ve seen lately. While we weren’t expecting results comparable to the Dell XPS 15z or Acer Aspire Ethos laptops, which are twice the price of the FX720, there are better-value multimedia laptops available.

For instance, Dell’s Inspiron 15r has very similar specs for more than £100 less, while you can pick up the Lenovo IdeaPad Z570, which comes with a Blu-ray drive as standard, for just under £600. If you’re looking for a 17-inch multimedia laptop, we’d have to recommend HP’s Pavilion dv7 or the Samsung RF711 instead.

We also weren’t blown away by the FX720′s battery life. We know this laptop isn’t made for lugging around, but we barely made it through a two-hour film before the screen went black. Compare this to other multimedia laptops, which often last at least three hours, and it’s just another disappointment.

Benchmarks

CineBench 10: 9746
3D Mark 06: 6221
Battery Eater 05: 120 mins

MSI fx770

We’ve seen plenty of multimedia machines over the summer, and while some of them have been rather pricey, very few have disappointed. MSI’s FX720 has some tough competition but does it offer enough to warrant a purchase?

We liked

If you’re a cinebuff, or simply enjoy relaxing with the latest Michael Bay explode-a-thon, you’ll love the FX720′s excellent screen. It might not be the brightest panel, but it’s impressively sharp and brings images to life with its rich, deep colours.

Performance is strong enough for everyday use, with no irritating long load times or unexpected stuttering. The dedicated nVidia graphics card means you can get stuck into games, although you’ll need to turn down detail levels on more intensive titles.

If you’ve had enough of games and movies, you can stay productive with the firm isolation-style keyboard.

We disliked

Sadly, the FX720 is lacking that sleek, polished design that makes most multimedia laptops so desirable. We’ve seen laptops around this price point with solid, brushed metal bodies, so the lower cost is no real excuse.

Also, while performance is perfectly fine, there are better value laptops with similar specs out there. On the other hand, if you’re a gaming fan you should look to spend a little bit more on a laptop that will last you longer.

The 500GB hard drive is a little stingy, considering how many portables at this price point have 640GB or 750GB of storage. There’s also no Blu-ray drive, which quite a few media laptops have missed out recently.

Also, it might be an obvious point to make, but the FX720 is best left on a desk at home. The 3kg frame and two-hour battery life hamper portability, so look elsewhere if you need a machine for the daily commute.

With a sexy design and slightly better spec, the FX720 could have been a winner. The 17.3-inch screen is excellent, but there are better multimedia machines to be had for this price.

Related Links

  • TechRadar’s Reviews Guarantee
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

So the British summer is having another shocker, and let’s face it, autumn will likely be just as grim. On that merry note, it’s well worth saving up some cash for a new entertainment machine to keep you occupied during those long, dark evenings, so you don’t have to resort to conversations with family members.

We’ve seen some excellent and unique multimedia laptops recently, from the sleek and powerful Dell XPS 15z, to the Acer Aspire Ethos 8951G, with its detachable remote control touchpad. The MSI FX720 certainly has a lot of competition, but it comes with a less eye-watering price tag than many of its peers.

This laptop might be half the cost of its competitors, but it also lacks the slick and attractive design that most multimedia laptops boast. While the XPS 15z sports a beautiful brushed metal finish, the FX720 makes do with a black plastic frame. It isn’t exactly ugly, but it doesn’t give us those ‘must have’ vibes.

The body doesn’t feel too solid either. It won’t break or fall apart in your hands, but some areas, such as the palmrests, do flex under pressure.

With a weight of 3kg it can be carried around when needed, although we wouldn’t drag it out on the daily commute. It’s best used as a home machine that can be shifted between rooms.

Build quality might not be as strong as we’d like, but the FX720 has a firm keyboard that is comfortable to work on for long periods.

Keys are well laid out and a great size, including the arrow keys which are often squashed. The only casualty is the Return key, which is cropped to fit a single row.

The isolation-style layout means each key is separated from its neighbours by a strip of plastic. Touch typing is more accurate, as you’re less likely to hit the wrong key.

You also have a separate numeric keypad, in case you take a break from movies and games to work on your accounts.

Just above the keyboard is a row of shortcut buttons. These allow you to power down the display, start Windows Media Player, eject the DVD drive and change the power settings. You also have a user-defined shortcut key, for loading your favourite application.

MSI fx770

Although size might not matter, it’s hard to enjoy the latest blockbusters on a tiny laptop screen. Thankfully the MSI FX720 comes with a 17.3-inch widescreen display, so you won’t be squinting to make out the action.

Images are impressively sharp, whether you’re browsing your photos or watching a film. Although the 1600 x 900 resolution means you don’t get full 1080p visuals, we’d struggle to tell the difference when kicking back with an HD movie.

However, as with many recent media laptops, the base FX720 model doesn’t come fitted with a Blu-ray drive. You either have to make do with DVDs, or download your HD content from an online provider. Alternatively, you can stump up more cash for the Blu-ray option.

While the screen isn’t the brightest we’ve seen, it’s still vibrant enough to bring photos and films to life. Viewing angles are reasonable, but the glossy Super-TFT coating is highly reflective, so you should stay away from windows.

The in-built speakers are also surprisingly good, with enough volume to fill a small room. Whether we were watching a film or blasting out music, the sound quality was consistently strong, with no distortion. Of course, if you want to enjoy some serious bass, you should invest in an external pair of speakers.

While many multimedia laptops feature at least 620GB of storage, the FX720 settles for a 500GB hard drive. This fills up surprisingly quickly if you download a lot of HD movies and install loads of games, but external drives are cheap these days so it’s not a crucial factor.

Other features are rather slim. Four USB ports can be used to hook up peripherals, with two of them supporting USB 3.0 technology. VGA and HDMI connections allow you to attach monitors and televisions, if the screen isn’t satisfactory.

As expected, you have 802.11n Wi-Fi for connecting to wireless networks, and gigabit Ethernet if you need to hook up to a wired LAN.

MSI fx770

The MSI FX720 uses an Intel Core i5 2410M processor, which is one of the latest Sandy Bridge models. Backed up by 4GB of memory, you get strong mid-range performance. We ran a number of resource-sapping software suites and noticed little slowdown, even when we tried doing several things at once.

One of nVidia’s older GeForce GT 520M graphics cards still holds up well, with HD movies streaming perfectly. Media editing software also runs smoothly, so you can mess around with your home photos and video as much as you like.

When it comes to gaming, the FX720 isn’t quite as strong as we’d hoped. Older titles such as Half Life 2 run perfectly, but more recent, action-heavy games tend to stutter on the highest detail levels. If you want a gaming machine that’ll last you more than a few months, we’d recommend looking elsewhere.

We were also a little disappointed by the overall performance compared to some other machines we’ve seen lately. While we weren’t expecting results comparable to the Dell XPS 15z or Acer Aspire Ethos laptops, which are twice the price of the FX720, there are better-value multimedia laptops available.

For instance, Dell’s Inspiron 15r has very similar specs for more than £100 less, while you can pick up the Lenovo IdeaPad Z570, which comes with a Blu-ray drive as standard, for just under £600. If you’re looking for a 17-inch multimedia laptop, we’d have to recommend HP’s Pavilion dv7 or the Samsung RF711 instead.

We also weren’t blown away by the FX720′s battery life. We know this laptop isn’t made for lugging around, but we barely made it through a two-hour film before the screen went black. Compare this to other multimedia laptops, which often last at least three hours, and it’s just another disappointment.

Benchmarks

CineBench 10: 9746
3D Mark 06: 6221
Battery Eater 05: 120 mins

MSI fx770

We’ve seen plenty of multimedia machines over the summer, and while some of them have been rather pricey, very few have disappointed. MSI’s FX720 has some tough competition but does it offer enough to warrant a purchase?

We liked

If you’re a cinebuff, or simply enjoy relaxing with the latest Michael Bay explode-a-thon, you’ll love the FX720′s excellent screen. It might not be the brightest panel, but it’s impressively sharp and brings images to life with its rich, deep colours.

Performance is strong enough for everyday use, with no irritating long load times or unexpected stuttering. The dedicated nVidia graphics card means you can get stuck into games, although you’ll need to turn down detail levels on more intensive titles.

If you’ve had enough of games and movies, you can stay productive with the firm isolation-style keyboard.

We disliked

Sadly, the FX720 is lacking that sleek, polished design that makes most multimedia laptops so desirable. We’ve seen laptops around this price point with solid, brushed metal bodies, so the lower cost is no real excuse.

Also, while performance is perfectly fine, there are better value laptops with similar specs out there. On the other hand, if you’re a gaming fan you should look to spend a little bit more on a laptop that will last you longer.

The 500GB hard drive is a little stingy, considering how many portables at this price point have 640GB or 750GB of storage. There’s also no Blu-ray drive, which quite a few media laptops have missed out recently.

Also, it might be an obvious point to make, but the FX720 is best left on a desk at home. The 3kg frame and two-hour battery life hamper portability, so look elsewhere if you need a machine for the daily commute.

With a sexy design and slightly better spec, the FX720 could have been a winner. The 17.3-inch screen is excellent, but there are better multimedia machines to be had for this price.

Related Links

  • TechRadar’s Reviews Guarantee
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

You might not always be aware that the way you sit at your computer, and the way that you use it, can lead to injuries. Fellowes specialises in ergonomic devices that can make your computer more comfortable – and safer – to use.

While the Fellowes Health V Easy Gliding Palm Support helps support and protect your wrist as you use a mouse, the Office Suites Monitor Riser Plus makes it easy to ensure that your monitor is at the right height. This might sound a bit ‘health and safety gone mad’, but in reality if you’re bending your neck to view your screen then this can become uncomfortable.

While it might not do much more than what placing a monitor on a pile of books could achieve, it is a safe and specifically designed device that ensures the monitor is positioned correctly.

We found it easy to set up and sturdy enough to hold LCD monitors up to around 24 inches in size. It can also be used as a laptop stand. At first it feels slightly odd to use a laptop this way, but it certainly makes using laptops for long periods of time far more comfortable than resting them on a desk.

Related Links

  • TechRadar’s reviews guarantee
  • Read more monitor reviews
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

You might not always be aware that the way you sit at your computer, and the way that you use it, can lead to injuries. Fellowes specialises in ergonomic devices that can make your computer more comfortable – and safer – to use.

While the Fellowes Health V Easy Gliding Palm Support helps support and protect your wrist as you use a mouse, the Office Suites Monitor Riser Plus makes it easy to ensure that your monitor is at the right height. This might sound a bit ‘health and safety gone mad’, but in reality if you’re bending your neck to view your screen then this can become uncomfortable.

While it might not do much more than what placing a monitor on a pile of books could achieve, it is a safe and specifically designed device that ensures the monitor is positioned correctly.

We found it easy to set up and sturdy enough to hold LCD monitors up to around 24 inches in size. It can also be used as a laptop stand. At first it feels slightly odd to use a laptop this way, but it certainly makes using laptops for long periods of time far more comfortable than resting them on a desk.

Related Links

  • TechRadar’s reviews guarantee
  • Read more monitor reviews
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The LiteOn External Blu-ray Disc Combo is an easy way to add Blu-ray playback to your computer. Its slim, stylish design makes it especially useful for small media centre PCs.

Setup was easy – all we had to do was connect the drive to two USB ports (one for data, one for power) and our test computer was ready to read and write Blu-ray discs.

The drive itself is slim and light enough to carry around, and when connected to a laptop with HDMI out, it makes an excellent portable Blu-ray player that can be connected quickly to a HD TV.

The drive comes with Cyberlink PowerDVD software, which allows playback of 3D Blu-rays. It’s a good program with well implemented internet features, turning the LiteOn External Blu-ray Disc Combo into an incredibly versatile device. Its 3D Blu-ray compatibility and the fact that it runs almost completely silently will be big draws for dedicated movie fans.

This drive can also read and write to a huge array of disc formats, including BD-ROM, BD-RE and DVD-RAM, which makes it a great purchase for much more than just home entertainment. When it comes to playing Blu-ray movies, performance is unaffected by the fact that the drive is external, and high definition content looked incredible on our test monitor.

If you’re interested in playing full-screen high definition material – especially in 3D – remember that your computer needs enough graphical power to keep everything running smoothly; underpowered computers will lead to stuttering. A fairly recent machine with a dedicated graphics card will have no problem playing back Blu-rays though.

Another thing that’s worth noting before you buy is that your monitor must be connected to your PC via either DVI or HDMI, because Blu-ray playback isn’t possible over a VGA cable.

Reading and writing Blu-ray discs took slightly longer than with internal drives, but in our eyes the convenience of the external drive makes up for the disparity.

Related Links

  • TechRadar Reviews Guarantee
  • Read more storage reviews
Tags: , , , , , , ,

Review: Acer Aspire Ethos 8951G

These days we’re seeing a lot more slim and light ultraportable laptops. Rising up against these size zero models is the Acer Aspire Ethos 8951G.

Like the Dell XPS 15z and the Macbook Pro 17 inch, this is all about packing in huge amounts of power, and who cares if it’s on the chunky side. After all, as our mothers told us: it’s not the outside, it’s what’s on the inside that counts.

As with the previous Ethos models, the Acer Aspire Ethos 8951G is an entertainment centre that’s designed to sit on your desk at home.

Crushing the scales at 4.2kg, you wouldn’t want to carry this laptop any further than the next room, to avoid popping a couple of vertebrae.

That said, we were impressed at how thin the Ethos is. Sure, 40mm can’t really be described as ‘thin’, when you consider that the Samsung 9000 series measures just a smidgen over 10mm. But considering the girth of this machine, it’s comparatively slender.

We also liked the smart design, which follows the XPS 15z’s mantra of ‘keep it simple’. The dark chassis has a brushed metal finish that spreads everywhere except the palmrests, and it looks as solid as it feels.

We didn’t find any hint of flex no matter how hard we poked and prodded, which is to be expected at this price point.

One of the most interesting new features of the Ethos 8951G is the detachable touchpad. In previous models, the touchpad converted to a media control panel at the press of a button.

This laptop has the same gimmick. One push of the corner gives you fast access to the Clear-Fi application, which is a media hub for enjoying your photos, films and music. Another press brings up the play, skip, pause and volume controls, and a third press returns the touchpad to normal.

On the previous models this was nice, but of limited use as you had to be sat in front of the Ethos to use it. However, the Ethos 8951G lets you remove the entire touchpad by flicking a switch, so you can use it from across the room to control your media.

It’s a smart idea that works well. Even when we positioned ourselves across the other side of the office, the laptop still responded perfectly to the infrared remote.

Of course, it isn’t a perfect solution. You’re limited to the basic pause/play/skip and volume controls, and if you wish to go full-screen or fiddle with other settings, you need to change back to touchpad mode and fiddle around.

While the touchpad works fairly well as a remote, it works rather less well as a touchpad. For some reason, the responsiveness is all over the place, with sensitivity levels dying as you slide your finger towards the edges.

In fact, swiping the right edge did nothing at all. We’d actually recommend using a USB mouse with this laptop, to avoid frustration.

Thankfully the keyboard is typically great for an Acer laptop. As usual, an isolation-style design has been used, with each key poking up through an individual hole cut in the Ethos 8951G’s chassis.

It’s a well laid out board and a great size for touch typing, despite the tiny left Shift key.

The arrow keys are sadly squashed beneath the right Shift key, which seems unnecessary considering the room Acer had to play with. Still, you do get a separate numeric pad, which is useful if you’re a spreadsheet junkie.

Acer aspire ethos 8951g

Since the Acer Aspire Ethos 8951G is a multimedia machine at heart, we were keen to test out the huge 18.4-inch screen by kicking back with a sack of Blu-rays and a vat of popcorn.

That’s right, we said Blu-rays, not crummy old DVDs. Acer has included Sony’s HD technology so you can enjoy films the way they’re meant to be seen, with ultra-crisp visuals.

Of course, you can still play DVDs on the drive, so you don’t need to part with your collection just yet.

The Ethos 8951G’s display features a sharp 1920 x 1080 WUXGA resolution, making it perfect for taking in Full HD 1080p movies and shows.

HD films really do look amazing on this machine. Contrast levels are excellent, blacks actually look black, as opposed to grey, and colours are rich and vibrant.

Viewing angles aren’t too bad either, so you can happily enjoy a movie with your family, spread out on the sofa. You don’t even have to get up thanks to the detachable touchpad/remote control.

A good chunk of space above the keyboard is dedicated to the built-in speakers. Although laptop speakers are usually as powerful as a gnat’s fart, we were expecting great things from the Ethos 8951G. Those expectations were sadly dashed on the rocky plateau of disappointment.

The sound quality is fine, but there’s a serious lack of power. Even on top volume, we were straining to hear over ambient office noise.

This is especially disappointing considering how powerful the Dell XPS 15z’s speakers were. If you want to truly enjoy a movie or some bass-heavy music, you’ll definitely want to attach some USB speakers.

Those with enormous media collections are well catered for by the 1.5TB hard drive, which provides enough space for hundreds of thousands of songs and photos, and hundreds of HD movies.

If you need even more space or simply wish to back up your collection, you can attach an external drive using the eSATA port, or slip a memory card into the multi-card reader.

You also get four USB ports, one of which is USB 3.0, in addition to VGA and HDMI connections for hooking up external monitors or televisions. Acer has even included mini-Firewire, which we rarely see on laptops these days.

Rounding off the features is the almost-obligatory fingerprint scanner, which provides a satisfactory alternative to remembering ridiculously complex passwords.

Acer aspire ethos 8951g

When we saw the specs list for the Acer Aspire Ethos 8951G, we certainly weren’t disappointed. Acer has stuffed in one of Intel’s latest Sandy Bridge processors, the Core i7 2630QM, which runs at 2GHz.

Backed up by a mammoth 8GB of RAM, it was obvious that the Ethos would destroy our benchmarking tests.

And destroy it did. We didn’t think the Dell XPS 15z‘s CineBench score of 11,474 would be beaten any time soon, but the Ethos 8951G topped it with a score of 12,633.

The Intel CPU’s eight cores are perfect for multi-tasking, while software loads up almost instantly. No matter what we were doing, this laptop provided a smooth, fast experience.

Since the Ethos 8951G was built for enjoying media, Acer has included a dedicated nVidia GeForce GT 555M graphics card.

Most modern games that we tried ran fine, although we had to turn down detail levels on more demanding titles. HD films ran smoothly as expected, as well as video editing software.

The dedicated graphics make full use of nVidia’s Optimus technology, powering down when you’re doing basic tasks such as bashing out an email.

In these cases the basic integrated graphics on the motherboard take over, to save power. As a result, the Ethos 8951G’s battery lasts for a full three hours when you aren’t playing games, and even longer if you turn down brightness levels and performance settings.

This was much longer than we expected considering the high specs and huge screen. Okay, so the battery life isn’t really a significant factor considering the size of this machine, but at least you won’t have to drag the charger as well as the laptop when you shift to another room.

Benchmarks

CineBench: 12633

3DMark 06: 9989

Battery Eater: 185 mins

Acer aspire ethos 8951g

Acer’s Ethos range are built for entertainment, and aimed squarely at those who want a smart and powerful portable for enjoying their games and media collection. We’re big fans of previous Ethos models, so gleefully put the Aspire Ethos 8951G through its paces.

We liked

Featuring one of Intel’s most powerful Intel Core i7 mobile processors and a mighty 8GB of memory, the Ethos 8951G is a better performer that ten Ron Jeremys. You’re fully future-proofed and can multi-task to your heart’s content.

You’ll have no trouble running the latest games (although some detail fiddling is required on the most demanding titles), which look fantastic on the bright and vibrant 18.4-inch screen. The Full HD 1080p resolution means both games and Blu-ray films are presented at their best.

And now you can enjoy movies from the comfort of your sofa, thanks to the detachable touchpad which doubles as a remote. It’s a cool gimmick, although not entirely perfect.

Finally, the generous 1.5TB hard drive means you won’t have to constantly remove old films and games to add new ones.

We disliked

As with previous Ethos models, this bad boy is best left at home. The 4.2kg weight will break your back if you attempt to lug it around on a regular basis, and it isn’t the easiest to slip into a bag or rucksack. We were impressed by the three-hour battery life though.

The Ethos 8951G has few flaws, but we were disappointed by the rubbish touchpad. It works fairly well as a remote control, but not so well as a device for moving the mouse cursor around. We’d have also preferred more powerful built-in speakers.

Verdict

As a home entertainment machine, the Acer Aspire Ethos 8951G does almost everything right. Attach a mouse and some decent speakers and you’re set.

Related Links

  • TechRadar’s Reviews Guarantee
  • Read more laptop reviews
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

BlackBerry Storm 2, many initiatives and awards for the new Touch Rim

BlackBerry at the launch of the new Storm 2 has created a nice promotional campaign that will reach the main Italian cities. Well 7 will be the activities of street marketing branded BlackBerry and TIM. It will be fun and a huge box that launches BlackBerry messages in the sky, at 20,000 and still branded soap bubbles, a daily update on all the news of the product, 100,000 cards (Zcard), a new website and finally, a contest prize and the creation of the “Over The Top” on Facebook.

After Bologna and Padua today (March 11), then Naples (March 18), Palermo (19 March), Genoa (24 March), Turin (March 25), Milan (March 29) and Rome (March 31), host BlackBerry Box for one day, with special machines that a particular mechanism will form in heaven, and will throw the words “Tim” and the shape of the BlackBerry (R) Storm2. Three attractive sides of the totem will show all the new technology and multimedia features of the BlackBerry (R) Storm2 (TM), while the fourth side of the totem pole there will be all the information about the new offer TIMxSMARTPHONE that with only € 2.00 a week makes to navigate, to send mail and meet friends on social networks.

During the day, 4 hostesses will run into the streets to passers-by showing the BlackBerry (R) Storm2 (TM) and honored with a branded box of soap bubbles. In addition, you will be given a copy of the newspaper “INCREDIBLE NEWS.” A fun edition that will generate interest and give you all the information about the product and its innovative performance, not to mention the new TIMxSMARTPHONE exclusive price, the steps to access the site, to participate in the competition and become part of the Facebook community.

But not only. The hostesses also distribute special Zcard, to discover the new augmented reality and show a creative and spectacular features of the new BlackBerry (R) Storm2 (TM). If you are not in possession of Zcard you can print the icon from the site and make a virtual journey into the product.

In addition, those who purchase the new BlackBerry (R) Storm2 will have the opportunity to participate in the great contest “Win a trip to the day” in a European capital. The trip will consist of a voucher worth € 500.00 to spend on the portal www.opodo.com.

Anyone who wants further groped luck can do so by subscribing to the group “Over the Top” on Facebook. At the final draw prize winner will have as the famous machine for 4 hours inflammation: can locate where they want and throw the message in the sky winner.

So many initiatives for new entry in the consumer world by BB Rim and its services.

NOVA Gameloft available in Lite version (Video)

The FPS game from Gameloft, NOVA, is now also available in Lite version. Being a free verson you can only play the first levels of the game. We can still see the great graphics and good gameplay that even the most hectic of the game behaves in an optimal manner.

Here is a video showing the game in action.

Nokia wins the award for R & D

The last Nordic / UK Business Awards, Nokia has won the award for Research & Development. Nokia develops, in fact, its nanotecnlogia at its research center in Cambridge.

Finland has always been the home is committed to the development of new concepts and new technologies for their device. In addition to research in the field of hi-tech, Nokia remains a particular concern regarding the environmental impact of its products. The future and the increasing miniaturization definitely associated with nanotechnology will lead to new frontiers and new terminals that are just concepts for now (photo).

An award is therefore important that projects to a future Nokia increasingly open and open source.

Android 2.1 to 150 €, with Vodafone 845 can be

Android seems to be a new arrival with the primavara. The terminal is the Vodafone 845, anonymous enough name for a phone that could have a significant following. It is actually an entry-level Google, Vodafone branded and services including 360 (single operator) with very interesting features:

* Android Eclair 2.1
* Services Vodafone 360
* 3G and HSDPA
* 3.2 megapixel camera
* GPS
* Bluetooth 2.1
* Wi-Fi
* 2.8-inch screen with 240 × 320 pixel technology resolution
* 512mb of internal memory
* Battery 1200 mAh
* Micro SD Expansion

Very interesting features especially when you consider the retail price: 150 €. Currently there are no high-resolution images, but the size will be very similar to the HTC Tattoo. Not defined the amount of RAM even though the presence of Eclair 2.1 since its release bodes well in 256MB. Due out in May.

Steve Jobs, 136esimo place as the world’s richest person

The site has compiled the new Forbes list of richest men in the world. The world number one is the Mexican Carlos Slim Helu, which undermines even the position of Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft.

The “our” Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO, came to 136esimo place in the standings. We believe that in 2010, thanks to the success that will most certainly the new Apple products (especially iPad and iPhone 4G), Steve earnings increase enough to enter the top 100 richest people in the world … that if no steps bad anyway …

Other Electronics News:

laptop batteries

hp pavilion dv4t battery

hp pavilion dv5 battery

hp pavilion dv5t battery

hp pavilion dv6 battery

lenovo thinkpad t400s battery

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

With the people’s pace of life increasingly fast,people want to reduce the burden of life.Easepecially the business people,their pressure is even worse,and as the close contacts with business,the notebook vgp-bps9aturn into an indispensable helper for business people.In the past the heavy form do not meet current needs of business people,even becoming a burden for business people.In such cases,under the premise of homogeneity in performance,businesses have started to introduce thin business notebooks.

ASUS U36J notebook vgp-bpl9 is a main light business notebook,which is specially launched from Asus.Although Core Duo I3-380 processor and NVIDIA GT310M alone significantly are the same entry-level hardware configuration,but for business users,they are fully capable of providing adequate performance of office support.And 2GB memory,500GB hard drive and also belong to the mainstream of the current configuration.

Slightly different,the ASUS U36J notebook faded original business class notebook that serious coat layer of rigid,simple replacement of a more professional faces.Around the commercial notebook market now,most of them have adopted a metal body.On the one hand the whole metal body can make the notebookDell Vosr1o 1710 バッテリーlook more rich texture,on the other hand is to make the body more rigid.This ASUS U36j laptop’s also body on the use of magnesium alloy material.

ASUS U36j laptop’s the roof after a soft touch nano coating, while the bottom of the fuselage is a breakthrough to join the glass fiber material.The new shell design,lighter weight magnesium alloy material,high hardness,resistance to stress more hp pavilion dv6000バッテリー features.Nano super anti-fouling coatings,anti-corrosion and anti-radiation capabilities,as well as high tensile strength of glass fiber material,the advantages of heat shock resistance to high humidity combined together to create a light and a more robust model.

As located in the commercial,ASUS U36J laptop’s appearance is not very bright.The body’s design is simple and clear,providing products from the official figure,only two colors,a silver line of products can be used by men and women,and the black lines that are suitable for older users to buy.ASUS U36J notebook’s vgp-bps9a/bscreen axis damping force of the control is very good,the user can easily open the screen with one hand.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Mend Your Laptop Batteries Wisely

In this holy day, where everyone is busy and you want to do something hommia notebook increasingly popular. Such a computer, you can always carry with you everywhere. The main feature of all backup laptop notebook batteries supplied. It is necessary to a full working laptop batteries to complete. There are some cases where these batteries used in portable computers to fail and not work anymore. In this case it is necessary for the recovery of Apple a1012 battery used in notebook computers.

Laptop batteries are a little different than other batteries. Laptop battery is short, and if you change the battery, so the question can be expensive. It is much better Apple a1079 batteries for laptops, instead of using a fixed exchange rate. They decided that a laptop battery repair. Could it be that the cells with a laptop battery has not worked well, and the bad. In this case, it would be more economical to replace the cells.

You can nickel-cells, easily portable computer batteries go. Lithium-ion battery hybrid, it is necessary for manufacturers to complete a battery with a protective layer of cells circuit.During exchange provides a living force. This is due to the fact that we are all your critical data exclusion of the chain tension lost, so he could remain in the chain is useless.Here are some basic and important steps needed to restore the Apple a1175 battery.

Balance, always goes after the close of the second round of the medium voltage to the battery, secondary and off when the relationship is over, the replacement cells. Typically, the cell laptop battery with a simple line of bands seen them hold together. Use the laptop battery should be replaced when their inner work station no longer functions properly in this case, you should not change the battery, because even if the new battery, get a new cell. It would be better to drive the whole Apple a1061 battery replacement to replace.

We must remember terminal voltage of 10% to the second. To prevent this, we can go together to push the cells, it is the best way to get reliable service from the station. It is possible that memory cells, which I published, often with a nickel-hydride cells. So recharge the HP g70 battery, and try to avoid overloading loading and unloading cycle over and over again for 14 hours. It is a process that is required, use the chain again laptop batteries.

maintain,battery,internet,technology,knowledge,laptop

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Page 11 of 37« First...910111213...Last »
Back to top